Prime Time, Prime Movers: From I Love Lucy to L.A. Law--America's Greatest TV Shows and the People Who Created Them

By Robert J. Thompson, David Marc, Robert J. Thompson

Book Overview

From dominant performers such as Jackie Gleason and Carol Burnett to powerhouse producers such as Norman Lear and Steven Bochco, this book reviews the stories and styles of the most important architects of the airwaves. Milton Berle brought a "hellzapoppin'" vaudeville aesthetic to TV. Gleason used it as an autobiographical medium. Red Skelton was the classic clown from the heartland. Paul Henning, who created, wrote, and produced The Beverly Hillbillies , was himself a kid from Missouri who grew up to become a millionaire in Los Angeles. Norman Lear modeled Archie Bunker after his own cantankerous father. Steven Bochco productions, such as Hill Street Blues and L.A. Law , made TV watching respectable for yuppies. Authors David Marc and Robert J. Thompson are the most outspoken proponents of the auteur argument. Covering a broad spectrum of TV programming formats, from old-time variety shows to sitcoms, from action/adventure shows to documentaries, from gameshows to soap operas, they challenge the tastes and interests of television viewers--a group roughly equivalent to the American population at large.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0815603118
• ISBN13: 9780815603115
• Release Date: June 1995
• Publisher: Syracuse University Press
• Length: 348 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Second-Hand History Source of TV Producers

This is an excellent second-hand source for media history about several big-name TV producers. I bought it to obtain an overview of Roy Huggins' career in television and this helpful text provided a lot of insight on Huggins as well as other big-name TV producers from the past. If you are into media history from the 1950s to the 1980s, then the chapters on Huggins as well as Glen A. Larson and Michael "Miami Vice" Mann should fascinate and inform you.

Simply marvelous! Now I understand why I loved I love Lucy.

It was like remembering my childhood all over again. If Robert Thompson could only explain the love for the Three Stooges