Customer Reviews

Adventures in a Tv Nation

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I never saw TV Nation despite the fact that I am a big Michael Moore fan so I gave this book a read. TV Nation was truly a unique show, and is probably the only show that has ever gone out of its way to insult its sponsors and bosses. The book gives detailed summaries of some of the more memorable episodes, including Haulin' Communism, The Invasion of the Private Greenwhich beach and many others. The show's esploits were controversial and I am sure many were enflamed by some of what was aired. However, it is a shame TV Nation did not last longer because it's commentary on social issues has yet to be matched. On a historic note, TV Nation was Buford Furrow's only TV appearance, as he was a Klansmen present when Moore gathered an interracial singing group to perform "Stop in the Name of Love" in front of several white supremacist organizations.

TV NATION is also written by Kathleen Glynn but this book is Moore through and through and is much easier on the brain than Moore's other publications and certainly a lot Moore fun. You can get TV NATION on VHS at the moment but the DVD release is on the way soon. Basically Moore and his production team got backing to do a television series about various topics in America that concern the average Joe Soap after he finished making Roger & Me. The result was the award winning TV NATION and this book talks about the shows and what they did. Here are some of things they got up too.

* Love night for the KKK - Moore goes around with minority groups to KKK meetings.
* The invasion of Greenwich Beach, Connecticut - The locals have hired security to keep people off this beach other than themselves.
* Payback - Setting off car alarms outside of a major car alarm manufacturer's house. Calling up the boss's of telemarketers all day long etc.
* Crackers - The corporate crime fighter chicken that goes around American exposing corporate crime.
* Getting CEOs to see if they know anything about the products they sell - Can they roll a cigarette?
* Brian Anthony - A black American who has been arrested and questioned hundreds of times even though he has a totally clean record.
* Black Vs White Taxi stopping - Who will the driver pick up? The black or the white guy?
* Kentucky Slaves! - In 1995 Kentucky decided to abolish slavery.
* 1.5 Million Lock-ups and growing - what to do when you are the one in eight sent to prison.
* Selling your country - How to band together and sell your country over to the next one and get rich quick.
* Solicitation - How Junk Mail works and what kind of can WE send to people around America.
* Corporate Sabotage - How to get even the REAL way.
* Yuri the KGB spy - who because he does not have a job after the Cold War goes working for Mike instead in America. Missions include - Who is buried in Nixon's grave.
* Flint Nukes - Mike goes to Russia in search of the Nuke that was targeted on his home town.
* Communism Across America - Mike buys a big truck, paints it red with a hammer and sickle and has it driven across America to see what will happen.
* Serial Killer Neighbours - White? Male? How much can you really get away with? Why not EXPERIMENT and see!
* Cobb County - How much tax money does that place get and for what?
* Peace in Bosnia - How Mike got the heads of the warring factions to sing Barney songs... I love you... you love me..
* Lobby Congress - for $5,000 Mike manages to buy a new congress bill calling for August 16th, 1994 to be known as TV NATION day... and gets it!

Mike then talks about what was CENSORED from the TV nation shows and why, including spots featuring anti-abortionists threatening to kill people. Following this interview two abortion clinic workers where murdered by an anti-abortionist who probably prefers the old days of $5 backstreet coat hanger jobs. The Savings and Loans scandal was never aired because most of the rich where never convicted. The story about a young boy who turns up at the funeral of AIDS victims with a big sign that say - God Hates Fags, was also cut from the series. They where not allowed to air segments on condoms nor where they allowed to recreate the LA riots like we do Civil War enactments nor where they actually allowed to reveal that CUBA has better MEDICAL CARE than America.

This is great fun and informative read. If you can get the series on DVD or VHS then it makes it the even more enjoyable. This is a great Moore book with the usual witty lines every paragraph or so. Certainly one for the Moore collection and it maybe even be a little better than Stupid White Men.

True fans of TV Nation will enjoy this book but you won't go back for quotes and lend it to friends like "Stupid White Men" and "Downsize This!" Just anecdotal details from the filming of the late, great "TV Nation", one of television's finest shows.

The fact that Michael Moore actually got "TV Nation" on the air is amazing in itself, and "Adventures in a TV Nation" documents the short-lived history of one of the best series to air on television, on two different networks.

The book is filled with fascinating behind-the-scenes stories of the various segments, including a section on the censoring of several segments. It also features all of the "TV Nation" polls.

"Adventures in a TV Nation" is a great companion piece to show.

This book is a TV show tie-on. It provides short, humorous synopses of each show in the series.

The program was a fantastic treat as Moore et al chassed down the corporate fat cats.

The book provides a useful reminder of the comedy, and the importance of the show in showing up corporate scandal, and greed.

The book is best read after viewing the program, and ideally the series. On its own, it won't reveal too much, except for the briefest of reporting of the issues covered, and the various exploits and stunts attempted on the program.

Nonetheless, I found myself laughing too often.

Michael Moore is the champion of pointing out all the various stupid ways we run things in this country. TV Nation was one of the few reasons to learn how to program your VCR. This book brings back to mind all of the hillarious moments of the show, and gives some funny behind-the-scenes details, complete with a summary of all the segments that got censored. There's even an index of names and addresses of deserving people you can "raise hell" on.

Moore and his colleagues love America and its Little Guys, and they have such keen senses of irony that magnets must stick to them. This collection of thumbnail sketches of the highlights of the T.V. Nation series (to date: there soon will be a British version which may be piped back to America!) will have all who have been squashed by the Goliaths of Corporate America cheering and laughing to tears. (I read aloud to my wife from the collection of T.V. Polls collected at the back of the book, and we *both* were in tears!)

Buy this book; share it with friends; join Mike's Militia; and become an inspired activist! May we all get off our butts and make some waves in the T.V Nation Style! We have nothing to lose but our oligarchy!

The only reason I found this book and read it was the book Stupid White Men. I read that book and just found it very entertaining if not always on the mark. This book also provided an interesting and entertaining book, but with a little different direction then the authors other two books. In the book the author's main point is to tell you about some of the different segments that he had on his TV show. To be honest I never saw the show so I did not know what to expect. Well it is a lot of fun, the author takes his distrust of the man and goes after them at every opportunity. It was just a bunch of laughs and I kept thinking to myself, why did the show go off the air? Basically the author has some deeply engrained dislike for authority or large business because those are the targets of his unique style of humor.

To be fair the book is rather light, he does not give you a lot of detail about the particular people he after nor about the segments, just enough for you to get the drift and then move on. I started to think that the real purpose of the book is just to get me to either order the tapes of the show from him or to rent them. He gives you a number of nice convenient ordering options at the back of the book. That is what always cracks me up about him, he goes after big business and in the process he has become a big business. Anyway the book is funny, light and easy to get through. It is a fun book that does not require too much deep thought.

This book has some very funny interesting parts, it began very good but good a little bit slow towards the end, I will bet that watching the show is probably much more entertaining.
But as always, Michael Moore delivers!

I have not seen the TV show, but judging by the book, it must have been a great show. Funny, entertaining and informative at the same time.

Books by Michael Moore make your reading experience greatly pleasurable ... I could imagine what his documentaries and films could do!