Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television's 500 Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events [Hardcover]

David Bianculli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1996

From I Love Lucy to the O. J. Simpson Trial, the 500 programs whose impact on American culture, good or ill, will not likely be forgotten.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The idea of compiling the 500 biggest television shows is unique?but is it necessary? Bianculli, a New York Daily News writer and NPR TV reviewer, aims to present the most meaningful and popular events and shows from television history, but he concedes that the selections are subjective and hardly exhaustive. They do cover a wide spectrum of television history, however, and highlights or unique plot twists are mentioned. The selections include news events (the O.J. Simpson low-speed chase), mini-series (Rich Man, Poor Man), classic TV shows (The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis), sitcoms (Newhart), dramas (The Waltons), game shows (Jeopardy!), and even foreign television shows (Absolutely Fabulous). Bianculli offers lengthy commentary on each show or event, but one looks in vain for a straightforward cast list at the end of each selection (though cast members are sometimes mentioned). If you need to add an up-to-date television history for browsing to your collection, consider this book, but if you are looking for a good TV reference, check out Alex MacNeil's Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (Penguin, 1995).?Judy Hauser, Oakland Schls. Lib. Svces., Waterford, Mich.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The launch of Nickelodeon's new cable channel, TV-Land, makes this a very timely book. Many of its subjects can be seen on either TV-Land or Nick at Nite, which this work frequently mentions. This book's subtitle defines its subject quite well, and the author, a TV critic for the New York Daily News, approaches his topic with passion, humor, and terrible puns.

Bianculli begins by noting that this is a companion volume to his 1992 book, Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously (Continuum). What is lacking in this new book, though, is a suitable definition of teleliteracy that would allow it to stand alone. The author uses the word a great deal, leaving the reader with the implication that the shows are those that have entered the American collective memory.

Arranged alphabetically, the subjects range from news (the coverage of the Kennedy assassination, the moon landing, the O.J. Simpson trial) to American television icons (MASH, Dallas, The Honeymooners) and British imports (Doctor Who, Fawlty Towers, Monty Python's Flying Circus). The author has chosen what he feels are "the most memorable" programs of postwar American TV. "Most memorable," he notes, does not necessarily mean good.

For the most part, the annotations note what channel or network originally carried the show and the years in which it originally ran. For British imports, he notes when they first ran in America. His sometimes humorous annotations present information on the show, and also his own choices of the best and the worst of the episodes. There is no consistent use of plot synopses, but complementary publications, such as The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (5th ed., Ballantine, 1992) or Total Television (3d ed., Penguin, 1991), have covered this. The author's opening remarks for his Star Trek entry ("Yeah, like America needs more words written about Star Trek" ) could be used for almost any entry.

Though it lacks a suitable method of cross-referencing, this book is wonderfully nostalgic reading. With its 1992 companion volume, it will provide any collection with an interesting examination of the cultural significance of TV in America.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group; 1st ed edition (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826405770
• ISBN-13: 978-0826405777
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,132,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Bianculli has been a television critic for more than thirty years, currently on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. He is also the author of two books on television and its impact: Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously and Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television's 500 Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that even tel-illiterates will want to read!, September 8, 2001

By 

R. Kent Rasmussen (Thousand Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television's 500 Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events (Hardcover)

It's a shame this book has such a dull title because it's really
a wonderful book! I have several shelves filled with television
reference books, but this one takes pride of place. True to its
title, the book is organized in the form of a dictionary, with A
to Z entries on individual shows, from "ABC World News" to
"Zorro." Not only is it stuffed with useful information on the
history of television from 1945 through 1995, it's great fun to
read. David Bianculli is that rarest of all TV addicts--a man
with an IQ number higher than the number of cable channels he
gets. He seems to know everything there is to know about every
show ever aired and can comment authoritatively on all of them.
Here he has selected 500 programs (both series and individual
events, such as the O.J. Simpson "Bronco" miniseries) that have
had the greatest impact--for better or for worse--on our culture
and explains why. All this has to do with his conception of
"teleliteracy"--the awareness and appreciation of TV's most
popular and meaningful offerings.

In other words, this book isn't strictly about the best and worst
in television history (though Bianculli offers tons of examples
of both), it's about the shows that have made the greatest
impression on our consciousness--the shows that live on our
memories, that have changed our language, and have shaped our
culture.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A dog of a book; a huge disappointment, June 10, 1998

By 

Tony McBeth ([e-mail]) (Harrisburg, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television's 500 Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events (Paperback)

Perhaps I expected too much from this book. I had thought it would be a valuable reference for anyone who appreciates television and its history. Instead, the book is aimless drivel about nothing but the author's own opinions, not to mention his revolting and juvenile puns, appearing seeminly on every other line.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, August 11, 2000

By 

walter gibson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television's 500 Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events (Paperback)

Mr. Bianculli is a fun read and clearly a master of his domain. This book is a must have for any television fan or student. Keep it by the TV set and beat your family members in triva contests. Run don't walk to pick up a copy.