From Booklist
Coverage of individuals, which is highly selective, emphasizes their television careers and includes producers, directors, writers, performers, and commentators. With some exceptions, such as Art Carney, performers tend to be those that played the leading roles. There is an entry for Andy Griffith but not for Don Knotts; for Johnny Carson but not for Ed McMahon. Programs were chosen on the basis of critical acclaim, popularity, or social significance. I, Claudius, 60 Minutes, and Vietnam: A Television History are represented, as well as America's Most Wanted, Beverly Hills 90210, and The Jeffersons. Many old favorites are here, such as I Love Lucy. Early programming (Kukla, Fran, and Ollie) to recent developments (Beavis and Butt-head) are covered, but Frasier failed to make the cut. It isn't clear why some programs were excluded. There is no article for Sesame Street, although it is a see also reference in the article on Joan Ganz Cooney. Sesame Street is discussed in the article on Children's Television Workshop.
Other topics cover a broad range, with entries for cartoon, documentary, miniseries, variety show, and other genres; coverage of U.S. presidential nominating conventions; and historical events, such as Tiananmen Square. There are substantial essays on the history of organizations such as PBS and on legal issues. There are entries on Cable Networks News, Music Television (MTV), and Home Box Office, but most of the entries treat programs on major networks.
Unfortunately, individuals in group photographs are not named in the captions, a major drawback for future scholars because programs like Cheers and Saturday Night Live have changed casts from time to time, and it's impossible to tell which cast is posing in the photograph. Most single poses identify the subject in the caption, but individuals are not identified if the photos are being used to illustrate a program. For example, a photo labeled "Kojak" in Detective Programs does not name Telly Savalas, nor does his name appear anywhere in the index or as a separate entry in the encyclopedia. This is an annoying drawback in a work that is otherwise extremely useful for students of television.
In addition to text, all entries provide lists of titles for further reading. Entries for individuals also include lists of television programs, as well as films, with which they were involved. Entries for programs have cast lists and programming histories. There are see also references, but nothing within the text to indicate terms or names with entries of their own. At the front of each volume is an alphabetical list of entries in all three volumes, and there is an index in volume 3.
The work is especially strong in providing historical details on the development of TV, explaining terminology such as share and ratings, and discussing trends in the popularity of different genres. It is more current than Les Brown's Encyclopedia of Television (3d ed., Gale, 1992) and The Encyclopedia of Television, Cable, and Video (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992), both of which have shorter entries and do not offer historical perspectives and discussion of technical issues but do treat more individuals. Comprehensive collections should include one or both of these and a copy of Total Television (4th ed., Penguin, 1996). However, for a pleasurable romp through the brief history of television, the new Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Television is definitely the place to start. It's an important addition to television collections in public libraries, schools, and undergraduate programs in academic libraries.
