Sitcoms: The 101 Greatest TV Comedies of All Time (Hardcover)

by Ken Bloom (Author), Frank Vlastnik (Author), John Lithgow (Foreword) "Let's get this straight, The Addams Family was neither spooky nor ooky..." (more)
Key Phrases: sitcom history, greatest sitcoms, first sitcom, New York, Mary Tyler Moore, Love Lucy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"I am very proud to be included in your new book. I know the whole Brady Bunch is thrilled."–Florence Henderson

Product Description
The most beloved, most groundbreaking, and most entertaining TV comedies of all time are celebrated in words and pictures—many of them rare—by the award-winning authors of Broadway Musicals.

In 101 lively chapters and lots of special features, the authors of Broadway Musicals explore our favorite form of popular entertainment—the TV situation comedy. Of the many hundreds of shows that have debuted over TV's 60-year history, the authors have carefully selected the most influential, popular, and enduring ones, from Gilligan's Island to Seinfeld, I Love Lucy to Will and Grace, creating a history of the medium that goes beyond stats and trivia to reveal all that goes into the creation of classic television, from the writing and all-important casting to the directing and, of course, the acting.

Each chapter of Sitcoms features numerous photos, many rare and behind-the-scenes, along with cast lists, artists' biographies, "off-set" tidbits, critical commentary, and all of the relevant statistics. Special features cover such topics as famous unseen characters, sitcom pets, spin-offs, sitcoms made from movies, and many more. It's a visual and informative feast for TV lovers, from nostalgia buffs to the TV Land generation.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579127525
• ISBN-13: 978-1579127527
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #350,085 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BLOOM & VLASTNIK DO IT AGAIN !, November 1, 2007

By	MOVIE MAVEN (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Bloom & Vlastnik's "Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time" is arguably the most gorgeous, luxurious book which tells and, more importantly, shows you onstage and backstage at what the authors consider to be the greatest shows on earth. The photographs are unbelievably exciting, obviously chosen with such care that they give the viewer not just joy but inspiration, too.
Well, Ken Bloom and Frank Vlastnik have done it again. For every reader who loves good television "Sitcoms" is the finest book of its kind that I have ever found. The first, and to me most important feature, is the inclusion of magnificent color photos for shows like "I Love Lucy," "The Honeymooners" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show" that have never ever been seen before.
But this is not just a picture book. The research that has gone into "Sitcoms" is staggering and Bloom & Vlastnik are endlessly entertaining in the way they write and how they have chosen what is included in this PERFECT Christmas gift.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Top TV Sitcoms Endure as Cultural Milestones in an Entertaining Coffee Table Book, December 1, 2007

By	Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Few baby boomers could possibly resist the immediate familiarity of the classic TV situation comedies highlighted in this well-crafted coffee table book by co-authors Ken Bloom and Frank Vlastnik. They have chosen 101 shows, most of which have penetrated our collective subconscious in the past sixty years. Granted some have become obscure, the list reflects due consideration for enduring popularity and cultural influence, although there are some intriguing omissions from my perspective, e.g., RHODA, MAD ABOUT YOU, and SEX AND THE CITY among others. Whereas most such entertainment reference books stick with mainly the facts of the production, Bloom and Vlastnik go beyond the relevant statistics about each show and inject a hearty amount of behind-the-scenes information along with a surprisingly sharp level of critical commentary on how such shows would stack up against what is offered today.

The list of sitcoms is alphabetical according to title so as not to encourage argument over which ones are the most beloved. Clearly, some have an inarguable place on the pantheon (I LOVE LUCY, ALL IN THE FAMILY, M*A*S*H, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW). A few were surprisingly short-lived (e.g., only 39 episodes of THE HONEYMOONERS exist), while others far outlasted the critical lambasting they richly deserved. An example of the latter is THE FACTS OF LIFE, a hopelessly misbegotten show that somehow endured despite a palpable lack of quality and an ever-changing premise. The most recent shows featured include the still-running SCRUBS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, as well as THE 70'S SHOW, MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE, and WILL & GRACE, all of which ended their long runs last year.

A lot of great trivia is also included, such as how NEWHART used outtake footage from On Golden Pond for their opening credits or how Fred MacMurray filmed all his scenes for a season of MY THREE SONS in just sixty-five days (thus forcing the other actors to be filmed talking to his stand-in the rest of the time). There are great little features focusing on subjects like sitcom pets and familiar character actors whose names we never knew, as well as pieces like "Brilliant But Canceled" where critically acclaimed but woefully mistreated shows like HE & SHE and ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT are highlighted. Each of the 101 sitcoms includes at least one or two informative profiles of the key actors. Another nice surprise is the number of color, on-set photos presented of shows that are familiar only in black-and-white. This book is great fun to peruse as you spend an evening watching the reruns on Nick-at-Nite.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Coffeetable Book That's Only For Those Who Know Little About Sitcoms, August 2, 2008

By	Mediaman "TVviewer" (USA) - See all my reviews

This is basic, "Sitcom 101" information that offers no new perspective and only rehashes whatever stories found in other books. The amount of info is minimal and this is not a book for the serious student of television. It's only for those who haven't studied situation comedies and just want a coffeetable book filled with pretty pictures.

The book has really odd choices for the "101 Greatest Of All Time." Alice? Bob Cummings Show? December Bride? Topper? Wings? The Nanny? SERIOUSLY?

There are also numerous errors. Then they include totally unrelated information in the already-short chapters on each show (about 3 to 4 pages per show). For example, why mention Eleanor Parker in The Sound of Music in the middle of the Brady Bunch chapter?

Then how can they include Perfect Strangers but leave out Family Matters (the much more successful show it spun off). Or not include FULL HOUSE??--which will be one of the longest-running comedies that will be rerun for the next five decades (like Leave It to Beaver is today).

They also limit their definition of sitcoms so it doesn't include all cable comedies like Lizzie McGuire. It was nice, though, that they included Saved by the Bell (which often gets overlooked in other sitcom books).

Then there are a few pages devoted to "Flops," "Military Sitcoms," etc. But they do nothing but show a few pictures and give little information about the show. There is no perspective here and they treat every show on their list equally, where Hazel gets the same amount of space as Friends.


The authors really have no background qualifications to write this book--simply because they wrote a book on Broadway hits they came up with this book as a follow-up? It's obvious that they don't know much about the sujbect and merely rely upon a few TV guidebooks that they have read. There is not much new here.

People who know nothing about TV comedy may enjoy the pictures and the trip down memory lane. But there are other much better books out there about comedies that include analysis and more historical information such as ratings.