Spy Television (The Praeger Television Collection) [Hardcover]

Wesley Britton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0275981630 | ISBN-13: 978-0275981631

For half a century, television spies have been trained professionals, reluctant heroes, housewives, businessmen, criminals, and comedians. They have by turns been glamorous, campy, reflective, sexy, and aloof. This is the first book-length treatment of one of TV's oldest and most fascinating genres. Britton's comprehensive guide provides readers, from casual viewers to die-hard fans, with behind-the-scenes stories to this notable segment of television entertainment.

From the early 1960s, in which television spies were used essentially as anti-Communist propaganda, through the subsequent years that both built upon and parodied this model, and finally to today's gadget-laden world of murky motives and complex global politics, spy television has served as much more than mere escapism. From the beginning, television spies opened doors for new kinds of heroes. Women quickly took center stage alongside men, and minority leads in spy programs paved the way for other kinds of roles on the small screen. For half a century, television spies have been trained professionals, reluctant heroes, housewives, businessmen, criminals, and comedians. They have by turns been glamorous, campy, reflective, sexy, and aloof. This is the first book-length treatment of one of TV's oldest and most fascinating genres.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Here, for all television addicts, is a much-needed, long-overdue, in-depth exploration of one of the medium's more enduring genres: spy TV. Britton begins before the beginning, with radio and movie serials depicting spies, but moves on quickly to early spy television in the 1950s and then to the show that brought the genre into the mainstream, The Man from U.N.C.L.E, which debuted in 1964. From there, the hits just keep coming, from Mission: Impossible, I Spy, Wild Wild West, Get Smart, and The Avengers to the new millennium with Alias and 24. All of these classic series are discussed in considerable detail, but what makes the book such a resounding success for fans of the genre is the coverage of the forgotten show or the curious fact, stuff other books miss but devotees love. For example, until now, readers could look in vain for any substantive discussion of the terrific British series The Sandbaggers; similarly, no discussion of the genre would be complete without a mention of Patrick McGoohan's late-sixties series The Prisoner, but how many other writers take the trouble to point out that, nearly a decade after the show left the air, McGoohan did a riff on his Prisoner character in an episode of Columbo? It is Britton's broad knowledge, and his commitment to packing as much detail as possible into his book, that makes this an indispensable addition to any television buff's reference shelf. If you love spy TV, this book is, well . . . thrilling. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"[A] powerful contribution not only to Praeger's television collection, but to television analysis as a whole….^BSpy Television^R considers the history of spy shows on the screen, why they succeeded or failed, and how fact and fiction have been molded by them."

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Internet Bookwatch/The Midwest Book Review

"Spotlight on The Arts Top 10 Performing Arts Book"

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Booklist

"Here, for all television addicts, is a much-needed, long-overdue, in-depth exploration of one of the medium's more enduring genres: spy TV….All of the classic series are discussed in considerable detail, but what makes the book such a resounding success for fans of the genre is the coverage of the forgotten show or the curious fact, stuff other books miss but devotees love….Britton's broad knowledge and his commitment to packing as much detail as possible into his book, that makes Spy Television an indispensable addition to any television buff's reference shelf. If you love spy TV, this book is, well…thrilling."

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Booklist, Starred Review

"Britton has produced a comprehensive guide to the many espionage-oriented television series that have aired in the United States from the 1960s to the present…. Offers a fascinating window into an understudied genre. The first entry in a new series on television, this work is recommended for academic libraries that support television and popular culture programs and public libraries."

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Library Journal

"Britton has written the Baedeker of spy television films and series, an encyclopedic history of this popular television genre….Public libraries; comprehensive academic collections supporting coursework in the history of television."

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Choice

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Praeger (January 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275981630
• ISBN-13: 978-0275981631
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,339,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Splash of Old Spies, July 16, 2004

By 

takingadayoff "takingadayoff" (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Spy Television (The Praeger Television Collection) (Hardcover)

I sat down with Spy Television intending to skim a few chapters about the handful of spy shows I remembered. Then I got completely wrapped up in this fun and readable book. I even read the parts about shows I'd never seen and shows I had seen, but didn't like.

If you are a fan of these shows, you probably already know a lot of the trivia that Wesley Britton has included here. But I'll bet that there are still some nuggets that you haven't come across. For instance, Diana Rigg quit The Avengers because she found out she was earning less than the camerman. The first thing the Beatles wanted to do when they arrived in Los Angeles was to visit the cast of their favorite show, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

The chapter on I Spy tells about the difficulty producer Sheldon Leonard had in selling the show and the discussions about how the characters would deal with race. Another chapter discusses the relationship among the three Patrick McGoohan series: Secret Agent, Danger Man, and The Prisoner. Semi-spy shows like Wild, Wild West and spoof shows like Get Smart are treated as fully as the real spy shows like Mission: Impossible and The Saint.

Spy Television is a thoroughly enjoyable book. It left me wanting to search for videos of many of these old shows to see what I missed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our Favorites Spies, March 27, 2004

By 

Tatia Loring - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spy Television (The Praeger Television Collection) (Hardcover)

What an excellent book on the entire genre of spies and their depiction on television. Written with style, this in-depth book begins at the "Roots of the Family Tree" in 1900 and continues on through the current selection of spy shows on television today. Along the way, it discusses, analyzes, and puts into historic and social perspective - such wonderful spy television favorites as I SPY, MAN FROM UNCLE, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, WILD, WILD WEST, GET SMART, DANGER MAN, SECRET AGENT MAN, and the PRISONER among many other more obscure offerings that captured our imaginations and kept us watching week after week.

Dr. Britton dissects, interprets, analyzes, and totally entertains us with his comprehensive, fascinating, informative, and intelligent look into this phenomenon. I highly recommend it - you will enjoy it!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spying on the Spies, March 3, 2004

By 

michael o'leary (Irelaand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spy Television (The Praeger Television Collection) (Hardcover)

What a find! For TV buffs, spy aficionados and anyone who enjoys a terrific read, SPY TELEVISION is a must.

From the popular to the obscure (including both US and British shows), it's both a comprehensive and detailed guide to the genre. not only does SPY Television cover cast, characters, plotting and loads of absorbing peripherals (with an attractive photo section too), it further sets each series in historical context (making it a valuable scholarly reference as well as great entertainment). The author fascinatingly reveals how individual shows reflected their times, and broke ground in terms of content, style, advances for minorities (including women!), and more.

Focusing on the serious and the spoof ("Mission: Impossible" to "Get Smart"), the book takes an in depth look at programs like "I Spy" and "The Avengers," and doesn't miss cult items like "The Sentimental Agent" and "The Sandbaggers," two immortal UK series which haven't been discussed elsewhere. More than a hundred spy shows are catalogued, including such `spy-fi' fare as "Star Trek" and "The X Files."

Thank goodness for Amazon! When I heard a book like this was on the market, I made a beeline to my local bookstore. No luck, but I found it here!