Customer Reviews

TV Land To Go: The Big Books of TV Lists, TV Lore, and TV Bests

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(3)

 

 

Put down your remote control and pick up this book! The only thing better than watching TV is reading about it in "TV Land to Go." Most of the book is a funny, factual account of all-things TV, but the author also has a ball (as in Lucille) creating his own lists of clever, subjective observations. I could totally identify with "The Seven Lessons Sitcoms Teach Us" and I loved "The Worst Possible Men's Softball Team Composed of Classic TV Stars"...Tony Randall covering first-base? Just imagine it! At the heart of the book is an ambitious list of the 100 best sitcom episodes of all-time. Each episode gets a thorough, "scientific" examination as this list alone runs over 180 pages...there's some very funny stuff in the episodes and also in the observations by the author. (As for his list of the 100 best episodes, he has not included a couple of "Cheers" episodes that ABSOLUTELY should have made the list...at least in my opinion. I was also glad to see a "Get a Life" episode on the list. You're bound to have your own suggestions as well.)

At times irreverent, TV Land To Go is a mishmash of trivia, lists, more lists, and plugs for the network TV Land. Much of the book is hilarious, especially the list of basic TV plots and the collective wisdom of sitcoms. I especially loved the examination of the amnesia plot in comedies and the proliferation of the "hit on the head" trigger and "hit on the head again" cure.

The list of 100 top sitcom episodes is interesting, but, like any list, is controversial (at least to classic TV types). Why the Leave it to Beaver episode with Captain Jack, when the boys take home a baby alligator, instead of the one where Beaver becomes trapped in a giant teacup? Why the episode of Happy Days when Richie fights back against bullies instead of the famous "jump the shark" episode, or the one where Richie returns to the show for the first time in years?

The thinly veiled ads for TV Land -- its shows, specials, books -- seems tongue in cheek, but irritates as well. I flipped past those sections quickly. Some of the lists of top shows are short, and are conspicuously filled with shows that TV Land currently airs.

A nice addition, overall, to your TV book library, but not the "classic compendium" it's purported to be.

TV Land To Go is an entertaining reference book about Classic TV shows split into two halves, the first half is a a selection of "Best of" lists, some more expected ('Best TV Books ever', 'Best Made for TV dramas') and some wonderfully off the wall ('Characters, TV Shows and TV Stars not recognised by spellcheck', 'TV's 15 greatest grumps'). I also enjoyed the other unexpected pieces such as 'The Punctuation Awards' (best/most creative use of punctuation in TV show names) and the enlightning "The 29 most important comic formulae featured in sitcoms" (gotta love the 'whee wohn' - essential reading for all comedy script writers).

The second half of the book counts down the 100 greatest sitcom episodes of all time, and it's a far more entertaining read than I initially expected. It's also pleasing to see modern and non-TV Land shows such as Ellen & Seinfeld making the list along with the Mary Tyler Moore Show, I Love Lucy and The Addams Family. The countdown is based on the actual episode, not the overall show, so a great episode of a mediocre program would rate highly.

Overall, a clever idea that's well done and serves in making one want to watch more classic TV (I only wish we could get TV Land here in Australia!). Great weekend reading.

TV LAND TO GO is a great mix of facts and fun. Tom Hill has managed to cram an incredible amount of information into one volume, and his breezy style makes for a very pleasant read. I found myself cracking up over entries like "The 10 Worst Shows Based on Movies" (anybody remember FERRIS BUELLER?) and "TV Land Haiku." But the detailed and loving analysis of the top 100 sitcom episodes is outstanding. Each episode is actually ranked on criteria like "Emotional Resonance," "Gimmickry," and "Writing, Story." There's a phenomenal amount of detail, including actor cross-referencing and plot "reality checks." Give this book to all the TV addicts on your list. Heck, give it to non-addicts and maybe you'll hook 'em.

All this and a foreword by Adam "Batman" West...gotta love it.

This book is sure to become a favorite For anyone who considers themselves a fan of classis TV. Cleaver, thorough, and fun, it is essentially made up of two different sections. The first includes a variety of different lists such as "10 Best TV Genres", "Top 10 TV Moments", "Top 10 TV Actors" and more. Each list is informational but never without a great since of humor. The second half is a list of, according to the author, the Top 100 Sitcom Episodes ever. Each episode is presented in the book complete with a summery, episode credits, and trivia concerning the episodes and the series themselves. Like the lists, this section is also extremely informational without losing a highly entertaining quality to it. Only a few disappointments can be found in the book. For instance, why is the highest-ranking "I Love Lucy" episode only number 26? Is there any chance for a recount? In any case, this is still a great book and highly recommended for any Classic TV fan.

This is a book for the serious TV and trivia fan. It is essentially a book of lists that are highly entertaining to anyone who truly enjoys the TV Land Channel (I do). They recall things such as the 12 worst movies based on TV Series, the 8 Least memorable TV Shows of All Time (how sad is it that I remember some of them!), and culminates in the 100 best sitcom episode of all time. If you love TV Land or long for the glory days of Nick at Nite, you will like this book!

This book does a great job of listing, describing and ranking the funniest TV shows, including some current shows and those from years past. I thought the effort to "quantitatively" rank the best episodes from particular shows based on a variety of "objective" factors was particularly novel and interesting -- as well as being very funny. The book is written by someone who obviously loves good TV and who appreciates what makes some things very funny. It is an authoritative account, but its both comical and accessible. I can heartily recommend this book to anyone who has ever laughed while watching a TV show!

In this handy, portable text, the author supplies a potent mixture of insightful perspectives and fun facts that are essential in making one fully conversant about the most powerful cultural force of the last century: American television. As we enter the age when this art form, and the way it is distributed and exhibited, appear to be transforming into something unrecognizable to a generation weened on afternoon re-runs of supernatural slapstick sitcoms, test patterns in the wee small hours of the morning, TV sets with dials, TV sets with vertical and horizontal controls, incredibly narrow viewing choices, and a strong division between the TV industry and the film industry, it is good to have an overview of the audio/visual ephemera that has influenced a good many of us more profoundly that we would probably care to admit in public. Yes, Mr. Hill has written an undoubtedly subjective text, (despite his implementation of a brilliantly conceived scientific formula to help him reach his mostly fair and balanced conclusions), and several of his entries in his list of the 100 greatest episodes can raise loud and often frenzied debates. But loud and frenzied debates can be fun. And besides, even if he does overlook a few masterpieces of the sitcom art (e.g., the episode of McHale's Navy where Captain Binghampton thinks that every person he meets is Ensign Parker, or the I Dream of Jeannie episode guest starring Don Rickles as a maniacal fitness expert), he more than makes up for it with the wealth of information he provides, and the unfailingly pithy and witty manner in which he provides it. I can't wait for the next volume.

I thought this book was very entertaining. It's obviously a labor of love -- something every TV fan should pick up.

This book is a collection of lists. But many of the lists are nonsense lists that are just cute attempts at humor.

The highlight of the book was the 100 greatest sitcom episodes. Even if I could figure out their formula the list is at best controversial. As another reviewer indicated some of the episodes that made it made no sense to me. The number one episode in the list was not even, in my opinion, the number one show for the series. It was a good episode but ...

TV Land is a great network. "TV Land To Go" is not a great book.