Television's Second Golden Age: From Hill Street Blues to Er : Hill Street Blues/Thirtysomething/St. Elsewhere/China Beach/Cagney & Lacey/Twin Peaks/Moonlighting/Northern Exposure/L. [Hardcover]

Robert J. Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1996

"Informative and insightful, this book takes the convincing stance that TV's good old days are really today". -- Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's fashionable to assert that television is bad and is inherently doomed to be worse, even evil. However, every now and then, the rabbit ears capture spasms of glory -- and this book makes a reasonably convincing case that shows such as Hill St. Blues, Moonlighting, Twin Peaks, Northern Exposure, and ER are not only good television, but possibly even works of high culture. The flip side of the story is also compellingly reported: that in many cases, these anomalous movements towards quality will be suppressed or even suffocated by the industry, regardless of public sentiment. A good book -- possibly excellent.

From Publishers Weekly

Thompson (coauthor of Prime Time, Prime Movers) argues that TV's so-called Golden Age of the 1950s does not equal television of the '80s and early '90s. He gives a short history of every decade and shows how government and social climate affected the programs aired, as for example under the Kennedy administration, networks were scrutinized by the FCC. He believes the renaissance of the '80s began when NBC was "stuck in third place and fresh out of ideas [and that] critical acclaim might be their quickest way to commercial success." When Grant Tinker became NBC president in 1981, he made a commitment to produce good shows from Mary Tyler Moore Enterprises (which he had led) that would radically change TV. Under his aegis, Hill Street Blues was first to emphasize writing and character. Its success was followed with St. Elsewhere ("Hill Street Blues in a hospital"). Thompson also takes an intimate look at Cagney & Lacey; the rise and fall of Moonlighting; and thirtysomething, a show about "yuppie angst." He explains as well how a program could have a success without getting a major audience share. Informative and insightful, this book takes the convincing stance that TV's good old days are really today. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Continuum Intl Pub Group (May 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826409016
• ISBN-13: 978-0826409010
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,213,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for students of television, February 20, 2002

By 

Jeffrey Ellis "bored recluse" (Richardson, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Television's Second Golden Age (Paperback)

This is a brief but entertaining and convincing argument for the artistic value of one of the most unfairly condemended media outlets -- television. Working from the hypothesis that the quirky dramas that dominated television from the '70s to the '90s (Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, thirtysomething, ect.) actually made up television's second golden age, author Robert J. Thompson actually makes a pretty good argument for taking TV seriously. Each chapter provides detailed (and refreshingly witty) analysis of all the TV shows that we previously took for granted and shows how the writers and producers of those shows were able to create great art in the guise of great entertainment. Of particular worth was Thompson's long and informative chapter on St. Elsewhere, over the course of which he manages to break down a few of that show's intricate inside jokes and show how the show's controversial final episode actually served as a powerful and still-relavent statement on the state of television and American culture today. This book is a must read for anyone who sees television as more than just a distraction.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for people who take TV seriously..., July 6, 2000

By 

Brendan Casey "huh?" (Syracuse, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Television's Second Golden Age (Paperback)

I bought this book as the required text for one of Prof. Thompson's classes at Syracuse. It puts today's television in context, and at the same time uses history to teach why certain shows are popular today. You need to respect the past in order to create the future.

Learn about Television's "superior genes" by exploring the MTM family tree. You need to read this book if you want to study TV and not just watch it. A must for anyone truly serious about writing, programming, developing, producing, or directing for television.

The television I watched after reading this book was NOT the same television I had watched before reading it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The case for television dramas as the mediums high art form, June 26, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Television's Second Golden Age (Paperback)

The title of this book is provocative but something of a serious misnomer. Robert J. Thompson points out early on that the original "Golden Age of Television" took place in the Fifties and was built on the variety shows like "Texaco Star Theater" and "Your Show of Shows," the anthology dramas like "Playhouse 90" and "Studio One," and, of course, "I Love Lucy." Thompson also acknowledges that in the Seventies the situation comedy reached its "literate peak" with "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "All in the Family," and "M*A*S*H." However, the argument for "Television's Second Golden Age: From 'Hill Street Blues' to 'ER'" covers a period from HSB's debute in 1981 to the present, where "ER" continues to be one of the top dramas on television. That is a period of more than two decades and while Thompson devotes a chapter to "The Second Golden Age of Television: "Cagney & Lacy," "Moonlighting," "L.A. Law," "thirtysomething," and "China Beach," essentially focusing on the Eighties, it is hard to say that the following decade, with "Twin Peaks," "Northern Exposure," "Picket Fences," "NYPD Blue," "Law & Order," "Homicide," "The X-Files," "Chicago Hope," and "ER" was not at least as strong (feel free to add to the list). Even if we are talking about the first decade of the 21st century we have "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "24," "The Practice," "Ally McBeal" and short-lived series like "My So Called Life" and "Once and Again" (and that is without dipping over to HBO and talking about "The Sopranos," "Six Feet Under," and the rest of their kind), all of which speak to quality dramatic programming.

That is why in the final analysis I see Thompson's argument as being not so much for a specific time period of great television, but rather advancing the proposition that the hour-long dramatic television series is the chief art form of the medium (yes, even more so than the situation comedy). I would even extend this argument to the mini-series, from "Roots" and "Shogun" to "War and Remembrance" and "Lonesome Dove," because the guiding principle of the extended narrative form remains the common denominator. "24" takes the idea of season-long story arc a unique extreme, but "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" did all of its complete seasons have a first-half story arc (e.g., Spike & Dru in Season 2) that then merged with a second-half story arc (e.g., the return of Angelus) that provided a framework for all of the individual episodes. Then there was "Murder One," which rather successfully devoted an entire season to one sensational murder trial. When a series loses its driving story arc, as when Dave and Maddie consummated their love on "Moonlighting," or when what was supposed to be the hook becomes the line and sinker as well, as when the question of who killed Laura Palmer ultimately derailed "Twin Peaks," the demise of the show simply affirms the principle in the negative.

Thompson's starting point is January 1981 when prime-time television was about to make a sudden and dramatic turn towards quality because of "Hill Street Blues," the show that Steven Bocho did not want to make and that nobody wanted to watch, but which became "television's first true masterpiece." However, Thompson argues that it was "St. Elsewhere" that was "TV's greatest show, ever" (having to do with key notions of "intertextuality" and "self-reflexivity"). Ultimately he is not defining a particular time period (especially since the "golden age" in question is clearly not over), but explaining why in the "vast wasteland" that Newton Minnow bemoaned so many years ago "quality" television is flourishing in terms of hour-long dramatic programming. Within that context Thompson clearly makes his case for much of the best television ever made having appeared on the networks since 1980. The book is half critical evaluation of these programs and half insider's tour looking at the decision-making process as well as the social, economic, and artistic forces that ended up revolutionizing the medium. Thompson also more than adequately proves he knows his television history, which is necessary to help convince those of us who are true students of the medium. Consequently, the fact that the title of this book is not a fair representation of its most significant claim, is not to be held against the author, because he has made in public an argument I have been making in private (okay, in class as well), for several years.