Today more than ever, series finales have become cultural touchstones that feed watercooler fodder and Twitter storms among a committed community of viewers. While the final episodes of The Fugitive and M*A*S*H continue to rank among the highest rated broadcasts, more recent shows draw legions of binge-watching fans. Given the importance of finales to viewers and critics alike, Howard and Bianculli along with the other contributors explore these endings and what they mean to the audience, ...

A number of books and articles have been written ranking the best situation comedies of all time.These have all had something in common--subjective criteria based on the authors' opinions. This book attempts an objective ranking of the best 100 American sitcoms, based on a mathematical formula taking into account four factors: ratings, longevity, peer acceptance and spawning of other programs (spin-offs).The authors considered a field of 377 series which met at least one of...

A memoir of Betty White's first five decades on television—as irreverent and irresistible as the beloved actress herself—filled “with inspiring cheerfulness” (The New York Times).Betty White first appeared on television in 1949 and went on to have one of the most amazing careers in TV history, starring in shows such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls, among many others. She was one of the hardest-working actresses of any er...

With the television hits The Odd Couple, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Mork & Mindy, and movies like The Flamingo Kid, Beaches, Pretty Woman, and The Princess Diaries under his belt, Garry Marshall has been among the most successful writers, directors, and producers in America for more than five decades. His work on the small and big screen has delighted audiences for the last three decades and has withstood the test of time.In My Happy ...

Some Samples: 1) Late in life, Fanny Brice—radio's Baby Snooks—enjoyed interior decorating, often decorating her friends' houses for free (and disregarding their advice while doing so). She acquired her good taste in decorating through asking questions constantly and not pretending like she already knew everything. She also began talking about where to leave her money after she died. One day, when one of her little grandchildren was making more racket than usual, she said, "One more crack ...

AMERICA’S #1 BESTSELLING TELEVISION BOOK WITH MORE THAN HALF A MILLION COPIES IN PRINT–NOW REVISED AND UPDATED!PROGRAMS FROM ALL SEVEN COMMERCIAL BROADCAST NETWORKS, MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED CABLE NETWORKS, PLUS ALL MAJOR SYNDICATED SHOWS!This is the must-have book for TV viewers in the new millennium–the entire history of primetime programs in one convenient volume. It’s a guide you’ll turn to again and again for information on every series ever telecast. There are ent...

From a sleepy little small town in the middle of Long Island to a place at the table in the exciting world of network television, I lived the impossible dream. I am 35 years old, happily married, scraping along well enough, but obsessed with the reality that I am not living the life I had always dreamt of. And then in a set of circumstances that would be unbelievable in a nickel and dime B movie, my world suddenly changes and I find myself writing scripts for and rubbing elbows with some o...

"They say the last straw was when Jennifer Lopez asked Ben Affleck to tell her honestly, 'Why do people always take an instant dislike to me?' and he said, 'It saves time.'"The bigger they are, the harder they fall . . . and the more they pounce on one another. That's the message that comes through in Boze Hadleigh's celebrity gossip collection, Celebrity Diss and Tell. Goodness, they have something to say about everyone! Luckily for those who relish insider information an...

Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon… and Beyond, the first full-length biography of Ron Howard, takes an in-depth look at the Oklahoma boy who gained national fame as a child star, then grew up to be one of Hollywood's most admired directors. Although many show biz kids founder as they approach adulthood, Ron Howard had the advantage of brains, common sense, and two down-to-earth parents who kept him from having an inflated view of his own accomplishments. He also had a longstan...

Movies made for television were in their infancy when ABC came up with a novel idea: a weekly series of films made exclusively for the small screen. The ABC Movie of the Week became a great success and a cultural touchstone for a generation of Americans.In this loving tribute to the classic series of TV films, more than two hundred films in the series are reviewed, including well-remembered titles such as Duel, Tribes, The Six Million Dollar Man, Go Ask Alice, Brian's ...

Television today is better than ever. From The Sopranos to Breaking Bad, Sex and the City to Girls, and Modern Family to Louie, never has so much quality programming dominated our screens. Exploring how we got here, acclaimed TV critic David Bianculli traces the evolution of the classic TV genres, among them the sitcom, the crime show, the miniseries, the soap opera, the Western, the animated series, the medical drama, and the variety s...

If you're a movie or television fan - how many of these questions can you answer?What was the last picture show in The Last Picture Show?Where was the stagecoach headed in Stagecoach?What was the name of the dinosaur bone in Bringing Up Baby?What did Gomer Pyle do before he entered the Marines?Who played Gentle Ben?Like The Book of Answers, this book answers hundreds of questions i...