- Hardcover: 272 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (Jan 13 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 031233057X
- ISBN-13: 978-0312330576
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14.7 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 408 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,117,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Media critic Tucker possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of television and a rambunctious enthusiasm for the medium. Like a charming after-dinner companion, he engages readers with a voice that's both literate and casual, pairing 100 loves with 100 hates "arrayed as randomly as the way a viewer switches from channel to channel." He takes on television from its inception to the present, and although some of his opinions are controversial (he argues that Edward R. Murrow was a "showboater" and a "sell-out"), they are, for the most part, thoughtful and passionate. Tucker's tastes run from the predictable (he hates the Brady Bunch) to the surprising (he loves late-night infomercials). He reveals an almost tender humanism with the book's centerpiece: a summary of the best and worst TV moms and dads per decade. Tucker covers popular programs like The Sopranos and Seinfeld, but also unearths some obscure series, such as Buffalo Bill, which ran for only seven episodes in 1983â€"1984, about which he waxes so fervent that readers will hope along with him that it will reappear one day on DVD. Tucker raises the level of TV discourse without intimidation, making this book an entertaining escape as well as a valuable reference for couch potatoes and media-studies students alike.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"As a television writer I live in constant fear that the world will find out I'm a fraud, that I have no idea what I'm doing, and that Tolstoy would not have found it noble to consult on Dawson's Creek. My only solace was the rampant ignorance that seemed to permeate Hollywood. Then came Tucker. There's nothing scarier in the world then a televison critic who gets it. Ken Tucker is my worst nightmare. An intelligent, sharply critical voice of reason in a world of shark jumping. I hate him. But I kind of like his book."
- Amy Sherman-Palladino, creator of Gilmore Girls
"This book is a TV viewer's treasure. An insightful, revealing look back on our collective television experience. Problem is, Ken Tucker writes with such passion, wit and expertise, that 99.9% of the time, he's far more entertaining than television itself."
- J.J. Abrams, creator-producer of "Lost," "Alias," and "Felicity"
“Like a charming after-dinner companion, [Tucker] engages readers with a voice that’s both literate and casual, [raising] the level of TV discourse without intimidation...”
- Publishers Weekly
- Amy Sherman-Palladino, creator of Gilmore Girls
"This book is a TV viewer's treasure. An insightful, revealing look back on our collective television experience. Problem is, Ken Tucker writes with such passion, wit and expertise, that 99.9% of the time, he's far more entertaining than television itself."
- J.J. Abrams, creator-producer of "Lost," "Alias," and "Felicity"
“Like a charming after-dinner companion, [Tucker] engages readers with a voice that’s both literate and casual, [raising] the level of TV discourse without intimidation...”
- Publishers Weekly
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
In a series marinated in the Mob machismo of its male stars-and has there ever been a male star more imposing than James Gandolfini's bear-with-the-heart-of-a-snarling-puppy-dog Tony Soprano? Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
In a series marinated in the Mob machismo of its male stars-and has there ever been a male star more imposing than James Gandolfini's bear-with-the-heart-of-a-snarling-puppy-dog Tony Soprano? Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.2 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love some of Tucker's opinions; Hate others, Jan 29 2005
By Mark M. Twomey - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Kissing Bill O'Reilly, Roasting Miss Piggy: 100 Things to Love and Hate About TV (Hardcover)
You have to love a well known award-winning critic, who is willing to praise Aaron Spelling and pan M*A*S*H. Of course he also takes the time to take down such icons as the Smother's Brothers, who in my opinion have been foisted upon the American public as the be all and end all of high brow political commentary (try sitting thru tapes of some of those old shows.) I was especially floored by the chapter about Vengeance Unlimited -- an obscure show starring Michael Madsen -- which Tucker very accurately calls one of the most underrated shows of the '90s. Anyone who is that on point with his comments is worth listening to. I certainly didn't agree with everything in the book -- but my Spider-sense is that was the point. This book is interesting and well written and Tucker is not afraid to go out on a limb and tick people off. There's alot to both love and hate about that kind of approach. Whether you love or hate TV you will love this book.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Self-indulgent piece of crap, Jun 20 2005
By Eric Laugel "it7276" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Kissing Bill O'Reilly, Roasting Miss Piggy: 100 Things to Love and Hate About TV (Hardcover)
I'm all in favor of silly, irreverant books, but this book is just so pointless. The author doesn't show any skill as a writer...it could basically have been anyone off the street making claims like "I hate TV animals...but I love Salem the cat from 'Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.'" This book reads like a stream of concious exercise done by a ninth grader.Who cares?
He doesn't say anything really interesting or eye-opening about why he does or doesn't like anything. For his analysis of "Full House" (which he loved), all he did was sum up the show, then claim it wasn't self-important. And, as some others have written, some of the items seem to contradict each other. He loves the "loamy schlock" of "Full House," but hates the "corny, artificial"-ness of "The Brady Bunch."
Once again, WHO CARES?
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
I'm leaning toward "Hate", Mar 21 2005
By Dennis Laycock - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Kissing Bill O'Reilly, Roasting Miss Piggy: 100 Things to Love and Hate About TV (Hardcover)
I really did not enjoy this book at all, which is strange, because this is the type of book I usually love. Part of the problem is the writing style, which is really hard to read. Tucker loves to use long strings of hyphenated adjectives (he's a long-hyphenated-adjective-using author), and constructs sentences in complex ways that sometimes require two or three readings.Note to Tucker (and former fellow Entertainment Weekly critic Owen Gleiberman): It's possible to write great reviews in a conversational style. See Roger Ebert.
Anyway, seems like Tucker is going for shock value with a lot of his choices. Being indifferent about "M*A*S*H" I might be able to understand, but despising it? How, when the airwaves are littered with stuff that's so much worse? Tucker borders on unhealthful hatred of "The Brady Bunch," even ending that section of the book with that worst of four-letter words directed at the harmless show.
As a longtime "The Price is Right" fan, I was confused by his abhorrence of that show. He disses "TPIR" for refusing to admit that it's cheesy and exploitative, but on the very next page, he praises infomercials? What?
In addition, I found quite a few silly typos.
I think Tucker was just trying to spark a reaction with this book, but it's really not worth it.
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