TV Land To Go: The Big Books of TV Lists, TV Lore, and TV Bests: Amazon.ca: Thomas Hill: Books

Product Description

Book Description

Finally, all the entertainment satisfaction you get from television...in a book!

TV Land, the network of America's television favorites, delivers opinionated, informed, and, most of all, humorous takes on everything television! Who are the fifteen grumpiest TV characters? What are the twenty-nine most important comic formulas? What were Chuck Woolery's six careers? Plus TV haiku, TV anagrams, the great literary works that were the progenitors of the sitcom genre, and behind-the-scenes facts and stories that are sure to enhance your television experience. In fact, you'll never watch TV the same way again. TV Land to Go will become as indispensable as your remote control!

From the Publisher

"Possibly the worst cookbook I've ever tried . . . however, the parts about old TV shows are pretty good."--Conan O'Brien

"Nobody presents reruns with as much verve, passion, and humor as TV Land. This book is clearly a product of that passion . . . that or obsessive-compulsive disorder."--Bob Newhart

"Any book that includes three episodes of The Dick Van Dyke show in its list of 100 Best has to be considered a major masterwork. I applaud its publication. Read this entertaining book and learn how it was done and how you too can do it."--Carl Reiner

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First Sentence
Let's begin at the beginning. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

20 Reviews

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4 star:		(3)
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3.4 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A tongue-in-cheek look at TV from the TV Land perspective, Mar 28 2003

By

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME)

This review is from: TV Land To Go: The Big Books of TV Lists, TV Lore, and TV Bests (Paperback)

Within the pages of Tom Hill's "TV Land to Go: The Big Book of TV Lists, TV Lore, and TV Bests" you will find a list of the Worst Possible Men's Softball Team (composed of classic TV stars). We are talking a battery comprised of pitcher Jack Benny and catcher Paul Lynde and a keystone combination of David Hyde Pierce (Niles Crane) and Howard McNear (Floyd the Barber). If that does not give you a clear picture of the level of insanity provided within the pages of this volume, then nothing is going to accomplish that task and you should just go back to watching the tube.

Tom Hill is the creative director and head writer at TV Land, where he claims responsibility for the network's trademark tongue-in-cheek on-air promotions. By no means is this a definitive look at television even though The Top 100 Sitcom Episodes of All Time are determined by using an actual scientific formula (patent pending) called The Big TV Satisfaction Ratio, which involves such factors as SyndicoDurability, Comic Valence, and Emotional Resonance along with more fun things like Celebrity, Gimmickry, Theme Song and Kitsch. But do you really need to go through all of that mathematical computation to put "Chuckles Bites the Dust" from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" at the top of the list? Besides, as soon as you see there is nothing from "I Love Lucy" in the Top 10 you know there is a serious flaw here. Still, it is fun to recognize classic episodes and to hear about ones that you missed and you have to admire the idea that anything from "Hogan's Heroes" or "Family Affair" should be anywhere on this list.

"TV Land to Go" does have some utility for students of the history of television, especially from a popular culture perspective, but this is ultimately more of a celebration of the medium than a critical study. Most of what you will find here is pure opinion (e.g., TV 15's Greatest Grumps) or outright fiction (e.g., The Innovators of TV Land), but there are attempts at more traditional academic research, such as the reading of the choreography of the "Brady Bunch" opening. The result is a fun book that you can pick up and leaf through and fun something of interest, whether it be The 11 Greatest Hair Crises in TV History (#7 Laura blabbing that Alan Brady is bald) or The 9 Best Production Slates (#1 Jack Webb's Mark VII Hammer).

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5.0 out of 5 stars TV Land's Top 100 Sitcom Episodes of All Time, Sep 19 2010

By

Kasey G (Toronto, ON) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: TV Land To Go: The Big Books of TV Lists, TV Lore, and TV Bests (Paperback)

This book is a reminder of what TV Land was like before it became the mess it is today.

Before they began showing original sitcoms, garbage reality programming and overplayed bad '80s movies, TV Land (like its' parent station Nick@Nite) claimed to be on a mission to "preserve our Television Heritage".

This 350-page softcover volume is a very entertaining mix of "lists, lore, and TV Bests", as the cover states.

The book contains no photos, but does offer many TV Land lists such as Best and Worst TV Shows Based on Movies, Best and Worst Movies Based on TV Shows, TV's Ten Best Moments, TV's Best Miniseries, etc.

The majority of the book is a clever dissection of the Top 100 Sitcom Episodes of All Time.

The list was compiled using an irreverant "formula" that factors in such criteria as Acting, Writing, SyndicoDurability, Comic Valence, Emotional Resonance, Celebrity, Gimmickry and more.

This is for me the most entertaining aspect of the book as the author describes each episode plot, recalls funny quotes, trivia and more.

Also, some of the rankings may surprise you.

I found myself going back to this book many times and it inspired me to seek out many of the episodes of TV shows I'd never seen.

Some of the shows included are I Love Lucy, Andy Griffith, Bewitched, Honeymooners, Mary Tyler Moore, Friends, Dick Van Dyke, Seinfeld, Cheers, Patty Duke, Donna Reed, Dobie Gillis, Newhart and more.

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4.0 out of 5 stars For Fans of the Pop-Culture Phenomenon, May 14 2004

By

Michael Mathena "Michael Mathena" (Valley City, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: TV Land To Go: The Big Books of TV Lists, TV Lore, and TV Bests (Paperback)

TV Land has become an Entertainment Staple for millions of Boomers and Genreation X-ers alike. This book is definitely picking minute thoughts and blowing them into "required trivia". The "lists" are often picked out of thin air, with no real purpose other than to throw out some entertaining nonsense...discuss amongst yourselves!

Be sure to consider this book more like a collection of clever jokes than some kind of research source. Just like the annual TV Land Awards Show, we're not taking anything seriously at all, we're here for the laughs, and nothing but the laughs. For those who agree that times passed have delivered much more of the ha ha ha on TV, you are going to like this book!****

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Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars TV Land to Go: Big Book of TV lists, TV Lore and TV Bests
This is a terrible book for any TV buff over the age of 6.

Published on July 8 2004 by Shirley Bretton

1.0 out of 5 stars Much like the network - pure self-promotion
"TV Land To Go" is a book much like the network itself. While entertaining at times, it is far too centered around self-promotion, whereas it should be centered around... Read more

Published on May 12 2004 by Yarby