Vincent Terrace, Television Series of the 1960s: Essential Facts and Quirky Details. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-4422-6834-0.
Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: reference, television, trivia, pop culture
Format: hardback
Source: Berea branch of the Madison County (KY) Public Library
This is a reference book about trivia of 1960s television shows. If you watched TV during this decade, or like me caught the reruns in syndication later, you'll remember these were some of the most loved and popular shows of American television. They were so popular that they keep providing fodder for remakes and movie adaptations, often with bad results. There is something to be said for not messing with classics.
The book is arranged as follows:
- Short introduction where the author describes how the book was put together.
- 82 individual entries arranged alphabetically.
- An index that is basically actor's names. There is also an additional thematic index, which may be more valuable.
So how did the author compile all this? He acquired and watched every available episode of each show. And not every show is featured in the book; it depends on what information is available. A show like Dr. Kildare, very popular in its time, is not included in the book because there is not enough available material to make an entry. In the end, the book is a selective compilation that often documents details not found elsewhere.
This is a book to browse at your leisure. For shows I knew, it was nice to go down memory lane and recall details. I also learned about some shows I did not know before. Entries are pretty basic, just the facts. There are a few black and white photos, but overall the book is minimally illustrated. For television buffs, this may be a good option. I'd say public libraries may wish to consider it. Academic libraries with strong pop culture programs may see it as an optional selection.
In the end, I liked it.
3 out of 5 stars
This book qualifies for the following 2017 Reading Challenges:
No comments:
Post a Comment