Most books written about TV are terrible. The online shelves of Amazon are full of unauthorized guides that sound like they’re written by Fan Forum users; ghostwritten “auto”biographies supposedly penned by people whose Wikipedia pages I can barely get through (let alone 365 pages of Sharon Osbourne Extreme); and Heroes and Philosophy, and House and Philosophy, and Seinfeld and Philosophy, and so on. It’s plainly obvious that people with philosophy degrees spend even more time watching television than they do making me lattes.
But there ARE good books about television — some of which we’ve even read! Here are ten that are worth your time, with helpful summaries in case you just want to have them on your shelf and brag about reading them.
Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live
Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN
By Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller
Next week, Shales and Miller will release their second book together, Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN, which has the Worldwide Leader in Sports freaking the f*ck out. The Bristol, Connecticut-based network likes to imagine themselves, and wants us to picture them, as this close-knit community that lovingly and honorably covers sports, when in fact it’s just a bunch of horny dudes (and the women who put up with them) yelling loudly at video cameras. The excerpts that have leaked so far have been fantastic, and I bet World of ESPN is going to be just as good as Shales and Miller’s last work, Live from New York, a book that managed to get anecdotes from the likes of Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Dan Aykroyd and even guest stars like Tom Hanks and Steve Martin, to describe the often drug-heavy process behind the making of an “SNL” episode.
[Editor’s Note: Fans of late-night TV will also want to read Bill Carter’s The Late Shift and The War for Late Night, about Jay Leno’s battles with David Letterman and Conan O’Brien, respectively.]
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946-Present
By Tim Brooks and Earle F. Marsh
Nearly 1,800 pages long, the Complete Directory, which published its ninth edition in 2007, lists the plot summary, time slot, and cast of more than 6,500 shows. So, let’s say you need to find out when “The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom” aired and for how many episodes (I had to once and know the pain all to well)—check the Complete Directory. It’s likely where Wikipedia got their information (and often has more information than the online encyclopedia), and it also includes program schedules and season ratings. The only thing bad about that is the reminder that “Friends” was once the most popular show on TV.
An Idiot Abroad: The Travel Diaries of Karl Pilkington
By Karl Pilkington, Ricky Gervais, and Stephen Merchant
“An Idiot Abroad” is a travel documentary that aired in the UK last fall, and more recently in the U.S. on Discovery Science. I’ll admit that sentence doesn’t make the show sound particularly fascinating, but know that it stars Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, creators of “The Office” and “Extras,” and Karl Pilkington, a man who hates to travel and is irritated at Gervais and Merchant making him see the New Seven Wonders of the World (Karl’s reaction to the Great Wall: “It’s not a great wall; it’s an all right wall”). Splitsider called it the funniest show on TV, and this companion guide came out in January. It’s a good read if you like comedy and can’t stand the way English people speak.
The Wire: Truth Be Told
By Rafael Alvarez
Yes, there’s a synopsis for every one of “The Wire”’s 60 episodes, as well as character breakdowns and a guide to slang used on the show, but the main draw of Truth Be Told is the introduction by creator David Simon, as well as interviews between Simon and Nick Hornby (author of High Fidelity), and Simon with Marvin Williams, a real-life Baltimore drug trafficker who appeared in “The Wire”’s third and fourth season as a deacon. There’s also a particularly good essay by George Pelecanos, who wrote “Hamsterdam.” Truth Be Told really shows how important “The Wire” was, and continues to be, to television.
[Editor’s Note: For those who enjoyed “The Wire” imagined as 19th century Victorian literature, you may want to pre-order Down in the Hole: the unWired World of H.B. Ogden, coming this fall from powerHouse Books.]
Mr. Show: What Happened?! The Complete Story and Episode Guide
By Naomi Odenkirk
Naomi Odenkirk knows a lot about “Mr. Show”—after all, she’s married to Bob Odenkirk, who created the thing with David Cross—and although she’s not a great writer (there are tons of typos throughout the book due to it being rushed to production), it’s still have a must-have for any fan of the sketch show, particularly during the oral history passages (it’s wonderful hearing the writers talk about how they came up with the sketches). The best part, however, is the episode guide, complete with detailed passages of every single skit on the show, including my favorite, “Pallies.”
The City on the Edge of Forever: The Original Teleplay that Became the Classic Star Trek Episode
By Harlan Ellison
“The City on the Edge of Forever” is without question the best episode of the original “Star Trek.” It’s got portals and romance and Nazis and time travel and moral dilemmas that could change the course of history and decent acting from William Shatner. It’s also got a good backstory: the episode was written by Harlan Ellison in 1966, but according to creator Gene Roddenberry, it was a mess and needed to be drastically re-written. Ellison even considered taking his name off the script and going with a pseudonym instead. To clear any suspicions that he might not have been the mind behind the best episode of one of TV’s most beloved shows, he released the City on the Edge of Forever book in 1996, which includes his two original teleplays. There’s a lot of fantastic nerdy bitching, and while Ellison comes across as an egomaniac, so does Roddenberry, and it all makes for a fascinating (if somewhat unreliable) read.
The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide
By Writers of Mystery Science Theater 3000
Although “MST3K” does have a certain series-long arc to it, it doesn’t really matter where you begin the show. For instance, say you’re intrigued by what two robots and a guy named Joel have to say about a movie called King Dinosaur, just jump right to the second season and watch it (and look out for Joey the Lemur). The Amazing Colossal Guide includes synopses of “MST3K’s” first 120 episodes (covering six seasons; they haven’t updated it for 7-10 yet), as well as the show’s best wisecracks and behind-the-scenes trivia. My recommended starting point: Season 4’s Manos: The Hands of Fate or Season 3’s Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.
Simpsons World The Ultimate Episode Guide: Seasons 1-20
By Matt Groening (I guess?)
I used to carry The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family, which covers seasons 1-8 of the greatest show of all time, around with me so much that I non-ironically referred to it as my Bible, surely thrilling my Jewish grandparents. I would read and re-read every page, soaking up quotes and trivia and credits and references, even for the episodes that I didn’t like (ugh, “Life on the Fast Lane”), which is likely why the thing is now in, like, 12 pieces. Three more books would be released, covering 9-14, before the publishers wisely held back and put together Simpsons World The Ultimate Episode Guide: Seasons 1-20. If you read Warming Glow, you’re probably a “Simpsons” fan, but until you own this, you’re not a real fan.
[Editor’s pick: The Simpsons: An Unauthorized, Uncensored History by John Ortved, a fascinating collection of first-hand accounts that details the show’s improbable creation, how it became a cultural phenomenon and launched Fox as a major network, Matt Groening’s often terrible ideas, and the poisonous split with Sam Simon, one of the show’s original creators.]
Saved by the Bell Guide to Life
I hope the publishers of this book have a sense of humor and, when it’s released in August, include some fake back cover endorsements:
“I, for one, had a Zack Attack while reading it, I loved it so much”—Zack Morris
“I’m so excited….I’m so excited…I’m so excited…to read this book!”—Jessie Spano
“This book feels so good, it feels so right, thank you Saved by the Bell Guide to Life, you’re out of sight!”—Kelly Kapowski
(Thank you to the world’s foremost Savedbythebelltologist, Danger, for the GIF)
