The Platinum Age of Television by David Bianculli

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The Platinum Age of Television

Name: The Platinum Age of Television
Price: 30.00 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: David Bianculli
ISBN: 9780735285224

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Published on Nov 15, 2016 | 23 Hours 30 Minutes

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Published on Nov 15, 2016 | 23 Hours 30 Minutes

Buy from Other Retailers:

Television shows have now eclipsed films as the premier form of visual narrative art of our time. This new book by one of our finest critics explains—historically, in depth, and with interviews with the celebrated creators themselves—how the art of must-see/binge-watch television evolved.

Darwin had his theory of evolution, and David Bianculli has his. Bianculli’s theory has to do with the concept of quality television: what it is and, crucially, how it got that way. In tracing the evolutionary history of our progress toward a Platinum Age of Television—our age, the era of The Sopranos and Breaking Bad and Mad Men and The Wire and Homeland and Girls—he focuses on the development of the classic TV genres, among them the sitcom, the crime show, the miniseries, the soap opera, the western, the animated series and the late night talk show. In each genre, he selects five key examples of the form, tracing its continuities and its dramatic departures and drawing on exclusive and in-depth interviews with many of the most famed auteurs in television history.

Television has triumphantly come of age artistically; David Bianculli’s book is the first to date to examine, in depth and in detail and with a keen critical and historical sense, how this inspiring development came about.

“An effusive guidebook. . . . A highly readable history.” —The Washington Post

“With this combination of historical perspective, critical insight and effective interviews, Mr. Bianculli makes a persuasive argument for television as a medium that is evolving constantly.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“[Bianculli] brings his sense of appreciation, historical perspective and behind-the-scenes dish to dozens of the shows that transfixed and transformed generations.” —The Sacramento Bee

“David Bianculli sets the gold standard for The Platinum Age of Television.” —Vanity Fair

“Excellent . . . a rousing rundown of the history of the medium and how it became the pop-cultural, multi-platform programming colossus of today. Through thoughtful, engaging, entertaining essays. . . . [Bianculli] guides readers though an ever-changing road map of themes, formats, stars and styles.” —Parade

“A wise, engaging celebration of a type of entertainment that’s as much of an art form as it is a pastime.” —NPR

“Wonderful. . . . A must for anyone who has been enthralled by the images and stories on television.” —AP

“[Bianculli has] a keen eye for crucial crossroads, missing links, and turning points. . . . [The] interviews are truly a book within the book, funny, surprising, and enlightening.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer

“[A] wide-ranging personal tour of TV, genre by genre. . . . An anecdotal road trip with refueling stops to flesh out 90 key programs, from I Love Lucy to Empire, so deftly summarized that it feels you’ve just watched them again (or now want to).” —Newsday

Author

David Bianculli

David Bianculli is a guest host and TV critic on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross. A contributor to the show since its inception, he has been a TV critic since 1975. From 1993 to 2007 Bianculli was a TV critic for the New York Daily News. He has written three other books: Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously, and Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television’s 500 Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events. An associate professor of TV and film at Rowan University in New Jersey, Bianculli is also the founder and editor of the online magazine TVWorthWatching. www.tvworthwatching.com

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The Platinum Age of Television

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By David Bianculli