Television : a biography

Thomson, David 1941- (Author).

Summary: In just a few years, what used to be an immobile piece of living room furniture, which one had to sit in front of at appointed times in order to watch sponsored programming on a finite number of channels, morphed into a glowing cloud of screens with access to a near-endless supply of content available when and how viewers want it. With this phenomenon now a common cultural theme, a writer of David Thomson's stature delivering a critical history, or biography of the six-decade television era, will be a significant event which could not be more timely. Over twenty-two thematically organized chapters, Thomson brings provocatively insightful and unique to the life of what was television.

Record details

ISBN: 9780500519165
ISBN: 0500519161
Physical Description: print
412 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 26 cm
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : Thames & Hudson, 2016.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 389-398) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction: The elephant in the room? -- Part one: The medium. Buy the numbers ; Where are you going, fugitive? ; Norma's sessions ; Oh, Donna! ; Gently "on" : a new age of television people ; The sit and the situation ; Commercials ; Wasteland ; Is that an oasis? -- Part two: The messages. A play, for today? ; Talking heads ; Policeman, save my life ; The news, or Isn't there anyone? ; Women, wives, and wonderers ; The loneliness of the role model ; Mr. President ; Live? ; Documentary? ; Long form ; Laugh on/laugh off ; Eternally on.