The Top 100 American Situation Comedies
The Top 100 American Situation Comedies

Author: Mitchell E. Shapiro

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-10-27

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 1476623406

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A number of books and articles have been written ranking the best situation comedies of all time. These have all had something in common--subjective criteria based on the authors' opinions. This book attempts an objective ranking of the best 100 American sitcoms, based on a mathematical formula taking into account four factors: ratings, longevity, peer acceptance and spawning of other programs (spin-offs). The authors considered a field of 377 series which met at least one of four criteria: aired for at least three seasons; rated among top 30 series in at least one season; received at least one major Emmy nomination; or spawned at least one other series. A critical essay is provided for each series, along with air dates and cast listings.

African American Viewers and the Black Situation Comedy
African American Viewers and the Black Situation Comedy

Author: Robin R. Means Coleman

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 9780815331254

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Providing new insight into key debates over race and representation in the media, this ethnographic study explores the ways in which African Americans have been depicted in Black situation comedies-from 1950's Beulah to contemporary series like Martin and Living Single.

Television Finales
Television Finales

Author: Douglas L. Howard

Publisher: Syracuse University Press

Published: 2018-11-13

Total Pages: 545

ISBN-13: 0815654472

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Today more than ever, series finales have become cultural touchstones that feed watercooler fodder and Twitter storms among a committed community of viewers. While the final episodes of The Fugitive and M*A*S*H continue to rank among the highest rated broadcasts, more recent shows draw legions of binge-watching fans. Given the importance of finales to viewers and critics alike, Howard and Bianculli along with the other contributors explore these endings and what they mean to the audience, both in terms of their sense of narrative and as episodes that epitomize an entire show. Bringing together a veritable “who’s who” of television scholars, journalists, and media experts, including Robert Thompson, Martha Nochimson, Gary Edgerton, David Hinckley, Kim Akass, and Joanne Morreale, the book offers commentary on some of the most compelling and often controversial final episodes in television history. Each chapter is devoted to a separate finale, providing readers with a comprehensive survey of these watershed moments. Gathering a unique international lineup of journalists and media scholars, the book also offers readers an intriguing variety of critical voices and perspectives.

Watching What We Watch
Watching What We Watch

Author: Walter T. Davis, Jr.

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press

Published: 2001-01-01

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 9780664226961

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Offers counsel on how to address messages of popular culture as reflected on television today, explaining how to view programs in light of faith, values, and belief systems as a means of identifying appropriate broadcasts. Original.

American Reference Books Annual
American Reference Books Annual

Author: Juneal M. Chenoweth

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2019-06-24

Total Pages: 577

ISBN-13: 1440869146

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Read professional, fair reviews by practicing academic, public, and school librarians and subject-area specialists that will enable you to make the best choices from among the latest reference resources. This newest edition of American Reference Books Annual (ARBA) provides librarians with insightful, critical reviews of print and electronic reference resources released or updated in 2017-2018, as well as some from 2019 that were received in time for review in the publication. By using this invaluable guide to consider both the positive and negative aspects of each resource, librarians can make informed decisions about which new reference resources are most appropriate for their collections and their patrons' needs. Collection development librarians who are working with limited budgets—as is the case in practically every library today—will be able to maximize the benefit from their monetary resources by selecting what they need most for their collection, while bypassing materials that bring limited value to their specific environment.

Classic Sitcoms
Classic Sitcoms

Author: Vince Waldron

Publisher:

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781879505254

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What a lovely surprise. A critical guide to all those classic sitcoms; and to be included among them is a distinct honor. -- Carl Reiner

The Queer Fantasies of the American Family Sitcom
The Queer Fantasies of the American Family Sitcom

Author: Tison Pugh

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 2018-02-27

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 0813591759

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The Queer Fantasies of the American Family Sitcom examines the evasive depictions of sexuality in domestic and family-friendly sitcoms. Tison Pugh charts the history of increasing sexual depiction in this genre while also unpacking how sitcoms use sexuality as a source of power, as a kind of camouflage, and as a foundation for family building. The book examines how queerness, at first latent, became a vibrant yet continually conflicted part of the family-sitcom tradition. Taking into account elements such as the casting of child actors, the use of and experimentation with plot traditions, the contradictory interpretive valences of comedy, and the subtle subversions of moral standards by writers and directors, Pugh points out how innocence and sexuality conflict on television. As older sitcoms often sit on a pedestal of nostalgia as representative of the Golden Age of the American Family, television history reveals a deeper, queerer vision of family bonds.

Honey, I'm Home!
Honey, I'm Home!

Author: Gerard Jones

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 1993-03-15

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 9780312088101

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Gerard Jone's Honey, I'm Home! has been widely acclaimed as the premier primer on America's Morality Plays-the TV situation comedies that have chained us to our Barcaloungers ever since Lucy first bawled her way into our hearts. Recalling the best and worst the sitcoms have had to offer, Jones recreates their atmosphere and their times with wisdom and style; paralleling the memory-lane trip is his shrewd and provocative assessment of the sitcom's influence on modern society. From Farther Knows Best to Married...with Children, from the empty calories of The Brady Bunch to the social commentary of All in the Family, Honey, I'm Home! is a connoisseur's guide to the sitcom world-where everybody knows your name, and any problem can be solved in twenty-two minutes, plus commercials.

Sitcom Style
Sitcom Style

Author: Diana Friedman

Publisher: Clarkson Potter

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13:

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From Archie Bunker's Barcalounger to the framed peephole on Friends,a sitcom's decor sets the tone of the nation's favourite shows - and defines the lives of its characters. Sitcom Style brings readers a behind-the-scenes peek inside more than two dozen of the most recognisable TV homes and offers readers design tips for their own homes.

TV (The Book)
TV (The Book)

Author: Alan Sepinwall

Publisher: Hachette UK

Published: 2016-09-06

Total Pages: 443

ISBN-13: 1455588202

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Is The Wire better than Breaking Bad? Is Cheers better than Seinfeld? What's the best high school show ever made? Why did Moonlighting really fall apart? Was the Arrested Development Netflix season brilliant or terrible? For twenty years-since they shared a TV column at Tony Soprano's hometown newspaper-critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz have been debating these questions and many more, but it all ultimately boils down to this: What's the greatest TV show ever? That debate reaches an epic conclusion in TV (THE BOOK). Sepinwall and Seitz have identified and ranked the 100 greatest scripted shows in American TV history. Using a complex, obsessively all-encompassing scoring system, they've created a Pantheon of top TV shows, each accompanied by essays delving into what made these shows great. From vintage classics like The Twilight Zone and I Love Lucy to modern masterpieces like Mad Men and Friday Night Lights, from huge hits like All in the Family and ER to short-lived favorites like Firefly and Freaks and Geeks, TV (THE BOOK) will bring the triumphs of the small screen together in one amazing compendium. Sepinwall and Seitz's argument has ended. Now it's time for yours to begin!