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Grand Central Publishing

TV (The Book): Two Experts Pick the Greatest American Shows of All Time

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Description

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! Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grand Central Publishing (September 6, 2016)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1455588199


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 90


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.13 x 9 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #227,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #32 in TV Guides & Reviews #114 in TV Shows #124 in TV History & Criticism


#32 in TV Guides & Reviews:


#114 in TV Shows:


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • You'll want to watch the shows you haven't seen and rewatch the ones you have
TV (The Book) is an exploration and celebration of television as a narrative form. It presents a ranking of the one-hundred best American television series, with short essays that touch on each series' unique merits and place in TV history. These essays are insightful and fun to read; they will make you want to watch the shows you haven't seen and rewatch the shows you have. The best part of the book is the opening debate, in which Seitz and Sepinwall argue how the top five TV shows, which wound up with tied scores, should be ranked. It's an effective opening for the book because the authors find themselves exploring what TV is at its best, creating a framework that helps the reader understand the significance of the shows that the authors discuss later in the book. It's a slight shame the authors didn't maintain the back-and-forth while discussing the rest of the shows. (I'd love, for example, to hear Mr. Seitz's rebuttal to Mr. Sepinwall's complaints with the fourth season of Arrested Development; I myself am in agreement with Mr. Seitz. The fourth season is structurally ambitious and as funny as the first three seasons.) Though they find much to agree on with regard to the best television series of all time, Seitz and Sepinwall also bring slightly different perspectives to their essays. Mr. Sepinwall often puts the TV shows he examines in the context of other TV, directing the reader's attention to characters and stories that are indebted to TV of the past (referencing, for example, the influence of "NYPD Blue" and "Homocide" on "The Shield," or the way "Seinfeld" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" look like "funhouse-mirror versions of each other." On the other hand, Mr. Seitz tends to put the TV shows within a broader artistic context, referencing everyone from Godard and Dali to Looney Tunes and the Marx Brothers. Both of these approaches work, and both are helpful in arguing for the significance of television as a narrative form. This book does so much more than pit beloved TV series against one another. Authors Seitz and Sepinwall touch on more than a hundred shows, from certified classics like "I Love Lucy" or "The Sopranos" to newer works in progress, such as "The Leftovers" and "The Americans." In this era of Peak TV, Seitz and Sepinwall provide a useful encapsulation of the best television of the past and argue persuasively for the significance of these shows. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2017 by Ryan S.
    • An Enlightening Read on TV
I have enjoyed reading Sepinwall's episode reviews for many shows, such as Lost, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, and so forth. I also enjoyed Zoller Seitz' book of critical commentaries on Mad Men, so I knew that TV (The Book) would be an enjoyable read for me. This is a valuable book for thinking about TV in a serious, intelligent way rather than merely looking down upon TV as idle trash. Sepinwall and Zoller Seitz' opening debate is excellent to read. I loved reading about their views on the merits of The Sopranos versus The Wire versus The Simpsons as the greatest show of all time. I learned about many new shows as I read through their ranking of the best 100 shows in American history. I have added some new shows to my list of series that I need to watch some day (Freaks and Geeks, Twin Peaks, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc). I would say the only drawback to the book is that it became a little tedious to read every review and every page, especially for shows which I do not really plan on ever watching. However, overall I would recommend this book to anyone interested in TV in a serious way, or if you are just looking to learn about important shows that you might have missed. Their writing is clear, often witty and humorous, and enlightening. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2017 by mfsunderland
    • A great read for TV fans who want to understand the history of the medium through scripted shows!
I am not American, and as such I have not seen most of the TV shows in the "Pantheon". But I do have a certain affinity for scripted TV, an affinity that has grown to the uber-availability of content these days. I started actively watching TV shows in 2005, and haven't stopped since. Luckily, just about that time the so-called "Golden Era of TV" was about to burst, and burst it did. This book is terrific in that regard and it manages to scale down all the shows and presents a great starting point for anyone who wants to start watching great TV. Not to mention it has amazing insights into shows I already love and adore (hello there Cheers, hey, good seeing you Tony!). Sepinwall and MZS do a great job in carrying across their thoughts and while ranking such a subjective thing as fiction is inherently difficult, they make it fun and inclusive. I loved their scoring model, which they explain in detail at the beginning of the book, not to mention the essays accompanying each show. The clarity of their thoughts makes the reader want to see the show so bad. I wanna rewatch half the shows I watched after reading this book. It invokes that feeling! All in all, a great read for TV fans, old and new, young and old, novices and buffs. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2017 by Shahbakht
    • Flawed, but still worth the read.
The book is interesting for the most part and I have enjoyed plugging though it. I appreciate their efforts in trying to rank the greats of all time in television, but it sure "feels" front loaded. What I mean is that most of the "best shows ever" are super recent in the grand scope of television history. I understand that television has taken an upward swing in quality, in many cases, but there are shows that somehow have been pushed down the list of these gentlemen, that frankly shouldn't be. If you are person who loves lists, as I do, this book will satisfy your need to disagree with their results (if you are anything like me). So, enjoy and I look forward to seeing your review. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2016 by Richard

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