Imagine the greatest week of television ever. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, TV GUIDE has done just that. Picking and choosing from classic programs, unforgettable characters, hilarious moments and broadcast-interrupting tragedies, TV GUIDE has created in this deluxe and nostalgic history the ultimate week of programming. Here are fifty years of riveting innovation distilled into one unforgettable book. From Saturday morning cartoons through prime time and late night, "Fifty Years of Television pays tribute to hundreds of the most important shows of all time. More than 250 color and black-and-white photographs capture the giants of TV in their prime--from "The Great One," Jackie Gleason, to his latter-day descendant Homer Simpson, from Jack Webb of "Dragnet to James Gandolfini of "The Sopranos. The exciting, graphic covers of TV GUIDE offer a fantastic voyage through generations of pop culture. More than 400 collectible covers are included, featuring the work of artists such as Charles Addams, Salvador Dali, Al Hirschfield, Norman Rockwell and Andy Warhol. Landmark essays from the pages of TV GUIDE by Oprah Winfrey, John F. Kennedy, Alex Haley and other American icons shed light on the seductive power of the medium. In original interviews, some of TV's best known and most beloved personalities reminisce about the shows that made the country tune in. A sweeping appreciation of TV, this is the ultimate book of its kind.

This book looks at the origins and growth of television through the pages of TV Guide and covers the complete run of this American icon from the first guides in 1953 to the last issue in guide format on October 9, 2005. It includes full color reproductions of every cover ever printed, and is both a collector's guide with pricing included, and a retrospective view of the medium.

Discusses some of the good and bad aspects of television and points out safety factors to observe while watching television, how to choose a suitable program, and how to adopt a critical approach to commercials.

The no-holds-barred complete story of the #1 hit '70s sitcom. Find out what really happened both behind and in front of the cameras. Come and Knock on Our Door delivers all the titillation and travails of the breakthrough coed roommate farce that launched John Ritter, Joyce DeWitt, and Suzanne Somers to stardom in 1977. On-screen, the trio's dilemmas were always just zany misunderstandings riddled with pratfalls and double entendres and resolved with hugs and kisses. But behind the scenes, the real-life tensions of fame and controversy plus personal, financial, and creative conflicts threatened to end the love and laughter. With interviews from over sixty actors, producers, directors, and crew members, Chris Mann uncovers the good, the bad, and the ugly that occurred on the set-- from the fun and friendships to the feuding and falling-outs. For the first time ever, John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt break their silence about the eroding relations and bitter breakup with their onetime pal and original costar, Suzanne Somers and some of the show's top execs tell their sides of the story behind her big money demands and missed work, the public outcry, and her eventual firing. Joyce DeWitt also reveals her secret struggles with the show's producers and explains why she turned her back on Hollywood when John Ritter spun off alone in Three's a Crowd-- and what she's been doing ever since. Jenilee Harrison tells what it was like to replace Suzanne Somers during the contract dispute. Norman Fell, Don Knotts, Richard Kline, and Ann Wedgeworth disclose the ups and downs of TV's looniest landlords and tenants. And the late Audra Lindley, in her final interview, describes what she looks for in a muu-muu. So Come and Knock on Our Door, We've Been Waiting for You.

Although some scholars credit Shakespeare with creating in Henry IV's Falstaff the first "second banana" character (reviving him for Henry IV Part Two), most television historians agree that the popular co-star was born in 1955 when Art Carney, as Ed Norton, first addressed Jackie Gleason with a "Hey, Ralphie-boy," on The Honeymooners. The phenomenon has proved to be one of the most enduring achievements of the American sitcom, and oftentimes so popular that the co-star becomes the star. Twenty-nine of those popular co-stars get all of the attention in this work. Each chapter focuses on one television character and the actor or actress who brought him or her to life, and provides critical analysis, biographical information and, in several instances, interviews with the actors and actresses themselves. It includes people like Art Carney of The Honeymooners, Don Knotts of The Andy Griffith Show, Ted Knight of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Max Baer of The Beverly Hillbillies, Vivian Vance and William Frawley of I Love Lucy, Ann B. Davis of The Brady Bunch, Jamie Farr of M*A*S*H, Ron Palillo of Welcome Back, Kotter, Jimmie Walker of Good Times, Tom Poston of Newhart and Michael Richards of Seinfeld, to name just a few.

In this new and expanded edition of The Art Direction Handbook, author Michael Rizzo now covers art direction for television, in addition to updated coverage of film design. This comprehensive, professional manual details the set-up of the art department and the day-to-day job duties: scouting for locations, research, executing the design concept, supervising scenery construction, and surviving production. Beyond that, there is an emphasis on not just how to do the job, but how to succeed and secure other jobs. Rounding out the text is an extensive collection of useful forms and checklists, as well as interviews with prominent art directors.