The Great TV Sitcom Book

This is a great product for anyone who adored their childhood Sitcoms or misses the good old days of television. It begins at the start of Sitcoms on television and ends in 1980. It covers a lot. Unfortunately were it ends is right before the other great classics like Cheers, Perfect Strangers, Night Court, The Cosby Show, and Golden Girls. That said, if your interested in everything before that, this book will please you. Shows that had the highest ratings and were at the top of their game are given two or three page summaries. Examples of shows that get this distinction are I Love Lucy, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Leave It to Beaver, MASH, and the Andy Griffith Show. It doesn't leave out the others though. It gives small summaries and facts for "all" the other shows on during the year (I say all, because there are a lot, but I wasn't alive for any of the shows listed in the book so I couldn't say if anything was omitted). But it's a fun read and it's great to see what was on and what was considered cool at the time. I had to do a report for a theater class: compare Roman Comedy to Sitcoms. This book was extremely helpful and I was able to make an A on the paper. The introduction explains the different kinds of Sitcoms and other information that you don't normally think about. Like I said before, it's a great read and a great buy. Definitely worth the price.

Although I agree that this book is a bit limited in detail, what surprised me when I first came across it were the pieces on each season's "front runners"(as it's referred to here). Rick Mitz starts in 1949-basically, the dawning of the sitcom-with the original classics "The Goldbergs" & "Mama", proceeds to 1950's "Amos'n'Andy" & "The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show", 1951's "I Love Lucy", "Mr.Peepers", "My Little Margie", etc, etc. I have never located any reference guides on the bulk of these early programs. There are also "also rans" to complement some years: half page breakdowns of the secondary shows that year, such as sitcoms like "Bachelor Father", "F Troop", "Gidget", "Green Acres", "Hogan's Heroes", & "The Brady Bunch". Not to mention, a thorough listing in the back of the book of all the other sitcoms, per year. Of course, it's not for the programs "I Love Lucy", "The Honeymooners", "Leave It To Beaver", or "The Andy Griffith Show" that one should consider this purchase. After all, there is much more available on these series in more thorough texts. No, it's the rarities here, the shows no text has taken on, that really make this guide. Okay, for example, I had never seen the series "Father Knows Best". It had never gone into syndication, at least here in the midwest. Also, I'm 42 and was not around for its original run. Finally, by the stroke of luck, TV Land had a marathon of the show one weekend some years ago. I was amazed @ the subtlety of humor for a sitcom-especially from this period(mid 50s)-but was even more impressed by how the family seemed so real, yet not to an overly-dramatic aspect. It's just that the kids seemed right for their age and gendre, the parents weren't too sweet or too good but, yet, still 1950s parents. It's great, now, to have anything @ all on this show, whether it's not even quite five pages or not. What I'm trying to say here is that whether they're only five pages, go out and try to locate anything similar on "The Life of Riley", "Topper", "Our Miss Brooks", "I Married Joan", "December Bride", "Love That Bob", "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis", or "Car 54, Where are You?" It's going to be tough. Although extremely detailed guides are available, like 'The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network & Cable TV Shows' & 'Total Television'(see both my reviews on these), these really just give synopsis and casts of shows. There's little dedication. Although I wasn't so concerned with the latter part of the book, where the shows looked @ included "All in the Family", "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", "MASH", "Happy Days", "Three's Company", "Cheers", and "The Golden Girls", it's understandable that all of these are here. After all, this is a TV sitcom reference guide. The book was published in 1988 so that's where it ends off. Whatever your taste in classic sitcoms, though, its here. It's just that the hard-to-locate early shows are its greatest achievement, I feel. This subject could certainly use a more

This book talks about sitcoms from 1950 to 1980. 'The Great TV Sitcom Book' goes into detail for the 2 or 3 most popular shows of the season then gives a brief description of some of the less popular. It is well written and informative. Good as a reference but really needs updating.