In The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, David Bianculli has done a great job exploring the evolution of television, broken down into overlapping genres from children's programs to topical comedy. The author discusses each title in terms of its impact on television, rather than by its ratings, offering a refreshing take on how shows influence each other. This book is long and took a while to finish, but it's formatted for readability in whichever order you choose. You can even skip chapters, though I wouldn't recommend it—I was enlightened even by the topics I dreaded and had no former knowledge of, such as the chapter about westerns.I wish even more genres had been packed into this already-stuffed book, though it understandably has limitations. Bianculli has established himself as the primary voice in television evolution, and I look forward to reading any of his future books—and articles—on the topic.
Stars: 4/5
Recommended for: Anyone who has ever been touched by a television show (so...pretty much everyone in America).
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