Crime Fighting Heroes of Television

Crime Fighting Heroes of Television
Author: Vincent Terrace
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2015-10-02
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0786484454

Superheroes and characters who fight crime by extraordinary means have populated the television airwaves from the beginning. This broad-ranging reference contains a trove of information on shows featuring such characters as Superman and Black Scorpion to programs like The A-Team and Knight Rider. Regular police and detective shows have been excluded. Alphabetical entries on 125 network, cable and syndicated series broadcast from 1949 to 2001, plus 26 pilot films, deliver information about story premises, characters, and myriad elements that add flavor and interest to the shows, as well as cast listings and broadcast data. A handy index of performers is included as well as appendices listing the crime fighting superheroes and machines that appear in the programs.

Encyclopedia of Television Pilots

Encyclopedia of Television Pilots
Author: Vincent Terrace
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 371
Release: 2020-01-17
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1476638101

On November 27, 1937, NBC presented TV's first pilot film, Sherlock Holmes (then called an "experiment"). Thousands of pilot films (both unaired and televised) have been produced since. This updated and restyled book contains 2,470 alphabetically arranged pilot films broadcast from 1937 to 2019. Entries contain the concept, cast and character information, credits (producer, writer, director), dates, genre and network or cable affiliation. In addition to a complete performer's index, two appendices have been included: one detailing the pilot films that led to a series and a second that lists the programs that were spun off from one series into another. Never telecast pilot films can be found in the companion volume, The Encyclopedia of Unaired Television Pilots, 1945-2018. Both volumes are the most complete and detailed sources for such information, a great deal of which is based on viewing the actual programs.

The Television Treasury

The Television Treasury
Author: Vincent Terrace
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2020-06-12
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1476680299

The first and only of its kind, this book is a straightforward listing of more than 25,000 trivia facts from 2,498 TV series aired between 1947 and 2019. Organized by topic, trivia facts include everything from home addresses of characters, to names of pets and jobs that characters worked. Featured programs include popular shows like The Big Bang Theory and Friends and more obscure programs like A Date with Judy or My Friend Irma. Included is an alphabetical program index that lists trivia facts grouped by series.

From Radio to Television

From Radio to Television
Author: Vincent Terrace
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2022-10-21
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1476646937

The early years of television relied in part on successful narratives of another medium, as studios adapted radio programs like Boston Blackie and Defense Attorney to the small screen. Many shows were adapted more than once, like the radio program Blondie, which inspired six television adaptations and 28 theatrical films. These are but a few of the 1,164 programs covered in this volume. Each program entry contains a detailed story line, years of broadcast, performer and character casts and principal production credits where possible. Two appendices ("Almost a Transition" and "Television to Radio") and a performer's index conclude the book. This first-of-its-kind encyclopedia covers many little-known programs that have rarely been discussed in print (e.g., Real George, based on Me and Janie; Volume One, based on Quiet, Please; and Galaxy, based on X Minus One). Covered programs include The Great Gildersleeve, Howdy Doody, My Friend Irma, My Little Margie, Space Patrol and Vic and Sade.

Encyclopedia of Television Miniseries, 1936-2020

Encyclopedia of Television Miniseries, 1936-2020
Author: Vincent Terrace
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2021-09-22
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1476687358

In 1936, as television networks CBS, DuMont, and NBC experimented with new ways to provide entertainment, NBC deviated from the traditional method of single experimental programs to broadcast the first multi-part program, Love Nest, over a three-episode arc. This would come to be known as a miniseries. Although the term was not coined until 1954, several other such miniseries were broadcast, including Jack and the Beanstalk and Women in Wartime. In the mid-1960s the concept was developed into a genre that still exists. While the major broadcast networks pioneered the idea, it quickly became popular with cable and streaming services. This encyclopedic source contains a detailed history of 878 TV miniseries broadcast from 1936 to 2020, complete with casts, networks, credits, episode count and detailed plot information.

Television Movies of the 21st Century

Television Movies of the 21st Century
Author: Vincent Terrace
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 405
Release: 2021-04-23
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 147668412X

For the major broadcast networks, the heyday of made-for-TV movies was 20th Century programming like The ABC Movie of the Week and NBC Sunday Night at the Movies. But with changing economic times and the race for ratings, the networks gradually dropped made-for-TV movies while basic cable embraced the format, especially the Hallmark Channel (with its numerous Christmas-themed movies) and the Syfy Channel (with its array of shark attack movies and other things that go bump in the night). From the waning days of the broadcast networks to the influx of basic cable TV movies, this encyclopedia covers 1,370 films produced during the period 2000-2020. For each film entry, the reader is presented with an informative storyline, cast and character lists, technical credits (producer, director, writer), air dates, and networks. It covers the networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, Ion, and NBC) and such basic cable channels as ABC Family, Disney, Fox Family, Freeform, Hallmark, INSP, Lifetime, Nickelodeon, Syfy, TBS and TNT. There is also an appendix of "Announced but Never Produced" TV movies and a performer's index.

Encyclopedia of Television Shows

Encyclopedia of Television Shows
Author: Vincent Terrace
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2018-01-14
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1476630941

This is a supplement to the author's Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925-2010. It covers 1,612 series broadcast between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2016. Major networks--ABC, CBS, the CW, Fox and NBC--are covered along with many cable channels, such as AMC, Disney, Nickelodeon, Bravo, Lifetime, Discovery, TNT, Comedy Central and History Channel. Alphabetical entries provide storylines, casts, networks and running dates. A performer index is included.

Encyclopedia of Unaired Television Pilots, 1945-2018

Encyclopedia of Unaired Television Pilots, 1945-2018
Author: Vincent Terrace
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 359
Release: 2018-10-09
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1476633495

Covering the years 1945-2018, this alphabetical listing provides details about 2,923 unaired television series pilots, including those that never went into production, and those that became series but with a different cast, such as The Green Hornet, The Middle and Superman. Rarities include proposed shows starring Bela Lugosi, Doris Day, Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Orson Welles, Claudette Colbert and Mae West, along with such casting curiosities as Mona Freeman, not Gale Storm, as Margie in My Little Margie, and John Larkin as Perry Mason long before Raymond Burr played the role.

Television Specials

Television Specials
Author: Vincent Terrace
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 487
Release: 2013-07-03
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0786474440

This is a complete revision of the author's 1993 McFarland book Television Specials that not only updates entries contained within that edition, but adds numerous programs not previously covered, including beauty pageants, parades, awards programs, Broadway and opera adaptations, musicals produced especially for television, holiday specials (e.g., Christmas and New Year's Eve), the early 1936-1947 experimental specials, honors specials. In short, this is a reference work to 5,336 programs--the most complete source for television specials ever published.

The Year in Television, 2009

The Year in Television, 2009
Author: Vincent Terrace
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 317
Release: 2014-01-10
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0786456442

This reference work is a chronicle of all the first run entertainment programs broadcast from January 1 to December 31, 2009. Included are series, TV movies, aired pilots, specials, miniseries and Internet series. Alphabetically arranged entries provide casts, storylines, production credits, networks, broadcast dates, and excerpts from newspaper reviews. New to this volume is a listing of the highlights of the year and coverage of all the unaired pilots produced for the 2008–2009 season.