TV The Book, Alan Sepinwall
TV The Book, Alan Sepinwall
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TV (The Book)
Two Experts Pick the Greatest American Shows of All Time

Author: Alan Sepinwall, Matt Zoller Seitz

Narrator: Alan Sepinwall, Matt Zoller Seitz

Unabridged: 16 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/06/2016

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included

Synopsis

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!

About Alan Sepinwall

Alan Sepinwall is the chief television critic for Rolling Stone and the author of Breaking Bad 101. His thoughts on television have appeared in the New York Times, Time, and Variety. He lives in New Jersey.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kemper on September 17, 2016

I received a free ARC of this from NetGalley for review. In this era of Peak TV I subscribe to a couple of streaming options that I could easily spend a month or so watching non-stop and still not get through the shows on my current watch lists. Meanwhile, my DVR is usually glowing red hot from all t......more

Goodreads review by H (no longer expecting notifications) Balikov on February 26, 2020

If you love the smaller screen over the movies, this book was written for you. I am not afraid to admit it; there are plenty of times that I would rather see another episode of something on the tube than hike myself to the movie theater. And, sometimes, it is just the timeframe; a 30, 45, or 60 minu......more

Goodreads review by Lauren on May 17, 2018

An informative, opinionated delight. Sepinwall and Zoller Seitz put about as much thought as any two human beings could into how to rank TV shows, if you're going to rank them at all, and that thoughtfulness shows: you can argue with both their systems and its results, and I sometimes did, but you c......more

Goodreads review by Jim on February 17, 2017

This masterfully engaging book by two smart guys who really know their stuff is one of the most enjoyable reads I've had in a long time. Intelligent discussions of the very best of television, show by show, are wonderfully readable, as though one were a participant in those discussions and learning......more

Goodreads review by Kris (My Novelesque Life) on June 12, 2019

RATING: 4 STARS 2016; Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group (Review Not on Blog) This book is a must for all TV fans - whether you agree with the writers or not - this will get your- binge-watching-self excited. These two writers debate what the "greatest TV show ever" is and they lay out reason......more

Quotes

"I hate Top Ten lists and am existentially opposed to numerically rating television shows, so this book is my worst nightmare! You should buy it anyway, because Alan and Matt are shrewd, witty, and insightful critics, even if they are wrong about Cheers being better than 30 Rock."—Emily Nussbaum, The New Yorker

"What fun to dive into a book that not only inspires but invites debate over your favorite TV shows. Which ones truly deserve to be in the Pantheon? Which ones did or didn't make the cut? Any book that celebrates everything from The Sopranos to Rocky and Bullwinkle gets my attention...and deserves yours."
—Leonard Maltin, film critic/ historian

"It's the Golden Age of TV, yes, but TV: THE BOOK shows we are also in the Golden Age of TV criticism. In the same way so many of us made Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide or Pauline Kael's or David Thomson's review collections our film bibles, readers will be poring over this magnificent volume for years to come. An essential, provocative, and irresistible tome from two of our greatest critics." —Megan Abbott, bestselling author of The Fever and You WillKnow Me

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