Prime time: those precious few hours every night when the three major television networks garner millions of dollars while tens of millions of Americans tune in. Inside Prime Time is a classic study of the workings of the Hollywood television industry, newly available with an updated introduction. Inside Prime Time takes us behind the scenes to reveal how prime-time shows get on the air, stay on the air, and are shaped by the political and cultural climate of their times. It provides an ethnography of the world of American commercial television, an analysis of that world's unwritten rules, and the most extensive study of the industry ever made.
Author(s): Todd Gitlin
Edition: 2
Year: 1994
Language: English
Pages: 384
BOOK COVER......Page 1
HALF-TITLE......Page 2
TITLE......Page 5
DEDICATION......Page 6
COPYRIGHT......Page 7
CONTENTS......Page 8
INTRODUCTION......Page 10
INSIDE PRIME TIME......Page 16
PROLOGUE......Page 17
1 NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE SUCCESS......Page 30
CHAPTER 1 The Problem of Knowing......Page 31
CHAPTER 2 Predicting the Unpredictable......Page 42
CBS......Page 43
ABC AND PREVIEW HOUSE......Page 47
CONCEPT TESTING......Page 50
TALE OF A TOOL......Page 52
CHAPTER 3 By the Numbers......Page 56
CHAPTER 4 Making Schedules......Page 64
SPINOFFS......Page 70
COPIES......Page 75
RECOMBINANTS......Page 81
CHAPTER 6 “Another American Dream Gone Astray”......Page 90
2 THE TELEVISION-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX......Page 114
CHAPTER 7 Inside Tracks in a Small World......Page 115
CHAPTER 8 The Deal Is the Art Form......Page 140
CHAPTER 9 Movies of the Week......Page 152
3 THE POLITICS OF PRIME TIME......Page 191
CHAPTER 10 The Turn Toward “Relevance”......Page 192
CHAPTER 11 Shifting Right: Yesterday’s Vietnam, Today’s FBI......Page 207
CHAPTER 12 The “Far Righteous” Shake the Temple of Commerce......Page 230
CHAPTER 13 The Temple Stands......Page 245
CHAPTER 14 Hill Street Blues: “Make It Look Messy”......Page 253
EPILOGUE......Page 299
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 309
NOTES INDEX......Page 312
NOTES......Page 313
INDEX......Page 325
