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TVparty: Television's Untold Tales

TVparty: Television's Untold Tales

List Price: $19.95
Your Price: $13.57
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not your father's TV Trivia Book
Review: This is my kind of book. I prefer to read about the more obscure aspects of popular culture, so this book and CD is right up my alley. The History of the Laugh Track, The Murder of Alfalfa, the Super Hero shows of the 60s, Wrestling matches of the 80s, this is the most fun I've had reading in a long, long time. Everywhere you look there are little treats and surprises.

The CD is a wonderful, lightweight way to sample the subjects the book covers. It really is a TV Party, and I didn't want it to end. I bought this along with the Saturday Night Live book, and I'm looking forward to reading them both again one day. Excellent - I recommmend TVparty highly for anyone who want to explore the arcane and unusual.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This is the best!
Review: TV Party is the ultimate bedside companion. I got this book for Christmas and I just loved it. It's not the same old tired TV shows like you find in most books. I don't know about you, but I'm sick of these slick books with the same old stories. I enjoy reading about the obscure and unusual, and the unsung heros of the early days of TV, and this book does it better than any other I've found.

I never even heard of Tallulah Bankhead or Bob McAllister but now I want to know more! The inside story on the mystery behind the deaths of George 'Superman' Reeves and Alfala was facinating. My definition of a good book is one that makes me want more and I want MORE TV PARTY!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent Minutia...and I mean that in a good way.
Review: Wow! Buy this book! It is an amazing collection of stories, facts, and folklore surrounding TV.
Note to those who disliked the book: Reviews that say "I was disappointed in such-and-such a book because it should've addressed this, but instead only dealt with that" puzzle me. Ingram wrote a "fun book about TV,"--not an historical treatise on television. If you want a book to discuss additional topics or issues, write your own. Ingram did an excellent job covering the shows and performers he chose to highlight. No book could cover ALL of television--but this book sure covers a lot of it.
Any book which shines a spotlight on the Smothers Brothers AND Dirty Dragon is alright by me.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A waste of money
Review: I was very disappointed with TV Party. I thought, that with the good reviews this book has received, that I would be very pleased. I was not. The idea behind this book is great, but the execution of the idea is poorly done and shabby. Did anyone really read this book before they gave it such good reviews?

A great deal of the book has to do with little known or very obscure television programming and does not go into very great depth on the "big" television shows from the past. There is too much coverage on kiddie tv shows. I don't know about you, but this is not what I purchased this book for. The other bad news is that the CD that comes with the book is a total waste of time. I was looking forward to an in depth presentation of TV Party trivia or special features, but all there is on this CD are very quick cuts of "channel surfing", and a few lame commercials. There is probably less than 20 minutes of material on the CD.

The story on the original Superman, George Reeves, is interesting, but one good story alone is not worth the purchase price of this book. I would highly advise anyone who is thinking about purchasing this book to think twice. If there is anyway that you can get a copy of TV Party to preview before you buy it, you may save yourself a bad purchase. As for my copy, it is gathering dust on the bedstand. So shallow was the content that I was able to read through the entire book in one short sitting.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastic, Incredible
Review: I have waited so long for a book like this! I loved the old variety shows in the 60s and 70s but I've never been able to find ANY information on them, not ever. But this book covers the greatest shows of that era! The section on local children's shows was really informative as well, and it was a real trip to see Run Buddy Run and It's About Time mentioned. This book had it all for me: mysteries, scandals, and the CD Rom was flip out!

I can sorta understand why some people might not like this book, it is DEFINITELY not your typical TV trivial book. It's so much more! Way out of the ordinary, the layout, graphics and TONS of pictures really sent me into orbit. I really hope there is going to be another TVPARTY book in the future. Soon! I'm addicted!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not very good
Review: This book has some good nostalgia but it isn't that good of a book. There are a few good stories about some of the old tv shows and characters, but most of it is fluff. Too much info on too many inane topics such as children's programing and Tallulah Bankhead?!! The CD is terrible and lackluster as well.

If you really want information dealing with the old style tv programs, you would do better in just logging on to tvpary.com for free.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: AWESOME book and my CHRISTMAS Present to several people!
Review: WONDERFUL book that I was lucky enough to be a part of. My tribute to BILL JACKSON was included and I am glad BILL approved! This is the book you can't put down! Everyone that I gave it to for an early CHRISTMAS present has said just that! THANKS Billy! Look forward to the next one! Rick Goldschmidt RANKIN/BASS

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: TVPARTY! brings together many of the best written and most interesting articles originally published on Billy Ingram's phenomenally popular TVPARTY website. What a fun book this is! I love it, and everyone I've shared it with gets a huge kick out of it. TVPARTY!: The Book is everything from a "Whatever Happened to..." guide to a "Hollywodd Babylon" of vintage television. If you love baby-boomer pop culture, you will adore TVPARTY!.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not as good as advertised
Review: .
TV Party is a book that will bring back old memories for some and astound others. It is a portal to the past and is not only serves as an interesting nostalgia piece, but is a miniature time capsule as well.

The book opens with the mystery of the death of George Reeves, star of the first TV series on Superman. While there are no conclusive answers, it does open up a new set of questions as to the cause of death.

TV Party has background stories on what happened to old movie stars such as "Alfalfa" of the "Our Gang" series, TV personalities such as Soupy Sales, etc. There are a smattering of interesting bits and pieces of untold stories ranging from washed up movie stars transitioning to television to save their careers and histories of children's shows.

While the book is somewhat entertaining, it falls very short of expectations. A great portion of the book is dedicated to esoteric children's' programming. Much of it has to do with regional programming, so if you are not from those places, the stories make no sense at all. While some of the more popular television shows are covered, a great majority of the hits are strangely absent from discussion. This was a big disapointment.

There is also a CD included with the book. This too, fell short of expectations. The CD includes snippets of an old actress called Bankhead, a few commercials, a "flip the channel" sequence which simulates a few seconds of various old TV programs, etc. The CD seemed to be thrown together in a rush with leftovers from the TV Party website. The included CD was not worth it.

The book is nostalgic, but not as interesting as it could have been. Some of the stories lack depth and scope and read like National Enquirer articles. Is it a book you should buy? Perhaps, but lower your expectations. The packaging is nice, but the contents of many of the stories do not connect with the mainstream programming of that era of television.

TV Party: The Untold Tales remains what it advertises...there are still many untold stories that need to be included.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Cutting-edge AND classic!!!
Review: Great stories, funnier than the website! This book is like meeting someone at a party and discovering you have something really obscure in common. When I told a friend about it he said, "I bet 'Froggy' isn't in there" and BANG! there it was!!!!!


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