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Rating: 
Summary: The thrill is not gone....
Review: Forty years later, "Thriller" still has some thrill left in it, though many of its episodes are becoming awfully dated. This is something that invariably happens to decades-old popular entertainment. And "Thriller" IS popular entertainment, and nothing more. Nonetheless, "This Is a Thriller" takes the usual route of presenting a TV show as a great and lasting contribution to the arts, a conceit that isn't helped, for example, by the fact that many of the "Thriller" scripts were based on stories originally published in the pulp magazine "Weird Tales." How nice it would be if TV-show surveys could simply treat classic television as great ENTERTAINMENT, and leave it at that. As if that weren't enough. Anyway, this is an otherwise enjoyable, detail-packed volume with lengthy (if sometimes confusing) plot synopses. The author pans a number of my favorite "Thrillers," including "Rose's Last Summer" and "Cousin Tundifer," the latter one of the series' most offbeat and imaginative entries. Meanwhile, such fluff as the Robert-Bloch-scripted "Waxworks" and "The Devil's Ticket" are given top billing. To be sure, two of the scariest "Thriller" episodes--"The Cheaters" and "The Hungry Glass"--are taken from Bloch stories, but they are scripted by far better screenwriters. These are personal gripes, of course; I can hardly expect my favorites to be acknowledged as such. However, books like these, as fun as they are, only serve to show up the deficiencies of horror and sci-fi TV dramas by treating them as great art. What works beautifully as a 60-minute horror drama may not hold up under much literary analysis. "Pigeons from Hell," for example, television's greatest exercise in horror, suffers from a contrived and unclear plot that does little to diminish the sheer scariness of the episode. On paper, however, the whole thing sounds ridiculous. How hilarious to find out that the zombie lady of the episode appeared in at least two other episodes (one of them unbilled here!). I refer to British actress Ottola Nesmith, whose relatively brief bio on page 115 seems paltry in light of her impact on the show. "Rather amazingly," the book notes (quoting associate producer Doug Benton) "She was a great beauty in her day." Amazingly? It seems to me that heavy makeup can transform ANY woman into a hag, even a former beauty. It's only television, folks.
Rating:
Summary: The thrill is not gone....
Review: Forty years later, "Thriller" still has some thrill left in it, though many of its episodes are becoming awfully dated. This is something that invariably happens to decades-old popular entertainment. And "Thriller" IS popular entertainment, and nothing more. Nonetheless, "This Is a Thriller" takes the usual route of presenting a TV show as a great and lasting contribution to the arts, a conceit that isn't helped, for example, by the fact that many of the "Thriller" scripts were based on stories originally published in the pulp magazine "Weird Tales." How nice it would be if TV-show surveys could simply treat classic television as great ENTERTAINMENT, and leave it at that. As if that weren't enough. Anyway, this is an otherwise enjoyable, detail-packed volume with lengthy (if sometimes confusing) plot synopses. The author pans a number of my favorite "Thrillers," including "Rose's Last Summer" and "Cousin Tundifer," the latter one of the series' most offbeat and imaginative entries. Meanwhile, such fluff as the Robert-Bloch-scripted "Waxworks" and "The Devil's Ticket" are given top billing. To be sure, two of the scariest "Thriller" episodes--"The Cheaters" and "The Hungry Glass"--are taken from Bloch stories, but they are scripted by far better screenwriters. These are personal gripes, of course; I can hardly expect my favorites to be acknowledged as such. However, books like these, as fun as they are, only serve to show up the deficiencies of horror and sci-fi TV dramas by treating them as great art. What works beautifully as a 60-minute horror drama may not hold up under much literary analysis. "Pigeons from Hell," for example, television's greatest exercise in horror, suffers from a contrived and unclear plot that does little to diminish the sheer scariness of the episode. On paper, however, the whole thing sounds ridiculous. How hilarious to find out that the zombie lady of the episode appeared in at least two other episodes (one of them unbilled here!). I refer to British actress Ottola Nesmith, whose relatively brief bio on page 115 seems paltry in light of her impact on the show. "Rather amazingly," the book notes (quoting associate producer Doug Benton) "She was a great beauty in her day." Amazingly? It seems to me that heavy makeup can transform ANY woman into a hag, even a former beauty. It's only television, folks.
Rating:
Summary: Solid reference work.
Review: Good job - detailed plot analysis for those who are not familiar with the episodes, cast and characters, etc. Each episode has a critical evaluation that, if one does not agree with, has to admit is at least well-written. It would have been better with more pictures and perhaps longer interview segments, and less commentary on other similar tv programs - the author dismisses the excellent NIGHT GALLERY, for example - but this is a labor of love for THRILLER, and I for one am glad I bought it.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic Guide to a Classic Show That Is Sadly Overlooked
Review: This book is a must for diehard fans of the excellent classic TV horror anthology THRILLER (a.k.a. BORIS KARLOFF'S THRILLER), and it would be great reading for any heretofore non-fan interested in learning about the series. Warren provides interesting info on the development of THRILLER as a series, as well as detailed exposition on the genesis and behind-the-scenes production processes for each episode. And the episode guide is the greatest--it is well written and contains very detailed plot descriptions, the author's critical commentary, and observations and anecdotes from some of those involved in the production of certain episodes. Some reviewers have faulted Warren for making the episode guide too detailed, but considering the fact that THRILLER is rarely available via reruns these days--the run on the Sci-Fi Channel a few years ago notwithstanding--and few episodes are available via home video, Warren'w thorough episode synopses provide an much-needed means for THRILLER newbies to become familiar with the excellence of this TV show and a way for longtime fans to relive their favorite stories.
Rating: 
Summary: Vast wasted opportunity
Review: While this book does score points for being the first episode guide to THRILLER, a beloved (by many) television series, the bad here unfortunately far outweighs the good. A discussion of each episode consists almost entirely of synopsis, of which one can (unbelievably) fault for being TOO detailed? To include excessive character conversation in one's synopsis for an episode is a bit much. Being long on summation tries to hide a lack of truly interesting background or history of any particular episode. We get more background information on other films and TV series that an episode's actor appeared in than we do interesting anecdotes about the particular episode from said actor(s). My biggest complaint of the book is the author's analysis (or lack of) of the performances in each episode. It feels that little effort went into trying to truly analyze, understand, or rate a performance. The author falls into an easy habit of merely throwing out simple (most times unexplained) adjectives: "very good", "capable", "above average", "below average", or my favorite, "adequate". The author uses the term "adequate" over 150 times (and there were only 60+ episodes!). I was almost pulling my hair out upon every subsequent encounter of this word. Another major fault is the lack of photographs. The number of photos can basically be counted on one hand. This is a major loss. Also, when presented with a book of nearly 200 pages that is nearly all text, makes for very difficult reading. THIS IS A THRILLER was a commendable idea for a book on a deserving TV series that ends up being...just adequate.
Rating:
Summary: Vast wasted opportunity
Review: While this book does score points for being the first episode guide to THRILLER, a beloved (by many) television series, the bad here unfortunately far outweighs the good. A discussion of each episode consists almost entirely of synopsis, of which one can (unbelievably) fault for being TOO detailed? To include excessive character conversation in one's synopsis for an episode is a bit much. Being long on summation tries to hide a lack of truly interesting background or history of any particular episode. We get more background information on other films and TV series that an episode's actor appeared in than we do interesting anecdotes about the particular episode from said actor(s). My biggest complaint of the book is the author's analysis (or lack of) of the performances in each episode. It feels that little effort went into trying to truly analyze, understand, or rate a performance. The author falls into an easy habit of merely throwing out simple (most times unexplained) adjectives: "very good", "capable", "above average", "below average", or my favorite, "adequate". The author uses the term "adequate" over 150 times (and there were only 60+ episodes!). I was almost pulling my hair out upon every subsequent encounter of this word. Another major fault is the lack of photographs. The number of photos can basically be counted on one hand. This is a major loss. Also, when presented with a book of nearly 200 pages that is nearly all text, makes for very difficult reading. THIS IS A THRILLER was a commendable idea for a book on a deserving TV series that ends up being...just adequate.
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