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[The Revolution Was Televised: How The Sopranos, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Lost, and Other Groundbreaking Dramas Changed TV Forever] [By: Sepinwall, Alan] [May, 2013]
A mob boss in therapy. An experimental, violent prison unit. The death of an American city, as seen through a complex police investigation. A lawless frontier town trying to talk its way into the United States. A corrupt cop who rules his precinct like a warlord. The survivors of a plane crash trying to make sense of their disturbing new island home. A high school girl by day, monster fighter by night. A spy who never sleeps. A space odyssey inspired by 9/11. An embattled high school football coach. A polished ad exec with a secret. A chemistry teacher turned drug lord.
These are the subjects of 12 shows that started a revolution in TV The Sopranos. Oz. The Wire. Deadwood. The Shield. Lost. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 24. Battlestar Galactica. Friday Night Lights. Mad Men. Breaking Bad.
These 12 shows, and the many more they made possible, ushered in a new golden age of television — one that made people take the medium more seriously than ever before. Alan Sepinwall became a TV critic right before this creative revolution began, was there to chronicle this incredible moment in pop culture history, and along the way “changed the nature of television criticism,” according to Slate. The Revolution Was Televised is the story of these 12 shows, as told by Sepinwall and the people who made them, including David Chase, David Simon, David Milch, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, Vince Gilligan and more.
These are the subjects of 12 shows that started a revolution in TV The Sopranos. Oz. The Wire. Deadwood. The Shield. Lost. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 24. Battlestar Galactica. Friday Night Lights. Mad Men. Breaking Bad.
These 12 shows, and the many more they made possible, ushered in a new golden age of television — one that made people take the medium more seriously than ever before. Alan Sepinwall became a TV critic right before this creative revolution began, was there to chronicle this incredible moment in pop culture history, and along the way “changed the nature of television criticism,” according to Slate. The Revolution Was Televised is the story of these 12 shows, as told by Sepinwall and the people who made them, including David Chase, David Simon, David Milch, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, Vince Gilligan and more.
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First published November 9, 2012
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About the author
Alan Sepinwall
9 books249 followersAlan Sepinwall has been writing about television since the 1990s, first as an online reviewer of "NYPD Blue," then as a TV critic for The Star-Ledger (Tony Soprano's hometown paper), then running the popular blog What's Alan Watching? on HitFix.com and Uproxx.com, now as chief TV critic for Rolling Stone and RollingStone.com. Sepinwall's episode-by-episode approach to reviewing his favorite TV shows "changed the nature of television criticism," according to Slate, which called him "the acknowledged king of the form." He is the author of many books about television, including "The Revolution Was Televised," "TV (THE BOOK)," "Breaking Bad 101," "The Sopranos Sessions," and "Welcome to The O.C.: The Oral History."
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September 14, 2016
Last week I was reading the chapter about The Sopranos in which the author highly praises James Gandolfini’s performance as Tony. Galdolfini died the next day. That’s one of those odd coincidences that I could live without.
TV critic Alan Sepinwall writes the popular HitFix blog What's Alan Watching? and here he takes a look at a dozen shows that revolutionized television since the late ‘90s. Oz, The Sopranos, The Wire, Deadwood, The Shield, Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 24, Battlestar Galactica, Friday Night Lights, Mad Men and Breaking Bad were all groundbreaking in their own ways and proved that there were audiences for well-made shows that pushed boundaries and revolutionized the way TV got made and watched.
Each show gets its own chapter in which Sepinwall gives the history of how the show came about, summarizes its storylines, relays behind-the-scenes anecdotes and then examines the elements that made the show special and how it pushed the medium forward. Interviews with creators, producers, writers and network executives provide background and thoughts from inside the industry as to how these shows changed the business.
Many of the stories behind the creation of the shows would make for interesting books just by themselves. Lost came from one ABC executive who figured he was about to be fired and rushed the most expensive pilot in TV history into production, and Mad Men was the result of AMC’s desire to get some kind of critically acclaimed show that would generate buzz on the air because the network feared some cable providers were going to drop them. The universal theme for most of these shows is that creative people who had felt stifled by their experiences in Hollywood delivered when circumstances finally gave them an opportunity to do something different.
Sepinwall keeps his critic’s hat on though and gives frank appraisals of mistakes like the Friday Night Lights train wreck of a second season or 24’s frequent lapses into stories involving amnesia, torture, and a cougar. He also details how fan dissatisfaction with some of the finales like Lost, Battlestar Galactica and The Sopranos can affect their feelings towards the series as a whole.
Since he gives a story overview for each show, there are plenty of spoilers so if there’s a show you’ve been meaning to watch but haven’t gotten around to yet it’d be best to skip those sections. However, each chapter is pretty much self-contained when so it’d still be possible to read around that and not lose the overall theme of what Sepinwall is looking at here.
This isn’t just some dry analysis either. Sepinwall has a good sense of humor and has been writing about TV long enough to come up with interesting ways to translate what we see on a screen into words. Here’s what he has to say about one show’s breakneck pacing:
You didn’t so much watch The Shield as get beat up by it for an hour before it went off to grab a few beers and find a pimp to hassle.
If you’ve read Sepinwall’s blog, a lot of these stories and themes will seem somewhat familiar because they’re points he’s touched on when he’s written about these shows before, but this was a chance for him to do an overview on an era of TV that came as many circumstances changed the old model of doing business and helped fuel a wave of creativity. Sepinwall’s enthusiasm for good TV is contagious and thanks to this book, I’m sure I’ll be cracking open some DVD sets and hitting HBO Go in the near future to revisit a lot of these myself.
Also posted at Kemper's Book Blog.
TV critic Alan Sepinwall writes the popular HitFix blog What's Alan Watching? and here he takes a look at a dozen shows that revolutionized television since the late ‘90s. Oz, The Sopranos, The Wire, Deadwood, The Shield, Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 24, Battlestar Galactica, Friday Night Lights, Mad Men and Breaking Bad were all groundbreaking in their own ways and proved that there were audiences for well-made shows that pushed boundaries and revolutionized the way TV got made and watched.
Each show gets its own chapter in which Sepinwall gives the history of how the show came about, summarizes its storylines, relays behind-the-scenes anecdotes and then examines the elements that made the show special and how it pushed the medium forward. Interviews with creators, producers, writers and network executives provide background and thoughts from inside the industry as to how these shows changed the business.
Many of the stories behind the creation of the shows would make for interesting books just by themselves. Lost came from one ABC executive who figured he was about to be fired and rushed the most expensive pilot in TV history into production, and Mad Men was the result of AMC’s desire to get some kind of critically acclaimed show that would generate buzz on the air because the network feared some cable providers were going to drop them. The universal theme for most of these shows is that creative people who had felt stifled by their experiences in Hollywood delivered when circumstances finally gave them an opportunity to do something different.
Sepinwall keeps his critic’s hat on though and gives frank appraisals of mistakes like the Friday Night Lights train wreck of a second season or 24’s frequent lapses into stories involving amnesia, torture, and a cougar. He also details how fan dissatisfaction with some of the finales like Lost, Battlestar Galactica and The Sopranos can affect their feelings towards the series as a whole.
Since he gives a story overview for each show, there are plenty of spoilers so if there’s a show you’ve been meaning to watch but haven’t gotten around to yet it’d be best to skip those sections. However, each chapter is pretty much self-contained when so it’d still be possible to read around that and not lose the overall theme of what Sepinwall is looking at here.
This isn’t just some dry analysis either. Sepinwall has a good sense of humor and has been writing about TV long enough to come up with interesting ways to translate what we see on a screen into words. Here’s what he has to say about one show’s breakneck pacing:
You didn’t so much watch The Shield as get beat up by it for an hour before it went off to grab a few beers and find a pimp to hassle.
If you’ve read Sepinwall’s blog, a lot of these stories and themes will seem somewhat familiar because they’re points he’s touched on when he’s written about these shows before, but this was a chance for him to do an overview on an era of TV that came as many circumstances changed the old model of doing business and helped fuel a wave of creativity. Sepinwall’s enthusiasm for good TV is contagious and thanks to this book, I’m sure I’ll be cracking open some DVD sets and hitting HBO Go in the near future to revisit a lot of these myself.
Also posted at Kemper's Book Blog.
August 3, 2016
in his prologue, Sepinwall discusses antecedents to the more modern shows that have created the most recent Golden Age of Television - the third or fourth such age, I think. the author points out how the foundation for such things as the season-long storyline, dark and ambiguous characterization, creative forms of storytelling, and narratives that exist to challenge rather than to provide comfort were present in such landmark shows as Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, and Twin Peaks. . the rest of the book details a good number of the series that - as the cover informs us - "changed tv drama forever." sadly, it appears that some of the minds behind these shows feel like this golden period is over. I wonder if this is true.
chapter 1: the trailblazing show Oz and its maverick creator Tom Fontana. I really wish this chapter had gone a bit more in depth about the show itself: its off-kilter similarity to an off-off-off-Broadway production with its staginess and often theatrical acting and of course those little soliloquies; the intensely brutal and nihilistic final season; the tortured plotlines that still moved so much faster than any other shows of its time; the gigantic and constantly changing casts usually separated by ethnicity and often rotating due to one of the highest body counts a show has ever had; etc. that show is a classic. so ugly. so beautiful!
chapter 2: the big daddy of them all The Sopranos. fortunately, Sepinwall spends as much time with the brilliance of the show itself as he does with its maverick creator David Chase. the author argues successfully that the magic ingredient in the narrative is the psychotherapy; without it, the result may have been interesting but hardly original. the psychotherapy and all of the psychodrama in general are what gives it unique appeal and lasting value. that, and a genuinely selfish and mean-spirited psychopath as its lead character. this chapter also spends a good amount of time on that controversial ending.
chapter 3: that classic educational tool for white people The Wire. unsurprisingly, Sepinwall describes the series as a novelistic experience, which is how it has been described for about a decade now. some time is spent with The Wire's maverick creators David Simon & Ed Burns but most of the chapter is all about those novelistic traits and how the series is a portrait of a city and a world rather than being about cops & criminals. no new points are made here but it was still enjoyable reading so much about a show that I still think about regularly. plus some nice mentions: that one conversation consisting solely of "fuck" and, of course, Omar. oh, Omar! man he has to be one of the dreamiest characters ever created for the small screen.
chapter 4: this is mainly a piece on Deadwood's fascinating maverick creator David Milch. with a lot on the controversy behind the show's non-ending (and one happy spoiler: apparently in real life, George Hearst didn't win. hurrah!) and a little bit on the show's wonderfully original dialogue. as portrayed by the author, Milch is indeed fascinating. formidable guy! although I quite disliked his John from Cincinnati or whatever its called. still, you have to admire a man with vision. such a maverick.
chapter 5: all about The Shield and its "maverick" creator Shawn Ryan. a lot about the channel FX and a little about star Michael Chiklis; would have preferred more about the show itself. but this was still a pretty enjoyable chapter, mainly because Sepinwall seems to be as agog over the show's insane nastiness and its parade of perversions as viewers were at the time.
chapter 6: the wonder of Lost and itsmaverick creator Lloyd Braun maverick creator JJ Abrams show-helmers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. the chapter gives the show its due, tracing its appeal and successes and challenges on an almost season-by-season basis. some interesting thoughts on how Lost was the perfect show for its time - right when the internet really came into its own as the perfect place for fans to discuss and theorize about all of their favorite things. I learned so much about Lost online.
chapter 7: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. the show really shouldn't have been included in the book, and especially not in its particular place in the book, because it preceded Oz & The Sopranos. but I am glad Sepinwall included this chapter. it is basically a love letter to Buffy's creator, themaverick genius Joss Whedon. I'm down with a love letter to Whedon. I saved this chapter for last because the show is one of my favorite things in the world. the chapter did not disappoint.
chapter 8: torture extravaganza 24 and its maverick co-creators Joel Surnow & Robert Cochran. the chapter does not shy away from all the torture and what that meant for 24 and its audience. kudos! it also doesn't shy away from the insane stupidity of Kim-getting-menaced-by-a-mountain-lion-for-2-episodes. I was specifically looking for that. double kudos! much time spent on the unique structure of the series and on Sutherland's awesomeness as Jack Bauer.
chapter 9: a sort of all-over-the-map section on the marvelous Battlestar Galactica. some interesting commentary about science fiction on tv and on the distinctly non-methodical, open-to-all-options style of that show's maverick creator Ron Moore. this was the weakest chapter of the book for me and I would have appreciated more focus. the show is amazing.
chapter 10: Friday Night Lights. never watched it. wanna watch it. I bet there's a maverick involved.
chapter 11: work of art Mad Men and its MAVERICK creator Matthew Weiner. a lot about AMC. maybe too much. still, Sepinwall clearly worships at the altar of both The Sopranos and Mad Men most of all, and so his discussion of the latter is particularly rich. I think he should write a whole book about Mad Men, although maybe leave AMC out of it as much as possible. ugh, AMC. what is wrong with executives over there? it is like they have taken lessons from Fox executives. ugh, executives.
chapter 12: except for a slightly pointless Epilogue, the book ends with a great chapter on Breaking Bad. such enthusiasm! I appreciated the intelligence of Sepinwall's thoughts on the show and his focus on Breaking Bad's incredible look. it is one of the most beautifully shot television shows ever. and not just pretty shots, but shots that are exciting, challenging, strange. Sepinwall also has some interesting things to say about quirky show creator Vince Gilligan, who is apparently quite a MAVERICKMAVERICKMAVERICKMAVERICKMAVERICKMAVERICKMAVERICKMAVERICKMAVERICK
SUMMARY: so with all of the focus on the maverick creators behind each of these New Golden Age shows profiled, I found my old auteur theory gears turning. nice. I rarely think of auteurs when I think of tv. Sepinwall has certainly changed that. the whole book is an ode to auteurs of the small screen.
chapter 1: the trailblazing show Oz and its maverick creator Tom Fontana. I really wish this chapter had gone a bit more in depth about the show itself: its off-kilter similarity to an off-off-off-Broadway production with its staginess and often theatrical acting and of course those little soliloquies; the intensely brutal and nihilistic final season; the tortured plotlines that still moved so much faster than any other shows of its time; the gigantic and constantly changing casts usually separated by ethnicity and often rotating due to one of the highest body counts a show has ever had; etc. that show is a classic. so ugly. so beautiful!
chapter 2: the big daddy of them all The Sopranos. fortunately, Sepinwall spends as much time with the brilliance of the show itself as he does with its maverick creator David Chase. the author argues successfully that the magic ingredient in the narrative is the psychotherapy; without it, the result may have been interesting but hardly original. the psychotherapy and all of the psychodrama in general are what gives it unique appeal and lasting value. that, and a genuinely selfish and mean-spirited psychopath as its lead character. this chapter also spends a good amount of time on that controversial ending.
chapter 3: that classic educational tool for white people The Wire. unsurprisingly, Sepinwall describes the series as a novelistic experience, which is how it has been described for about a decade now. some time is spent with The Wire's maverick creators David Simon & Ed Burns but most of the chapter is all about those novelistic traits and how the series is a portrait of a city and a world rather than being about cops & criminals. no new points are made here but it was still enjoyable reading so much about a show that I still think about regularly. plus some nice mentions: that one conversation consisting solely of "fuck" and, of course, Omar. oh, Omar! man he has to be one of the dreamiest characters ever created for the small screen.
chapter 4: this is mainly a piece on Deadwood's fascinating maverick creator David Milch. with a lot on the controversy behind the show's non-ending (and one happy spoiler: apparently in real life, George Hearst didn't win. hurrah!) and a little bit on the show's wonderfully original dialogue. as portrayed by the author, Milch is indeed fascinating. formidable guy! although I quite disliked his John from Cincinnati or whatever its called. still, you have to admire a man with vision. such a maverick.
chapter 5: all about The Shield and its "maverick" creator Shawn Ryan. a lot about the channel FX and a little about star Michael Chiklis; would have preferred more about the show itself. but this was still a pretty enjoyable chapter, mainly because Sepinwall seems to be as agog over the show's insane nastiness and its parade of perversions as viewers were at the time.
chapter 6: the wonder of Lost and its
chapter 7: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. the show really shouldn't have been included in the book, and especially not in its particular place in the book, because it preceded Oz & The Sopranos. but I am glad Sepinwall included this chapter. it is basically a love letter to Buffy's creator, the
chapter 8: torture extravaganza 24 and its maverick co-creators Joel Surnow & Robert Cochran. the chapter does not shy away from all the torture and what that meant for 24 and its audience. kudos! it also doesn't shy away from the insane stupidity of Kim-getting-menaced-by-a-mountain-lion-for-2-episodes. I was specifically looking for that. double kudos! much time spent on the unique structure of the series and on Sutherland's awesomeness as Jack Bauer.
chapter 9: a sort of all-over-the-map section on the marvelous Battlestar Galactica. some interesting commentary about science fiction on tv and on the distinctly non-methodical, open-to-all-options style of that show's maverick creator Ron Moore. this was the weakest chapter of the book for me and I would have appreciated more focus. the show is amazing.
chapter 10: Friday Night Lights. never watched it. wanna watch it. I bet there's a maverick involved.
chapter 11: work of art Mad Men and its MAVERICK creator Matthew Weiner. a lot about AMC. maybe too much. still, Sepinwall clearly worships at the altar of both The Sopranos and Mad Men most of all, and so his discussion of the latter is particularly rich. I think he should write a whole book about Mad Men, although maybe leave AMC out of it as much as possible. ugh, AMC. what is wrong with executives over there? it is like they have taken lessons from Fox executives. ugh, executives.
chapter 12: except for a slightly pointless Epilogue, the book ends with a great chapter on Breaking Bad. such enthusiasm! I appreciated the intelligence of Sepinwall's thoughts on the show and his focus on Breaking Bad's incredible look. it is one of the most beautifully shot television shows ever. and not just pretty shots, but shots that are exciting, challenging, strange. Sepinwall also has some interesting things to say about quirky show creator Vince Gilligan, who is apparently quite a MAVERICKMAVERICKMAVERICKMAVERICKMAVERICKMAVERICKMAVERICKMAVERICKMAVERICK
SUMMARY: so with all of the focus on the maverick creators behind each of these New Golden Age shows profiled, I found my old auteur theory gears turning. nice. I rarely think of auteurs when I think of tv. Sepinwall has certainly changed that. the whole book is an ode to auteurs of the small screen.
January 31, 2015
This is an excellent analysis of twelve shows that ushered in the new golden age of television that we are currently enjoying.
I've been reading Alan Sepinwall's columns for several years and was thrilled he'd written a book about some of my favorite TV shows, including The Wire, The Sopranos, Deadwood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mad Men, Lost, Battlestar Galactica and Friday Night Lights. Other shows discussed in the book are Oz, The Shield, 24 and Breaking Bad, in addition to a prologue that lists earlier shows that challenged networks and audiences long before David Chase wrote the first episode of The Sopranos.
If you're a fan of any of those shows listed above, you would probably find this book interesting. Sepinwall provides a back story for each show, interviewing the creators and network executives to describe how the show initially got made and its production process. He also discusses highlights from each show and what made it so unique and great.
A key point made by several writers and producers is that dramas are flourishing on television partly because Hollywood has all but abandoned them: "Where once there had been blockbusters, art films, and a large swath of movies in between — many of that last group geared toward adults — the 21st century slowly saw the extinction of the middle-class movie. If a film couldn't either be made on the cheap or guarantee an opening weekend of $50 million or more, it was out. As Sopranos creator David Chase puts it, 'Movies went from something really interesting to what we have now.'"
This book made me excited again for shows I haven't watched in years, and interested in some that I haven't yet seen.
I've been reading Alan Sepinwall's columns for several years and was thrilled he'd written a book about some of my favorite TV shows, including The Wire, The Sopranos, Deadwood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mad Men, Lost, Battlestar Galactica and Friday Night Lights. Other shows discussed in the book are Oz, The Shield, 24 and Breaking Bad, in addition to a prologue that lists earlier shows that challenged networks and audiences long before David Chase wrote the first episode of The Sopranos.
If you're a fan of any of those shows listed above, you would probably find this book interesting. Sepinwall provides a back story for each show, interviewing the creators and network executives to describe how the show initially got made and its production process. He also discusses highlights from each show and what made it so unique and great.
A key point made by several writers and producers is that dramas are flourishing on television partly because Hollywood has all but abandoned them: "Where once there had been blockbusters, art films, and a large swath of movies in between — many of that last group geared toward adults — the 21st century slowly saw the extinction of the middle-class movie. If a film couldn't either be made on the cheap or guarantee an opening weekend of $50 million or more, it was out. As Sopranos creator David Chase puts it, 'Movies went from something really interesting to what we have now.'"
This book made me excited again for shows I haven't watched in years, and interested in some that I haven't yet seen.
December 31, 2012
Two of my favorite online writers and podcasters are Linda Holmes and Bill Simmons, so when both endorsed Sepinwall's new book, I knew I needed to read it. I've watched exactly half of the 12 shows that he surveys in this excellent book, so it was an exercise in both reviewing familiar territory and exploring new lands that I had not yet ventured into.
The book is excellent. Sepinwall somehow provides more or less then same information about each show (concept, writing, pitching, casting, pilot, pick-up, developing each season, and (as warranted) concluding the series, and somehow does not resort to a formula. Each chapter is engaging, critical, and fast-paced.
I did wish, though, that Sepinwall had either constructed the book differently, or that he now writes a sequel. The most interesting parts are not the behind-the-scenes, how-it-was-written details of each of the 12 shows, but instead when he looks at the overarching themes that connect all 12. His too-brief but exceptionally tantalizing thoughts on why all of the protagonists seem to be men, or what the rise of DVDs and DVRs in the decade of the '00s meant for the development of serialized dramas are fantastic. I just wish that half the book had been these bigger thoughts. For example: this era coincides with the rise of America's first African-American president, but nowhere does Sepinwall discuss this epochal event and how it may have impacted television shows, or almost anything else about how race or class appeared during this era.
Sepinwall self-published this book, which feels as earth-shaking to the book distribution system as Louis CK's self-produced comedy show a year ago may end up being to certain forms of television.
The book is excellent. Sepinwall somehow provides more or less then same information about each show (concept, writing, pitching, casting, pilot, pick-up, developing each season, and (as warranted) concluding the series, and somehow does not resort to a formula. Each chapter is engaging, critical, and fast-paced.
I did wish, though, that Sepinwall had either constructed the book differently, or that he now writes a sequel. The most interesting parts are not the behind-the-scenes, how-it-was-written details of each of the 12 shows, but instead when he looks at the overarching themes that connect all 12. His too-brief but exceptionally tantalizing thoughts on why all of the protagonists seem to be men, or what the rise of DVDs and DVRs in the decade of the '00s meant for the development of serialized dramas are fantastic. I just wish that half the book had been these bigger thoughts. For example: this era coincides with the rise of America's first African-American president, but nowhere does Sepinwall discuss this epochal event and how it may have impacted television shows, or almost anything else about how race or class appeared during this era.
Sepinwall self-published this book, which feels as earth-shaking to the book distribution system as Louis CK's self-produced comedy show a year ago may end up being to certain forms of television.
January 26, 2022
Read: Jan 2022
Rating: 4/5 stars
The Revolution Was Televised is less of a book and more of a collection of essays, with each essay discussing a particular TV series (one essay constituting a chapter). Sepinwall discusses the way in which the show came into being, interviews key people involved in the making of it, what the show was about and how it took influence from the past, as well as influenced future TV shows in the future. I didn't read every essay because I haven't watched every TV show mentioned here and the spoilers are numerous in each chapter (which is unavoidable, given the level of detail put into each one).
My four star rating is based on the following chapters:
Chapter 2 - All Due Respect...The Sopranos changes everything
Chapter 6 - Do you want to know a secret?...The perfect storm of Lost
Chapter 7 - She saved the world. A lot...Buffy the Vampire Slayer gives teen angst some fangs
Chapter 9 - So Say We All...The thinking man's sci-fi of Battlestar Galactica
Chapter 11 - It's a Time Machine...AMC gets into the game with Mad Men
Chapter 12 - I am the one who knocks!...Breaking Bad gives the recession the villain it deserves
Rating: 4/5 stars
The Revolution Was Televised is less of a book and more of a collection of essays, with each essay discussing a particular TV series (one essay constituting a chapter). Sepinwall discusses the way in which the show came into being, interviews key people involved in the making of it, what the show was about and how it took influence from the past, as well as influenced future TV shows in the future. I didn't read every essay because I haven't watched every TV show mentioned here and the spoilers are numerous in each chapter (which is unavoidable, given the level of detail put into each one).
My four star rating is based on the following chapters:
Chapter 2 - All Due Respect...The Sopranos changes everything
Chapter 6 - Do you want to know a secret?...The perfect storm of Lost
Chapter 7 - She saved the world. A lot...Buffy the Vampire Slayer gives teen angst some fangs
Chapter 9 - So Say We All...The thinking man's sci-fi of Battlestar Galactica
Chapter 11 - It's a Time Machine...AMC gets into the game with Mad Men
Chapter 12 - I am the one who knocks!...Breaking Bad gives the recession the villain it deserves
August 19, 2021
4.5
Muito bom. Quem ama cultura pop, tem que ler.
Muito bom. Quem ama cultura pop, tem que ler.
December 20, 2012
I love reading (and writing) about good television, and thoroughly enjoyed Alan Sepinwall's doing the same. One of the best things I can say about these essays--one for each show he focuses on--is that I wanted pretty much all of them to be longer. I learned a lot about how each show came to be on and off the air (though of course there are conflicting accounts depending on who you ask in many cases). It confirms the vague impression I've had of current TV that the reason so many amazing shows got on the air was mostly due to networks taking risks on creators with real passion for what they were doing. It's pretty inspiring to think that letting go of the need for big ratings across the board really can inspire fantastic work for small audiences.
I'm sure many would argue with the shows Sepinwall chooses over others, and they would probably have a very good argument there, but the shows here often seem to be chosen not so much because they're "the best ever" (though obviously in some cases the author thinks they are) but because they represented something new in what they were doing that opened the door for more. The Shield, for instance, is one of the shows I hadn't actually watched. The essay on that show isn't so much about the main character being a dangerous antihero (of which we already had plenty) but about how that was the show that led the way for basic cable to try to be more like HBO and how wonderful that goal was.
I fully admit I tend to agree with AS that we're living in an amazing age of TV, so I'm more than happy to listen to him give his take on that.
I'm sure many would argue with the shows Sepinwall chooses over others, and they would probably have a very good argument there, but the shows here often seem to be chosen not so much because they're "the best ever" (though obviously in some cases the author thinks they are) but because they represented something new in what they were doing that opened the door for more. The Shield, for instance, is one of the shows I hadn't actually watched. The essay on that show isn't so much about the main character being a dangerous antihero (of which we already had plenty) but about how that was the show that led the way for basic cable to try to be more like HBO and how wonderful that goal was.
I fully admit I tend to agree with AS that we're living in an amazing age of TV, so I'm more than happy to listen to him give his take on that.
February 4, 2013
For several years, Alan Sepinwall's blog, first at the New Jersey Star Ledger and then at Hitfix.com, has been the site I visit right after watching an intense episode of my favorite serial drama. Sepinwall practically invented the practice of reviewing individual episodes of a TV series, an invaluable service in an era when television shows pack a level of depth and ambiguity that only movies used to have. In this book, he visits a dozen series that expanded how television approaches the storytelling form: Oz, The Sopranos, The Wire, Deadwood, The Shield, Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 24, Battlestar Galactica, Friday Night Lights, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad. He talks with the producers and writers of each show to get insights about the creative process that went into them and the particular challenges, both artistic and professional, that they solved (or didn't). If you were a fan of any of these shows, you'll enjoy revisiting them through this particular lens, and you'll want to start watching the ones you missed.
Sepinwall's writing here is smoother and even more enjoyable than the off-the-cuff (although still literate and engaging) work he does for the blog. I was pleased to learn that he's not only a great blogger, he's a good writer, period, and whenever his next book comes out, I'll read it—even if it's not about TV.
Sepinwall's writing here is smoother and even more enjoyable than the off-the-cuff (although still literate and engaging) work he does for the blog. I was pleased to learn that he's not only a great blogger, he's a good writer, period, and whenever his next book comes out, I'll read it—even if it's not about TV.
December 12, 2012
"The Revolution Was Televised" is mostly useful as a collection of parsed interviews that the author conducted with the creators/writers/producers of the various shows lionized therein, including, but not limited to:
The Wire,
Deadwood
,
Lost,
Battlestar Galactica
,
Mad Men
, and above all else (in the author's mind, at least)
The Sopranos
.
This book's failings are not just due to Sepinwall's home-town cheerleading for The Sopranos (a show with two pretty good seasons and four average-to-awful seasons) at the expense of other, far superior shows; they are also due to the fact that the author has spent the last two decades as an episodic TV recapper, and is desperate to find a way to translate that fairly mundane activity into a profound statement that Says Something about American culture and TV history. In this, he does not succeed.
Some of the anecdotes provided by David Simon, Chris Albrecht, David Milch, et al. are pretty good though.
This book's failings are not just due to Sepinwall's home-town cheerleading for The Sopranos (a show with two pretty good seasons and four average-to-awful seasons) at the expense of other, far superior shows; they are also due to the fact that the author has spent the last two decades as an episodic TV recapper, and is desperate to find a way to translate that fairly mundane activity into a profound statement that Says Something about American culture and TV history. In this, he does not succeed.
Some of the anecdotes provided by David Simon, Chris Albrecht, David Milch, et al. are pretty good though.
May 31, 2019
This book used to be on my to-read list, which for some reason I then forgot about, but then was reminded of this week, and with all four of the other books I'm currently reading going immediately on hold when this arrived from the library, as I ate through the entire 450 pages in a single day. And the reason for that is because the book concerns a subject near and dear to my heart, a subject that a lot of people are fascinated by these days, which is the rise of the "Peak TV" era at the turn of the millennium with shows like Oz, The Sopranos and The Wire, which then continued into the 2010s with Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Mad Men, Breaking Bad and a lot of others.
As those who closely follow arts history know, what's remarkable about this period is that it was the first to treat TV showrunners as "auteurs" (a term first invented in the film world in the 1960s, to describe both the New Hollywood era and the French New Wave), literally authors of a show that was treated like a gigantic unified novel, one that moves us through a three-act plot not just with each episode but from year to year as a series as a whole; and that this was only allowed to happen because of the fracturing of the TV industry from three network behemoths into a thousand destinations all scrambling for a tiny piece of the audience, with minor cable channels that more and more started hiring maverick acquisition experts whose one and only job was to get that cable channel any attention it could, any way it could, no matter if the results turned a profit or generated a sizable audience or not. It was these mavericks who then hired jaded network genre veterans who largely (this book reveals) were just about to quit the industry altogether and get into theatrically released art-films; freed from the former network obligations of generating large ratings, pleasing advertisers, or creating dozens of standalone episodes per year that could be run in any order on syndication afterwards, these old-school writers (including St. Elsewhere veteran Tom Fontana, Rockford Files veteran David Chase, Homicide veteran David Simon, and Hill Street Blues veteran David Milch) let their imaginations run wild and unrestricted, creating startling shows like had never been seen in television before.
And who better to write a historical document about this era than Alan Sepinwall, who first gained fame for writing densely analytical and intellectual critiques of The Sopranos not after each season but literally after each episode, which many people now forget was an unheard-of practice before the rise of the Peak TV era to begin with. Sepinwall began this academic-style analysis of TV at an obscure newspaper in New Jersey; but just as these shows wouldn't have thrived without a mature and mainstream internet to spread information and gain new fans, so too would Sepinwall never have had a mainstream national audience without his columns being reprinted online, which he then ambitiously took advantage of in order to secure long and fascinating interviews with all the auteurs in question, which led not only to this book but to Sepinwall now being the main television critic of Rolling Stone. This is no empty entertainment-industry glossy overview of these shows, but a deep and probing look at the educational and life experiences of the showrunners in question, the literary antecedents that these shows call upon, and the remarkable confluence of details that came together at these corporate entities at this exact moment that let these shows happen in the first place. (Among the many revelations here, Sepinwall makes it clear that the Peak TV era would've never come about in the first place if the broadcast networks hadn't completely imploded in the face of a disintegrating audience, full of scared and lazy executives whose only response was to double-down on sports and empty reality shows in order to boost their flagging numbers back up to pre-internet levels, which is what drove both the showrunners and the creative executives who greenlit them to the cable channels to begin with.)
It's a fascinating and fast read, and one of the most important historical documents about popular culture the 21st century has yet produced, all the more wonderful for it being about the shows you already love and are obsessed with. It comes strongly recommended, not just to history students but all those who wish to learn more about this remarkable (and still ongoing) string of mind-blowing series.
As those who closely follow arts history know, what's remarkable about this period is that it was the first to treat TV showrunners as "auteurs" (a term first invented in the film world in the 1960s, to describe both the New Hollywood era and the French New Wave), literally authors of a show that was treated like a gigantic unified novel, one that moves us through a three-act plot not just with each episode but from year to year as a series as a whole; and that this was only allowed to happen because of the fracturing of the TV industry from three network behemoths into a thousand destinations all scrambling for a tiny piece of the audience, with minor cable channels that more and more started hiring maverick acquisition experts whose one and only job was to get that cable channel any attention it could, any way it could, no matter if the results turned a profit or generated a sizable audience or not. It was these mavericks who then hired jaded network genre veterans who largely (this book reveals) were just about to quit the industry altogether and get into theatrically released art-films; freed from the former network obligations of generating large ratings, pleasing advertisers, or creating dozens of standalone episodes per year that could be run in any order on syndication afterwards, these old-school writers (including St. Elsewhere veteran Tom Fontana, Rockford Files veteran David Chase, Homicide veteran David Simon, and Hill Street Blues veteran David Milch) let their imaginations run wild and unrestricted, creating startling shows like had never been seen in television before.
And who better to write a historical document about this era than Alan Sepinwall, who first gained fame for writing densely analytical and intellectual critiques of The Sopranos not after each season but literally after each episode, which many people now forget was an unheard-of practice before the rise of the Peak TV era to begin with. Sepinwall began this academic-style analysis of TV at an obscure newspaper in New Jersey; but just as these shows wouldn't have thrived without a mature and mainstream internet to spread information and gain new fans, so too would Sepinwall never have had a mainstream national audience without his columns being reprinted online, which he then ambitiously took advantage of in order to secure long and fascinating interviews with all the auteurs in question, which led not only to this book but to Sepinwall now being the main television critic of Rolling Stone. This is no empty entertainment-industry glossy overview of these shows, but a deep and probing look at the educational and life experiences of the showrunners in question, the literary antecedents that these shows call upon, and the remarkable confluence of details that came together at these corporate entities at this exact moment that let these shows happen in the first place. (Among the many revelations here, Sepinwall makes it clear that the Peak TV era would've never come about in the first place if the broadcast networks hadn't completely imploded in the face of a disintegrating audience, full of scared and lazy executives whose only response was to double-down on sports and empty reality shows in order to boost their flagging numbers back up to pre-internet levels, which is what drove both the showrunners and the creative executives who greenlit them to the cable channels to begin with.)
It's a fascinating and fast read, and one of the most important historical documents about popular culture the 21st century has yet produced, all the more wonderful for it being about the shows you already love and are obsessed with. It comes strongly recommended, not just to history students but all those who wish to learn more about this remarkable (and still ongoing) string of mind-blowing series.
April 23, 2013
Alan Sepinwall started out as a TV critic back in the mid-90s, when most people still couldn't conceive that there was anything on TV you could write enough about to earn the title "critic". Then came the new wave of US TV drama in the late 90s and throughout the 00s, with shows that tried to use the medium to tell stories that no other medium could; complex, ambitious, character-driven, taking months or even years to unfold and add to themsleves, tackling real-life issues from the personal to the political through fiction. Oz, The Sopranos, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The Wire, Deadwood, The Shield, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Mad Men, Breaking Bad...
So in this book, Sepinwall goes around and interviews the producers, writers and actors of these and other shows, talks to them about how it happened, what they were trying to do, how they work, their relationship to the network and to other media, and how come creative talent seems to shift to the so-called idiot box while Hollywood becomes ever more obsessed with blockbusters and needless remakes.
Obviously, your opinion of the book will depend on your opinion of the subject. If you're a fan - however you define that term - of any or some of these series, it's a very good read indeed; if you couldn't care less, you won't care any more. Sepinwall is obviously fascinated with them, and at times he becomes a little too respectful of them, but he gets his interviewees talking and gets to the root of the trickier issues around them - why we care about virtually irredeemable characters like Tony Soprano and Walter White, what does it say that the first TV series inspired by 9/11 was a sci-fi series loosely based on a crap 70s show, the way people elevate Don Draper to a style icon even as his story becomes more disturbing, whether this is a permanent improvement of the medium or just a lucky blip on the radar...
The only major drawback is that the book is entirely focused on the shows Sepinwall likes. Everything else - including the fact that the CSIs, the American Idols and the 2 1/2 Mens of the world still get 10 times the viewership of any well-scripted HBO drama aiming for Great American Novel territory - barely gets a mention. But then, that's not the point either.
So in this book, Sepinwall goes around and interviews the producers, writers and actors of these and other shows, talks to them about how it happened, what they were trying to do, how they work, their relationship to the network and to other media, and how come creative talent seems to shift to the so-called idiot box while Hollywood becomes ever more obsessed with blockbusters and needless remakes.
Obviously, your opinion of the book will depend on your opinion of the subject. If you're a fan - however you define that term - of any or some of these series, it's a very good read indeed; if you couldn't care less, you won't care any more. Sepinwall is obviously fascinated with them, and at times he becomes a little too respectful of them, but he gets his interviewees talking and gets to the root of the trickier issues around them - why we care about virtually irredeemable characters like Tony Soprano and Walter White, what does it say that the first TV series inspired by 9/11 was a sci-fi series loosely based on a crap 70s show, the way people elevate Don Draper to a style icon even as his story becomes more disturbing, whether this is a permanent improvement of the medium or just a lucky blip on the radar...
The only major drawback is that the book is entirely focused on the shows Sepinwall likes. Everything else - including the fact that the CSIs, the American Idols and the 2 1/2 Mens of the world still get 10 times the viewership of any well-scripted HBO drama aiming for Great American Novel territory - barely gets a mention. But then, that's not the point either.
November 26, 2012
It's a remarkable coincidence that the theme of the television shows Alan Sepinwall chooses to write about for his book is: right people, right place, right time. Sepinwall himself, widely considered one of the best TV critics out there (his reviews are a must-read for me and I'm not in the minority here), certainly lucked out to be at the right place (writing for the NJ Star-Ledger and internet boards just as the net was blowing up) at the right time (the golden age of television). Thus, he is the perfect person to chronicle the late-90s to now revolution of quality television and he does not disappoint. Every show he tracks is laid out for: 1. How it was made (almost all of them by accident), 2. What made it good and, most importantly, 3. What made it unique for its time and place. There's a lot of fascinating behind-the-scenes stuff as well as brand new interviews with many of the shows creators that help to place shows in their proper perspective. For example, the David Chase interview for The Sopranos really helped to highlight most of the series' aim while putting the controversial ending in a good perspective (even though I still hate it). And while I've never watched Battlestar Galactica, Sepinwall's ability to show where the depth of the program is made me want to (on a related note, I skipped through most of the Lost chapter as I do someday want to try and watch that show so take that for what it's worth). This is a must own for any fan of the quality television programs of the past decade, as well as any fan of Alan Sepinwall's work. Even if you have not seen these shows, you will understand by the end of the book what makes them great and what their role was in this golden age of TV.
July 24, 2013
I gave this 4 stars because I've been reading Sepinwall's insightful reviews for years and I'm glad he decided to write a book. I especially liked the chapter on Mad Men, although I didn't learn much new since I'm such a big fan. I haven't watched all the shows he writes about but I'm thinking of getting Friday Night Lights on DVD now that I know more about it. I also really liked the chapter on The Sopranos (one of my all time favorite shows) and Sepinwall's analysis of the controversial ending. The chapter on The Wire also would encourage me to watch it if I hadn't seen it many times already. All in all, a well written book for TV addicts like me! It would have been even better if he had discussed Rescue Me, Justified, Six Feet Under and Sex and the City, although he mentioned them briefly.
August 30, 2016
2016 holiday read!
A very good and interesting read on the shows that helped TV be what it is toady. It was between this and Difficult Men, but I decided to go for this because I'd seen more of the shows covered in this book and it looks like Difficult Men mostly covers The Sopranos.
I feel like I should point out though, the chapters on shows you haven't seen will potentially spoil the TV show for you (if you plan on watching it eventually). It's not done with malice and intention, but you can't really go into the sopranos or deadwood without mentions some major character deaths.
I particularly liked the chapters on Friday Night Lights and Breaking Bad. And it's made me want to re-watch both shows even more.
A very good and interesting read on the shows that helped TV be what it is toady. It was between this and Difficult Men, but I decided to go for this because I'd seen more of the shows covered in this book and it looks like Difficult Men mostly covers The Sopranos.
I feel like I should point out though, the chapters on shows you haven't seen will potentially spoil the TV show for you (if you plan on watching it eventually). It's not done with malice and intention, but you can't really go into the sopranos or deadwood without mentions some major character deaths.
I particularly liked the chapters on Friday Night Lights and Breaking Bad. And it's made me want to re-watch both shows even more.
February 17, 2020
Alan Sepinwall is my favourite TV critic and his book about the 12 most influential drama series of the current era feels like it was written just for me. I thought I knew most of these shows inside out already but Sepinwall's interviews with the creators on the development process was fascinating, teaching me things I don't think I would be able to find anywhere else. If you are a fan of any of the shows discussed within, this is a must read.
November 9, 2022
Nowe uzupełnione wydanie. Niestety, nie wydano tej książki w Polsce. Stąd i czytanie jej trochę mi zajęło. Nie wiem, czy tego typu pozycje miałyby szanse na dosyć płytkim rynku wydawniczym. Target czytelniczy wydaje się być skromny, wręcz niszowy. Z racji przedmiotu analizy.
Autor omawia w niej dwanaście seriali, które zrewolucjonizowały ten gatunek rozrywki w ciągu ostatnich dwóch dekad. Myślę, że każdy kto się na poważnie interesuje tematem bez problemu wskaże przynajmniej połowę z dwunastu tytułów omówionych w tej książce. Ja jednak miałbym problemy z dociągnięciem do dziesięciu tytułów a wybór dwunastu od razu wzbudził moje podejrzenia i ciekawość. Przy tym od razu napiszę, że takie wybory „najlepszych” zawsze są obarczone wadą subiektywności. Tu jednak chodzi o tytuły, które dokonały rewolucji. Subiektywizm jest bardzo ograniczony. A na pewno można go zdemaskować. :)
Oczywiście, rewolucja zaczęła się w HBO. Ale autor nie wyrywa tematu z kontekstu i wskazuje seriale w stacjach sieciowych (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox), które wybijały się ponad mizerię telewizyjną pod koniec lat 90-tych. I nie ogranicza się tylko do HBO, czy AMC, ale sięga też poza stacje kablowe, właśnie do tych sieciowych, ogólnodostępnych. I może właśnie tu bym się z nim pospierał. Bo „Buffy”, czy „Lost” mimo ich jakości to jednak wybory kontrowersyjne. Naciągane nieco, jakby Sepinwall chciał oddać sprawiedliwość wszystkim, także tym słabszym, „skażonym” koniecznością schlebiania masowym gustom, choć częściowo na swoich warunkach (bardziej „Lost” niż „Buffy”). Niemniej wybory są uzasadnione więc można dyskutować nad argumentami. Szczerze pisząc na tych samych argumentach dałbym radę uzasadnić obecność na tej liście „The West Wing” (serial polityczny), czy doskonały „The Good Wife” (serial prawniczy i polityczno-prawniczy). O których autor także wspomina, trochę dla porównania.
Zapewne za kilka lat pojawi się kolejne wydanie tej książki - serwisy streamingowe przejęły bowiem pałeczkę od stacji kablowych. Punktem do wyjścia z dyskusją może być pytanie, czy serwisy streamingowe nie zabiją serialu. Choćby przesytem.
Autor omawia w niej dwanaście seriali, które zrewolucjonizowały ten gatunek rozrywki w ciągu ostatnich dwóch dekad. Myślę, że każdy kto się na poważnie interesuje tematem bez problemu wskaże przynajmniej połowę z dwunastu tytułów omówionych w tej książce. Ja jednak miałbym problemy z dociągnięciem do dziesięciu tytułów a wybór dwunastu od razu wzbudził moje podejrzenia i ciekawość. Przy tym od razu napiszę, że takie wybory „najlepszych” zawsze są obarczone wadą subiektywności. Tu jednak chodzi o tytuły, które dokonały rewolucji. Subiektywizm jest bardzo ograniczony. A na pewno można go zdemaskować. :)
Oczywiście, rewolucja zaczęła się w HBO. Ale autor nie wyrywa tematu z kontekstu i wskazuje seriale w stacjach sieciowych (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox), które wybijały się ponad mizerię telewizyjną pod koniec lat 90-tych. I nie ogranicza się tylko do HBO, czy AMC, ale sięga też poza stacje kablowe, właśnie do tych sieciowych, ogólnodostępnych. I może właśnie tu bym się z nim pospierał. Bo „Buffy”, czy „Lost” mimo ich jakości to jednak wybory kontrowersyjne. Naciągane nieco, jakby Sepinwall chciał oddać sprawiedliwość wszystkim, także tym słabszym, „skażonym” koniecznością schlebiania masowym gustom, choć częściowo na swoich warunkach (bardziej „Lost” niż „Buffy”). Niemniej wybory są uzasadnione więc można dyskutować nad argumentami. Szczerze pisząc na tych samych argumentach dałbym radę uzasadnić obecność na tej liście „The West Wing” (serial polityczny), czy doskonały „The Good Wife” (serial prawniczy i polityczno-prawniczy). O których autor także wspomina, trochę dla porównania.
Zapewne za kilka lat pojawi się kolejne wydanie tej książki - serwisy streamingowe przejęły bowiem pałeczkę od stacji kablowych. Punktem do wyjścia z dyskusją może być pytanie, czy serwisy streamingowe nie zabiją serialu. Choćby przesytem.
February 13, 2024
really enjoyable as someone who likes TV, but i'm not sure what you'd get out of this if that wasn't the case. it helped that i had seen, and enjoyed, most the shows mentioned in this book -- because the ones i was less familiar with had chapters i had a harder time getting through (the chapter on 24, for example, could not hold my attention). this book is also very praising of joss whedon, lmao, which was the standard at the time of publishing but has perhaps soured in current years. it made me laugh, mostly, but i also cringed.
overall, i think this book has some interesting things to say and i appreciated knowing some of the ins and outs of The Great TV Shows. again, idk what you'd get out of this if you aren't a tv nerd, but i am a tv nerd so.
overall, i think this book has some interesting things to say and i appreciated knowing some of the ins and outs of The Great TV Shows. again, idk what you'd get out of this if you aren't a tv nerd, but i am a tv nerd so.
December 23, 2019
3.5 stars, but I'm going to give 4 for the writing. It's a very fun book to read - especially since we (wife & I) watch a lot of TV, and so I've seen more than a few of those shows, and I'm planning to watch a further few in the near future.
I was surprised to find out that Breaking Bad was less planned out in advance than I had thought. I was NOT exactly surprised that Whedon was the one creator who did not make the time to talk with Sepinwall.
It's a very interesting look at some TV shows that changed the face of TV as we know it - but it is, it has to be said, not THE definitive look. Worth reading, but worth reading critically.
I was surprised to find out that Breaking Bad was less planned out in advance than I had thought. I was NOT exactly surprised that Whedon was the one creator who did not make the time to talk with Sepinwall.
It's a very interesting look at some TV shows that changed the face of TV as we know it - but it is, it has to be said, not THE definitive look. Worth reading, but worth reading critically.
July 14, 2018
It was nearly impossible for me to separate my reactions to the work that Sepinwall did do from what it could have been. It was part of the reason I was a bit underwhelmed by the book, something that emmalita and I share. But I should perhaps back up a little first because Alan Sepinwall did tackle a large mountain of a topic that is going to be at the center of the discussion of what pop culture and television are and can be moving forward.
Full review: https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/...
Full review: https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/...
January 7, 2013
Wow, everybody just loves this book! I liked it too, mind, but the ideas behind it weren't terribly new to me (I have been discussing the "revolution" phenomenon with other television fans for years, if not in so many words). Sepinwall's greatest contribution to the debate were the interviews, as that was something only he himself could do, but that just made it a good book, not a four-star-good one. Also, there were what I couldn't help but see as three major flaws.
1. First, a mention--somewhere, at least, even if it was just in the section of the book where he talks about pre-"revolution" shows that weren't quite revolutionary enough--of the show "Babylon 5." No matter what you think of that show's quality (and parts of it were godawful), it was in fact the very first novel for American television, and it was on the air in the mid-nineties, well before the true "revolution." It may not have exactly influenced the revolutionary shows that came later, since hardly anyone paid attention to it at the time, but it really did do all of those revolutionary things well before any of the shows Sepinwall identified. Not only was the entire show planned out in advance with big sweeping story arcs, but the Babylon 5 folks even did the fan contact thing first, since rec.arts.tv.babylon5.moderated was around well before the Lost fan boards (and had exactly the same sort of participation from the show's creator as Lost and Battlestar Galactica did later).
2. There was no acknowledgement whatsoever that "television" does not always and forever, amen, equal "U.S. television." What was "revolutionary" for U.S. television was simply par for the course for a lot of UK-made shows, for example, and this is the case for other smaller non-English-language markets too. Two cases in point: the first show of the pre-revolutionary paradigm that I'm personally aware of was Maria Goos's show "Pleidooi" (which aired in the Netherlands in the early nineties) and the first show of the truly revolutionary paradigm that I'm personally aware of was her "Oud geld" (which aired a bit later in the same decade). Not even acknowledging the existence of different television traditions in other countries isn't just arrogantly, gallingly U.S.-centric, but it was also a missed bet, because a discussion of that could have explained/explored what it is about the American television market that kept the revolution from happening for so long in the U.S. by comparison (funding? the way the industry is set up? I don't know, but I wish Sepinwall had told me!).
3. Finally, this one is less egregious than the other two, but it's still worth a mention: it would have been nice if Sepinwall had mentioned the fact that there are other American show formats that pre-dated "the revolution," but which also told continuing stories. One is the miniseries, and another is the soap opera. Now, I am totally convinced that the dramas of the "revolution" are in fact an entirely different show type from these, but I can tell you that when I bring up the whole "television is so much better now than it used to be" argument among friends who don't pay quite as much attention to these things, and I bring up how the medium is now used to tell bigger stories over a longer period of time, the arguments always come up that: "oh, come on, 'Dallas' did that back in the '80s" or "wait, what about 'Roots'?" Some arguments from Sepinwall about why these are not in fact the same thing would have rounded out the book quite well.
All that said, I really did like the book. It's a good read, it builds a good argument, and it's full of really interesting tidbits you're not going to read anywhere else. It's definitely worth the money you'll pay to buy it, so you should do so if you're thinking about it. The flaws just leave me unconvinced that this is a four-star book, that's all.
1. First, a mention--somewhere, at least, even if it was just in the section of the book where he talks about pre-"revolution" shows that weren't quite revolutionary enough--of the show "Babylon 5." No matter what you think of that show's quality (and parts of it were godawful), it was in fact the very first novel for American television, and it was on the air in the mid-nineties, well before the true "revolution." It may not have exactly influenced the revolutionary shows that came later, since hardly anyone paid attention to it at the time, but it really did do all of those revolutionary things well before any of the shows Sepinwall identified. Not only was the entire show planned out in advance with big sweeping story arcs, but the Babylon 5 folks even did the fan contact thing first, since rec.arts.tv.babylon5.moderated was around well before the Lost fan boards (and had exactly the same sort of participation from the show's creator as Lost and Battlestar Galactica did later).
2. There was no acknowledgement whatsoever that "television" does not always and forever, amen, equal "U.S. television." What was "revolutionary" for U.S. television was simply par for the course for a lot of UK-made shows, for example, and this is the case for other smaller non-English-language markets too. Two cases in point: the first show of the pre-revolutionary paradigm that I'm personally aware of was Maria Goos's show "Pleidooi" (which aired in the Netherlands in the early nineties) and the first show of the truly revolutionary paradigm that I'm personally aware of was her "Oud geld" (which aired a bit later in the same decade). Not even acknowledging the existence of different television traditions in other countries isn't just arrogantly, gallingly U.S.-centric, but it was also a missed bet, because a discussion of that could have explained/explored what it is about the American television market that kept the revolution from happening for so long in the U.S. by comparison (funding? the way the industry is set up? I don't know, but I wish Sepinwall had told me!).
3. Finally, this one is less egregious than the other two, but it's still worth a mention: it would have been nice if Sepinwall had mentioned the fact that there are other American show formats that pre-dated "the revolution," but which also told continuing stories. One is the miniseries, and another is the soap opera. Now, I am totally convinced that the dramas of the "revolution" are in fact an entirely different show type from these, but I can tell you that when I bring up the whole "television is so much better now than it used to be" argument among friends who don't pay quite as much attention to these things, and I bring up how the medium is now used to tell bigger stories over a longer period of time, the arguments always come up that: "oh, come on, 'Dallas' did that back in the '80s" or "wait, what about 'Roots'?" Some arguments from Sepinwall about why these are not in fact the same thing would have rounded out the book quite well.
All that said, I really did like the book. It's a good read, it builds a good argument, and it's full of really interesting tidbits you're not going to read anywhere else. It's definitely worth the money you'll pay to buy it, so you should do so if you're thinking about it. The flaws just leave me unconvinced that this is a four-star book, that's all.
June 1, 2013
At the end of April, I took a joyous vacation to the Big Island of Hawaii with my family. After 9 days of golf, snorkeling, Mai Tais and a dangerous lack of consonant variety, we were congratulating ourselves for going the whole trip without once turning on the TV. We reveled in our collective sophistication and sense of adventure...then I paused, and went back to reading my book about television.
Alan Sepinwall is a TV critic whose articles I have read and enjoyed for years and The Revolution of Televised is his analysis of 12 shows that, as the title implies, changed television drama...forever. These shows are The Sopranos, Oz, The Wire, Deadwood, The Shield, Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 24, Battlestar Gallactica, Friday Night Lights, Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Having watched the majority of these shows, reading this book was a lot like looking through an old photo album. The descriptions reminded me where I watched each show and who I was with and triggered a certain nostalgia that goes a long way toward explaining my 5 star rating. It probably didn't hurt that I did most of my reading on a balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean...with a tropical cocktail in hand. Objectivity was not my strongest trait. Let's just say during this same time I compared the lead singer of Fun to a young Paul McCartney. Yeah.
My most cherished takeaway from the book was an introduction to the show Deadwood. For some reason this show had never appealed to me, but after reading Sepinwall describe the character of Al Swearingen in such glowing terms I couldn't help but give it a chance. The next thing I knew, 2 weeks had passed and I had cannonball-ed the whole series. Self control! Regardless, it is now one of my favorite shows. Maybe even my absolute favorite, but that's a discussion for another time. Thanks to this introduction, I'm willing to overlook the perverse exclusion of The OC from this exalted list. RIP Marissa. Gone, but not forgotten.
Part of me is embarrassed by how much I enjoy Alan Sepinwall and, by extension, this book. There is something inherently pathetic about feverishly watching a show and then spending hours reading about the show you have just watched. It just seems so incredibly soft. "Hobbies: watching my stories and then reading about watching my stories" just doesn't scream "CEO." I will not apologize. If I wasn't meant to study serialized drama, I would not have been blessed with the ability to sit contentedly for days on end without moving.
This is probably not a 5 star book. If you haven't seen most of the shows, it's probably not even enjoyable, but for those of you who love serialized TV drama as much as I do, this is a must read. Especially if, God forbid, you find yourself in a TV-less paradise and all that real life activity starts giving you the shakes. One quick hit of TV Methadone, by Alan Sepinwall, and you’ll be good as new.
Alan Sepinwall is a TV critic whose articles I have read and enjoyed for years and The Revolution of Televised is his analysis of 12 shows that, as the title implies, changed television drama...forever. These shows are The Sopranos, Oz, The Wire, Deadwood, The Shield, Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 24, Battlestar Gallactica, Friday Night Lights, Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Having watched the majority of these shows, reading this book was a lot like looking through an old photo album. The descriptions reminded me where I watched each show and who I was with and triggered a certain nostalgia that goes a long way toward explaining my 5 star rating. It probably didn't hurt that I did most of my reading on a balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean...with a tropical cocktail in hand. Objectivity was not my strongest trait. Let's just say during this same time I compared the lead singer of Fun to a young Paul McCartney. Yeah.
My most cherished takeaway from the book was an introduction to the show Deadwood. For some reason this show had never appealed to me, but after reading Sepinwall describe the character of Al Swearingen in such glowing terms I couldn't help but give it a chance. The next thing I knew, 2 weeks had passed and I had cannonball-ed the whole series. Self control! Regardless, it is now one of my favorite shows. Maybe even my absolute favorite, but that's a discussion for another time. Thanks to this introduction, I'm willing to overlook the perverse exclusion of The OC from this exalted list. RIP Marissa. Gone, but not forgotten.
Part of me is embarrassed by how much I enjoy Alan Sepinwall and, by extension, this book. There is something inherently pathetic about feverishly watching a show and then spending hours reading about the show you have just watched. It just seems so incredibly soft. "Hobbies: watching my stories and then reading about watching my stories" just doesn't scream "CEO." I will not apologize. If I wasn't meant to study serialized drama, I would not have been blessed with the ability to sit contentedly for days on end without moving.
This is probably not a 5 star book. If you haven't seen most of the shows, it's probably not even enjoyable, but for those of you who love serialized TV drama as much as I do, this is a must read. Especially if, God forbid, you find yourself in a TV-less paradise and all that real life activity starts giving you the shakes. One quick hit of TV Methadone, by Alan Sepinwall, and you’ll be good as new.
January 21, 2021
I liked that book. But I'm not sure whether I would've found it more interesting if hadn't experienced the cultural revolution of television firsthand.
There's maybe two hundred page worth of cultural context, anecdotes and testimonies in this bad boy that were 100% new and enlightening to me. The Chris Albrecht HBO era, AMC struggling for relevance and throwing itself at original content, Tom Fontana, the Holy trinity of Davids, that sort of stuff. Otherwise, The Revolution Was Televised felt like reminiscing with a nerdy friend about how classic shows like Lost, The Wire and Breaking Bad challenged you and helped change the way you saw television. While none of the analysis by Sepinwall rings false, I knew all of that: I fucking was there. I lived it at the same time that he did.
It gets tedious at times, especially when he discusses shows like Buffy : The Vampire Slayer or Battlestar Galactica that don't quite fit the parameters of the revolution. He just liked them so he put them in there. You know when you're on the phone with a friend you like very much, but who just won't shut up? That's what The Revolution Was Televised feels like sometimes. The nostalgia crowd will love it. I thought it could've toned down the "reliving of big television moments" part. Sepinwall says it started as a self-publishing project and it show. It could've used an editor.
There's maybe two hundred page worth of cultural context, anecdotes and testimonies in this bad boy that were 100% new and enlightening to me. The Chris Albrecht HBO era, AMC struggling for relevance and throwing itself at original content, Tom Fontana, the Holy trinity of Davids, that sort of stuff. Otherwise, The Revolution Was Televised felt like reminiscing with a nerdy friend about how classic shows like Lost, The Wire and Breaking Bad challenged you and helped change the way you saw television. While none of the analysis by Sepinwall rings false, I knew all of that: I fucking was there. I lived it at the same time that he did.
It gets tedious at times, especially when he discusses shows like Buffy : The Vampire Slayer or Battlestar Galactica that don't quite fit the parameters of the revolution. He just liked them so he put them in there. You know when you're on the phone with a friend you like very much, but who just won't shut up? That's what The Revolution Was Televised feels like sometimes. The nostalgia crowd will love it. I thought it could've toned down the "reliving of big television moments" part. Sepinwall says it started as a self-publishing project and it show. It could've used an editor.
December 10, 2012
There is a scene in the show Portlandia when the main characters decide to kill some time before a dinner party by watching the pilot episode of Battlestar Galactica, one of the shows Alan Sepinwall covers in this book.
Twenty four hours later, we find the characters still sitting on the couch, unshowered, having missed the dinner party, wondering to each other if they should move or just continue watching the show.
As somebody who has never watched an episode of Battlestar Galactica, I wondered along with them if I should invest some time.
After reading Sepinwall's excellent boom, The Revolution Was Televised, it appears I should start watching that show, along with Mad Men, The Sopranos, and Breaking Bad.
Not only does Sepinwall write a book that is easy to read, he breaks down why these shows shook the pillars of traditional television, and why we should invest our time.
Let's face it: A lot of what we find on television sucks. So Sepinwall, one of the most well-respected modern television critics, wants to open our eyes to shows that don't. Within the 300+ pages, he has done just that.
If I can take anything away from this book, it's that I have a lot of catching up to do over the holidays.
Twenty four hours later, we find the characters still sitting on the couch, unshowered, having missed the dinner party, wondering to each other if they should move or just continue watching the show.
As somebody who has never watched an episode of Battlestar Galactica, I wondered along with them if I should invest some time.
After reading Sepinwall's excellent boom, The Revolution Was Televised, it appears I should start watching that show, along with Mad Men, The Sopranos, and Breaking Bad.
Not only does Sepinwall write a book that is easy to read, he breaks down why these shows shook the pillars of traditional television, and why we should invest our time.
Let's face it: A lot of what we find on television sucks. So Sepinwall, one of the most well-respected modern television critics, wants to open our eyes to shows that don't. Within the 300+ pages, he has done just that.
If I can take anything away from this book, it's that I have a lot of catching up to do over the holidays.
December 13, 2022
I've had this on the shelf since our family watched Buffy together and I worried it was too violent for the younger who was maybe 11 or 12 at the time. Now I'm are watching The Wire with him at 16. Sepinwall's book is a great history of the shifts in televisions writing traced through many series. It's affirming the series I loved (BtVS, The Wire, Friday Night Lights) but also the ones I found uneven and why (Battlestar Galactica, Mad Men) but best of all it informs me on why I stopped watching shows like 24 and Lost and The Sopranos and let's me figure out what happened without having to watch till their ends. It puts forth an auteurist argument for the white male show runners that is too reductive and often more than a little fawning, but given the boatload of quotes he got (this is a well written book of reportage by a career journalist and critic) I can understand why he didn't go there. Also, my edition was published in 2015, before Joss Whedon was de-pedestalized (yes, it is a word, because I said so) but has, I think, been updated since. Still, compelling and devourable to read.
October 18, 2013
I purchased this e-book from Amazon after hearing good comments about it on the NPR podcast https://www.facebook.com/pchh?fref=ts
and I am glad I did.
This book covers the creation, development, and execution of several of the seminal television series of the last 8 years. The stories are fascinating and they give the reader a better idea of how the television production business is so often based on luck.
The book covers different network and cable shows from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Lost and 24 to Breaking Bad and Mad Men, and some pay cable classics like The Sopranos, and The Wire.
The author, Alan Sepinwall, is obviously very knowledgeable of the industry and has access to some of the major players. I especially enjoyed the chapters on Mad Men, Buffy, and 24 and how novice writers and producers managed to get their vision onto our TV screens.
This book is self-published, but don't let that make you believe it is not well researched and extremely well written. I highly recommend it if you love TV.
and I am glad I did.
This book covers the creation, development, and execution of several of the seminal television series of the last 8 years. The stories are fascinating and they give the reader a better idea of how the television production business is so often based on luck.
The book covers different network and cable shows from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Lost and 24 to Breaking Bad and Mad Men, and some pay cable classics like The Sopranos, and The Wire.
The author, Alan Sepinwall, is obviously very knowledgeable of the industry and has access to some of the major players. I especially enjoyed the chapters on Mad Men, Buffy, and 24 and how novice writers and producers managed to get their vision onto our TV screens.
This book is self-published, but don't let that make you believe it is not well researched and extremely well written. I highly recommend it if you love TV.
December 24, 2016
I didn't read all of this book, only the chapters covering the shows I had watched.
Overall, I found it quite enjoyable. There are a lot of great stories and details about the creation/evolution of these shows. If you are a die-hard fan of a particular show, there may not be a lot of new material here (I found the Mad Men and Buffy chapters a trifle thin, but those seem to be the only chapters where the author was unable to obtain new interviews with the head creatives. Damn you Weiner and Whedon!), but in total, this is a great collection of behind-the-scenes info on some of the best TV shows ever.
Update 2016: Read several more chapters because I watched many more TV shows!
Overall, I found it quite enjoyable. There are a lot of great stories and details about the creation/evolution of these shows. If you are a die-hard fan of a particular show, there may not be a lot of new material here (I found the Mad Men and Buffy chapters a trifle thin, but those seem to be the only chapters where the author was unable to obtain new interviews with the head creatives. Damn you Weiner and Whedon!), but in total, this is a great collection of behind-the-scenes info on some of the best TV shows ever.
Update 2016: Read several more chapters because I watched many more TV shows!
November 11, 2012
Warning: If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read this book.
Advice: If you haven't watched the shows he writes about, you're missing out.
It's been years since I watched Oz, The Sopranos, Buffy, and Deadwood. Reading the book made me want to watch them again, and this time, I'll have a better appreciation for what the creators were trying to do.
The book is full of insider information, not just about the shows but about how television gets made.
Highly recommended.
Advice: If you haven't watched the shows he writes about, you're missing out.
It's been years since I watched Oz, The Sopranos, Buffy, and Deadwood. Reading the book made me want to watch them again, and this time, I'll have a better appreciation for what the creators were trying to do.
The book is full of insider information, not just about the shows but about how television gets made.
Highly recommended.
June 20, 2013
A fun and sometimes surprising history of a certain kind of TV show. If you're into any of the shows in the book, I highly recommend it. The chapters can sometimes feel a bit too summary focused, but otherwise, a fun read. I found the chapters on Friday Night Lights and The Wire -- both shows I loved -- very interesting, but I liked the chapter on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, which I never watched, equally fun.
July 26, 2024
What It’s About
The Revolution Was Televised is a breezy survey of twelve important shows from the 2000s era of “prestige TV” written by well-known critic Alan Sepinwall. Rather than a sustained history of risk-taking cable networks and their pioneering productions, each chapter is a (mostly) independent deep dive on one of the twelve shows. Between Sepinwall’s own critical analysis and his many interviews with showrunners and network executives, every chapter is nutritious and fun.
It’s newcomer-friendly, too. I’ve only seen four of the shows that Sepinwall discusses, but still enjoyed all chapters equally.
What I Learned The book also deepened my understanding of the contingencies of TV-making. Some shows narrowly missed cancellation; others wouldn’t have been greenlit at all if not for a bunch of lucky breaks. Had HBO passed on The Sopranos, it would’ve made a show “about a female business executive,” and this period probably wouldn’t have been so enraptured with cynicism and man pain.
The narratives themselves were equally contingent. Most of Deadwood “was written on the fly, with the cast and crew often not learning what they would be doing until the day before (if that).” For Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan wanted to “kill off Jesse by the end of the first season,” but spared him because of Aaron Paul’s career-making chemistry with Bryan Cranston. What I’d Change Written in 2012 and updated in 2015, The Revolution Was Televised could use another edition.
Especially post-Me Too.
Each chapter centers around the showrunner as its protagonist, mourning their production challenges and praising their genius. Sometimes, actors, writers, and other crewmembers chime in, but Sepinwall centers these select “auteurs.”
From there, the Joss Whedon-worshipping Buffy The Vampire Slayer chapter is disturbingly incomplete. Same goes for Mad Men, whose showrunner was accused of sexual harassment by one of its writers.
In general, Sepinwall acknowledges some showrunners’ volatile behavior, but always frames it within eccentricity and devotion to craft. With new information and greater scrutiny on men in powerful positions, Sepinwall could surely add some worthwhile new material on the less savory realities of these years-long productions.
It needs more editing, too. The same tidbits frequently appear in multiple chapters, among other errors.
Who Should Read It?
Overall, I’d recommend it to anyone who regularly watches well-reviewed television and wants to understand it better.
It’s not deep, but it is well-written and fun.
If you’re someone who doesn’t watch TV but wants to learn more about a different medium, you probably wouldn’t like it. Go watch Breaking Bad instead.
The Revolution Was Televised is a breezy survey of twelve important shows from the 2000s era of “prestige TV” written by well-known critic Alan Sepinwall. Rather than a sustained history of risk-taking cable networks and their pioneering productions, each chapter is a (mostly) independent deep dive on one of the twelve shows. Between Sepinwall’s own critical analysis and his many interviews with showrunners and network executives, every chapter is nutritious and fun.
It’s newcomer-friendly, too. I’ve only seen four of the shows that Sepinwall discusses, but still enjoyed all chapters equally.
What I Learned The book also deepened my understanding of the contingencies of TV-making. Some shows narrowly missed cancellation; others wouldn’t have been greenlit at all if not for a bunch of lucky breaks. Had HBO passed on The Sopranos, it would’ve made a show “about a female business executive,” and this period probably wouldn’t have been so enraptured with cynicism and man pain.
The narratives themselves were equally contingent. Most of Deadwood “was written on the fly, with the cast and crew often not learning what they would be doing until the day before (if that).” For Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan wanted to “kill off Jesse by the end of the first season,” but spared him because of Aaron Paul’s career-making chemistry with Bryan Cranston. What I’d Change Written in 2012 and updated in 2015, The Revolution Was Televised could use another edition.
Especially post-Me Too.
Each chapter centers around the showrunner as its protagonist, mourning their production challenges and praising their genius. Sometimes, actors, writers, and other crewmembers chime in, but Sepinwall centers these select “auteurs.”
From there, the Joss Whedon-worshipping Buffy The Vampire Slayer chapter is disturbingly incomplete. Same goes for Mad Men, whose showrunner was accused of sexual harassment by one of its writers.
In general, Sepinwall acknowledges some showrunners’ volatile behavior, but always frames it within eccentricity and devotion to craft. With new information and greater scrutiny on men in powerful positions, Sepinwall could surely add some worthwhile new material on the less savory realities of these years-long productions.
It needs more editing, too. The same tidbits frequently appear in multiple chapters, among other errors.
Who Should Read It?
Overall, I’d recommend it to anyone who regularly watches well-reviewed television and wants to understand it better.
It’s not deep, but it is well-written and fun.
If you’re someone who doesn’t watch TV but wants to learn more about a different medium, you probably wouldn’t like it. Go watch Breaking Bad instead.
March 9, 2018
Sepinwall names 12 shows that he feels are modern day classics. Oz, The Sopranos, The Wire, Deadwood, The Shield, Lost, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, 24, Battlestar Galactica, Friday Night Lights, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad.
The writing is a combination of plot lines, commentary, with a mix of interviews by the creators, and the origin stories. You not only learn a lot about the specific shows, but you get an idea of the rigors of producing actual episodes. He also explains how Rockford Files, Hill Street Blues, and NYPD Blue were precursors to this era. The overall takeaway is that TV has become a writers medium and it attracts the kinds of writers that use to write movies exclusively.
I enjoyed reading about the 8 shows I have seen in their entirety. But I also enjoyed reading about Oz, Buffy, and Galactica, although I still have no desire to watch them. The one chapter that threw me was Friday Night Lights. I tried to watch this several years ago, but it didn't quite work for me. Sepinwall convinced me to give it another chance.
If you are looking for a new show to binge I think Sepinwall's survey here will help you pick one.
The writing is a combination of plot lines, commentary, with a mix of interviews by the creators, and the origin stories. You not only learn a lot about the specific shows, but you get an idea of the rigors of producing actual episodes. He also explains how Rockford Files, Hill Street Blues, and NYPD Blue were precursors to this era. The overall takeaway is that TV has become a writers medium and it attracts the kinds of writers that use to write movies exclusively.
I enjoyed reading about the 8 shows I have seen in their entirety. But I also enjoyed reading about Oz, Buffy, and Galactica, although I still have no desire to watch them. The one chapter that threw me was Friday Night Lights. I tried to watch this several years ago, but it didn't quite work for me. Sepinwall convinced me to give it another chance.
If you are looking for a new show to binge I think Sepinwall's survey here will help you pick one.
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