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Beating the Odds: The Untold Story Behind the Rise of ABC : The Stars, Struggles, and Egos That Transformed Network Television by the Man Who Made I
Excellent Book
- GenresTvNonfictionBusiness
495 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1991
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June 13, 2025
I had read many others proclaim this as one of the great books about a TV network. It's not even close because the "author" ran ABC for decades and inserts his very narrow bias throughout, distorting history in his favor and ignoring major aspects. The book (really written by Marvin Wolf) is Goldenson's attempt at spinning his legacy as "the man who transformed television." In truth he was just a movie business guy trying to make money for his corporate bosses and willing to try just about anything to keep his "home theater" at ABC open to match the true innovators at CBS and NBC.
That doesn't mean that ABC didn't have some significance on the history of television, but the way Goldenson and Wolf tell it makes the network sound like the first to do just about everything. Some of the authors' statements are laughably inaccurate and credit is taken when in truth it often lies elsewhere.
The biggest abuse of history in the book involves the treatment of Fred Silverman, the only man to have ever run all three major TV networks. Silverman single handedly turned ABC from third place to first place in less than one year--unheard of, historic, and never to happen the same way again. His decision regarding airing Roots over a one-week period turned it into ABC's largest scripted show audience in history.
Yet Goldenson sneers at Silverman's fame, making statements like "Silverman's apparent effect did not go unnoticed by others" and "to many in the industry Silverman looked like a genius." But what Goldenson think of the first million-dollar TV programmer? "Much what appeared to be Silverman's success was derived from the creative team below him and from management and leadership." HUH?
The credit for a football team's success goes to the coach. If you love an orchestra you praise the conductor. A hit movie gives honors to the director. There is usually only one person who is awarded praise for overseeing a gigantic success story in every entertainment field--and at ABC that was Fred Silverman. It's just jealousy and bad blood for Goldenson to subtly jab Silverman, gloating in the fact that Fred failed when he left ABC for NBC.
At 470 pages the book seems long but fails to cover enough significant material. The first hundred pages are mostly about Goldenson and the movie business, which seems outdated and could have been handled in a short chapter. All sorts of others' opinions are inserted by way of "Recollections," where co-author Wolf interviewed the players. Some of this seems like space-filler or just a writer that doesn't know how to integrate quotes into the narrative.
Major points in ABC-TV history are ignored or only alluded to. Batman gets a few paragraphs, though it was a turning point for all of television and the network. Marcus Welby gets downplayed though it was ABC's first real number one prime time hit. Shows that were mediocre successes like the sitcom "Soap" are overpraised.
Soap operas like General Hospital, which earned more profit than any other hour on the network, only get a couple sentences. Then giant chapters go to sports (which are often the least profitable programs) and news (which are separate from entertainment and not supposed to worry about making money). Add to that sections on radio and TV local stations, and it is trying to cover too much territory.
In the end this just isn't a balanced, fair overview of the American Broadcasting Company as a television network. It may have beat the system to become a major player in the TV game, but the "odds" in this memoir are the distorted statements and recollections in a self-attempt to deify Goldenson.
That doesn't mean that ABC didn't have some significance on the history of television, but the way Goldenson and Wolf tell it makes the network sound like the first to do just about everything. Some of the authors' statements are laughably inaccurate and credit is taken when in truth it often lies elsewhere.
The biggest abuse of history in the book involves the treatment of Fred Silverman, the only man to have ever run all three major TV networks. Silverman single handedly turned ABC from third place to first place in less than one year--unheard of, historic, and never to happen the same way again. His decision regarding airing Roots over a one-week period turned it into ABC's largest scripted show audience in history.
Yet Goldenson sneers at Silverman's fame, making statements like "Silverman's apparent effect did not go unnoticed by others" and "to many in the industry Silverman looked like a genius." But what Goldenson think of the first million-dollar TV programmer? "Much what appeared to be Silverman's success was derived from the creative team below him and from management and leadership." HUH?
The credit for a football team's success goes to the coach. If you love an orchestra you praise the conductor. A hit movie gives honors to the director. There is usually only one person who is awarded praise for overseeing a gigantic success story in every entertainment field--and at ABC that was Fred Silverman. It's just jealousy and bad blood for Goldenson to subtly jab Silverman, gloating in the fact that Fred failed when he left ABC for NBC.
At 470 pages the book seems long but fails to cover enough significant material. The first hundred pages are mostly about Goldenson and the movie business, which seems outdated and could have been handled in a short chapter. All sorts of others' opinions are inserted by way of "Recollections," where co-author Wolf interviewed the players. Some of this seems like space-filler or just a writer that doesn't know how to integrate quotes into the narrative.
Major points in ABC-TV history are ignored or only alluded to. Batman gets a few paragraphs, though it was a turning point for all of television and the network. Marcus Welby gets downplayed though it was ABC's first real number one prime time hit. Shows that were mediocre successes like the sitcom "Soap" are overpraised.
Soap operas like General Hospital, which earned more profit than any other hour on the network, only get a couple sentences. Then giant chapters go to sports (which are often the least profitable programs) and news (which are separate from entertainment and not supposed to worry about making money). Add to that sections on radio and TV local stations, and it is trying to cover too much territory.
In the end this just isn't a balanced, fair overview of the American Broadcasting Company as a television network. It may have beat the system to become a major player in the TV game, but the "odds" in this memoir are the distorted statements and recollections in a self-attempt to deify Goldenson.
Displaying 1 of 1 review