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Murder on the Air: Television's Great Mystery Series
From the author of the popular TV Detectives comes an in-depth study of the greatest crime shows of television history in a lavishly illustrated book brimming with interviews and incisive criticism. 16-page photo insert.
290 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1989
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June 14, 2019
Meyers gives us the context and the production histories of the television detective shows that he believes are significant, from Martin Kane and Man Against Crime in 1949 to Magnum P.I., Hill Street Blues, and Miami Vice in the 1980s. Shows that represent innovations and peaks get chapters of their own: Dragnet, Peter Gunn, Mannix, Harry O, The Rockford Files, etc. For the years when a wave of mediocre factory goods dominates the market, Meyers treats the shows as a group, e.g. the Quinn Martin product of the 1970s.
I think he’s very good at naming the distinctive tone or outlook a series has. I can’t think of a case when his sense of a show differs from mine. This is a different thing from judging whether a show is good or bad, important or trivial, but I have little interest in that kind of opinion. Anyway, you could get a good deal of use from the book without agreeing with the author’s value judgments. There is enough background on the broadcast industry to explain how some shows came to be produced and why they shaped up as they did. Meyers’ description of very early television is indispensable to understanding the early shows.
Describing production history, Meyers does not explain the sources of his various statements, aside from thanking a number of actors, writers, and producers whom he interviewed. He is the author of more general survey called TV DETECTIVES and may be relying on earlier research documented there.
I think he’s very good at naming the distinctive tone or outlook a series has. I can’t think of a case when his sense of a show differs from mine. This is a different thing from judging whether a show is good or bad, important or trivial, but I have little interest in that kind of opinion. Anyway, you could get a good deal of use from the book without agreeing with the author’s value judgments. There is enough background on the broadcast industry to explain how some shows came to be produced and why they shaped up as they did. Meyers’ description of very early television is indispensable to understanding the early shows.
Describing production history, Meyers does not explain the sources of his various statements, aside from thanking a number of actors, writers, and producers whom he interviewed. He is the author of more general survey called TV DETECTIVES and may be relying on earlier research documented there.
Displaying 1 of 1 review