Still more 'The Revolution Was Televised' link-blogging
The New York Times, Bill Simmons, Matt Seitz and more weigh in on the book
Vince and the East Dillon Lions on "Friday Night Lights," one of the shows in my book "The Revolution Was Televised."
Once again, time for links to recent reviews and interviews about my book, "The Revolution Was Televised: The Cops, Crooks, Slingers and Slayers Who Changed TV Drama Forever." (The last batch of links is here.) As always, you can find lots more information about the book at AlanSepinwall.com, and buy it in paperback, for Kindle, Nook, iBooks and Kobo.
In terms of new reviews, the book is now officially part of The Paper of Record, since Michiko Kakutani at The New York Times liked it. Rich Heldenfels from The Akron Beacon-Journal was also a fan.
In terms of interviews, I reunited with my old partner Matt Zoller Seitz for an epic (10 pages) conversation about the book, the shows in it, and the era that made them possible. And today I made my first appearance in a while on The B.S. Report with Bill Simmons to talk about the book (which was semi-inspired by a previous Simmons podcast with Chris Connelly), "Homeland," and more.
Glad to see the reaction has been so positive so far. As always, if you have questions, feel free to add them to the comments here or shoot me an email.
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December 3, 2012 at 9:26PM EST Reply to CommentAlan,
so glad to see Kakutani reviewed--and enjoyed!!!-it. The book, as with all your writing, is an insight-filled pleasure, and you deserve all the kudos.
Mazel Tov, good sir!
Jeff
December 3, 2012 at 10:41PM EST Reply to CommentAny chance of a book signing event in NJ?
adama1843 So Say We All!
December 4, 2012 at 6:12PM ESTgladly
December 3, 2012 at 11:02PM EST Reply to CommentHoly crap, the Bitch-Goddess of the NYTBR! Quite a coup, and I wonder if it's a first for a self-published work. Amazing and congratulations!
gladly
December 3, 2012 at 11:02PM EST Reply to CommentHoly crap, the Bitch-Goddess of the NYTBR! Quite a coup, and I wonder if it's a first for a self-published work. Amazing and congratulations!
Ron
December 3, 2012 at 11:16PM EST Reply to CommentAlan, I really enjoyed your appearance on the BS Report.
When is your "promo tour" going to end? I would love to hear you on Rob Cesternino's podcast.
On an unrelated note, why did you stop watching Survivor?
sepinwall Promo tour is kind of being made up as it goes along, so we'll see when it ends.
December 3, 2012 at 11:29PM ESTI'd ask Rob about going on the podcast, but I'd feel sheepish for not having watched the show in a few seasons. Sounds like I'm missing a good one this time out. I just cut Survivor out of my schedule as a time management issue and a feeling I'd seen enough iterations of it.
Ron I reached out to Rob and he's very interested in having you on after the Survivor season is over. I know he watches a lot of shows besides Reality TV. I'm sure he will contact you within the next couple of weeks.
December 4, 2012 at 12:49AM ESTYou are indeed missing out on a great season. IMO it's the best season since Heroes vs. Villains.
Gordon Harries
December 3, 2012 at 11:41PM EST Reply to CommentJust listening to your Ryan and Ryan interview now, as it goes.
I have to say, I love the ending to 'The Sopranos', but I came to the series after the fact (the complete collection over about a month. Consequently I have no idea where certain stuff happens.) I'm sort of staggered by the controversy over it, but then I never had the week to week investment.
(which I makes a huge difference. I remember The Shield sometimes struggled week to week as it leaned into serialization, but plays brilliantly on DVD where you can bank an episode or two a day.)
Shawn Mahone
December 3, 2012 at 11:44PM EST Reply to CommentHi Alan,
I live in the UK and was happy that I was able to download it on my IPAd from the Book app probably based in the UK.
So far I have read the Lost chapter, The Wire, Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Friday Light Nights...loving it! I obviously chose Lost first because that was my first show I actually watched in your book! Great series. I hope to tackle The sopranos chapter next and enjoy your views on them.
Are you going to release a book that will not go into the process of bringing these shows into being but also covers the episodes that you could not cover when doing weekly reviews? Are their opinions that the cast and crew can shed now that the shows are over and their views contain a greater insight because the whole product is finished.
I loved the interview you did with Schwartz and Fedak at the end of CHUCK that detailed every season in great depth and let them reflect on everything.
Anyhoo, Great Book Alan! Love it!
gail
December 3, 2012 at 11:50PM EST Reply to CommentBravo! on the publication, and being called "a terrific book" by MICHIKO KAKUTANI on what will be the front page of the arts section of tomorrow's Gray Lady!
from a proud reader, who has been reading you since you were "All TV."
ed w
December 4, 2012 at 2:55AM EST Reply to CommentCongrats on the NY Times review. I am still wondering what a slinger is though. ;)
belinda
December 4, 2012 at 3:15AM EST Reply to Commentwoot woot kakutani swag! You can now get a high horse and sit on it.
WaltEagle
December 4, 2012 at 3:41AM EST Reply to CommentPaul Schulze appeared in four of the shows in the book. Does any performer top or tie that? JD Williams, John Doman, Lance Reddick, Kim Dickens, Ken Leung, Nigel Gibbs, Zeljko Ivanek, and Lucinda Jenney have three.
Scoured IMDB Working off IMDB, I found 2 directors who directed an episode of 5 of the shows :
December 4, 2012 at 6:05AM EST* Alan Taylor : Oz, Deadwood, Lost, Sopranos, Mad Men
* Daniel Attias : Buffy, Sopranos, Deadwood, FNL , Wire
Haven't researched writers as thoroughly but David Fury wrote an episode of 3 of the shows : Lost, 24, Buffy
WaltEagle Attias did Lost as well, I suspect he wins the resume battle with 6.
December 4, 2012 at 12:52PM ESTadama1843 Glenn Morshower ties with four. Everyone's favorite special agent on "24," Landry's dad on "Friday Night Lights," and one episode each of "Deadwood" and "Buffy."
December 9, 2012 at 10:27PM ESTSophieB210
December 4, 2012 at 5:55AM EST Reply to CommentCongrats on the way flattering NYT write-up! If I knew how to make a .gif, I would make one of Carrie Bradshaw over-enunciating "Michiko Kakutani!" and post it here for you.
abby536
December 4, 2012 at 10:23AM EST Reply to CommentThe impeccable wisdom of Wikipedia says "Self-published books are generally not reviewed as a matter of policy" at the NYT. Congrats on bucking that trend and getting a rave. It's quite fascinating how your whole career seems to hover at the intersection of old and new media.
gail
December 4, 2012 at 11:54AM EST Reply to CommentJust an added though -- "Words" - an independent bookseller in Maplewood -- has lots of events with local authors
(assuming you are still somewhere in NJ)
Jonathan
December 4, 2012 at 12:29PM EST Reply to CommentAlan,
I have a question for you that you may have already answered. Are the footnotes easy to navigate on the Kindle? I prefer reading on my Kindle, but often find that a book with footnotes presents problems on the device with respect to navigating between the main text and the footnote. If there are potential issues with the footnotes, I will go ahead and get the paperback instead.
Thanks!
ghoti I have it on the Kindle app (not on a Kindle device). The footnotes are just like they are on this blog. There's an asterisk and the note is inserted in the text after the conclusion of that paragraph. If the footnote is long enough, you might have to backtrack a page to resume reading. I find this method very convenient.
December 4, 2012 at 2:06PM ESTzcsilverman Jonathan,
December 4, 2012 at 11:10PM ESTI have used it on the Kindle App syncing from my Android phone, my iPad and my laptop and it works flawlessly on all three devices. You won't have any problems.
notWalt
December 4, 2012 at 12:59PM EST Reply to CommentSeeing reference to so many of the old (and current) show that you have written about made me think about your old site....
It would be great if you could revivie a version of your old banner game. Please!
Chris L He's been doing that for a few months on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/#!/AlanSepinwall?fref=ts
December 5, 2012 at 12:18PM ESTnotWalt Thanks Chris L, I hadn't seen that.
December 5, 2012 at 12:24PM ESTJohn
December 4, 2012 at 4:14PM EST Reply to CommentGreat book so far, Alan. I've only read the chapters on 24 and Lost so far, both of which are excellent. I have to say that reading the explanation for the Lost ending made me more confused and annoyed by it than ever. That's the gold standard for a bad ending to a great TV show.
Big D
December 4, 2012 at 7:10PM EST Reply to CommentLooking forward to reading your interview with Matt Zoller Seitz. I was a big fan of the column you guys shared in The Star-Ledger.
Nic Jay
December 4, 2012 at 10:40PM EST Reply to CommentI really enjoyed your LOST column and it made me remember the old Tintin Flight 714 and the odd similarities the the two have. I think LOST was extremely original, but also derivative of some more obscure material.
zcsilverman
December 4, 2012 at 10:55PM EST Reply to CommentJust finisehd reading it. Took my sweet time too. Savored every section. I may have to go back and watch Buffy...
Steve
December 4, 2012 at 11:38PM EST Reply to CommentI just received the book as a gift, and I'm really excited to read it, but just had a few questions before diving in:
1. Of the shows you cover, I've still yet to watch Oz, The Shield, Battlestar Galactica, and Friday Night Lights. I plan to watch them all at some point, but would you recommend I hold off on those chapters (or the book entirely) until I've seen the shows?
2. Do you think that shows like Arrested Development, NBC's Thursday line-up, and Curb Your Enthusiasm have brought about a similar comedic revolution (albeit less significant)? Those shows trust(ed) the audience's intelligence and work(ed) hard to develop rewarding arcs, in my opinion. Do you have any desire to write extensively on this, or does this "revolution" seem years away from taking off?
Neosmith
December 5, 2012 at 12:55AM EST Reply to CommentI posted this in last week's section but think it makes more sense here:
Dear Mr. Sepinwall, thank you very much for writing this book. I really like that it features all new interviews with many of the people behind the shows, especially with Damon Lindelof, who was surprisingly more candid about the series than I've seen in recent years. I never knew that 6 seasons was a compromise, and that it the series could've potentially gone even longer. (I'm still peeved that he doesn't even wish to acknowledge various plotlines the show obviously abandoned over the years, like Ben's mom and the full purge. )
I was wondering - are all the interview segments in the book excerpts from longer interviews? If so, would you be willing to publish those interviews as well one day unabridged?
Chesterfield
December 6, 2012 at 4:32AM EST Reply to CommentAlan,
Just wanted to let you know I bought your book, and I got a copy for a friend as well. I'm looking forward to reading it. Will you do a discussion with Dan on the podcast about its contents. I assume* Dan has read the book already, before it came out?
*) ...and everyone knows that when you make an assumption you make an ASS out of U and umption.