Tube of Plenty: The Evolution of American Television [Paperback]

Erik Barnouw tells the story of television from the beginning. It does not begin with Uncle Miltie and I Love Lucy, in fact Milton Berle doesn't appear until page 117. This is a story of television which begins seven decades earlier, when the first piece of the puzzle which would become television was unveiled: the telephone. This, Barnouw recognizes, is the birth of television, because it fired the imaginations of scientists and engineers, artists and entrepreneurs, and, perhaps most importantly, boys plowing fields with their horse teams.

The stories of the young geniuses like Marconi and Farnsworth capture the imagination, and Barnouw highlights these heros' struggles in the wars waged by RCA against each of them. Greater attention is due Edwin Howard Armstrong, another young genius who was crushed by the monstrous corporation, but Barnouw gives Armstrong more than most. By the time RCA premieres television service in 1939, the reader understands that television has already had a tremendous impact on America.

Television's greatest moments are here, and Barnouw does a excellent job of devoting appropriate amounts of time to each. The author recognizes how interwoven television has become in our society and some chapter breaks are measured by historical events, rather than by eras of television. The end of World War II and the assassination of JFK not only marked shifts in our nation's history, but in television as well. What followed were not historical events, as before TV, but media events.

The book also features a very useful and interesting 11-page chronology, an excellent biographical notes section, and an exceptional indexes, all of which make this tremendously accessible. It is tremendously compelling reading. Don't pick it up before your favorite show, because you won't be able to put it down in time!

This is a generous single-volume condensation of Erik Barnouw's seminal three-volume HISTORY OF BROADCASTING IN THE UNITED STATES. It is not a perfect book--took much is left out for that--but it does provide any student of American TV with an essential overview of many aspects in the birth and development of the medium. Despite the great length of the book, even in the single-volume abridgment, there are some curious omissions, but the strong points of the book are very strong indeed and make the book one of the crucial volumes for any personal library on television.

Barnouw tells in wonderful (and wonderfully entertaining) detail the development of the technologies that allowed the existence of radio and television, as well as the economic realities that turned it into the massive business that it has long been. He also explores the political aspects of the medium, both in terms of serving as part of the Fourth Estate by providing oversight to government actions and policies, and the erosion of that role as right wing groups have undermined that role (Barnouw anticipates the ultimate melding of right wing politics and corporate owned media, while at the same time crying crocodile tears over the mythical liberal media). He is also exceptional at detailing what kinds of shows arose at what time and what the constituent factors were. Even if one has a pretty decent idea of what was happening on TV at what time, Barnouw will both broaden and deepen one's understanding of the medium.

Nonetheless, while this is an outstanding book, one can't help but be struck by what was left out. For instance, there is no mention of a large number of seminal television shows. Although one of the most popular shows on TV in the fifties, THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW with Silvers as Sgt. Bilko got no mention at all. THE TWILIGHT ZONE was one of the best-written and iconic shows of all time, yet it is not discussed at all. Though I was never a fan of GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, it was nearly as popular as THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, which receives extensive notice. One recognizes that there are time restrictions, but these omissions are significant. There is also an amazing neglect of British Television shows. SECRET AGENT MAN aka DANGER MAN received no mention nor did the massively influential MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS.

This all highlights the book's strength. It is far weaker in discussing the aesthetics of TV than examining it as an industry and as a technology. The cut off point for the book is the late eighties, yet not a single word deals with the enormous growth of television as an art form in that decade. The most important show that decade by far was HILL STREET BLUES. Virtually every series (what Barnouw would call a telefilm) in the history of prime time television prior to HILL STREET BLUES adhered to the episodic format, each series consisting of a series of self-contained segments that would resolve all of that week's action and then be forgotten by the next week and the next episode. Some prime time soap operas did use the serial format, with the action spilling over from week to week, but none of these enjoyed any critical acclaim and were at best contained rather simplistic plots. HILL STREET BLUES, on the other hand, though it tried to resolve one story arc each week, contained multiple story arcs and possessed a remarkably complex narrative style. This revolutionized television narrative and made possible subsequent shows as various as ST. ELSEWHERE, THE X-FILES, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, 24, THE GILMORE GIRLS, FARSCAPE, ER, THE SOPRANOS, SIX FEET UNDER, LOST, and VERONICA MARS (the list could go on and on and on). In other words, almost everything good on TV can be said to have evolved out of what HILL STREET BLUES wrought. Yet, Barnouw does not mention HILL STREET BLUES even once. The development of the multiple story arc series was the greatest aesthetic development not merely of the eighties, but one of the two or three most important developments ever, yet Barnouw simply doesn't notice.

But for understanding the history of television as a business and the technology it is rooted in, Barnouw's book stands alone. Most people imagine the story of television beginning in the fifties or perhaps the late forties, but Barnouw begins in the late 19th century with Marconi. This isn't just a book that any more-than-casual student of TV ought to read; it is one they MUST read.

It's amazing to understand the media's roll in the history of our country. Quite relevant today with the whole Murdock issue. I would suggest that anyone wanting to understand the issues of the day provide themselves with this background.