Television Cartoon Shows: An Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003: the Shows - Hardcover

Erickson, Hal

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786422556 ISBN 13: 9780786422555

Publisher: McFarland Publishing, 2005

Synopsis

This comprehensive reference to TV cartoon shows covers some 75 years. In the decade or so since the first edition, the industry has grown and expanded to previously unimagined heights, thanks in great part to the upsurge of cable TV services catering to animation fans. In the ten-year period from 1993 through 2003, nearly 450 new cartoon series have premiered in the U.S. Alphabetically arranged by title, the book discusses each cartoon show in detail, providing full production credits and offering commentary on such elements as development, characters, style, and the show’s significance in the overall scheme of television animation. The encyclopedia is published as a set of two volumes. Volume 1 includes the preface, introduction, and entries from “A” through “L.” Volume 2 includes entries from “M” through “Z,” the bibliography, and index. Replacement volumes can be obtained individually under ISBN 0-7864-2255-6 (for Volume 1) and ISBN 0-7864-2256-4 (for Volume 2).

About this title

About the Author:

Hal Erickson is an editor for AMG All-Movie Guide, an on-line film and video database and a frequent contributor to Encyclopedia Britannica. He is also the author of Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947–1987 (2001), “From Beautiful Downtown Burbank” (2000), and Sid and Marty Krofft (1998). He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

From Booklist:

Approximately 10 years after the first edition of this major reference source, Erickson has provided a second edition to cover the prolific growth of made-for-television animation. From 1993 through 2003, almost 450 new cartoon series premiered on television, with the help of the cable television outlets. This reference describes them as well as earlier cartoons.

The encyclopedia covers all made-for-television cartoon series telecast in the U.S. between January 1, 1949, and December 31, 2003. Arranged alphabetically by title, entries provide network or cable affiliation, broadcast history, production and voice credits, synopsis, and often detailed commentary on characters, style, and the significance of the elements of each show. Entry length generally ranges from one-half page to nearly 10 pages for The Flintstones and its many derivatives. The historical essay in volume 1 covers 75 years of cartoons, starting with Disney's Steamboat Willie in 1928 (also the year that Radio Corporation of America began testing for long-range broadcasting on a television screen) up to the current landscape defined by improved production techniques, new FCC regulations regarding content, the growth of cable television, and the popularity of Japanese anime. Volume 2 concludes with an essay on cartoon voices, a selected bibliography, and an index to both volumes. The index provides access to programs, people, techniques, and organizations but not to cartoon characters, unless their names correspond to the titles of shows. We found a few errors; for example, the text contains a see reference from Heckle and Jeckle to CBS Cartoon Theatre, but there is no entry for the latter.

Whether a person wants to find information about a particular program or learn the history of television cartoons, this set will be useful and entertaining. It is recommended for public libraries and for academic libraries supporting studies in television and animation. Patricia Hogan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: McFarland Publishing
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0786422556
• ISBN 13: 9780786422555
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 526