Lou Grant: The Making of TV's Top Newspaper Drama (Television and Popular Culture) - Hardcover

Daniel, Douglass

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0815626754 ISBN 13: 9780815626756

Publisher: Syracuse University Press, 1996

Synopsis

This text is an account of the TV programme Lou Grant. The creation of characters, casting of actors, the script writing process and the impact of network censors are detailed here. Interviews with actors, producers, writers, directors are also incorporated.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

When Lou Grant premiered in the fall of 1977, it quickly became a symbol of television drama at its best. During its five years on the air, Lou Grant earned critical acclaim as an entertaining yet thoughtful drama about important social and political issues, a rarity for episodic television in the late 1970s. Douglass K. Daniel reveals how the creators of Lou Grant investigated journalism in the post-Watergate era to present a modern-day portrayal of the profession. They based characters, dialogue, and plots on the experiences of dozens of professional journalists. By researching social problems, they developed relevant story lines that gave episodes unusual immediacy. The show won thirteen Emmy Awards, among them two for Best Drama, and a Peabody Award. Journalists hailed the series as television's most realistic newspaper drama. The book describes the bitter controversy that erupted in 1982 when lead actor Edward Asner came under fire for his political beliefs regarding American involvement in El Salvador. Amid calls for advertiser boycotts, right-wing charges that Asner had aided the enemy, and falling ratings, CBS canceled the series. Daniel's intensive retrospect includes interviews with actors, producers, writers, directors, network censors, and journalists. He summarizes all 114 episodes, discusses original character sketches, and includes editorial cartoons.

From Booklist:

The Lou Grant show ran from 1977 to 1982 and became the most popular newspaper drama ever broadcast on television. Journalists at the fictional Los Angeles Tribune strove to question authority while covering issues as thoroughly as possible. Daniel chronicles character development, plots (often reflecting real news of the day, from Vietnam vets and inner-city school violence to political corruption and homosexuality, although abortion and school busing were avoided), and censorship issues, coming from the CBS Program Practices department. Daniel provides plot summaries for all 114 episodes and delves into several of the 23 newspaper dramas that premiered (though most failed) during the three decades prior to this award-winning Mary Tyler Moore production. For five seasons, Lou Grant and his colleagues delivered a weekly dose of dramatic realism; this book serves as an indispensable tool for appreciating its impact on the newspaper genre and television drama as a whole. Jennifer Henderson

About this edition

• Publisher: Syracuse University Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0815626754
• ISBN 13: 9780815626756
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 269