Television Books

I really enjoyed reading this book. It helped put my life into perspective. Sometimes we all run fast and live hard until we realize that there comes a point when we need to rest and come back home-----to God. I want to thank Lisa Whelchel for writing such a fine story. The title caught my eye since so many of us are familiar with the show that started off with so many memories. For me it was the beginning of the end of my elementary school life and the beginnings of my High School days and til It's last year (1987-1988) of my first year in college. I hope that with all of our memories and best times we also find the time to read Lisa's Book. Great book! Go get it! :)

I enjoyed this book and was moved by it. I am a fan of Lisa's since her "Facts" days; I did my research first and I knew that the book did not have a lot of detail about her work on the show, so I didn't have those expectations. The book is religious in nature but in my opinion it was a very accessible, breezy read and I think there is something in it for everyone. In fact, I read it, and then I read it AGAIN as soon as I finished it! It really made me stop and think. I laughed, I cried, I said, "oh yeah, I know *exactly* what she's talking about!" Give it a look, it will be worth your time.

This book was awesome....it was funny, entertaining, but also very spiritual and uplifting. I've been a huge fan of the TV show "The Facts of Life" since I was very young, and adored "Blair". Lisa Whelchel is a wonderful writer and I highly recommend this book.

This book basically told the story of Lisa's life, from her childhood, to acting, and then about her marriage and parenthood. The chapters were well broken down into various aspects of her life, with her telling us what God has taught her at the end of each chapter. I loved the humor in the book, especially the words of wisdom from Lisa's mother.

This book was a great read, and I have learned things from Lisa that are actually helping me get through the days. I didn't want to put it down until I finished it, and I want to get a copy for all my friends. She may have been a star, and she's different from me in plenty of ways. But she's also so much like me as a Christian woman, wife, and mother. When I'm having a rough day, I just remember reading about how she went through something similar and how she got through it, whether it be a major life struggle, or just dealing with my kids when they're having a particularly bad day.
I went to one of her Mom-Time conferences a couple of months ago, and there I learned that Lisa is so down to earth. The book shows that about her even more. It has been such a blessing to me already, and it's a book I plan to read at least once a year.

What a great book! It's a fast read, and a fun read too! As a Cairn Terrier fan this was a must a read and it was well worth it. I'd recommend it to anyone that's a fan of both the movie and Cairn Terriers(any dog actually) everywhere.

As a child, my favorite movie was THE WIZARD OF OZ. For Chirstmas ,I received this wonderful book that is all about the famous "pet-actress" named "Toto". (Yes, Toto was actually a little female dog named Terry,not a male , as most people would think).

Anyhow, this book is all about the tiny Cairn Terrier "Toto" (Terry) and how she came about becoming one of the principal characters in the movie.

The photos are just amazing also. My favorite photos are the behind-the-scene photos showing Toto "acting" in the actual movie, just as the trainer was in the background giving Toto her directions. Sooo cute!

If you are a dog fan, or a Cairn Terrier fan, or a Wizard of Oz fan, you'll love this book.

I, Toto is a delightfully well written book by Willard Carroll about the life of Terry, a Cairn Terrier who became famous in movies. The book is based on a scrapbook Willard Carroll found that documented the life and movie career of this well trained dog; and the book is primarily set up to look just like a book typed on an old typewriter--written, of course, by the dog itself.

The book starts with the story of how Terry was born, adopted and eventually given up by her owners because of her troubles with housetraining; and we learn how Carl Spitz professionally trained dogs to perform in movies. Spitz, an excellent trainer who worked with many dogs, wound up training Terry professionally. Spitz used both kindness and discipline to train his dogs, including Terry, very well; his talents are obvious when we consider that Terry (aka Toto) appeared in at least fourteen major motion pictures including The Wizard Of Oz.

Carroll cleverly writes the memoirs of Terry, or Toto, in the first person as if the dog herself had written the book. This provides the reader with an extra slice of humor when Carroll writes about things that happened on the sets of pictures or in Carl Spitz's training camp for dogs. Carroll does an excellent job of getting readers to be charmed out of their trees by Terry who eventually becomes renamed Toto for the sake of her career. A movie star dog has to consider Hollywood politics, after all!

The book is filled with wonderful reproductions of ads for the movies Terry was in; and we see numerous publicity shots from movies including Bright Eyes with Shirley Temple and Terry as Rags the dog. Of course, we get plenty of stills from The Wizard Of Oz and there are very nicely done "hand written" asides to the reader that also appear to be written by Terry. The result is a charming look back at the life of Terry, the dog who became Toto and enjoyed great movie fame--and treats along the way!

Overall, classic movie buffs will enjoy this book; and people who love The Wizard Of Oz will appreciate this book very much since so little was known about Terry before Willard Carroll wrote this book. The book is well written and a real page turner; it grabs your attention and never lets it go.

Great job, Willard Carroll!

A must read for any Oz fan as well as dog lovers of all kinds. I never knew how many movies Toto was in, and the Oz trivia was really fun, too. It was very cleverly written from Toto's point of view. I actually laughed out loud at some parts. Don't pass by picture captions and comments on the sides of the pages. It's all worth reading! Not bad for a dog no one wanted!

Since my all-time favorite dog star is Toto, this book was easy for me to love. However, once I began to read, I found it to be something extra special. I, Toto is a mood lifter as well as an interesting piece of Hollywood history. Beautifully written in the first person, I, Toto will captivate the heart and mind of any dog lover.

This was one of the first Marilyn books I owned and I have to say it still stands out as one of my very favorites because it is so intimate, and the pictures show a very down to earth Marilyn that you feel like you could reach out and touch. George Barris was actually a long time photographer of Monroe, he had the pleasure of catching some of her most iconic moments on camera such as the famous shirt blowing scene from THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH and many more. These are by far his best of her though and I personally favor pics from Marilyn's later years (60's). I love the stories that Barris tells and I am getting ready to reread this book as it has been a few years, I think it is the type of book one can read over and over anyhow. As I have said all the pics are amazing especially the ones of Marilyn on the beach. These however are not the very last pics taken of Marilyn, just the last photo session. The very last shots of her can be found in the book "Mr. S.: The Last Word on Frank Sinatra" when she was on a yacht with Sinatra and at the Cal-Neva Lodge & Casino shortly before her death. Over all though this book is HIGHLY recommended and is essential for any Marilyn fan!

I was surprised at this book in Marilyn's own words. This interview was only a few weeks before her death. The pictures were amazing and beautiful. She did not seem at all depressed and was looking forward to the future. Makes you wonder if she was murdered. Surely seems that way after I read the book and looked at those pictures. It almost seems to say "see I want to live" and little did she know that her life was in danger! Poor Marilyn. I hope wherever she is, she knows that some people believe that she did not kill herself. And I hope she is at peace.

This book is unique in that it comes from George Barris's last days spent with her. I love the photos because they are candid not posed. This bok also includes the last photo ever taken of her. I'm on my way to own almost every Marilyn book and Im am pleased with this one.

This was indeed a touching tribute. I felt very connected to Marilyn while reading her stories. The photos were just as gorgeous. I could have gone without George Barris' interjections as they usually just repeated what Marilyn said. But it was his book and she was apparently his friend, so I suppose he deserves some spotlight too.

Add this to your Monroe collections! It's a definite keeper.

I have to say that it is just amazing how after 44 years Marilyn Monroe is still considerd one of the most beautiful women to ever live. After seeing the photographs of Marilyn Monroe taken by Mr. Barris in this book I am not suprised that people are still captivated with the beauty of Marilyn Monroe. The pictures of Marilyn in this book are amazing and beautiful. Marilyn shows her true character in the most natural looking pictures I have ever seen of her. Each picture tells a story and shows you the woman Marilyn really was. Marilyn truely was a naturally beautiful woman and it shows in this book. This great book also lets you read and learn about the real person Marilyn Monroe was in her own words. Marilyn tells her life story in this book, taking you through her young years as Norma Jean to her Hollywood life as Marilyn Monroe. When you are reading this book it is very interesting to hear Marilyn talk about her life in her own words. Marilyn takes you along her life journey through the pages in this book. The only sad thing is when you are reading this book you wish Marilyn's life story would continue past the inevitable days of Marilyn's death on August 4-5,1962. I alreadly knew Marilyn was going to die before reading but it really made me sad because after reading this book it makes you feel like you actually knew Marilyn personally. That just goes to show how well written this book is. I have to say Mr. Barris you have done a great job writing this excellant book. Marilyn would truely have been happy with this book. Whether you are a Marilyn Monroe fan or you are just curious about this iconic Hollywood actress this book will definitely be intresting to read. Before I read this book I thought Marilyn Monroe was all Hollywood glitz and glamour. After reading this book however I found that Marilyn was a sweet down to earth woman who just wanted to be loved. I only hope Marilyn made it into heaven, because in her life most of the people that said they loved her and called themselves her friend only used and betrayed Marilyn. I hope that one day Marilyn's death will finally be proven as murder and this case of wrong doing can be closed so Marilyn can finally rest in peace.

My Name's Friday is an enjoyable romp through the world of Jack Webb. From his days portraying hardboiled radio detectives Pat Novak and Johnny Madero to Hollywood Success, Failure, and a big comeback, Friday takes us through the highlights and lowlights of Webb's life.

Michael J. Hayde comes to the book with a great deal of respect for Webb and his work, which is an essential element in a work such as this. Hayde's work first and foremost is a Webb fan book. He gives a synopsis of each of Webb's movies and then provides a critique of them. While appreciating Webb's contributions, Hayde spares no criticism of the late 1950s Dragnet episodes, Pete Kelly's Blues, and other less than successful Webb projects. While I don't agree with all of Hayde's criticism (I loved the "Night School" episode and he didn't), his criticisms are reasoned and measured rather than spiteful. Whatever criticism Hayde has for Webb is mild compared to the well-deserved critique he slams down on the 1987 Dragnet movie with Dan Akroyd.

If there was one criticism I'd had of Hayde's book, it was where he went from TV fan to armchair psychologist, buying Webb's statements that he didn't miss having a father around as a youth. I actually after reading the book and of Webb's difficulty letting himself act believably on screen particularly in romantic scenes, as well as history of broken marriages might not have been influenced by never having a father around. Kind of off-topic from the subject of the book, I know. However, if one is going to engage in psychology, it shouldn't be done haphazardly.

Still, the book is incredible fun as a fan resource and provides a rare glimpse at a radio and TV genius that's been typecast as a stiff clown. Read it to recapture a vital part of America's television history.

This is an excellent book. While not a true biography, it does take a look into Webb's personal life because Webb was such a workaholic that it had an effect on all that he did and who he was.

Unless you're an old time radio fan like me, you may not know that Webb started early and young. He had many outstanding shows before Dragnet and even Dragnet started in 1949 on radio. For a while, it was on both radio and television at the same time.

Webb was in many ways a brilliant man. Yet he had many failures --- both in his business life and certainly in his four marriages.

To say he was an interesting man may be an overstatement. But his body of work is so extensive, that one has to be impressed.

I started to become interested in Webb when looking for metaphors for my own writing. I didn't want to use stuff that everyone knew. And I kept hearing them on his old radio shows --- especially the ones written by the incredible Richard Breen.

I liked Webb's delivery and unemotional approach to acting. In most people, that would be considered bad acting. But somehow with Webb it was something special.

This book makes Webb and his entire career, his stock of actors and his many incarnations come to life. While his life was short, he accomplished so much.

Dragnet started on radio in 1949 and still today, in 2007, I know of no one who doesn't know what it means to hear, dum - de-dum -dum. And few people do not know of Dragnet and at least seen it on television. To me, that's amazing.

This book dwelt mostly with Webb's body of work and not his personal life or his personality. It does deal with it to some extent. But if you're interested mostly in that area of Webb's life, you might prefer another book.

The book has an excellent and exhaustive appendix that included a list, along with dates and other valuable information on each show on both radio and television. The appendix also includes other valuable informations. Well worth saving.

For Dragnet fans and Webb fans or those who are interested in radio and/or television history, this is a must-read. Oh, it has lots of great photos too.

Highly recommended.

I found this book to be an OK read. The only problem I had was that toward the end the tone of the writing shifted as the author sought to be a Jack Webb apologist. There are excuses made for the way the Dragnet of the 60s portrayed drug users, and there's almost an indignant tone taken over Dragnet spoofs such as the Dan Ackroyd film and even Nick at Nite promos!

The reason the Dragnet of the 60s became such a ripe ground for spoofing (besides the rapid fire patter) was indeed the portrayal of drug users. The series basically equated marijuana use with LSD and heroin, which is a laughable premise. The author's defense of the "Blue Boy" episode was particularly humorous. I remember seeing one of the participants of the drug party in that show actually physically trying to climb the walls. Talk about heavy-handed and unintentionally funny!

That said, I still found the book worthwhile reading, I'm a fan of Dragnet, both for Jack Webb's innovative style of shooting and the campy humor. It was interesting discovering things about Webb's radio show and some of his films that I had not previously known. I was easily able to overcome any minor annoyances with the tone shifting at the end.

I bought this book expecting fluff based on the reviews. I am a big fan of Dragnet the radio show but did not think the book would cover much of it in depth. I was wrong. Although it spends more time discussing the television series and movies, I was happy with the information on the radio show.

This book details the Dragnet radio show, both Dragnet television shows, and Mark VII movies. It does this through the central person in all of these productions, Jack Webb. However, the reader also learns about the regulars on the shows, and we get to know a bit about them as well.

"My Name's Friday" does not claim to be a biography on Webb and if that is what you are looking for, this is the wrong book for you. If you are looking for a bio of Jack Webb, there are many other books that you would probably enjoy more. However, If you are interested in the multiple incarnations of Dragnet and Pete Kelly's Blues, this is the book for you.

In addition to the main text, the appendixes include titles and brief descriptions of each Dragnet radio and television show in addition to police terms used in the shows and movies.

This is a must if you are collecting the radio shows, original TV series, or the '67-'70 version. A lot of the 50's series is on DVD, but they are scattered on all sorts of compilations. This book helps keep track of what you've got. I particularly enjoyed hearing from the extras that Webb used religiously.

But beyond Dragnet, there's a lot of interesting stuff here, how Webb was a jazz nut, including his foray into recording with his spoken-word "You're My Girl" album.

I think it's very interesting how he worked with ex-wife and her husband on Emergency! Many paramedics credit Emergency! with inspiring them to join this service. He obviously loved police and emergency services and his hometown. It makes you wonder, if Webb had lived, what his creative reaction to say the LA riots and the OJ trial would have been.

Michael Troyan has a gift for biography. I hope he can collaborate with Turner Classic Movies to produce a video on the life of Greer Garson.
This book makes me wish I could have known Greer Garson. She loved and respected her mother, she loved her husband, she loved children and orphans and the disabled and disadvantaged. She loved her dogs, ranching in New Mexico, history, and she loved Texas...makes me love her even though I never met her. Good job, Mr. Troyan.

Michael Troyan has done a wonderful job of putting together an informative and enjoyable biography on a fascinating subject. In fact, I found the book so delightful as to find it to be one of the best biographies I've ever read.

While there is no doubt that the charming personality of Greer Garson herself that radiates throughout the book has helped in the formation of my favorable opinion, I give much-deserved kudos to Mr. Troyan for being able to present his subject to the audience in such a friendly manner. By that I mean that throughout the pages, I could feel the presence of Greer Garson, and after having finished the book, felt as if I had just finished reading a letter from a long-time friend.

The first half of the book, which deals with Greer's childhood, life in Britain as a stage actress, and the later move to Hollywood, is generally a smooth and easy read. The toll of the grinding studio system and the competition involved for the popular actresses of the time are keenly felt and one can get a very good idea of the kind of position the actress was in at the time. Eventually though, talent perseveres and success follows. Detailed and interesting accounts of each of Greer's films are available and are a joy to read.

The latter half of the book is a particularly refreshing read because of the relatively vast amount of information about Greer's later life outside of Hollywood. Personally, I had not previously been aware of her various activities and hobbies and learned a great deal more about Greer Garson than when I first started out. A sign of a good biography is new information, and this one certainly has its fair share.

Now, all other traits aside, the most notable accomplishment of this work is that it does not read as a stiff, dull and fact-driven thesis paper, which is a pitfall that so many biographies of this kind can fall into. Rather, it is an intimate yet respectfully distant portrait of a lovely human being who was also a remarkable artist in her own right.

This book on Greer Garson I highly recommend. It's very balances and tells of the good and bad times in her life about her career andher fmaily. Though i must admit I wished it had mentioned more about her interests and personal life off screem. But overall it's really well written and interesting book about alovely screen actress. Greer Garson really had class
and a wnderful grace about her in all of her films

Modern actors and actresses don't seem to have the charisma, style and elegance of yesteryear's stars. Maybe that's because most of today's actors are really nothing but pitiful celebrities striving to be what once was, when Hollywood was golden.

I long for yesterday when it comes to film stars: Betty Davis, Myrna Loy, Katherine Hepburn Ginger Rogers, and so many more. Oh, yes, and that includes Greer Garson. The beautiful and talented woman we thought was born in Ireland in 1908, was really born in London in 1904.

Author Michael Troyan delves into Greer Garson's life, as much as anyone could, given that she was an extremely private woman. He carries you through her intense desire to succeed as an actress, her `discovery' and career struggles to resist being typecast, all the way through her marriages, and to her death on April 5, 1996 at Dallas Presbyterian Hospital with Van Cliburn at her bedside.

I'd always thought of Ms. Garson as a brilliant actress who could get any part she wanted. I had no idea of her struggles with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. One of my favorite films is the record-breaking "Mrs. Miniver." I get chills thinking about her Academy Award-winning performance.

And while it felt a bit like voyeurism looking in on her life, I'm glad I visited it through Troyan's eyes. It was a satisfying trip. And the author did a marvelous job showing us a small part of the woman who was Greer Garson.

For a compelling look at one of the best actresses to ever grace the stage, big or small screen, read A Rose for Mrs. Miniver: The Life of Greer Garson.

Armchair Interviews says: This is a wonderful slice of our American film history.

An excellent read if you're into details. For me, the details got a little overwhelming, but I so much wanted to learn more about this actress that I admire greatly. Sadly, as the author himself stated, it was difficult to write a biography because Greer Garson was a very private person and did not give many interviews or express many personal opinions in public. However, he richly details her movies, her public service, and others' opinions of her (and a good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold). I have always enjoyed watching her many films and am tracking down as many of them as I can on DVD so this made for a fine addition to my collection of her work. I enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading and loves any of her many films.

A great book. Shows stunning photos of the TV show "24" being filmed for seasons 1-3. I highly recommend it for any true "24" fan.

Excellent content for 24 fans, from Season 1 to Season 5, with plenty of professional pictures of very high artistic quality, to get insights into the show cast, crew and into some of the most challenging scenes.
You have a look at off screen actors relaxing and having fun while waiting for the next shot or discussing about it or trying to focus on their lines.
Finally you feel the strength of that "24 family" Kiefer Sutherland writes about in his nice foreword of the book.
Also excellent quality of the editorial format.

Get this book. Especially at the price, you can not go wrong. If you are a fan , get this book. If you've never seen 24 before, watch it , and then get this book.

I have become an avid "24" fan and really loved this book. I highly recommend it to any fan of "24".

Loved the book - came with a CD which I haven't seen yet. Unfortunatly I read it all in one day - but it is great to get a glimpse of how they put together this amazing show and a sneak peak at all the interesting people that make it work so well.

This book's meticulous scholarship started a welcome trend for "shot-by-shot" analysis of moviemaking.

Psycho is known for many things, but among them is Hitchcock's determination to use techniques he learned from television production. For a creator and adherent of "pure cinema," this special discipline makes the movie all the more notable.

What a series of paradoxes. The famous shower sequence is cited over and over again as one of the best uses of cutting and montage, and yet classic 50s "two-camera" TV shows would never dream of this approach. Too expensive and time consuming.

The usage of black and white - again classic 50s TV - actually enhances rather than diminishes the horror. As with old-time radio, the viewer has to fill in the lurid colors of blood and gore with her own imagination.

The cover says that this film started a trend toward "psycho thrillers." I suppose that this is true, but it accomplished much, much more than is acknowledged by the mediocre films that followed.

What an intelligent, readable, informative book this is. Full of insights about the personalities of Hitchcock, Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, and all the other collaborators in this important and usual film project for everyone concerned. What struck me most about the book is the author's ability to blend his thorough research with a sense of the psychology and drama of what goes into making a movie. I'd have to agree with the reviewer who said that Rebello made reading this book nearly as entertaining as the movie itself. That's quite a feat. What I want to know is when will Mr. Rebello give the royal treatment to other Hitchcock projects as well as films by other directors.

I found this book to be just wonderful from start to finish. The research is painstaking, the writing smart and lively, the degree of film industry know-how is evident on every page. In fact, the book strikes me as one of the few I've read on Hollywood to suggest that the writer actually knows his way around movie sets and knows how films get made. This book has none of the absurd (and insulting) armchair psychologizing that mars other Hitchcock books and there isn't a dry or pedantic paragraph in it from start to finish. I thought I knew a lot about Hitchcock and Psycho until I read this book. A job obviously undertaken with love and wisdom, superlatively done by Mr. Rebello. I had the pleasure of hearing the author lecture on Hitchcock on TV in London and in Tokyo and he was the standout of the whole affair!

This book is about as in-depth as you could want, but very interesting and good reading. Stephen Rebello begins at the beginning with a rather revolting chapter about the psychotic killer upon which Norman was later loosely based. (Don't let your children get a hold of that chapter!) He then talks about the man who wrote the book "Psycho", and on to Hitchcock's discovery of the book and the making of the movie. There are chapters and sections on practically every aspect of the movie and the making thereof - cast, costumes, shooting, casaba melons, publicity, and the aftermath. At the end there is also a list of the entire cast and little paragraphs about what became of them after Psycho.

This book is very good if you are a fan of either Psycho or Hitchcock in general, because in telling about Psycho the author tells a lot about Hitchcock as well.

For the true fanatic, or just the curious, this is an immensely
readable account. Far, far more interesting and enlightening then
any of the turgid, pompous academic treatises on Hitchcock that
pollute bookshelves everywhere. As definitive a reconstruction
of how PSYCHO - or any movie, with a few exceptions - was put
together. However, I suggest Mr. Rebello is overdue for either
an update
(though this reprint's front and back cover is definitely an improvement over the original),
or a companion volume.
For the completists, I suggest:

1. More production and cast stills.
2. Saul Bass's storyboards.
3. Interviews and/or photos of Marli Renfro, the actresses
who provided the voice for Mrs. Bates, the diminutive woman
who stabbed Arbogast. Other cast interviews.
4. Documentation on PSYCHO's aborted CBS broadcast of 09/66
and its subsequent showing in 06/67 on ABC - the edits,
and when it was finally shown complete.
5. Information on the sequels, and Van Sant's "recreation".
6. Full descriptions of deleted scenes from the original.
7. Some of the less inflated analysis on its symbolism, etc.
8. Most importantly: a cue by cue evaluation of Bernard Herrmann's magnificent score, including its unused parts.

Ok, Mr. Rebello, make it happen.
Until then, anyone who is at all fascinated with how an American
cultural landmark came together, (Yeah, I know, like Hitchcock used to say, "Oh,it's only a movie!")
GET THIS BOOK!

This is THE best scrapbook in the wooooooooorld!!! What can I say??!! I'm obsessed!!! Along with the two albums this is wicked...JUST BUY IT AND DROOL OVER NOAH aka CHAD!!!... R.I.P Michael Cuccione xXx

This is the ultimate book for the ultimate 2GE+HER fan! Although I got a book that only had 92 pages - and I think I'm missing the last 4 pages of the book because it suddenly ends. But anyways, this book is hilarious and is filled with various trivia about the guys! QT can't write, Jerry was born without a jaw, Mickey wasn't always a gangster, Chad's blue eyes hypnotize, and Doug wears a balding toupee! A book that's definitley worth your money.

I love this book but the person that I bought it from ripped me off. I am totally pissed about this. Someone took out 4 pages so now I have 92 pages. I was supposed to have 96! Damn con artist. I still love 2gether though but I need to know what I'm missing in those 4 pages.

2Gether is the best musical grop and will always be the best, there cd's are funny, and good, whenever I have a bad day I put in one of there albums and it makes me feel better. The guys of 2Gether are talented, cute, sweet, and adorable. Noah is my favorite member and he sings beautifully and I love him with all my heart. I would like to say R.I.P. to Michael Cuccione, he was a brave kid until the end, he's a great singer, actor, and he is defintly a role model to all people. I will always love you.

This is one of my favorite books! I do enjoy "real" literature, novels, and that sort of thing -- don't get me wrong. I just think that this is written very well and it's extremely hilarious. You find out stuff about these guys that you've never known before. For example, did you know QT really couldn't write? He signs his name with an X! Never before seen pictures of all the guys (ever wonder what Doug's high school yearbook pic looked like?) are included, too. A little bit of old skool Whoa! is in here as well. If you ever watched 2Gether, this is a great book to have! Besides, it's cheap enough. Give it a shot. Or else Chad will cry.

I absolutely loved these stories and how they connect the dots between the two films. A lot of the things used in these stories are seen in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. When Jay and Silent Bob meet Suzanne the Orangutan in the comics, it plays just like the scene from the movie when they meet Suzanne, even the scenes of Jay's grim look into the future Planet of the Apes. There is another scene in here that was cut from J&SB strike back when they are kicked off the bus for smoking weed in the restroom on the bus.

What I love most about these stories is that it explains how Jay and Silent Bob ended up wearing the different clothes that they wear in Dogma. That was the coolest part of this, everthing about their clothes in Dogma is explained in these stories; from Jay's Forked Tongue T-Shirt to Silent Bob's Mooby's cap. Overall, these stories are a must have for any fan of Kevin Smith. They are funny and should be included as canon (except for the monkey scene that was later used in J/SB Strike Back). If you want to know what happened to the dynamic duo between films, get this

What happened to Jay and Silent Bob between "Chasing Amy" and "Dogma"? How did Jay get the idea of going to Shermer, Illinois? Where did he get that hat? And why were they hanging out in the parking lot of a birth control clinic?

This book WILL answer those questions...and make you laugh out loud in the process!

Not only does this tie Chasing Amy, Mallrats, and Dogma together, but it also sort of spoils J&SBSB.

So it's a must for a Kevin Smith fan with a broken VCR.

this can be described it two words hi-larious

I got this book to fill in the history between Chasing Amy and Dogma. I loved it! Loved the jokes! Loved the laughs! However, given that it was to fill a space, there was an awful lot of discontinuity between it and the later movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. It seemed almost like a first draft for that movie. But aside from that, I got a great many laughs.

Of course, Jay, the drawing, is not nearly so cute as Jay, the actor, but that's another story...

Well written, and chock full of excellent information on the making of Combat!, the stars (especially Vic Morrow, who WAS Sgt. Sanders), the story lines, directors, ground-breaking filming techniques, etc. For anyone who understands how far ahead of its time this program was when it aired, this book is a must.

This is everything you could want as a fan of the show. The author does a great job of giving us a reasonable amount of insight to move us from season to season. This blended nicely with the information about each episode.

I wish there had been a bit more room to expand the information about each episode, but, then again, I'd like to have had a bit more information about the participants lives outside of "Combat!". But I do understand the limitations publishers impose.

I would have preferred the author not to attempt to give each episode a rating (0-4 bayonets), or a least put this in an appendix. Critics can give ratings, but fans just really shouldn't try to tell another fan he's wrong (and charge them for it)!

There's nothing like an avid fan to author a great book to an already epic tv show. Jo's affection really lends itself nicely to the anecdotes given by the former cast members.
Also, if you're ever in the LA area, you can still visit Franklin Canyon where a lot of episodes were filmed. There's a road near the corner of Cold Water Canyon Dr. and Mulholland Dr. that takes you right there (can't remember the exact name,sorry). Anyway, the same trees and water still exist that were in the episodes (this is also the same place where the opening of The Andy Grifith Show was filmed, where Opie skips a rock across the water while the theme is playing). It's now a recreation area and is a nice place to hike and stow down a few beers...

This is a great book for all those fans of the "COMBAT!" TV show, produced in the 1960's. I highly recommend it if you have invested in the "COMBAT!" DVD's or if you just want to understand why this series was, and indeed still is, so popular. Ms. Davidsmeyer even included her hand written autograph in my copy!--A wonderful and unexpected surprise!!! Indeed, this entire book is "A wonderful and unexpected surprise! You'll enjoy it without a single doubt!

This publication is a must have for the discriminating fan of Combat! As the title states, it is a true "Viewer's Companion to the WWII TV Series". Author Jo Davidsmeyer provides an indepth and detailed look at what I consider one of THE best television series ever! A perfect addendum to Combat!, the complete series.