Performing Arts : Television

GASPING FOR AIRTIME is a hilarious and often moving memoir by former Saturday Night Live cast member Jay Mohr. When twenty-year-old Jay moved from New Jersey to New York City to pursue his dream of stand-up stardom, he never thought he'd land his first real job on Saturday Night Live . But he did?and what followed were two crazy years of trying to keep up with his talented castmates and get on the air as often as possible (a daunting feat for a rookie cast member). more...

Price: $9.95

This collection of research essays focuses on children and "Sesame Street". It covers a variety of issues and topics including: creation and evolution of the "Sesame Street" curriculum; "Sesame Street" viewers as adolescents; and the role of "Sesame Street"-based materials in child care settings. more...

Price: $99.95

From February to April 2007, starting with his play-by-play call of Super Bowl XLI, Jim Nantz had a historic 63-day broadcasting run as he became the first commentator to broadcast the Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four, and the Masters ® all in the same year. Yet the man who inspired him to pursue his broadcasting dream, his father, was unable to share the voyage with him. In Always By My Side: A Father's Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any Other, 2007 Sportscaster of the Year Nantz recounts how he felt his father’s presence every step of the way – and through this championship journey, he celebrates the people and moments that tap into all the goodness that his dad – and his dad’s generation – represent. Always By My Side traces Nantz’s career, from creating his own imaginary TV studio he created as a boy to his college days rooming with future PGA Tour golfers to his chance meeting with NBC Sports producer Don Ohlmeyer that started him on a path that led to a successful CBS network audition at the age of 26. Along the way, he remembers his friendships with such sports royalty as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy, Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Mike Krzyzewski, and Bill Walton – as well as Hollywood A-listers like Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery, all the time remaining humble and grateful for the opportunity to be afforded such an amazing life. Nantz also recalls father-figures he found throughout his life when his own ailing father was unable to be physically with him: George H. W. Bush, Ken Venturi, Jim McKay, Pat Summerall, Billy Packer, Frank Chirkinian, and others. Ultimately, Always By My Side is a collection of poignant stories that explore the theme of fathers and sons who have bonded through a common love of sports. It turns every day into Father’s Day. more...

Price: $26.00

Anytime Playdate reveals the marketing science of capturing a toddler's attention, examining whether Baby Einstein and its ilk will make babies smarter, or if, conversely, television makes babies passive and uncritical, their imaginations colonized by marketing schemes before they even speak. It tells us why the raucous Dora the Explorer has usurped Blues Clues for preschool primacy, why the Brit hit In the Night Garden won't follow Teletubbies into American tot stardom, and why the comparatively quiet and wholesome Sesame Street has reigned for decades. Hayes vividly portrays the educators, psychologists, executives, parents, and, lest we forget, kids who have shaped the history of children's television, uncovering the tensions between the many personalities, the creative foment that combines story, music, and message in this medium to produce today's almost dizzying array of products and choices. more...

Price: $17.99

From film festivals to university campuses, from private homes to first-run theaters, people everywhere are viewing and discussing gay, lesbian, queer, bisexual, and transgender films and videos. Between the Sheets, In the Streets considers these videos and films, testifying to the unavoidable connections between sexuality (the sheets) and activism (the streets) for all who identify as gay, lesbian, or queer in the 1990s. This first collection of essays to focus exclusively on queer, lesbian, and gay documentary argues that documentary films and videos speak with a sense of political and social urgency, acting as testaments to the importance of reclaiming history and asserting the importance of these points of view. Among the topics discussed are representations of young queers on such shows as MTV’s The Real World; pre-Stonewall films; portrayals of lesbians and aging; video activism in Oregon and the South; and the works of Derek Jarman, Su Friedrich, Cheryl Dunye, and Sadie Benning. A range of films and videos is examined, including Strangers in Good Company, Paris Is Burning, Juggling Gender, Silverlake Life, and Without You I’m Nothing. Tracing an exhilarating range of perspectives and subject positions, Between the Sheets, In the Streets is an essential guide to current developments in queer, lesbian, and gay documentary. Contributors: Chris Cagle, Linda Dittmar, Lynda Goldstein, Ronald Gregg, Janet Jakobsen, Lynda McAfee, Kathleen McHugh, Beverly Seckinger, Marc Siegel, Chris Straayer, Erika Suderburg, Thomas Waugh, and Justin Wyatt. more...

Price: $99.00