The Shows That Changed Television

by | Nov 1, 2015 | David Krell

Television’s progress as a creative medium began, arguably, with I Love Lucy, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.  When the television series about a ditzy redhead married to a Cuban bandleader premiered on CBS in 1951, it introduced the three-camera format...

Lonesome Rhodes, Will Stockade, and Andy Taylor

by | Oct 29, 2015 | David Krell

Corruption rooted in ego, fame, and power forms the foundation for A Face in the Crowd, a 1957 film; Budd Schulberg wrote the screenplay based on his short story The Arkansas Traveler. Andy Griffith stars as Lonesome Rhodes, a country bumpkin discovered by television...

Aaron Sorkin and the White House

by | Jul 4, 2015 | David Krell

Before he became the architect of the fictional Bartlet presidency on The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin wrote the 1995 film The American President.  Sorkin’s story depicts the end of President Andrew Shepherd’s first term.  Shepherd, a democrat, is a widower...

The Life and Times of Murphy Brown

by | Jun 12, 2015 | David Krell

Premiering in 1988, Murphy Brown used the setting of a television news program to propel comedy.  Candice Bergen starred in the title role of a famous network newswoman who loves Motown music, hates Barry Manilow, and struggles with a string of incompetent...

Letterman, Leno, and Late Night

by | May 25, 2015 | David Krell

Tonight, the first full week without David Letterman in late night television begins. Letterman, the informal successor to Johnny Carson as the ruler of the late night kingdom, began his television talk show hosting career with a morning show in 1980.  It won two Emmy...