I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution Kindle Edition

A must read for anyone who owns a tv. This is the literal guidebook of the most influential television shows of the modern day era but certainly not just the dreaded "top ten list." Witty and succinct - Emily Nussbaum is the right person at the right time to write intelligently about the shows and provide poignant literary criticism to put them in cultural perspective at the particular point that they aired. From Archie to Buffy...many of the shows we love and those that are now on our watch list.

This book is engaging and a really great read. It's like a late-night conversation with a friend who is both completely relatable and also scary smart. She believes in television as an art form, unapologetically - and she holds a critic's lamp up to what she sees, including calling it out when it falls short. There's special magic that can only happen when TV superfan blends seamlessly into TV critic and journalist. Some of the essays demonstrate her methods, including in-depth interviews and research. If it sounds high-minded, it is, but you'll also want to get some popcorn or an adult beverage and read all about the time she spent with Ryan Murphy and his family, talking about his childhood. Really, I loved the book and think most anyone who's ever watched TV will find something to like here.

Phenomenal collection of pieces on an idiosyncratic range of television shows. Nussbaum is thoughtful, admirably unpredictable in her likes and dislikes, and is dedicated to reviewing TV as TV - novelistic or cinematic TV shows get no credit for aping the virtues of other art forms.Also, she’s a hoot - funny and irreverent.Buy with confidence.

I love Nussbaum even more than television, and I would read a whole nother volume of her criticism and essays.

It’s honestly so good. Absolute creme brûlée for those of us for whom TV — its culture and rich history, and the experience of collectively watching it, simultaneously in solitude and in connection to millions — has been a defining formative influence. It’s sensitive, thought provoking, self critical, funny as hell, and just feels like it was written for only me, even though I hadn’t seen half the shows (or insist that Buffy does not hold up for millennials).

Nussbaum’s essays are excellent, delving deep into both the creative and the personal side of television, of both herself and the subjects.Also the fact that I rated this 5 stars despite her thoughts on the Lost finale is big for me.

The author knows TV, and she knows what is going on in the business of TV. A fun, enjoyable read!

Terrific short essays, some of which I had already read in the New Yorker.

I bought both the audio and Kindle versions and the audiobook was binge-listening. As someone who writes for TV I found the reviews, essays and profiles a fantastic exploration of the past, present and future of the TV revolution. And I'm so with her on the importance of Buffy. That's the show that raised the bar for genre TV and led to the rise of superhero films by showing how worlds could be built that take characters and continuity seriously.