The kids in McKinley High School's glee club, New Directions, might not be the most popular, but Glee is unquestionably a runaway hit. Since its premiere in May 2009, Glee has exploded as one of the most popular hours on TV, earning an astounding 19 Emmy nominations in its first season. In addition to the show's staggering success, Glee's songs have been heating up the music charts, with 25 tracks on the 2009 hot 100 list, a hit-rate topped only by the Beatles when they had 31 hits in 1964.
Don't Stop Believin' pays tribute to the glorious mash-up of music, comedy, drama and social commentary that has put Glee and its band of misfits in the spotlight. Written by gleeks extraordinaire Erin Balser and Suzanne Gardner, the book is jam-packed with:
- an in-depth episode-by-episode exploration of the show, focusing on themes, storylines and main characters
- all the details on the hit songs in every episode, behind-the-scenes happenings and the show's entertainment and cultural references
- exclusive interviews with Glee actors including Stephen Tobolowsky (Sandy Ryerson), Heather Morris (Brittany), and Ken Avenido (Howard Bamboo)
- personal stories from fellow gleeks about what the show means to them
- biographies of the principal players and guest stars
- the story of the making of Glee and how it was brought to life by creator Ryan Murphy
- fun and informative sidebars
- terrific on- and off-set photos of the cast
Capturing all the highs and lows of this ground-breaking series, Don't Stop Believin' is a show-stopping guide to Glee's journey - the perfect companion for fans who demand an encore once the curtain falls.
The kids in McKinley High School's glee club, New Directions, might not be the most popular, but Glee is unquestionably a runaway hit. Since its premiere in May 2009, Glee has exploded as one of the most popular hours on TV, earning an astounding 19 Emmy nominations in its first season. In addition to the show's staggering success, Glee's songs have been heating up the music charts, with 25 tracks on the 2009 hot 100 list, a hit-rate topped only by the Beatles when they had 31 hits in 1964.
Don't Stop Believin' pays tribute to the glorious mash-up of music, comedy, drama and social commentary that has put Glee and its band of misfits in the spotlight. Written by gleeks extraordinaire Erin Balser and Suzanne Gardner, the book is jam-packed with:
- an in-depth episode-by-episode exploration of the show, focusing on themes, storylines and main characters
- all the details on the hit songs in every episode, behind-the-scenes happenings and the show's entertainment and cultural references
- exclusive interviews with Glee actors including Stephen Tobolowsky (Sandy Ryerson), Heather Morris (Brittany), and Ken Avenido (Howard Bamboo)
- personal stories from fellow gleeks about what the show means to them
- biographies of the principal players and guest stars
- the story of the making of Glee and how it was brought to life by creator Ryan Murphy
- fun and informative sidebars
- terrific on- and off-set photos of the cast
Capturing all the highs and lows of this ground-breaking series, Don't Stop Believin' is a show-stopping guide to Glee's journey - the perfect companion for fans who demand an encore once the curtain falls.
Jerry Seinfeld is the master of observational humour. Pointing at the small absurdities of daily life, Seinfeld makes his audience laugh with recognition. For many years a stand-up comic, Seinfeld was also the star of his own phenomenally successful television show, Seinfeld. But the road hasn't always been easy; at his first stand-up performance, he froze. This first unauthorized biography follows his rise to stardom. Also included is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Seinfeld.
Taking off from the Promethean myth of human creation, Gillian Sze's second poetry collection explores the "anatomy of clay" and the individual as a sentient mystery. At times reflective, instructional, playful, or strange, the first section, Quotidianus, offers observational poems, which recount intimate and ordinary moments often missed, overlooked, or forgotten. Sze tugs at the fabric of habit and amidst the urban mundane finds her subjects in a woman waiting for the bus, a neighbour who talks to his plants, a girl smoking after a storm. The following section, Extimacy, takes a lyrical and confessional turn, veering inwards, dealing reflexively with the materiality of inner life: the self as ingredients, the self as experiment, the self as animal and artist. The Anatomy of Clay finds exceptions in the most prosaic conditions and the ineffable distinctions between people, selves, objects, and histories.
America's luckiest guy? The real story behind the most important man in the lives of Michelle Pfeiffer and Ally McBeal. I love Ally McBeal, says one female fan. "She's gorgeous, she has a great job, men are crazy about her, and she's still unhappy! Well, if Ally can be unhappy then I can be unhappy too."
Is that what the popularity of Ally McBeal is about? Misery loves company? Only partly. The dialogue is scintillating, the characters peculiar, the stories -- and not just those fantasy moments -- are creative and surprising. But most of all, Ally McBeal is about romance. First-date kisses. Lost chances. Jealous suspicions. Raging desire. Wattle fetishes. As Shakespeare and David E. Kelley know, these are everyone's favorite topics. How did David Kelley, the man behind Ally McBeal, become one of the most exciting writer/creator/producers working in television today? How did a young lawyer with almost no writing experience end up scripting some of the best episodes of L.A. Law? And go on to create Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, and The Practice? And then marry Michelle Pfeiffer? And create a female character named Ally who would become so popular, so loved and reviled, that she would end up on the cover of Time? Depending on which newspaper columnist or public commentator you ask, Ally McBeal is either destroying the American feminist movement or revealing the secret hopes and desires of women across the country. In Ally, David Kelley has captured the spirit of our times. And he's having fun doing it, too.
Find out how, in David E. Kelley: The Man Behind "Ally McBeal."
?As a comedian, then producer of Seinfeld, and now the creator and star of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David has a fanatical following. In his early stand-up days, if he walked on stage and didn't like the crowd, he would walk off. Together with Jerry Seinfeld, he pitched NBC on a sitcom where nothing happens. A whole show could be about waiting in line at a Chinese restaurant. And somehow Seinfeld became the most successful comedy show of all time.
After nine years of writing and producing Seinfeld, and after making a huge amount of money, Larry David began to create a new show for HBO. Without much separation between himself and the character he plays, Curb follows the daily routines of Larry David. Being politically correct is far from Larry's mind, and the audience cringes as he berates, torments, and blusters his way into the hearts of TV watchers.
Follow the early exploits of Larry's stand-up career, his days writing for Seinfeld, and learn how Curb was conceived and developed. Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good - titled after Larry's key catchphrase - also explores Larry's on- and off-screen relationships with famous pals like Richard Lewis, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, and the cast of Seinfeld, and contains an in-depth episode guide to Curb Your Enthusiasm.
