@article{1480268,
      recid = {1480268},
      author = {Staiger, Janet, },
      title = {Blockbuster TV : Must-See Sitcoms in the Network Era /},
      pages = {1 online resource},
      abstract = {Archie Bunker. Jed. Laverne and Shirley. Cliff Huxtable.  Throughout the entire history of American prime-time  television only four sitcoms have been true blockbusters,  with Nielsen ratings far above the second- and third-rated  programs. Weekly, millions of Americans of every age were  making a special effort to turn on the set to see what  Archie, Jed, Laverne, and Cliff were doing that week. The  wild popularity of these shows--All in the Family, The  Beverly Hillbillies, Laverne & Shirley (and its partner  Happy Days), and The Cosby Show--left commentators  bewildered by the tastes and preferences of the American  public. How do we account for the huge appeal of these  sitcoms, and how does it figure into the history of network  prime-time television? Janet Staiger answers these  questions by detailing the myriad factors that go into the  construction of mass audiences. Treating the four shows as  case studies, she deftly balances factual explanations (for  instance, the impact of VCRs and cable on network  domination of TV) with more interpretative ones (for  example, the transformation of The Beverly Hillbillies from  a popular show detested by the critics, to a blockbuster  after its elevation as the critics' darling), and  juxtaposes industry-based reasons (for example, the ways in  which TV shows derive success from placement in the weekly  programming schedule) with stylistic explanations (how, for  instance, certain shows create pleasure from a repetition  and variation of a formula). Staiger concludes that because  of changes in the industry, these shows were a phenomenon  that may never be repeated. And while the western or the  night-time soap has at times captured public attention,  Blockbuster TV maintains that the sitcom has been THE genre  to attract people to the tube, and that without  understanding the sitcom, we can't properly understand the  role of television in our culture.},
      url = {http://library.usi.edu/record/1480268},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9780814786994.001.0001},
}