From Cole's downfall and Phoebe's somewhat questionable fashion sense to the power of three in history and literature and a magical tourist's guide to the Halliwells's hometown of San Francisco, this clever, lighthearted essay collection offers a fun and funny look at the world of the WB hit series Charmed. Edited by New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Crusie, these accessible and entertaining essays apply the wit and insight of one of today's leading romance authors to the stylish, occasionally campy fan favorite known for its scandalous outfits, revolving door of love interests, and the magical mayhem of three otherwise normal sisters who must fight against evil as they deal with the challenges of everyday life.
Pervasive and multidisciplinary, this insightful exploration discusses how and why this seminal work developed, and continues to grow, such a cult following. When Fight Club punched its way onto the scene a decade ago, it provided an unprecedented glimpse into the American male’s psyche and rapidly turned into a euphemism for a variety of things that should be “just understood” and not otherwise acknowledged. Key to its success is the variety of lenses through which the story can be interpreted; is it a story of male anxiety in a metrosexual world, of ritual religion in a secular age, of escape from totalitarian capitalism, or the spiritual malaise induced by technologically-oriented society? Writers, conspiracy theorists, and philosophers are among those ready to talk about Fight Club’s ability to be all these and more.
REVISED, UPDATED, AND EXPANDED!The Big Bang Theory – CBS’s surprise hit sitcom – was recently renewed through 2017 after pulling in 19 million weekly viewers in its most recent season. Any fan who tunes in week to week wasn’t surprised. The quirky show does what so few shows manage to do: straddle the fence between cult hit and mega-popular award-winner.Now, in Unraveling the Mysteries of The Big Bang Theory, longtime sf fan and author George Beahm has put together a guide with photographs for all fans of the show – mainstream tv viewers, sf and comics fans, and science enthusiasts alike. Whether you’re a Penny or a Sheldon, whether you’ve just tuned in or been watching all along, this companion book will help you appreciate The Big Bang Theory to the fullest.Unraveling the Mysteries of The Big Bang Theory offers a full, comprehensive look at the series: from an analysis of the awful original pilot (that viewers may never get to see) to a tour of the real Cal Tech (which serves as one of the show's main settings), from a fandom terminology guide to enlightening analyses of the endearingly original main characters, all the show’s quirkiest and most appealing elements are put under the microscope.This updated edition includes a focus on the show's female characters in addition to bringing the content up to date through the show's seventh season.
Visit Hannah, Marnie, Jessa, and Shoshanna’s favorite haunts in The Unofficial Girls Guide to New York.More than just a travel guide, The Unofficial Girls Guide to New York delivers an in-depth look at Girls’ physical and cultural landscape.Stop in at Café Grumpy and learn how to make a French press coffee the way Ray and Hannah wouldGo behind the scenes at Greenhouse, where Hannah and Elijah spend a night out, and meet “iPad DJs” AndrewAndrewRecreate Jessa and Thomas-John’s Foundry wedding cake, with buttercream icing made from local NYC rooftop honeyTour the Salmagundi Club, site of Hannah’s cringeworthy reading and one of the city’s oldest and most prestigious art and literary associationsShop Girls-style in the West Village, Nolita, and beyondPlus a lot more, from Greenpoint to Greenwich Village, and Bushwick warehouse parties to the Lower East Side gallery scene It’s the best way to visit Girls’ New York without paying for a plane ticket—or the perfect complement to your next trip.Featuring 18 maps, 21 recipes, and more than 100 full-color photos
True Blood, Alan Ball’s critically acclaimed television adaptation of Charlaine Harris’ bestselling Southern Vampire mysteries, is HBO’s most-watched show since The Sopranos, averaging over 12 million viewers an episode in its second season. Thanks to its large, dedicated fanbase, it won the People’s Choice “Favorite TV Obsession” award in early 2010.A Taste of True Blood: The Fangbanger’s Guide gives those fans something to savor between episodes—and whets their appetite for more. Covering the show’s first two seasons and released just in time for the third (with real-time online updates from the book’s contributors throughout season three), the book includes pieces on:• Vampire Bill’s season 2 slide from hot to not• Sookie’s mind-reading talents as a critique of our oversharing Facebook culture• What a Louisiana setting adds to the traditional vampire myth• Why the television series had to differ from the books (co-written by the Southern Vampire mysteries’ editor Ginjer Buchanan)• And much more, from shapeshifters to maenads to Merlotte’sA Taste of True Blood also includes a quick reference guide to the show’s first two seasons.
Psychologists turn their attention to “The Simpsons,” one of America’s most popular and beloved shows, in these essays that explore the function and dysfunctions of the show’s characters. Designed to appeal to both fans of the show and students of psychology, this unique blend of science and pop culture consists of essays by professional psychologists drawn from schools and clinical practices across the country. Each essay is designed to be accessible, thoughtful and entertaining, while providing the reader with insights into both “The Simpsons” and the latest in psychological thought. Every major area of psychology is covered, from clinical psychology and cognition to abnormal and evolutionary psychology, while fresh views on eclectic show topics such as gambling addiction, Pavlovian conditioning, family therapy and lobotomies are explored.
What do you get when you combine “CSI” science, the medicine of “ER,” and an acerbic, pain pill addict with a cane? “House MD,” the popular show on the Fox network, anchored by the biggest mystery in modern medicine, Gregory House.<BR><BR>In House Unauthorized: Vasculitis, Clinic Duty, and Bad Bedside Manner, the entire cast of the show is on the exam table: Wilson, Cuddy, Foreman, Cameron, Chase and particularly the cantankerous, but brilliant Dr. House.<BR><BR>What makes House tick? Why did he really hire Foreman, Cameron and Chase (and why is it so easy to believe he’s actually subjecting them to some sort of bizarre psychological testing)? What would House be like as a heating and plumbing repairman? And why doesn’t Wilson just stop talking to him already?<BR><BR>Answers to these questions are presented by a team of writers as talented as the team of doctors in House, MD. The prognosis? One heck of a good read.
Called one of the best shows on TV by more than a dozen media publications, including Time and Entertainment Weekly , Friday Night Lights is not just one of the most critically acclaimed shows on air, it’s also one of the most watchable. Despite its focus on high school football, its masterfully crafted characters and honestly portrayed relationships make its portrait of small town Texas life compelling and relatable in ways that have nothing to do with field goals or touchdowns. Love, Loss, and Dillon Football: A Friday Night Lights Companion explores the victories and pitfalls of Dillon, Texas – both the town itself and those who live and love there. Because Friday Night Lights is so much more than just a teenage football drama: it’s about the struggle to not get trapped in the circumstances one is born into. It’s about love, it’s about loss, and, yes, it’s even about football.
The Walking Dead gained national attention as AMC’s latest critically acclaimed drama, shattering the network’s previous premiere ratings highs and earning a second season renewal after its very first episode. But before its television debut, Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead was a comic phenomenon.James Lowder, veteran editor and author in the horror genre and comics field, collects some of the biggest names in the zombie genre, along with other top horror and comics writers, to discuss the series on both page and screen.Contents include:what makes The Walking Dead so effective as a zombie narrativethe television show’s surprising optimismRick Grimes as Objectivist heroThe Walking Dead’s journey from comic to television seriesJay Bonansinga, Brendan Deneen, Jonathan Maberry, Kim Paffenroth, Lisa Morton, Kyle William Bishop, Del Howison, Craig Fischer, Kenneth Hite, Kay Steiger, Matt Staggs, Ned Vizzini, Scott Kenemore, Brendan Riley, Arnold T. Blumberg
In the fall of 2000, “Gilmore Girls” premiered on the WB and viewers were introduced to the quirky world of Stars Hollow and the Gilmores who had made it their home, mother-daughter best friends Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. With the show in its seventh season on the fledgling CW, Coffee at Luke's is the perfect look at what has made the show such a clever, beloved part of the television landscape for so long.What are the risks of having your mother be your best friend? How is “Gilmore Girls” anti-family, at least in the traditional sense? What’s a male viewer to do when he finds both mother and daughter attractive? And how is creator Amy Sherman-Palladino like Emily Gilmore? From the show’s class consciousness to the way the characters are shaped by the books they read, the music they listen to and the movies they watch, Coffee at Luke's looks at the sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking underpinnings of smart viewer’s Tuesday night television staple, and takes them further into Stars Hollow than they’ve ever been before.