Not remotely controlled : notes on television / Lee Siegel.

COPS. Why cop shows are eternal -- The new Kojak -- CSI : New York -- Numb3rs -- Reno 911! -- Monk -- SITCOMS. Friends -- Joey -- My name is Earl -- Everybody hates Chris -- COMEDY. Jon Stewart -- Extras I -- Extras II -- Curb your enthusiasm -- Weeds -- The life and death of Peter Sellers -- CARTOONS. The Boondocks -- SpongeBob SquarePants -- RACE. Unforgivable blackness -- Lackawanna blues -- RELIGION. Joan of Arcadia -- Revelations -- DRAMA. Rescue me -- Deadwood -- Revenge of the middle-aged woman, Suburban madness, and Desperate housewives -- Huff -- The O.C. -- Lost -- Invasion -- Alias -- WAR. The Hamburg cell and Dirty war -- The unit -- Over there -- DOCUMENTARY AND "SPECIAL REPORTS." Ghosts of Rwanda -- The children of Lenigradsky -- Transgeneration -- The staircase -- The History Channel's Crusades -- UFOs -- NEWS. Morning news shows -- Tom Brokaw -- Pope John Paul II -- REALITY TELEVISION. Reality in America -- Family bonds -- Growing up Gotti -- Supernanny -- Thirty days -- The apprentice -- GAMES. Deal or no deal -- Iron chef America -- Stump the Schwab -- The winter Olympics -- POLITICS. Tanner on Tanner -- Jack and Bobby -- PERSONALITIES. Greta Garbo -- Lauren Bacall -- Steve McQueen -- Elvis Presley -- Charles Manson -- Johnny Carson -- Inside the actors studio -- Oprah Winfrey.

Whether chronicling the history of the "cop" drama, revealing the inherent irony in Donald Trump's character on The Apprentice, or shedding light on those unheralded gems that commercial pressures swept away prematurely, Siegel gives each episode, series, or documentary the attention and respect usually reserved for high art. Going far beyond mere pans and praise, Siegel has given long overdue attention to America's most pervasive art form: television. -- BOOK JACKET