Top of the Rock

January 9, 2012
Former NBC Entertainment president Littlefield, who now runs his own TV production company, recalls, “When I was running NBC Entertainment, the shows that made our schedule were my choices, and I didn’t ask approval of anyone.” To detail the exuberant 1990s’ events in the Peacock Network’s ascendancy (with such shows as Frasier, Friends, Seinfeld, Will & Grace, and ER), Littlefield and novelist Pearson (A Short History of a Small Place) interviewed more than 50 actors, writers, producers, agents, and executives. Throughout, much praise is aimed at director Jim Burrows, labeled by Littlefield as “the most successful director in television comedy—ever.” The 19 contributing actors include Kelsey Grammer, Sean Hayes, Lisa Kudrow, John Lithgow, Julianna Margulies, and Jerry Seinfeld, but “the network suits” get equal time. Rather than a q&a format, excerpted quotes are spliced chronologically by subject. Thus, the voices of 15 people trace Seinfeld from its “disastrous” 1989 pilot tests to its newsworthy finale nine seasons later. Littlefield unleashed a “financial geyser” at NBC, and these revelatory glimpses of those glory days make this one of the more entertaining books published about the television industry.

February 1, 2012
Frank oral history of a golden age of TV programming. With the assistance of novelist Pearson (Warwolf, 2011, etc.), former NBC president of entertainment Littlefield gathers candid comments from actors, executives and behind-the-scenes people responsible for some of the most successful TV shows of the 1990s. The subjects relate everything from their struggles to make it in the entertainment industry to dealing with the type of overnight fame that many of them eventually enjoyed. In particular, the book focuses on the cast and crew of Seinfeld and Friends, programs that dealt with early hardships before later enjoying unabashed success. Perhaps the most scandalous aspect of the book, however, is Littlefield's willingness to throw his former boss Don Ohlmeyer under the bus. Ohlmeyer, who apparently understood very little about TV, arrived at NBC after Littlefield had been there for years and assumed a position above him in the corporate hierarchy. While his struggles with addiction and subsequent stint in rehab are a matter of public record, many of the interviews here shed light on the significance of the daily frustrations of Ohlmeyer's battle with alcoholism. Interviews with Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Reiser and Lisa Kudrow, among others, are particularly interesting because they worked with NBC both in front of and behind the camera. None of the interviewees shy away from negative topics, including the letdowns of test-screening results and executives not realizing which shows would later become hits. With an entertaining insider's perspective, Littlefield transports readers back to a seemingly magical time when half the country would watch the same show.

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February 15, 2012

Former NBC president of entertainment Littlefield, writing with novelist Pearson (Glad News of the Natural World), describes his tenure, during which shows such as Seinfeld, Friends, Will & Grace, and ER were redefining prime-time network TV in the 1990s. The authors present an inside look at developments during that time via a collection of interviews from such luminaries as Jerry Seinfeld, Debra Messing, Anthony Edwards, and Lisa Kudrow. Seinfeld, for example, goes into detail about the evolution of his eponymous series, from how the cast came together so perfectly to why he ended it when he did. Littlefield describes the evolution of how the shows came into being and how they eventually became among the most loved and highly rated in TV history. VERDICT This entertaining, easy-to-read book is recommended for readers who want the inside scoop on network television and those nostalgic for the Thursday night "Must See TV" lineup so well loved in the 1990s.--Sally Bryant, Pepperdine Univ. Lib., Malibu, CA

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2012
Things aren't looking so good for NBC these days. Once a television titan, it's now a constant fourth in the network rating wars, leaving TV viewers, reviewers, and number crunchers shaking their heads. What went wrong? The days of Must See TV are no more. And Littlefield knows Must See TV. He invented it. The former president of entertainment at NBC chronicles his tenure with the peacock with a little help from his friends, including Jerry Seinfeld, Kelsey Grammar, Sean Hayes, and a few assorted suits who helped him schedule and nurture some of the most memorable shows on the tube, including Cheers, Friends, and Seinfeld. And as entertained as audiences were by those programs, the real show was happening behind the scenes, where larger-than-life egos clashed over details large and small. Readers interested in the history of the network or simply wanting to hear the dish, as well as others interested in breaking into the TV biz, will find much to enjoy in this charming reliving of Littlefield's glory days.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)