An intelligent piece of cultural journalism. Armstrong doesn't create a guide to the series, or spend a lot of time on interviews with the cast; instead she takes much of this information from other sources, in this age of the internet. Instead, she seeks to place MTM in the larger story of television and its impact on culture in the '60s and '70s, particularly well done by exploring the roles of the executives, head writers, prominent females in an industry still fraught with sexism, and one slightly obsessed fan. It's a fascinating story that is able to really capture the challenges faced in the era.

At the same time, this IS a history of MTM as a show. The fantastic rise of White and Engel, the insecurities of Harper and McLeod, the ups-and-downs for Asner and Knight, and the challenges of working with Leachman - all captured objectively but thrillingly. And Moore emerges as a more complex figure than I had initially realised. As someone who only came to the show two years ago (and watched the entire run since then), this is just what I wanted. ( )

It wasn't meant to be an advertisement for the show, but now I want to go through the old episodes and watch the show.

The book struck a fine balance between the actors, the producers, and the writers with just enough context to understand the network trepidation of approving the show and the cyclical nature of television programming. ( )

An entertaining book about one of my favorite TV shows. The author is clearly a fan. There's some pretty great behind-the-scenes stuff and she does a good job of telling the story of both the show and the larger '70s TV landscape. 3.5 stars. ( )

Might be considered dated material but I learned a lot about the behind-the-scenes of television writing and producing from this read.

Engaging people and material regardless of whether or not you're old enough to have watched this show when it aired...but especially interesting for those of us who were.

Very recommended for anyone thinking of a career writing or working in television...especially if you've got spunk! ( )

Behind the scenes of the iconic 70's show. I learned quite a bit about the people who created, produced, and wrote the show. I did not realize before reading the book how many women writers were hired for the show. I would say the majority of the book is about the people and situations behind the scenes of the show and not as much about the actors. Still, I read it cover to cover. I really liked it. ( )