They were young wide-eyed students when they met at Northwestern University. Walter Podrazik was from Bridgeport and Harry Castleman from Boston and it did not take them long to discover that they shared a passion for The Beatles.
They created a 17-hour, 46-minute live radio history of The Beatles in 1974 when they were seniors. That led, logically, to a book, “All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography,” a fine book published in 1975. And as the fellas graduated and Castleman returned East, they continued their literary collaboration. There were more Beatles books and a book about television, the latest edition of which sits on my desk, and it’s massive.
“Watching TV: American Television Season by Season” is 644 pages in 8-by-11 format. It is remarkably informative and surprisingly lively and entertaining and, when first published in 1982, it was greeted with a stream of praise.
From Publishers Weekly: “Castleman and Podrazik have put together a well-researched, tightly written documentary on the development of the television industry and the individuals involved.”
Here’s Library Journal: “The authors have meticulously documented an in-depth survey of the entire world of TV trends and programming from the industry’s beginnings, presenting along the way some very judicious critical analyses.”
I used that first copy all of the time. I was the Tribune’s television critic for a few years and found myself seeking answers to questions I had on the book’s page, but more often than not would find myself grabbed by something interesting apart from what I was seeking.
That’s the real joy of this book. Yes, it provides the nuts and bolts of television history — facts, figures, prime time grids for every season, timelines — but also offers surprising anecdotes and smart commentary.
I just looked up one of my favorite teenage shows and found, in part, that “The Mod Squad” “marked the first full-fledged attempt by a network to absorb the look and lingo of the self-proclaimed counterculture and turn them into a standard TV action show. … ABC could exploit current issues such as youth rebellion, drug abuse, and racial tension while making sure the legitimate authority always triumphed.”
This is the fourth edition of this remarkable book, published by Syracuse University Press, and I asked Podrazik how it came to be, long ago. And he said, “We had so enjoyed doing the Beatles book and I asked Harry, ‘Now what?’ And here we are.”
Television was a gargantuan and dizzying subject, even then, but new editions came with some regularity. Still, now with so much information available on the internet, I thought it a pleasant surprise a couple of years ago for Syracuse University Press to approach the pair about a new edition. They took on the challenge, completing new chapters in little over a year.
Since one can not live on book royalties alone (OK, OK, James Patterson, Steve King and a few others do very nicely), so Castleman has worked as a lawyer and Podrazik done a variety of things.
He has long been a teacher at the Department of Communication at UIC, focusing on television history as well as the intersection of mass media and politics. He has been television curator at the Museum of Broadcast Communications. He has handled the details of media logistics for the Democratic Party’s presidential nominating conventions since the 1970s.
“That work gives me a real snapshot of where TV is going, technologically, “ he says. “I select and organize where and how the conventions will be covered, for TV networks, but also for print and radio operations. The conventions are where TV really tries to show off their stuff, a time for ‘Look what we can do.’”
He is married to Grace DuMelle, a family historian at the Newberry Library. They live in an “ancient” Bridgeport house, the third generation of his family to do so.
He told me he believes that the first thing he ever saw on television was Jackie Gleason, “But I’m not sure if it was in reruns or not.” He’s still watching, and one of his favorite shows is “Only Murders in the Building.”
As he and Castleman write, early in their book, “No matter the era, television has consistently delivered a reflection of ourselves and our interests, in comedy and drama, real world news and sports, conversations and games, the grand and the intimate, the silly and the profound.”
He tells me, “The history of TV is the history of this country.”
Later in the book they quote a network executive in 2015, saying, “There is simply too much television.”
Does Podrazik believe that?
“If your goal is to watch everything, sure it is,” he said. “There is so much that it would be physically impossible to watch all that is broadcast.”
The final chapter of the book begins, “No one knows where this is going.”
True enough, but millions of us will be watching. Wally and Harry too.
rkogan@chicagotribune.com
