TV: A Novel

By Brian Brown

Caesar Fortunato is the greatest sports director ever. If you're not sure about that, just ask him. He'll tell you that he invented the instant replay. The blimp shot. The "up close and personal" feature. In fact, if you asked him, Caesar Fortunato would tell you that without him sports broadcasting would be a wasteland, not worth watching. And he might be right. Caesar has directed Super Bowls, NBA championship games, Wimbledon, the Olympics. When he's hot, Caesar can make the worst game look like a spectacle and a good game look like art. The problem is that he is as arrogant about his abilities as he is good at his job. And he believes that entitles him to be as unkind to network presidents as he is to lowly production assistants. So, when Caesar finally makes a mistake, all the little people he's screamed at and all the suits he's snubbed over the years get their revenge. He quickly finds himself on the street and then on the run when creative differences with a Hollywood A-list actor get physical. Before he totally self-destructs, though, Caesar gets one last chance to transform chaos into broadcast beauty. It'll be live, global, and impossible to pull off. Maybe. In TV , Emmy Award-winning television writer, producer, and director Brian Brown offers the truest story yet told about what goes on behind the cameras in the television industry, as reflected in the rise, fall, and redemption of broadcasting's ultimate insider. In telling Caesar's story, Brown turns a revealing lens on the media's madness and madmen, as well as the power and all the possibility inherent in the medium that so pervades our lives. It's a riveting inside look at some of the most ephemeral, idiotic art ever created and the modern spectacle that is sports in all its brute, heartbreaking beauty. Sometimes you can only tell the truth by resorting to fiction....

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0609606158
• ISBN13: 9780609606155
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group, The
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.8" x 1.0" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

A must read for all television lovers!

I found TV to be a compelling, hilarious, and even insightful look at the televison industry. Brown's character descriptions had me begging for more. Each page held my attention from start to finish. I recommend TV to all entertainment lovers...you'll never watch a televised sporting event the same!

The best reality TV yet

This book is unlike any other I've read. It is a one of a kind look into a world that is rarely considered- the producers and staff behind TV shows and the one man who seemed to do it all. Fast paced behind-the-scenes action puts the reader in the moment. Historical references give the book the feel of non-fiction, making it all the more intriguing as you're left to wonder..."Did this really happen?" Great Descriptions. TV has something for everyone, not just sports fans or television insiders. The main character is one you hate to love...or love to hate. Reading TV is a lot better than watching it- here you're part of the action.

phenomenal story

There are a few books that are worthy of becoming cult classics, read and passed on and on -- The Power of One, Atlas Shrugged come to mind as books that somehow transcend others in their redemptive value. T.V. shares much in common with these, and, I agree, with the novels of Hunter Thompson. But it is also unique in its kind, a story that hits its hysterical high notes and then delves into its main character's psyche with all the relentless honesty and soul trudging of a true epic. This novelist has an amazing store of knowledge, experience, talent, humour, and Caesar Fortunato is, I think, one of the most interesting characters American fiction has produced in years. Bravo.

The Best Reality TV yet...

This book is unlike any other I've read. It is a one of a kind look into a world that is rarely considered- the producers and staff behind TV shows and the one man who seemed to do it all. Fast paced behind-the-scenes action puts the reader in the moment. Historical references give the book the feel of non-fiction, making it all the more intriguing as you're left to wonder..."Did this really happen?" Great Descriptions. TV has something for everyone, not just sports fans or television insiders. The main character is one you hate to love...or love to hate. Reading TV is a lot better than watching it- here you're part of the action.

A Great Insider View of Sports TV

This book is one of the easiest, quickest reads I have had the pleasure to enjoy. Brian Brown has created a world that paints a very realistic picture of the high pressure, intense world which goes on behind the camera and when commercials air. But the best thing about "TV" is the gripping story of a man who lives his life at the extremes. A man who must confront his own demons while being confronted himself by the changing landscape of the business that he helped create. Highly recommended.