A reviewer who gave the book four stars complained about the number of publicity photos and advertising photos in it. To be sure, there are many of them. But that, of course, is what the author, Scott Ryan, mainly had access to. But most of them, by far, I’d never seen, as most people have probably not seen them either. And if you’re a dedicated fan of the series, you’ll certainly want to see them. All of the photography-studio photos were taken by extremely gifted photographers who had the ability to compose shots of multiple actors (as many as a dozen persons in the same frame) extremely well indeed. The photographers were fine artists in their own right. And the number of photos, scattered as they are all through the book, seems absolutely appropriate.
The photo of the two principal couples on page 298 (captioned “Second Look”) is brilliantly composed. The photo of ten main characters on page 322 (captioned “Some in the main”), brings to mind famous, very large paintings of coronations where many persons had to be identifiably depicted and geometrically arranged. Natural-looking group photos that include small children are notoriously difficult to produce, and in this panoramic view three of them appear and are gracefully handled. This photo is a wonder!
Taking photos such as this were far more difficult thirty years ago than they are today. A medium-format camera, which is probably what was used, contained only 24 frames of film. If magic suddenly appeared in front of the lens, a required change of film could destroy the fugitive mood. Today, with digital cameras, we fire away for a hundred or even a thousand frames, and if things are really cooking, we can expose multiple exposures per second.
This oral history is a magnificent work in nearly every respect. It mostly consists of the recollections of the those who brought the series to life: the directors, producers, writers and actors. The making of this book obviously was for them, as it was for Ryan, a true labor of love. The glories of thirtysomething persist, three decades after the series appeared, in the hearts and minds of these highly talented professionals, and they are presented to readers through their clear, detailed, and articulate recollections. These interviewees all but physically take you to the show, as it was being made, through the gift of these recollections. I balked at the $35 price of the hardbound book, but now that it’s arrived, I’m very glad I paid it.
Half way through the book is a long chapter called “The Samurai School of Directing.” The series creators, Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz—who were determined that the episodes not be directed in the predictable, formulated, ho-hum style characteristic of television series—invited all cast members to direct. In this chapter, those who took them up on the challenge recall the joys and tribulations of directing for the first time. If you’ve ever thought you’d like to try your hand at directing motion pictures, you’ll find the chapter fascinating. In the space of a few pages, there is more nuts-and-bolts, down-to-earth, practical advice on exactly what to do and avoid behind the camera than you may read anywhere else. Give me a camera and let me have at it! Everyone involved in every episode was invited to the dailies, where the critiques could be highly instructive, if painful and embarrassing. But everyone who directed reports that they learned a great deal from the process, and some of them went on to a notable career as directors. Because so many tried their hand at it, the directing of thirtysomething never seems stale or predictable, which provides some of the finest pleasures of the series.
As the book repeatedly makes clear, precepts were presented, during the filming of the series, on how to produce compelling motion pictures—and not just by the two series creators. Edicts were often delivered by seasoned professionals. Producer Scott Winant advised novice director Ken Olin, “When you read a scene and you get an image in your mind, stick with that image. That image might be of Hope sitting in the corner with her knees to her chest.” That deceptively simple instruction, according to Olin, “changed my life” as a director of subsequent productions.
Zwick told Peter Horton that lenses of different focal lengths should be carefully selected in order to tell a story, not simply to record a scene.
Herskovitz told Ron Lagomarsino that “if the scene feels like it is the right pace, make it faster because it probably is slow.” Speeding up a scene had the power to infuse it with “the breath of life.”
Herskovitz told Scott Ryan that in a long take “You can’t just stay on the same image. You have to keep changing the angle, or what is happening on screen.”
A first-rate college course could be organized according to such precepts: Film Directing 101. And even if you aspire to nothing grander than the creation of engaging home movies, they are of true practical value.
The book—at least the hardbound edition of it—is bound too tightly. The reader has to fight the tendency of it to stay firmly closed. But it's a small quibble.
This oral history of one of the finest television series ever produced truly is worthy of the series. And it’s a perfect companion to it. Buy it!
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Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2024
My favorite show of all time! Can wait to dig in to this book!!
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Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2018
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Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2017
Top reviews from other countries
CHARLIE
Really bad quality photos!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 20, 2021Deliliah
Content is excellent, shame about the quality of the hardback
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 25, 2018