Salon.com > the revolution was televised http://www.salon.com Sat, 25 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Blogging the TV revolution: Alan Sepinwall, the king of the recap http://www.salon.com/2012/12/16/blogging_the_tv_revolution_alan_sepinwall_the_king_of_the_recap/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/16/blogging_the_tv_revolution_alan_sepinwall_the_king_of_the_recap/#comments Sun, 16 Dec 2012 21:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13125206 Alan Sepinwall's new book, "The Revolution Was Televised" is a must-read for anyone who has ever fallen hard for a TV show. Advancing an argument about how TV since "The Sopranos" has reached another, better level, it explores, chapter by chapter, the specifics of how "The Sopranos" and "The Wire"and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to "Friday Night Lights" and "Mad Men," among others, came to be. Sepinwall has been described as the "the acknowledged king of the [recap]"and writes prolifically, insightfully and influentially about an ungodly number of shows at What Alan's Watching. Sepinwall self-published "The Revolution Was Televised" — making his one of the very few self-published books ever to be reviewed, and raved about, by the New York Times — and has always been a bit of DIY guy. In college, he began writing a proto-blog about "NYPD Blue," which got him a job at the Newark Star-Ledger (where he became a reigning expert on 'The Sopranos," among other things), before he struck out on his own, one of the most widely read and astute TV analysts out there. I spoke with Alan about the book, what the men who created these shows have in common, why they're all men, and asked for yet another defense of "Lost."

Your book about television has also become this really astonishing publishing story, because it was self-published. It’s one of the only self-published books ever reviewed by the Times.

I’ve been completely floored by it. I did get one offer from a publisher a year ago, and it wasn’t a great offer, but I would sort of start thinking to myself as I was doing this, “You idiot, you should have taken it. You’re never going to make this kind of money selling the book, even if you’re completely happy with the book, and you’re always going to be sort of annoyed with yourself.” And it’s done a lot better than that offer would have.

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