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Writer David Marc Discusses the Past and Present of Television.

Writer David Marc. He's the co-author of the new book, "Prime Time Prime Movers," about how TV's producers are the ones who most influence its creative and ideological direction. They cite such examples as Stephen Bochco, the creator of "Hill Street Blues," and "L.A. Law," and "Cop Rock." (published by Little, Brown & Co.)

08:39
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Other segments from the episode on April 24, 1992

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, April 24, 1992: Interview with Toni Morrison; Commentary on the song "Sally Go Round the Roses"; Interview with David Marc; Obituary for Satyajit Ray.
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22:45

Novelist Toni Morrison.

Novelist Toni Morrison. She has a new novel "Jazz," (published by Knopf) and a new book of essays, "Playing in the Dark," (by Harvard). Her novel, "Beloved," won a Pulitzer prize. She's written six novels in all.

Interview
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06:28

Remembering Satyajit Ray.

Terry talks with film critic Stephen Schiff about the late director Satyajit Ray from India. Ray died yesterday at the age of 70. His work was internationally acclaimed.

Obituary

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27:52

A TV Critic's "Comic Visions"

David Marc considers his new book about classic sitcoms as a kind of autobiography: each show he reviews reminds him of the time in his life when he first watched it. He joins Fresh Air to talk about the history and politics of television comedy, especially in how it restricted the roles of women and people of color.

Interview
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03:44

Nostalgic Yearnings for Bygone Times

Guest critic David Marc looks at the growing popularity of 1950s TV sitcoms. He thinks the trend reveals a troubling desire for an idealized suburban culture where whiteness and paternal authority ruled.

Commentary
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27:58

David Marc on T.V.'s Demographics.

David Marc is a television critic for The Village Voice and Atlantic magazine, and also a professor at Brandeis. Marc thinks that it is important to analyze television with more depth than is currently done. His new book , "Demographic Vistas: Television in American Culture," plays on the title of a Walt Whitman essay "Democratic Vistas." Marc views television and its demographic analysis as an "ironic" fulfillment of Whitman's call for an American art that focuses on the "average, democratic, and popular."

Interview

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52:30

Daughter of Warhol star looks back on a bohemian childhood in the Chelsea Hotel

Alexandra Auder's mother, Viva, was one of Andy Warhol's muses. Growing up in Warhol's orbit meant Auder's childhood was an unusual one. For several years, Viva, Auder and Auder's younger half-sister, Gaby Hoffmann, lived in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan. It was was famous for having been home to Leonard Cohen, Dylan Thomas, Virgil Thomson, and Bob Dylan, among others.

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43:04

This fake 'Jury Duty' really put James Marsden's improv chops on trial

In the series Jury Duty, a solar contractor named Ronald Gladden has agreed to participate in what he believes is a documentary about the experience of being a juror--but what Ronald doesn't know is that the whole thing is fake.

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