TV books that go behind the shows

By Erin Philips

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Erin Philips
Erin Philips

LA JOLLA, California – Why watch TV, when you can read about it? Defying the trend of books becoming TV shows and movies, two events during the closing weekend of the San Diego Jewish Book Fair (November 15 and 16) were dedicated to books inspired by television.

A Slimy Tale

Saturday’s “Late Night Talk” featured Mathew Klickstein, the author of SLIMED: An Oral History of Nickelodeon’s Golden Age, in conversation with two stars from early Nick shows: Michael Bower from the summer camp classic Salute Your Shorts, and Phil Moore, host of the game show Nick Arcade. SLIMED tells the story of the irreverent early years of Nickelodeon, a pioneer in cable television and the first network to cater exclusively to kids. The network launched on April 1, 1979, and was the scrappy older sibling to the much more popular MTV, which launched two years later.

Klickstein interviewed over 200 former cast and crew members, executives and producers, to create this nostalgic look back at the network’s heyday in the ‘80s and ‘90s. The book covers shows like Double Dare, Ren & Stimpy, Clarissa Explains It All, The Adventures of Pete and Pete, and You Can’t Do That On Television, which doused contestants in, and introduced viewers to, the network’s iconic green slime.

Klickstein, Bower, and Moore had great chemistry, and their talk was funny and frank. The trio told late-night jokes, reminisced about on-set pranks and the wild, freewheeling culture of the network, and shared fun facts and revealing anecdotes from the book. One surprise was that many of the child stars that appeared on Nickelodeon didn’t have cable at home and couldn’t watch their own shows.

A Juicy Dish

Sunday’s “Tea & Talk” featured Allen Salkin, the author of From Scratch: The Uncensored History of the Food Network, in conversation with Sam Zien, the Cooking Guy, and Michele Parente, Dining and Lifestyle Reporter for U-T San Diego.

From Scratch is the story of the rise of the Food Network, which premiered on November 23, 1993, banking on the unproven concept that people would be interested in watching cooking on TV. Over the past twenty years, the network has launched the careers of multiple chef superstars, including Bobby Flay, Rachel Ray, Ina Garten, Mario Batali, and Guy Fieri, turning them into household names and signature network brands.

Salkin interviewed former and current employees, executives, and on camera talent to give a no-holds-barred account that, according to Salkin, not everyone at the network is pleased with. During the panel discussion, Salkin showed several video clips from the early years of the Food Network, when the chefs were raw (Batali flubbed his lines), the production was fuzzy, and whether or not women should drink beer was a valid topic of debate. Salkin, Parente and Zien are engaging personalities themselves, and the talk veered from celebrity chef gossip, to the future of the network, to current foodie culture and criticism.

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Philips is a freelance writer who specializes in coverage of the arts.  She may be contacted via erin.philips@sdjewishworld.com