Author Walter Podrazik lies on the couch at the Bob Newhart sculpture on Navy Pier in Chicago with a copy of his book “Watching TV: American Television Season by Season,” on April 29, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

When Harry met Wally, the result was a definitive book on how to watch television

by Rick Kogan

They were young wide-eyed students when they met at Northwestern University. Walter Podrazik was from Bridgeport and Harry Castleman from Boston and it did not take them long to discover that they shared a passion for The Beatles.

They created a 17-hour, 46-minute live radio history of The Beatles in 1974 when they were seniors. That led, logically, to a book, All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography, a fine book published in 1975. And as the fellas graduated and Castleman returned East, they continued their literary collaboration. There were more Beatles books and a book about television, the latest edition of which sits on my desk, and it’s massive.

Watching TV: American Television Season by Season is 644 pages in 8-by-11 format. It is remarkably informative and surprisingly lively and entertaining and, when first published in 1982, it was greeted with a stream of praise.

From Publishers Weekly: “Castleman and Podrazik have put together a well-researched, tightly written documentary on the development of the television industry and the individuals involved.”

Here’s Library Journal: “The authors have meticulously documented an in-depth survey of the entire world of TV trends and programming from the industry’s beginnings, presenting along the way some very judicious critical analyses.”

I used that first copy all of the time. I was the Tribune’s television critic for a few years and found myself seeking answers to questions I had on the book’s page, but more often than not would find myself grabbed by something interesting apart from what I was seeking.

That’s the real joy of this book. Yes, it provides the nuts and bolts of television history—facts, figures, prime time grids for every season, timelines—but also offers surprising anecdotes and smart commentary.

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