The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present

I first used this reference book in the 1990s. It contains an overwhelming amount of information about every television series ever seen in the U.S., including imports. In some cases, it contains details you won't find at Internet Movie Database. On the other hand, the 2007 edition contains some of the same errors as in the first edition that I bought. I have written to the publishers listing several of these mistakes, but each new edition contains the same errors. For example, the description of Patrick McGoohan's series "Secret Agent" (p. 1210) is inexplicably snarky and deprecating in tone (describing the hero as "supposedly" this and that) as well as wildly inaccurate. The unnamed editor calls McGoohan's character, John Drake, more violent than other "peaceful" [the quotes are in the book] 1960s TV characters and says that Drake womanized and shot and beat up people with abandon. What show was the editor watching? Certainly not the one he is reviewing. McGoohan's Drake was the most upstanding, conscientious, no nonsense spy on TV or movies during the 1960s. He rarely got involved with women and didn't even carry a gun! (On the rare occasions when he did use a gun, it was always one that he took from one of the bad guys.) There are other mistakes, and they are only the ones I've noticed. Consequently, while the book can be useful, you have to take its information with a grain of salt.