Green's books don't quite have as much production detail as I might like; however, there is a lot of info in this one. There's a full episode guide with Green's subjective ratings of each installment, and there's even a guide to the band's music. Like the work about The Bob Newhart Show, this one has a sense of humor; there's a faux analysis of the albums that is amusing if a bit long. In a similar sense, much of the book consists of lists gleaned from tracking things throughout all 96 episodes. A list of Danny's get-rich schemes, say, might have been of more value in the pre-Internet era, but now it seems a bit like padding.
I feel a bit unfair complaining about a book offering too much information. It's just that I am more interested in the behind-the-scenes info than I am the trivia. It's not so much a narrative history of the series as it is a collection of sections, but if you read carefully you do get some great info.
Green conducts his own interviews and draws on archival quotes to get thoughts of creator Bernard Slade, the cast (Susan Dey didn't participate), and others. They are often presented almost like an oral history without context, but here you get great tidbits about what the production thought of the acting ability of the youngest cast members (not much) and the musings of Dave Madden. The former Rueben Kincaid cracks me up with his matter-of-fact practical takes on what the show is about and its ambitions.
One of the best treats in the book is the reprinting of the original Mad parody of the series, "The Putrid Family." Arnie Kogen and Angelo Torres' 1972 piece is exactly what you think it will be. There's also lyrics, merchandising photos, and other ephemera. If you have any interest in the series and can find this used, as I did, it's a no-brainer to pick it up.
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