I think for a beginning level course on TV crit that Channels of Discourse (suggested in another posting) is too hard. If anyone has taught it successfully at that level I would like to hear about it. I have taught parts of "Television Criticism," edited by Leah Vende Berg and Lawrence Wenner; this book, however, is more a communication studies model than a film studies model. I do know they are working on a new edition, which should be out soon. Raymond Williams "Television: Technology and Cultural Form" and Neil Postman "Amusing Ourselves to Death" have worked well for me. Mostly, I use a course pack. Sample essays that have been very useful for me include: Rick Altman, "Television/Sound" in "Studies in Entertainment," Douglas Crimp, "Portraits of People with AIDS," in "Cultural Studies," Bonnie Dow, "Hegemony, Feminist Criticism and The Mary Tyler Moore Show" Critical Studies in Mass Comm 7 (1990): 261-74, Cathy Schwichtenberg, "The Love Boat: The Packagin and Selling of Love, Heterosexual Romance, and Family," reprinted in Newcomb's Television: The Critical View (a useful book as a whole, of course), Eileen Meehan, "Why We Don't Count: The Commodity Audience," in "Logics of Television." Also, to my surprise, Margaret Morse's essay, "An Ontology of Everyday Distraction: The Freeway, the Mall, and Television" in "Logics of Television," works well. It surprised me because it is a difficult essay. But it helps them understand postmodernism. They can quickly grasp the relationship between freeways, malls and TV. Also, Jeremy Butler has a new textbook out called "Television: Critical methods and Applications." It looks very useful. Good luck, Sarah Projansky