Rating: 
Summary: God's grace to Alfred Hitchcock fans
Review: As a devoted fan of Alfred Hitchcock, I have purchased tons of books about the British director whose style and charm still impresses me. I purchased a copy of this book last month and now, 40+ days later, I have finished reading each and every page. The two authors of this book should be praised and acknowledged for their hard work putting such a piece together.
This is clearly evident when not only do they include all of the story origins for the television episodes, but what year and publication the story originated. Exclusive interviews with production crew, directors and actors lead insight to my favorite episodes. I found the appendixes at the end of the book absolutely wonderful, listing all the paperback and hardcover anthologies that bore the AHP name, but also their table of contents. Now that's comprehensive. Reruns, syndication airings, collectables, and even Hitchcock's alternative hostings apparently filmed and never aired are included. There is a thick index at the end of the book (I found my favorite Hitchcock-actors with ease). I even noticed how gramatically correct the book is. The famed director is called "Hitchcock" throughout, not "Hitch" as only his friends called him "Hitch." I also noticed how international the book's text was written, as a few words here and there throughout the book are the proper English use, although we rarely see them spelled the correct way today, so all you European readers will enjoy this aspect. The only qualm I have is the photo quality throughout the book. It seems once in a while a photo doesn't come through but it's stille easily visible. But the photos are mouth-watering. I enjoyed the scholarly essay about Hitchcock's directed episodes, but a little intellectual for me. The essay about Hitchcock-story rip-offs in comic books is fascinating. I have no doubt every Hitchcock scholar and fan who has been planning to do a book on this series will be upset after reading this book, which brings 200% justice to what I consider the best Hitchcock book in the past two years. In short, I am VERY pleased and I highly recommend you buy a copy for yourself (through Amazon.com, of course) and tell your friends. This certainly was a "Good evening..."
Rating: 
Summary: "Oh yeah...they were called 'editors'"
Review: First, let me say that there's a lot to like about this book. It's very obvious that an exhausting amount of effort was involved in researching it, and for that the authors are to be warmly commended. One would guess that every scintilla of data related to "TV Hitchcock" has been unearthed and accounted for. This project was very obviously a labor of love.
However, this book has an amateurish flavor that's very distracting. For one thing--as has been mentioned by other reviewers--the illustrations are evidently photocopies of photographs; they're really nasty. However, that's not the worst of it.
These guys can't write. PERIOD.
Not only is this work rife with typos, but the prose itself is awful. Grammatical errors abound, punctuation is tossed about with abandon (particularly commas), and vocabulary is misused. An editor brandishing a blue pencil in one hand and a whip in the other is DESPERATELY needed to pull this book into shape.
It hurts me to trash this book, as so much work went into it. But the fact of the matter is that literature (even popular) needs to be held to standards, and this book just doesn't meet them. I see a lot of this deterioration in contemporary writing--it's scarier than anything Hitchcock ever committed to celluloid, that's for sure. Please, bring back good editors. If one had been available to the authors of this work, it would probably have merited a 5-star rating.
Addendum--I'm editing my previous review by way of self-defense: "James Barton creditable as Hobbs (or rather Hobbs' body - since he's actually playing Fortnum for much of the show), and convinces you that he's actually suffering. Most of the acting from him was showing emotion and facial features, since the most of the dialogue was from thoughts, more so a recording of his voice."
Oh, my.
The above passage was chosen by opening the book to a random page; I believe this is from page 75 (many of the pages aren't numbered--go figure). I seem to recall encountering even more obtuse examples, e.g., the synopsis of [the original] Specialty of the House, but I thought my case was stronger for having used the method described. I took the time to revise my review in response to somewhat puzzling assertions from other reviewers (which, astonishingly, bear a remarkable stylistic similarity to each other) that this book represents a pinnacle of grammatical perfection and "proper" usage of our fair tongue. I'm willing to entertain the possibility that my own copy is unique, but common sense dictates that the odds don't favor it. Turn to any page--the whole book (my copy, anyway) is like this. And if despite all this I still haven't convinced you, check out Amazon's own review "From the Publisher." Clearly, given the laughable prose, "publisher" and "authors" are one (two?) and the same. Believe them when they say that they "spent no expense on a project that is highly agreed by all to be long over-due."
Sigh.
Rating:
Summary: The best book on this subject so far
Review: First, let's get the things I don't like about this book out of the way: A little more care could have been invested into the proofreading since I have spotted a number of mistakes in spelling and punctuation just glancing over the first few pages of the introduction. Also, except for the cover shot of Hitch, which looks just fine, all of the pictures inside the book look like they very reproduced on a very cheap photocopier.But these are minor flaws which don't really count when you consider the wealth of content within these pages. I also happen to own the book "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: An Illustrated Guide to the Ten-Year Television Career of the Master of Suspense" (currently out of print), as far as I know the only previous work on the subject of Hitch's TV shows, and quite an enjoyable read by itself, but this new tome is much more comprehensive. It is full of well-researched details, and once you pick it up and start reading (anywhere; you don't have to start on page 1), you will find it hard to put down again. I like the fact that it works as a reference book (when you just want to check up on a particular episode), but it works equally well as a general analysis of the Hitchcock TV phenomenon. It is obvious that the authors deeply care about their subject, and the extent to which they have done their homework exceeds even my expectations. If you are in any way interested in Alfred Hitchcock's work for the small screen or just Hitchcock in general, don't miss this book. It's a must-read and I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Guidebook on master of suspense leave me suspended
Review: I awaited the arrival of "The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion" with great eagerness. Alas, I was somewhat dissapointed. Granted, at over 600 pages, it is tome-like. However, I never get the feeling that Mssrs. Grams and Wikstrom ever watched the episodes and if they did, never formulated an afficionado's opinion on them. With few exceptions, the synopsis' were perfunctory in description, very tv-guide-like at times, and never really gave this reader a "feel" for the plot or the ending. Their trivia, etc. paragraph section after each synopsis is just that, with most entries being too trivial to matter to the devoted Hitchcock Presents viewer/collector. On a lesser note, the photo reporiductions in the book are on par with Xerox copies. The format of the book and knowledge of episodes left me more than a little flat an it certainly pales in comparison to Marc Scott Zicree's "Twilight Zone Companion" which in my opinion, is the benchmark when it comes to tv show companions. It is however, nice to read Hitchcock's show commentaries and applaud the effort. It is a useful guide. However, at $..., I felt a little cheated by the Authors' lack of commentary and command of knowledge on each show.
Rating:
Summary: Quite a tome, but somewhat wearying.
Review: I awaited the arrival of this book with great eagerness. Alas,
I was somewhat dissapointed. While it is a comprehensive guide to all th episodes and includes interviews with the makers of the show, plus Hitchcock filmography, the individual synopsis'
could have been written with a little more familiarity to the plot. Furthermore, the authors reviews on each plot could have been written with more description and commentary. It certainly isn't a Twilight Zone companion by Marc Scott Zicree, that's for sure.However, that being said, it was a major undertaking and it will serve as a great resource. One more thing: the all the photos look like cheap xeroxes. A worthy purchase for all you Hitchcock Presents afficionados.
Rating:
Summary: The one and only Hitchcock book for television fans
Review: I have to admit that I have four bookshelves from the floor to the ceiling with hundreds of books about Alfred Hitchcock. With this in mind I will state that Mr. Wikstrom and Mr. Grams has given us the one and only book that EVERY admirer of Sir Alfred should own and read. Everything about the television series from the production history to an episode guide is highly detailed. Experts in their craft from all over the world contributed and this is so clearly evident that anyone who browses the pages will admit the authors took their time to compile one heck of a book. Jaclyn Packer has a Ph.D., Ulrich Rudel is from Europe, Patrik Wikstrom is from Sweden as stated in the "about the authors" and Mr. Grams is already a familiar name. I knew Alfred Hitchcock had cancer more than once but until I read Packer's chapter, I never knew Hitchcock acted in a television episode of "Tactic" and played the role of a director in order to support the cause of fighting cancer. The bibliography even listed two sources of information that impressed me. Thomas Binotto's "Nichts Als Zufalle" from Film Dienst, April 2001 issue and Frank Arnold's "Du Hast Nur 23 Minuten-Alfred Hitchcock's Fernseharbeiten" published in Berlin, Germany in 1999. Of the hundreds of books I have read, this is the first I have seen anyone credit those sources. Obviously two chapters had to be translated to English and the translation is superb. If you want to have an enjoyable and informative book about Sir Alfred's television series, this is the book. Highest recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: The definitive and comprehensive resource for fans
Review: Presented through a special arrangement with Universal Studios, The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion by Martin Grams and Patrik Wikstrom is a complete and authoritative guide to the "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" television series, including a thorough episode guide with plot summaries, behind-the-scenes looks, over 100 black-and-white photographs, documentation on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" collectibles, information concerning the 1980s remake series, notes on Hitchcock spoofs, and more. The definitive and comprehensive resource for fans of this classic spine-chilling series, The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion is also a welcome and very highly recommended addition to personal and academic Television History reference library collections.
Rating:
Summary: The definitive and comprehensive resource for fans
Review: Presented through a special arrangement with Universal Studios, The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion by Martin Grams and Patrik Wikstrom is a complete and authoritative guide to the "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" television series, including a thorough episode guide with plot summaries, behind-the-scenes looks, over 100 black-and-white photographs, documentation on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" collectibles, information concerning the 1980s remake series, notes on Hitchcock spoofs, and more. The definitive and comprehensive resource for fans of this classic spine-chilling series, The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion is also a welcome and very highly recommended addition to personal and academic Television History reference library collections.
Rating:
Summary: One of my three favorite books
Review: This has to be one of my three favorite books. The other two are "The Twlight Zone Companion" by Marc Scott Zicree and "The Outer Limits Companion" by David Schow. Like those books, The Alfred Hitchcock Companion covers the complete background production, synposis and episode guide, rare photos, and magnificent documentary approach. The style or writing is scholarly and a few notables from Sweden and Germany wrote short brief essays that explore the program in detail. Mad Magazine spoofs, AHP collectables and even Hitchcock's appearance on the show "Tactic" for the cancer relief fund with William Shatner was the most interesting. This book came to my attention through the book review in FILMFAX magazine last month and they are right. This is the final word on the subject of the Hitchcock show. To make it short and sweet (and I mean this literally) this the hands-down, ultimate book on the subject. Buy it!
Rating:
Summary: One of my three favorite books
Review: This has to be one of my three favorite books. The other two are "The Twlight Zone Companion" by Marc Scott Zicree and "The Outer Limits Companion" by David Schow. Like those books, The Alfred Hitchcock Companion covers the complete background production, synposis and episode guide, rare photos, and magnificent documentary approach. The style or writing is scholarly and a few notables from Sweden and Germany wrote short brief essays that explore the program in detail. Mad Magazine spoofs, AHP collectables and even Hitchcock's appearance on the show "Tactic" for the cancer relief fund with William Shatner was the most interesting. This book came to my attention through the book review in FILMFAX magazine last month and they are right. This is the final word on the subject of the Hitchcock show. To make it short and sweet (and I mean this literally) this the hands-down, ultimate book on the subject. Buy it!
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