Jackson Upperco

Author of GREAT AMERICAN SITCOMS OF THE 1950s -- available now at:

[Phil Silvers Archive @ErnestBilko]

#philsilvers #HappyNewYear2026 #HAPPY2026

[James L. Neibaur @JimLNeibaur]

Here is the link to my review of a great new book on 1950s TV sitcoms. I like that the book has Phil Silvers as Bilko on the cover.
https://t.co/pggXkb3MdE

[Phil Silvers Archive @ErnestBilko]

Published January 2025, great to see Phil taking pole position on the cover. We need to secure a copy for the Museum.

#philsilvers #bilko #museum #visit #coventry #attractions #westmidlands #heritageopendays #anniversary #books

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

"The situation comedy is an art form; the comedy is the art and the situation is the form. With a unique definition of the sitcom genre as developed out of its history on radio, this critical study highlights the best American sitcoms from the 1950s..." https://t.co/Jfp34YsO0H

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

I'm thrilled to announce the forthcoming release of my first book, "Great American Sitcoms of the 1950s: How Lucy, Bilko, Peepers, Gracie and Others Defined a Television Genre." Find out more, including how you can pre-order it, here: https://t.co/OAsvu2BNI7

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

Farewell to a real sitcom auteur, maker of classics (and fascinating risk-taking flops)

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

America’s first network TV sitcom premiered 75 years ago tonight, on November 18, 1947. See a clip of the series’ only surviving episode here. https://t.co/NvEJeJOJ57

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

Join me at 9:00 eastern for a screening of the premiere episode of I LOVE LUCY -- in its original broadcast form, and on a period-appropriate 1949 Admiral set! https://t.co/829vUoQLwI

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

#LucyandDesi: Beautifully produced with great archival material and minimal inaccuracies, but relatively shallow insight from participants -- commentary often unoriginal and lazy. Ultimately fun to hear L&D's own voices, but little Lucie's own doc already said it all. #ILoveLucy

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

More on this clip, LIFE WITH ELIZABETH, and #BettyWhite's early TV career here: https://t.co/2yLiWnId6o

#thankyouforbeingafriend

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

Betty White revisits the role that made her famous. #BettyWhite #BettyWhiteChallenge #LifeWithElizabeth

https://t.co/SqBnsyC1p8

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

You asked, I answered: #BettyWhite's best episodes from #MaryTylerMoore & #TheGoldenGirls, along with her best from other sitcoms on which she starred, recurred, or guested during her 65-year (nearly 600-episode) career in nationally run situation comedies https://t.co/W6a9Ulfpyw

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

Farewell to 99-year-old Betty White!

Here's the pilot of her first network sitcom, DATE WITH THE ANGELS (1957-1958, ABC), a multi-camera live audience show produced by Don Fedderson & filmed at Desilu by I LOVE LUCY's Jim Kern. It aired on May 10, 1957. https://t.co/LDRlG8iYVr

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

Happy to report that I found the new film adaptation of #WestSideStory to be a more fully satisfying cinematic experience than its predecessor. Beautifully shot, strong cast, all the music (and in smart order) — the timeless drama plays better than ever.

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

@TexileOrozco65 He's welcome to that view, but the reasons he gives to depict the show in validation of that view are so shortsighted they're inaccurate, especially since they lack context. And by misunderstanding the show, Ball's work, he misunderstands the most crucial element of her identity.

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

I saw #BeingTheRicardos. Here are my initial thoughts. Good news: it has great performances & is beautifully shot. Bad news: Sorkin's script is dramatically unfocused as a result of too many disconnected story concerns -- 3 points of unrelated crisis that never mount or converge.

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

@TexileOrozco65 The portrayal of the process is not the subject of my criticism. The subject of my criticism is Sorkin's misinterpretation of #ILoveLucy's artistic merit, which he fundamentally does not believe to be funny. See below...

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

@TexileOrozco65 But in misinterpreting #ILoveLucy through a reductive depiction hinged on a post-modern social critique, the film rendered the work she sought to "perfect" every week as arbitrary & artistically moot. By undermining Ball's work, it undermined Ball, "to whom work was everything."

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

If you're a Lucy fan, #BeingTheRicardos is tough. Not because it's brutal, not because there are many small inaccuracies (as expected), but because it doesn't seem to respect or comprehend its subject: Lucille Ball *was* her work. If it doesn't get her work it doesn't get her.

[Jackson Upperco @JacksonU]

It also seems to deny the mastery of #ILoveLucy beyond Ball's physicality, deferring instead to contemporary social critiques that fail to put the show in its earned creative context, blatantly misrepresenting many of the people involved in the process (mostly the writers-yikes!)