Friday, November 9, 2012

Forgotten Books: TV Tie-Ins - A Bibliography of American TV Tie-In Paperbacks


If your name is Randy Johnson, you probably have this book and know all this stuff.
But for the rest of us - including me - it’s packed with surprises.

TV Tie-Ins (1997, 1999) by Kurt Peer leads off with an A-Z listing of shows and all associated publications. And though the title says paperbacks, the lists include many hardcovers too.

Just looking at the A section . . .
     Did you know there were six A-Team books, five featuring novelizations of TV episodes, and one an original story? And that’s not counting two plot-it-yourself books and one by and about Mr. T.
     I was surprised by this: Black Mask writer W.T. Ballard (as Brian Fox) wrote two novels based on Alias Smith and Jones.
     There were nine novels based on The Avengers (no, not the Marvel gang), including three by Keith Laumer and two by Norman A. Daniels.
     There were fourteen books novelizing episodes of As the World Turns. Yikes.
    And do you have these?: The Wit and Wisdom of Archie Bunker, Edith Bunker’s All in the Family Cookbook and Archie Bunker’s Family Album.

Most interesting to me is the Index by Author, where I gleaned such amazing facts as:
     Edward S. Aarons wrote a novel based on The Defenders.
     Michael Avallone’s tie-ins included The Doctors, Felony Squad, The Girl (and the Man) from U.N.C.L.E., Hawaii Five-O, Mannix and The Partridge Family.
     Lawrence Block wrote a Markham book.
     Pulp writer Robert Sidney Bower wrote a Hawaii Five-O novel.
     Gil Brewer wrote three novels based on It Takes a Thief.
     Along with the previously mentioned Avengers books, Norman A. Daniels did (among others) Arrest and Trial, Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare and Rat Patrol.
     Richard Deming’s list includes Dragnet, The Mod Squad, Charlie’s Angels, and Starsky and Hutch.
     George Alec Effinger wrote four Planet of the Apes novels.
     Harlan Ellison (along with Edward Bryant) is credited with a Starlost novel. (Dang, I even have that one.)
     Nora Ephron wrote The Tonight Show: and now . . . Here’s Johnny!
     Richard Wormser did one each for The Wild Wild West, The Green Hornet and The High Chaparral.
     Ron Goulart’s list includes Battlestar Galactica, Kung Fu, and Laverne and Shirley.
     Frank Gruber did one called Tales of Wells Fargo. (Got that too.)
     Bayard Kendrick wrote five Longstreet books.
     Richard S. Prather wrote a Dragnet book.
     Along with The Avengers, Keith Laumer did two Invaders novels.
     Murray Leinster’s list includes Land of the Giants and The Time Tunnel.
     Peter Rabe wrote four Mannix books.
     Barry Malzburg wrote a Kung Fu novel.
     Western writer Dean Owen did two Bonanzas, a Hec Ramsey and one Men from Shiloh (The Virginian).
     Talmage Powell wrote two Mission: Impossible novels.
     Richard Lupoff did two Buck Rogers books.
     Theodore Sturgeon wrote a Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea novel.
     Jim Thompson wrote an Ironside book.
     Harry Whittington did a Bonanza and a Man from U.N.C.L.E.
     Collin Wilcox wrote two McCloud novels.

This section also clues you in to such treasures as Phyllis Diller’s Housekeeping Hints and Phyllis Diller’s Marriage Manual. And it’s followed by an Index by Publisher, a list of actors pictured on covers, and a list of novelized episodes. Admit it. You want it.

More Forgotten Books at pattinase (I think).

21 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I find books like this addicting. I want it NOW! Time to track it down online...

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  3. Oh wow, now that is a cool little item. Must have must have

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  4. I have most of the titles mentioned(not this book though). One disagreement with the author though. Baynard Kendrick wrote a series of novels starting in 1937 about a blind P.I. and his two German Shepherds, It was acknowledged as the inspiration for Longstreet, an insurance investigator. Longstreet was a favorite of mine, though it only lasted one season.

    W t Ballard, as Brian Fox, went on to write four more Alias Smith and Jones novels for the English market.

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  5. Oho! Interesting note about Kendrick. I spotted other such "reversed tie-ins," like ESG's Perry Mason books and Max Brand's Dr. Kildare, but didn't know Longstreet was a similar case.

    This book does have some stuff about British-only editions, but missed those other Ballards.

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  6. Utterly fascinating, thanks for that. I really want to get it. In the case of the Ellison book, PHOENIX WITHOUT ASHES, it was a novelisation but it was undertaken to correct the rewrite of Ellison's original script, which led him to use his 'Corwainer Bird' credit on screen. The prose version by Bryant is far closer to Ellison's original.

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  7. You know, I thought I'd done an FFB about this one, but I must've reviewed it for some other forum. Thus memory...

    Ben Bova, who advised on the collapsing hulk that was THE STARLOST, wrote a roman a clef novel about the experience called THE STARCROSSED, which is a nice complement to Ellison's various nonfiction about his miserable battle with the Canadian producers of the series, including the introduction to Bryant's script.

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  8. Cordwainer Bird, as Sergio meant to type.

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  9. Very cool. There are several you mention that I'd like to read. Is this yours, or from the library?

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  10. I possess it. I believe I scarfed it up for a buck when the Borders store closed.

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  11. Oh, I have to ask...are there any Laramie tie-ins?

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  12. I have a copy sitting on a shelf right behind my desk with other books about collectible PBs. Since I found it a few years ago I seem to have become a collector without realizing it.

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  13. I'm familiar with the book but it was selling when my interest in that area was low so I passed on it. Looks like I goofed again.

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  14. A lifetime of reading can be found in this one. Richard S. Prather was one of the authors who sticks out for me.

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  15. Sturgeon's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea novel was based on the 1961 movie, but the edition I had must have been a 1964 reprint to tie in with the TV series. It had photos of the TV cast on the cover. IIRC, Leinster wrote two Time Tunnel adaptations and three Land of the Giants. I remember a series of Kung Fu paperbacks credited to Howard Lee in the 1970's. I never heard of any by other authors.

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  16. Here's the Kung Fu poop from the book: #1 The Way of the Tiger, The Sign of the Dragon by Barry N. Malzberg. #2 Chains by Ron Goulart. #3 Superstition by Ron Goulart. #4 A Praying Mantis Kills by Lou Cameron. Those four from Warners were published as by Howard Lee. The Peaceful Way by Richard Robinson (Richard Robinson??) was published by Pyramid in 1974.

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  17. Science fiction writer E.C. Tubb wrote a couple Space:1999 novels. I have four tie-ins from the show, one by Tubb, two by Jon Rankine and one by Michael Butterworth. The two I've read are better than anything that was broadcast. Don't know if the show is mentioned in the book?

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  18. Cornell University has a TV Tie-In Book Collection now online. Here's the link -
    http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/RMM08001.html

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