by Steven Bochco

Student: Eric Kasum

Advisor: Rachel Pollack

Goddard College

February 21, 2004 - Winter/Spring

Death by Hollywood, a novel by Steven Bochco, is a study in the use of irony. Unfortunately, the legendary creator of cop shows like Hill Street Blues and L.A. Law probably shouldn't have tried to write a novel. Death is a strange book to read, with almost no literary devices, virtually no visual or sensual description. It reads like a pitch meeting in the office of a producer that was simply transcribed. One assumes the camera will show it all later. But in one way, Death by Hollywood is extraordinary. It's use of irony.

With Bochco, there's always a lot of good/bad happening simultaneously. It's a rich experience. You get a tingle of excitement, a sense of secretly enjoying something forbidden, like eating a whole pint...