Rod Serling's anthology series ""The Twilight Zone"" is recognized as one of the greatest shows of all time. Ostensibly science fiction, the show was that and much more; always intelligent and thought-provoking, it used conventions and techniques of several genres - science fiction, fantasy, Westerns, horror, and film noir, among others - to explore such universal human issues as violence, fear, prejudice, love, death, and individual identity.This comprehensive reference work first gives a complete history of the show, from its beginning in 1959 to its final 1964 season. The authors then provide critical commentaries and incisive analyses of all 156 episodes, along with the most complete listing of casts and credits ever published. Biographical profiles of writers and contributors comprise the book's third main section. Detailed appendices - writers, directors, actors, genres, and a listing of all episodes in order of original airdate - are also included. An extensive bibliography and an exhaustive index conclude the work.

A powerful, behind-the-scenes look at some of America's all-time favorite television programs during their darkest hours, this study examines how various hit series have absorbed the death of a lead actor during production. Although each television program eventually resumed production, the lead actor's death in each case had a profound impact on the surviving cast and crew and the future of the show itself.Individual chapters explore the events surrounding the deaths of Freddie Prinze (""Chico and the Man""), John Ritter (""8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter""), Redd Foxx (""The Royal Family""), Nicholas Colasanto (""Cheers""), Phil Hartman (""NewsRadio""), and many others. Their stories are told through first-hand accounts by those who knew them best, including many of the most talented actors, producers, writers, and directors in television over the past forty years.

Living Without the Screen provides an in-depth study of those American families and individuals who opt not to watch television, exploring the reasons behind their choices, discussing their beliefs about television, and examining the current role of television in the American family. Author Marina Krcmar answers several questions in the volume: What is television? Who are those people who reject it? What are their reasons for doing so? How do they believe their lives are different because of this choice? What impact does this choice have on media research? This volume provides a current, distinctive, and important look at how personal choices on media use are made, and how these choices reflect more broadly on media's place in today's society. A compelling exploration of the motivations and rationales for those who choose to live without television, this book is a must-read for scholars and researchers working in children and media, media literacy, sociology, family studies and related areas. It will also be of interest to anyone with questions about media usage and the choices families make regarding the role of media in their lives.

Living Without the Screen provides an in-depth study of those American families and individuals who opt not to watch television, exploring the reasons behind their choices, discussing their beliefs about television, and examining the current role of television in the American family. Author Marina Krcmar answers several questions in the volume: What is television? Who are those people who reject it? What are their reasons for doing so? How do they believe their lives are different because of this choice? What impact does this choice have on media research? This volume provides a current, distinctive, and important look at how personal choices on media use are made, and how these choices reflect more broadly on media's place in today's society. A compelling exploration of the motivations and rationales for those who choose to live without television, this book is a must-read for scholars and researchers working in children and media, media literacy, sociology, family studies and related areas. It will also be of interest to anyone with questions about media usage and the choices families make regarding the role of media in their lives.

Do you have a concept for a reality TV show, but aren't sure about the next steps? Loaded with practical, step-by-step advice on the art and business of reality TV producing, and featuring insights from Mark Burnett, Dick Clark, and other top producers, Reality Check takes you from idea to...reality At age 13, Michael Essany launched a lowly cable access TV talk show from his parents' basement in Valparaiso, Indiana. Fast forward to 2001, and Michael had turned his little talk show, "The Michael Essany Show," into a multimillion-dollar project that quickly became one of the most talked about reality television shows. If Michael can do it, so can you. But be prepared for a lot of hard work and a few reality checks. This book includes compelling advice on how to:
* Better understand the nature, complexities, and potential of the reality genre
* Physically produce original reality programming
* Get past the gatekeepers and deliver quality pitches to major networks and production companies
* Legally protect yourself, your work, and your intellectual property
* Learn from glories and the gaffes of those who toiled before you
* Utilize the internet and other multimedia outlets to create and generate revenue from reality programming
* Avoid the professional pitfalls of the reality TV industry
* Parlay reality television projects into a successful and enduring career
* Shows you all the steps to pitching and producing a reality TV show
* Features contributions from industry heavyhitters including Mark Burnett, Dick Clark, and more
* Offers information available nowhere else on the business, legal, and artistic aspects of reality TV

Teacher TV: Sixty Years of Teachers on Television examines some of the most influential teacher characters presented on television from the earliest sitcoms to contemporary dramas and comedies. Both topical and chronological, the book follows a general course across decades and focuses on dominant themes and representations, linking some of the most popular shows of the era to larger cultural themes. Some of these include:
- a view of how gender is socially constructed in popular culture and in society
- racial tensions throughout the decades
- educational privileges for elite students
- the mundane and the provocative in teacher depictions on television
- the view of gender and sexual orientation through a new lens
- life in inner-city public schools
- the culture of testing and dropping out
Every pre-service and classroom teacher should read this book. It is also a valuable text for upper-division undergraduate and graduate level courses in media and education as well.

Heralded as "the most significant invention [for film] since the coming of sound" (The Observer 2003), by 2005 DVD players were in approximately 84 million homes in the US, making it the "fastest selling item in history of US consumer electronics market" (McDonald 2007: 135). This book examines the phenomenal growth of DVDs in relation to the cultures, economies, texts, audiences and histories of film, television and new media. Film and Television After DVD brings together a group of internationally renowned scholars to provide the first focused academic inquiry into this important technology. The book picks up on key issues within contemporary media studies, making a particularly significant contribution to debates about convergence and interactivity in the digital media landscape. Essays consider DVD as a technology that exists outside the boundaries of "new" and "old" media, examining its place within longer histories of home film cultures and production practices of the film and television industries, whilst also critically evaluating what is genuinely "new" about digital media technologies. From DVDs to downloading, peer-to-peer networking and HD-DVD, this book speaks of the rapidly evolving digital mediascape. Ultimately, Film and Television After DVD is a book that considers the convergence of film, television and new media and their academic disciplines through the DVD as a distinct cultural object, pointing to persistent questions in the study of audiovisual culture that will remain intriguing long after the shelf-life of the DVD itself.

Since first going on the air in 1972, HBO has continually attempted to redefine television as we know it. Today, pay television (and HBO in particular) is positioned as an alternative to network offerings, consistently regarded as the premier site for what has come to be called "quality television." This collection of new essays by an international group of media scholars argues that HBO, as part of the leading edge of television, is at the center of television studies' interests in market positioning, style, content, technology, and political economy. The contributors focus on pioneering areas of analysis and new critical approaches in television studies today, highlighting unique aspects of the "HBO effect" to explore new perspectives on contemporary television from radical changes in technology to dramatic shifts in viewing habits. It's Not TV provides fresh insights into the "post-television network" by examining HBO's phenomenally popular and pioneering shows, including The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Sex and the City as well as its failed series, such as K Street and The Comeback. The contributors also explore the production process itself and the creation of a brand commodity, along with HBO's place as a market leader and technological innovator. Contributors: Kim Akass, Cara Louise Buckley, Rhiannon Bury, Joanna L. Di Mattia, Blake D. Ethridge, Tony Kelso, Marc Leverette, David Marc, Janet McCabe, Conor McGrath, Shawn McIntosh, Brian L. Ott, Avi Santo, Lisa Williamson Foreword by Toby Miller Marc Leverette is Assistant Professor of Media Studies at Colorado State University. He is author of Professional Wrestling, the Myth, the Mat, and American Popular Culture and co-editor of Zombie Culture: Autopsies of the Living Dead and Oh My God, They Deconstructed South Park! Those Bastards! Brian L. Ott is Associate Professor of Media Studies at Colorado State University. He is author of The Small Screen: How Television Equips Us to Live in the Information Age. Cara Louise Buckley is a lecturer at Emerson College.

This work, one of the first academic studies of The Sopranos to include references to the highly regarded show's final episode, provides a detailed account of lead character Tony Soprano's psychological journey through all eight seasons of the popular HBO show's successful run. Discussing the series through a window of psychological interpretation and social analysis, the author examines The Sopranos unique representation of modern family dynamics, organized crime, contemporary American society, and mental health.Early chapters focus on Tony's influential early life experiences, as represented by several flashbacks and revealed through his many therapy sessions. These chapters also reveal the mental stress that affects Tony as a direct result of his involvement with organized crime and his ever-fluctuating relationships with his wife and children. Later chapters focus on internal conflicts and behavioral symptoms commonly affecting the populace of Tony's world, as well as on the critical role that Tony's mental therapy sessions play in his ultimate psychological journey. The book's final chapters explore the Soprano family as a unified whole, including an evaluation of each character's development throughout the series and an analysis of the roles of symbolism, food, and storytelling in creating The Sopranos universe.

This book examines the development of television in India since the early 1990s, and its implications for Indian society more widely. Until 1991, India possessed only a single state-owned television channel, but since then there has been a rapid expansion in independent satellite channels which came as a complete break from the statist control of the past. This book explores this transformation, explaining how television, a medium that developed in the industrial West, was adapted to suit Indian conditions, and in turn has altered Indian social practices, making possible new ways of imagining identities, conducting politics and engaging with the state. In particular, satellite television initially came to India as the representative of global capitalism but it was appropriated by Indian entrepreneurs and producers who Indianized it. Considering the full gamut of Indian television - from "national" networks in English and Hindi to the state of regional language networks - this book elucidates the transformative impact of television on a range of important social practices, including politics and democracy, sport and identity formation, cinema and popular culture. Overall, it shows how the story of television in India is also the story of India's encounter with the forces of globalisation.

In this sixth edition of Television Sports Production, regional Emmy Award-winning producer Jim Owens walks readers through the planning, setup, directing, announcing, shooting, and editing involved in covering a sports event. Originally written as a training guide for entry-level broadcast staff at the Olympics, this manual gives readers the tools they need to effectively cover sports from ice skating to motorcycle racing. Throughout, Owens breaks down all aspects of the production process, revealing the techniques that producers and directors use to bring sports to a worldwide audience. Chapters further include tips and advice on using the latest technologies and tools such as production trucks, REMIs, smart phones, mobile units, cameras, audio equipment, and lighting rigs. Featuring new instructive illustrations and sample forms, as well as testimonials from experienced professionals in the business, this new edition gives readers an inside look at how the experts produce live or recorded television and sports coverage. This comprehensive book is essential reading for intermediate and advanced students looking to learn how to successfully produce sports broadcasting.

In this sixth edition of Television Sports Production, regional Emmy Award-winning producer Jim Owens walks readers through the planning, setup, directing, announcing, shooting, and editing involved in covering a sports event. Originally written as a training guide for entry-level broadcast staff at the Olympics, this manual gives readers the tools they need to effectively cover sports from ice skating to motorcycle racing. Throughout, Owens breaks down all aspects of the production process, revealing the techniques that producers and directors use to bring sports to a worldwide audience. Chapters further include tips and advice on using the latest technologies and tools such as production trucks, REMIs, smart phones, mobile units, cameras, audio equipment, and lighting rigs. Featuring new instructive illustrations and sample forms, as well as testimonials from experienced professionals in the business, this new edition gives readers an inside look at how the experts produce live or recorded television and sports coverage. This comprehensive book is essential reading for intermediate and advanced students looking to learn how to successfully produce sports broadcasting.

Located in the United States, NBC (National Broadcasting Company) is the biggest and most powerful Olympic network in the world, having won the rights to televise both the Summer and the Winter Olympic Games. By way of attracting more viewers of both sexes and all ages and ethnicities than any other sporting event, and through the production of breathtaking spectacles and absorbing stories, NBC's Olympic telecasts have huge power and potential to shape viewer perceptions. Billings's unique text examines the production, content, and potential effects of NBC's Olympic telecasts. Interviews with key NBC Olympic producers and sportscasters (including NBC Universal Sports and Olympics President Dick Ebersol and primetime anchor Bob Costas) outline the inner workings of the NBC Olympic machine; content analyses from ten years of Olympic telecasts (1996-2006) examine the portrayal of nationality, gender, and ethnicity within NBC's telecast; and survey analyses interrogate the extent to which NBC's storytelling process affects viewer beliefs about identity issues. This mixed-method approach offers valuable insights into what Billings portrays as "the biggest show on television".

Television entertainment rules supreme, one of the world's most important disseminators of information, ideas, and amusement. More than a parade of little figures in a box, it is deeply embedded in everyday life, in how we think, what we think and care about, and who we think and care about it with. But is television entertainment art? Why do so many love it and so many hate or fear it? Does it offer a window to the world, or images of a fake world? How is it political and how does it address us as citizens? What powers does it hold, and what powers do we have over it? Or, for that matter, what is television these days, in an era of rapidly developing technologies, media platforms, and globalization? Written especially for students, Television Entertainment addresses these and other key questions that we regularly ask, or should ask. Jonathan Gray offers a lively and dynamic, thematically based overview with examples from recent and current television, including Lost, reality television, The Sopranos, The Simpsons, political satire, Grey's Anatomy, The West Wing, soaps, and 24.

Rod Serling's pioneering series The Twilight Zone (1959 to 1964) is remembered for its surprise twist endings and pervading sense of irony.While other American television series of the time also experimented with ironic surprises, none depended on these as much as Serling's. However, irony was not used merely as a structural device-Serling and his writers used it as a provocative means by which to comment on the cultural landscape of the time. Irony in The Twilight Zone: How the Series Critiqued Postwar American Culture explores the multiple types of irony-such as technological, invasive, martial, sociopolitical, and domestic-that Serling, Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont, and other contributors employed in the show. David Melbye explains how each kind of irony critiqued of a specific aspect of American culture and how all of them informed one another, creating a larger social commentary. This book also places the show's use of irony in historical and philosophical contexts, connecting it to a rich cultural tradition reaching back to ancient Greece. The Twilight Zone endures because it uses irony to negotiate its definitively modernist moment of "high" social consciousness and "low" cultural escapism. With its richly detailed, frequently unexpected readings of episodes, Irony in The Twilight Zone offers scholars and fans a fresh and unique lens through which to view the classic series.

The Horror genre has become one of the most popular genres of TV drama with the global success and fandom surrounding The Walking Dead, Supernatural and Stranger Things. Horror has always had a truly international reach, and nowhere is this more apparent than on television as explored in this provocative new collection looking at series from across the globe, and considering how Horror manifests in different cultural and broadcast/streaming contexts. Bringing together established scholars and new voices in the field, Global TV Horror examines historical and contemporary TV Horror from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Iran, Japan, Spain, New Zealand, USA and the UK. It expands the discussion of TV Horror by offering fresh perspectives, examining new shows, and excavating new cultural histories, to render what has become so familiar - Horror on television - unfamiliar yet again.

This work examines the unique and ever-changing relationship between politics and comedy through an analysis of several popular American television programs. Focusing on close readings of the work of Ernie Kovacs, Soupy Sales, and Andy Kaufman, as well as Green Acres and The Gong Show, the author provides a unique glimpse at the often subversive nature of avant-garde television comedy. The crisis in American television during the political unrest of the late 1960s is also studied, as represented by individual analyses of The Monkees, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, and All in the Family. The author also focuses on more contemporary American television, drawing a comparative analysis between the referential postmodernism of The Simpsons and the confrontational absurdity of South Park.

Because of the ongoing popularity of Leslie Stevens' 1960s television masterwork The Outer Limits, as well as later series creations Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, many casual television fans are still familiar with his name. Despite this, very little writing exists on his earlier Broadway contributions or his seminal film and television production company, Daystar Productions. Steven's personal life also remains relatively unknown. This biography focuses on the origins of Daystar Productions as well as Stevens' first years in Hollywood when he was married to the lovely and tragic actress, Kate Manx. After meeting Manx in 1957, Stevens took her with him to Los Angeles and quickly refashioned her into a dramatic film actress who would soon star in his startling and disturbing debut film, Private Property. That film, which Stevens made for a mere $40,000, would go on to gross several million dollars and open the doors to Hollywood for Manx and co-star Warren Oates. While Oates prospered, Manx was unable to sustain her brief success in Private Property and her life soon spiraled out of control.

Since its inception in November 1963, the British science fiction television series ""Doctor Who"" has exerted an enormous impact on the world of science fiction (over 1,500 books have been written about the show). The series follows the adventures of a mysterious ""Time Lord"" from the distant planet Gallifrey who travels through time and space to fight evil and injustice. Along the way, he has visited Rome under the rule of Nero, played backgammon with Kublai Khan, and participated in the mythic gunfight at the O.K. Corral.Predating the ""Star Trek"" phenomenon by three years, ""Doctor Who"" seriously dealt with continuing characters, adult genre principles and futuristic philosophies. Critical and historical examinations of the ideas, philosophies, conceits and morals put forth in the ""Doctor Who"" series, which ran for 26 seasons and 159 episodes, are provided here. Also analyzed are thematic concepts, genre antecedents, the overall cinematography and the special effects of the long-running cult favorite. The various incarnations of ""Doctor Who"", including television, stage, film, radio, and spin-offs are discussed. In addition, the book provides an extensive listing of print, Internet, and fan club resources for ""Doctor Who"".

When the first season of ""Star Trek"" opened to American television viewers in 1966, the thematically insightful sci-fi story line presented audiences with the exciting vision of a bold voyage into the final frontiers of space and strange, new galactic worlds. Perpetuating this enchanting vision, the story has become one of the longest running and most multifaceted franchises in television history. Moreover, it has presented an inspiring message for the future, addressing everything from social, political, philosophical, and ethical issues to progressive and humanist representations of race, gender, and class. This book contends that ""Star Trek"" is not just a set of television series, but has become a pervasive part of the identity of the millions of people who watch, read and consume the films, television episodes, network specials, novelizations, and fan stories. Examining ""Star Trek"" from various critical angles, the essays in this collection provide vital new insights into the myriad ways that the franchise has affected the culture it represents, the people who watch the series, and the industry that created it.

The new TV series, His Dark Materials, is based on the series of novels by Philip Pullman, depicting a young girl's adventures in an imaginary world with similarities and dissimilarities to our own. The story tells of world domination by a religious body, the Magisterium, with malevolent intentions, serving a really existing God who is evil and who can be killed. The story, in all its manifestations, as novels, movies, and television shows, has received fierce criticism from religious organizations, especially because its criticisms of religion are aimed primarily at children. While the story is a thrilling adventure yarn, enjoyed by millions of children and grownups alike, it raises many philosophical issues. In the world of His Dark Materials (or one of its many worlds) humans have an animal companion to which they are emotionally linked and which is like an external 'soul'. This provokes questions about the human personality and the way we think of humans as having bodies, minds, and maybe also souls. Human psychology can be analyzed by psychoanalysis and other theories, some of which are explored in His Dark Materials and Philosophy. Questions of social and political philosophy are also prompted by the story of His Dark Materials. The malignant Magisterium has similarities with the various churches and other religious organizations which have wielded tremendous power both politically and culturally, throughout human history. The relation of the Magisterium to the mysterious "dust" which pervades the universe helps us to understand the relationship of science, religion, and metaphysics. Ever since Friedrich Nietzsche proclaimed that "God is dead," the question of what Nietzsche meant and what are the consequences of the death of God has agitated many thinkers, and so the story in which God is actually killed enables a closer look at the death of God. A popular theme in philosophy and in modern fantasy stories, is that of possible worlds, including how possible worlds relate to parallel worlds. His Dark Materials has many alternative worlds (one of which happens to be our own) and is filled with rich materials for discussion of these questions. His Dark Materials is a good example of a good story, and therefore provides materials for the branch of philosophy called aesthetics, especially the aesthetics of storytelling. We can learn what makes a good story from thinking about specific stories such as His Dark Materials. One chapter looks at the existentialist implications of the story, another at the feminist implications, and another at the Marxist interpretation. Other chapters focus on specific aspects of metaphysics and epistemology, as well as controversial topics in ethics and philosophy of religion.

Media, communications and cultural studies form a rapidly growing part of secondary and tertiary education in Australia, yet there have been few books dealing specifically with Australian television. This is the first wide ranging study of television in Australia, and includes a coverage of the cultural and institutional history of Australian television as well as examining a wide range of television programming. Prisoner, Perfect Match, Hey Hey It's Saturday, A Country Practice, Vietnam and Beyond 2000 are some of the programs described and analysed. Issues are raised such as the relationship between children and television, the role of the television documentary and the function television serves in constructing communities. The contributors to Australian Television: Programs, Pleasures and Politics include some of the leading researchers in Australian television and cultural studies and their articles employ a wide range of methods - from semiotic analyses to cultural histories. Despite their dealing with often quite sophisticated problems, the chapters are written in an accessible and lively manner. This is an important collection which opens out space for more informed and challenging discussions of Australia's television culture - its programs, its meanings, its pleasures and its politics. It will be an invaluable text for all tertiary television, media studies, communications studies, Australian studies and cultural studies programs.

Television is the most pervasive mass medium of the industrialised world. It is blamed for creating alienation and violence in society, yet at the same time regarded as trivial and unworthy of serious attention. It is the main purveyor of global popular culture, yet also intensely local. The Australian TV Book paints the big picture of the small screen in Australia. It examines industry dynamics in a rapidly changing environment, the impact of new technology, recent changes in programming, and the ways in which the television industry targets its audiences. The authors highlight what is distinctive about television in Australia, and how it is affected by international developments. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand Australian television today. Stuart Cunningham is Professor of Media and Journalism at Queensland University of Technology. Graeme Turner is director of the Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies at the University of Queensland. They are editors of the leading textbook The Media in Australia and authors of many other works on the media.

The sexual politics of television culture is the territory covered by this ground-breaking book - the first to demonstrate the ways in which third wave feminist television studies approaches and illuminates mainstream TV. Leading voices in third wave feminism focus on innovative US television shows, including "The Sopranos", "Oz", "Six Feet Under", "The L Word" and the reality-TV show "The Bachelor" to take a closer look at the contradictions and reciprocities between feminism and television, engaging as they go in theoretical and critical conversations about media culture, third wave feminism, feminist spectatorship, the sex wars, and the politics of visual pleasure. The book offers an exuberant and accessible discussion of what television has to offer today's feminist fan. It also sets a new tone for future debate, turning away from a sober, near-pessimistic trend in much feminist media studies to reconnect with the roots of third wave feminism in riot grrrl culture, sexradical feminism, and black feminism, tracing too the narratives provided by queer theory in which pleasure has a less contested place.