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.

Reaching back to the beginnings of television, The Greatest Cult Television Shows offers readers a fun and accessible look at the 100 most significant cult television series of all time, compiled in a single resource that includes valuable information on the shows and their creators. While they generally lack mainstream appeal, cult television shows develop devout followings over time and exert some sort of impact on a given community, society, culture, or even media industry. Cult television shows have been around since at least the 1960s, with Star Trek perhaps the most famous of that era. However, the rise of cable contributed to the rise of cult television throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and now, with the plethora of streaming options available, more shows can be added to this categorization Reaching back to the beginnings of television, the book includes such groundbreaking series as The Twilight Zone and The Prisoner alongside more contemporary examples like Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Hannibal. The authors provide production history for each series and discuss their relevance to global pop culture. To provide a more global approach to the topic, the authors also consider several non-American cult TV series, including British, Canadian, and Japanese shows. Thus, Monty Python's Flying Circus appears alongside Sailor Moon and Degrassi Junior High. Additionally, to move beyond the conception of "cult" as a primarily white, heteronormative, fanboy obsession, the book contains shows that speak to a variety of cult audiences and experiences, such as Queer as Folk and Charmed. With detailed arguments for why these shows deserve to be considered the greatest of all time, Olson and Reinhard provide ideas for discussion and debate on cult television. Each entry in this book demonstrates the importance of the 100 shows chosen for inclusion and highlights how they offer insight into the period and the cults that formed around them.

This book examines the American television legal series from its development as a genre in the 1940s to the present day. Villez demonstrates how the genre has been a rich source of legal information and understanding for Americans. These series have both informed and put myths in place about the legal system in the US. Villez also contrasts the US to France, which has seen a similar interest in legal series during this period. However, French television representations of justice are strikingly different, as is the role of fiction in offering viewers the possibility of acquiring significant understandings of their legal system. The book will be an important addition to the study of popular culture and law and will interest legal scholars, sociologists, and media scholars.

This is the definitive work on Roy Rogers, the 'King of the Cowboys'. In it, the lives and careers of Rogers and his wife, Dale Evans, are thoroughly covered, particularly their work on radio and television. The merchandising history of Roy Rogers reveals that his marketing of character-related products was second only to that of Walt Disney; Roy Rogers memorabilia are still among the most popular items. This work includes a comprehensive discography, filmography and comicography, and is heavily illustrated.

This book uses a social worlda "today's undergraduate students' ubiquitous everyday experience of televisiona "as a vehicle for helping awaken students to the true possibilities for learning and their responsibilities inherent in achieving those goals. The book also introduces students to the social construction of reality embedded in the experience of TV. The lead author Barney McGrane is one of the most accomplished and successful teachers of sociology in the United States today and is also the co-author with John Gunderson and the late Inge Bell of the classic book for teaching This Book Is Not Required: An Emotional Survival Manual For Students.

This book uses a social worlda "today's undergraduate students' ubiquitous everyday experience of televisiona "as a vehicle for helping awaken students to the true possibilities for learning and their responsibilities inherent in achieving those goals. The book also introduces students to the social construction of reality embedded in the experience of TV. The lead author Barney McGrane is one of the most accomplished and successful teachers of sociology in the United States today and is also the co-author with John Gunderson and the late Inge Bell of the classic book for teaching This Book Is Not Required: An Emotional Survival Manual For Students.

Since the first SF film produced for television - 1968's ""Shadow on the Land"" - nearly 600 of the films initially released to television have had science fiction, fantasy, or horror themes. Featuring superheroes, monsters, time travel, magic, and other elements of their big screen counterparts, these films range from the phenomenal to the forgettable, from low-budget two-hour films to blockbuster mini-series. Some, like ""The Ewok Adventure"", were based on theatrical releases, while others, like ""Babylon 5"", have developed into very popular series. Information on all of these films released in America from 1968 through 1998 is collected here. Entries are arranged alphabetically and include cast and credits, a plot synopsis, and qualitative commentary, as well as notes on interesting points (e.g., future stars, salutes to other films). Appendices include a listing of films that, while not strictly genre movies, include some science fiction, horror, or fantasy elements; a chronology of the films; and a guide to alternate video or syndication titles.

This book is about the relationship between media and globalization, explored through the unique study of the global expansion of Discovery Communications, spearheaded by the Discovery Channel, one of the world's largest providers of factual television programming and media content. The book argues that the study of Discovery's relationship with globalization provides both a specific and a more general practical and theoretical understanding of how the processes of increased linking and interweaving of media and communications unfold and develop, as well as some of the consequences of this.

This book presents serious academic scholarship on ""Buffy the Vampire Slayer"". It differs from other works because it uses ""Buffy"" as a primary text and not as a secondary instrument to explore other concepts. In doing so, it demonstrates that popular culture studies should be approached with the same serious attention paid to classic philosophy and other long-established fields. Essays assemble the ""Buffy"" canon and explore how ""Buffy"" treats Shakespeare, comics, power, sisterhood, apocalyptic revisionism, folklore, feminism(s), redemption, patriarchy, identity and education.

This book explores the trade in television program formats, which is a crucially important ingredient in the globalisation of culture, in Asia. It examines how much traffic there is in program formats, the principal direction of flow of such traffic, and the economic and cultural significance of this trade for the territories involved, and for the region as a whole. It shows how new technology, deregulation, privatisation and economic recession have greatly intensified competition between broadcasters in Asia, as in other parts of the world, and discusses how this in turn has multiplied the incidence of television format remakes, with some countries developing dedicated format companies, and others becoming net importers and adapters of formats.

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.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer transcended its cult-comic roots to achieve television success, spawning the spinoff series Angel and an academic movement along the way.

This scholarly treatment takes a multidisciplinary approach to Buffy's fandom, which has expressed itself through fiction, videos, music, art, and other media. Ten essays analyze the sociology and anthropology of the fan community and how it uses the Internet to share its passion.

Television studies must now address a complex environment where change has been vigorous but uneven, and where local and national conditions vary significantly. Globalizing media industries, deregulatory policy regimes, the multiplication, convergence and trade in media formats, the emergence of new content production industries outside the US/UK umbrella, and the fragmentation of media audiences are all changing the nature of television today: its content, its industrial structure and how it is consumed.

Television Studies after TV leads the way in developing new ways of understanding television in the post-broadcast era. With contributions from leading international scholars, it considers the full range of convergent media now implicated in understanding television, and also focuses on large non-Anglophone markets such as Asia and Latin America in order to accurately reflect the wide variety of structures, forms and content which now organise television around the world.

Television studies must now address a complex environment where change has been vigorous but uneven, and where local and national conditions vary significantly. Globalizing media industries, deregulatory policy regimes, the multiplication, convergence and trade in media formats, the emergence of new content production industries outside the US/UK umbrella, and the fragmentation of media audiences are all changing the nature of television today: its content, its industrial structure and how it is consumed.

Television Studies after TV leads the way in developing new ways of understanding television in the post-broadcast era. With contributions from leading international scholars, it considers the full range of convergent media now implicated in understanding television, and also focuses on large non-Anglophone markets such as Asia and Latin America in order to accurately reflect the wide variety of structures, forms and content which now organise television around the world.

The first generation of American television programmers had few choices when selecting Saturday morning children's programs for local stations. That changed dramatically in 1963 when a Japanese animated television series called ""Tetsuan Atom"" was acquired for distribution by a division of NBC. Fred Ladd adapted the show for American television - rechristened ""Astro Boy"", it was an overnight sensation. ""Astro Boy's"" popularity sparked a new industry in importing animated television to America from Japan. Ladd went on to adapt numerous Japanese animated imports for American release, and here provides an insider's view of the creation of what has blossomed into an ongoing cultural and media phenomenon.

Completely up to date with relevant information on digital technology and HD TV, this is the only title to focus specifically on television production management, and presents an easily accessible and authoritative guide to the area.

Production Management for Television provides a reliable, factual and theoretical framework for an understanding of production management. It includes a reference directory of agencies and organizations, and addresses and contacts for training.

Subjects covered include:

the main responsibilities of the production manager
key skills needed by the production manager
routine procedures
appropriate paperwork and record keeping
health and safety issues
rights management
career structure and development for production managers
useful references and further information.

The book is supported by a companion website at www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415424813.

Eccentric, ironic and fantastic series like The Avengers and Danger Man, with their professional secret agents, or The Saint and The Persuaders, featuring flamboyant crime-fighters, still inspire mainstream and cult followings. Saints and Avengers explores and celebrates this television genre for the first time. Saints and Avengers uses case studies to look, for example, at the adventure series' representations of national identity and the world of the sixties and seventies. Chapman also proves his central thesis: that this particular type of thriller was a historically and culturally defined generic type, with enduring appeal, as the current vogue for remaking them as big budget films attests.

Screen Media offers screen enthusiasts the analytical and theoretical vocabulary required to articulate responses to film and television. The authors emphasise the importance of 'thinking on both sides of the screen'. They show how to develop the skills to understand and analyse how and why a screen text was shot, scored, and edited in a particular way, and then to consider what impact those production choices might have on the audience.Stadler and McWilliam set production techniques and approaches to screen analysis in historical context. They demystify technological developments and explain the implications of increasing convergence of film and television technologies. They also discuss aesthetics, narrative, realism, genre, celebrity, cult media and global screen culture. Throughout they highlight the links between screen theory and creative practice.With extensive international examples, Screen Media is an ideal introduction to critical engagement with film and television.'Screen Media offers a systematic approach to film and television analysis. The examples chosen by the authors are both appropriate and timely, and are presented in a very lively and readable form that will appeal to an international readership.' - Rebecca L. Abbott, Professor of Film, Video + Interactive Media, Quinnipiac University, USA

How can we queerly theorise and understand television? How can the realms of television studies and queer theory be brought together, in a manner beneficial and productive for both? Queer TV: Theories, Histories, Politics is the first book to explore television in all its scope and complexity - its industry, production, texts, audiences, pleasures and politics - in relation to queerness. With contributions from distinguished authors working in film/television studies and the study of gender/sexuality, it offers a unique contribution to both disciplines. An introductory chapter by the editors charts the key debates and issues addressed within the book, followed by three sections, each central to an understanding of the relationships between queerness and television: 'theories and approaches', histories and genres', and 'television itself'. Individual essays examine the relationships between queers, queerness, and television across the multiple sites of production, consumption, reception, interpretation and theorisation, as well as the textual and aesthetic dimensions of television and the televisual. The book crucially moves beyond lesbian and gay textual analyses of specific TV shows that have often focussed on evaluations of positive/negative representations and identities. Rather, the essays in Queer TV theorise not just the queerness in/on television (the production personnel, the representations it offers) but also the queerness of television as a distinct medium.

How can we queerly theorise and understand television? How can the realms of television studies and queer theory be brought together, in a manner beneficial and productive for both?

Queer TV: Theories, Histories, Politics is the first book to explore television in all its scope and complexity ? its industry, production, texts, audiences, pleasures and politics ? in relation to queerness. With contributions from distinguished authors working in film/television studies and the study of gender/sexuality, it offers a unique contribution to both disciplines.

An introductory chapter by the editors charts the key debates and issues addressed within the book, followed by three sections, each central to an understanding of the relationships between queerness and television: 'theories and approaches', histories and genres', and 'television itself'. Individual essays examine the relationships between queers, queerness, and television across the multiple sites of production, consumption, reception, interpretation and theorisation, as well as the textual and aesthetic dimensions of television and the televisual. The book crucially moves beyond lesbian and gay textual analyses of specific TV shows that have often focussed on evaluations of positive/negative representations and identities. Rather, the essays in Queer TV theorise not just the queerness in/on television (the production personnel, the representations it offers) but also the queerness of television as a distinct medium.

Lighting for Televised Live Events unlocks the science, art, philosophies, and language of creating lighting for live entertainment and presentations that work for the television camera as well as for the live audience. The book explores how to retain the essence and excitement of a live production while assuring that the show looks its best on-camera for the millions of viewers that can only see it on their TV, computer, tablet, or mobile phone screen. Readers will learn how to adapt an existing stage show for the camera, as well as how to design live entertainment or events specifically for TV. Filled with real-life examples and illustrations, the book covers a wide range of topics, including: how exposure and color work for the camera; how angle, visual balance, and composition can make people and backgrounds look their best, while preserving theatricality; information on camera equipment, screens, and projectors, as well as the control room environments that are found on a professional shoot; the unique challenges of lighting for the IMAG video screens used at festivals and concerts. Lighting for Televised Live Events is aimed at lighting design students, as well as professional designers that are considering a career - or a career expansion - in television. It is an essential resource for any stage lighting designer whose show may be shot for a television special or a live webcast and who will be asked by their client to collaborate with the incoming video team.

Just the Funny Parts is a juicy and scathingly funny insider look at how pop culture gets made. For more than thirty years, writer, producer and director Nell Scovell worked behind the scenes of iconic TV shows, including The Simpsons, Late Night with David Letterman, Murphy Brown, NCIS, The Muppets, and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, which she created and executive produced. In 2009, Scovell gave up her behind-the-scenes status when the David Letterman sex scandal broke. Only the second woman ever to write for his show, Scovell used the moment to publicly call out the lack of gender diversity in late-night TV writers' rooms. "One of the boys" came out hard for "all of the girls." Her criticisms fueled a cultural debate. Two years later, Scovell was collaborating with Sheryl Sandberg on speeches and later on Lean In, which resulted in a worldwide movement. Now Scovell is opening up with this fun, honest, and often shocking account. Scovell knows what it's like to put words in the mouths of President Barack Obama, Mark Harmon, Candice Bergen, Bob Newhart, Conan O'Brien, Alyssa Milano, and Kermit the Frog, among many others. Through her eyes, you'll sit in the Simpson writers' room... stand on the Oscar red carpet... pin a tail on Miss Piggy...bond with Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy... and experience a Stephen King-like encounter with Stephen King. Just the Funny Parts is a fast-paced account of a nerdy girl from New England who fought her way to the top of the highly-competitive, male-dominated entertainment field. The book delivers invaluable insights into the creative process and tricks for navigating a difficult workplace. It's part memoir, part how-to, and part survival story. Or, as Scovell puts it, "It's like Unbroken, but funnier and with slightly less torture."

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.