Through nine seasons the TV show Supernatural has delved into social, philosophical, literary, and theological themes that not only add depth to the show, but reflect our era's intellectual concerns. This book contextualizes Supernatural within the renaissance of the fantastic in pop culture and traces its roots in folklore and Biblical narrative.

This book offers analyses of the roles of race, gender, and sexuality in the post-apocalyptic visions of early twenty-first century film and television shows. Contributors examine the production, reproduction, and re-imagination of some of our most deeply held human ideals through sociological, anthropological, historical, and feminist approaches.

This timely collection provides high-quality interdisciplinary essays which address lesbian and bisexual representation in popular television shows such as "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "E.R.," "Queer as Folk," "Sex and the City," "The L Word" and "The O.C.." It also offers a critical introduction to queer women on television and to the scholarship that discusses such representation, and allows a framework for a multiplicity of viewpoints on a variety of topics and series.

Featuring leading scholars of British television drama and noted writers and producers from the television industry, this new edition of British Television Drama evaluates past and present TV fiction since the 1960s, and considers its likely future.

Television is a unique medium in that both its dramas and its comedies have the ability to tell their stories over real time, with characters developing over years rather than just the two hours allowed in a movie or the few hundred pages of a book. Despite this, very few authors have attempted to look at television from this vantage point. Prime-Time Television provides an essential resource for anyone interested in the history of television. The focus here is on programming: the shows, their producers, the genres, the trends, and the influences. Everyone interested in the questions of why the programs look the way they do, why they're scheduled as they are, why some shows air while others are cancelled, and what has shaped and influenced the shows we see, will want this book. The chapters are organized chronologically, beginning with an examination of radio's influence on early television, and cover all major developments--technological, aesthetic, and to some extent cultural--in the medium. Concise sidebars cover more concise topics, such as the quiz show scandals, and the introduction of the three-camera filmed sitcom with "I Love Lucy," a model that has remained the standard for over 50 years.

Explore the homeworld and vast dominion of Star Trek's most formidable race, the Klingons, in this thrilling travel guide. nuqneH! Bored of standard vacations to places like Risa or Wrigley's Pleasure Planet? Want to discover a unique and ancient culture not bound by standard niceties and social mores? Then Qo'noS and the vast Klingon Empire are for you! This one-of-a-kind travel guide will give you all the information you need to plan, enjoy, and survive your trip to the very heart of Klingon territory, from an overview of Klingon history to tips on what to wear (fur and leather are very popular) to a glossary of important phrases like "mamI' DaneH'a'? nItebHa' mamI' DaneH'a'?" (Would you like to dance with me?). Every major location in the Klingon Empire is covered in-depth, with tips on where to eat (you've not lived until you've eaten Klingon skull stew), how best to get to and from your chosen destination, and what to do if you find yourself challenged to a bat'leth battle to the death.Locations include the homeworld Qo'noS and its famous locales such as the First City, the Caves of No'mat the Hamar Mountains, and the city of Krennla, plus neighboring moons Corvix and Praxis, and many, many more must-see areas. The book also features exclusive maps and illustrations that bring to life the Klingon Empire and form the perfect reference guide for any visitor. So what are you waiting for? Qapla'!

Explore the creation of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Netflix's highly-anticipated new prequel series from The Jim Henson Company, with this all-access look at the show's journey to the screen. Set many years before the events of The Dark Crystal, Jim Henson's classic 1982 movie, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance returns to the world of Thra with an all-new adventure. When three Gelfling discover the horrifying secret behind the Skeksis' power, they set out on an epic journey to ignite the fires of rebellion and save their world. Revealing the incredible creative process behind the new series, this book will show how Jim Henson's Creature Shop, legendary character and costume designer Brian Froud, and director Louis Leterrier brought Thra and its characters to life alongside the artists and puppeteers who are continuing the legacy of the original film. Filled with exclusive cast and crew interviews, concept art, set photography, puppet designs and more, this is the definitive exploration of The Jim Henson Company's epic return to Thra.

"The Great American Makeover" explores two basic questions: How do myths of self-reinvention shape America's past, and how do contemporary television makeover programs continue and question this long-standing tendency to celebrate the fundamental powers of American transformation? This collection demonstrates that the makeover mythos is a crucial link between earlier and emergent forms and processes of engagement with the national imaginary. It demonstrates the tenacity of the American fantasy of recreation and its enduring ability to speak to our shifting national desires and anxieties. At the same time, the volume speaks to American popular television's own enduring ability to reinvent itself.

Shirley Jones is an American film legend of the first order, having starred in Oklahoma!, Carousel, The Music Man, and her Oscar-winning role as a prostitute in Elmer Gantrylong before the iconicThe Partridge Family.On the show, she portrayed the epitome of American motherhood, a symbol to generations of families in the 1970s, and she remains a cult icon today. But for those who only think of Shirley as the prim and proper Marion the librarian or the chaste and demure Mrs. Partridge, a massive surprise is in store. Here, in this candid memoir, the realflesh and blood Shirley Jones is revealed at last. In this hilarious and heart-warming, shocking and intimate memoir, Shirley dishes the raw truth about her own highly charged sexuality, her two husbands-the charismatic and deeply troubled Broadway star Jack Cassidy and the wacky TV comic Marty Ingels-her legendary Hollywood co-stars, and her interactions with the cast of The Partridge Family, including her rock star stepson David Cassidy. From smuggling marijuana across the Mexican border to infidelity and her wild sexual escapades, movie and television icon Shirley Jones gives us an unparalleled look beyond the America's sweetheart exterior.

Long overlooked by scholars and critics, the history and aesthetics of German television have only recently begun to attract serious, sustained attention, and then largely within Germany. This ambitious volume, the first in English on the subject, provides a much-needed corrective in the form of penetrating essays on the distinctive theories, practices, and social-historical contexts that have defined television in Germany. Encompassing developments from the dawn of the medium through the Cold War and post-reunification, this is an essential introduction to a rich and varied media tradition.

The complete unexpurgated scripts of the original television series--except for, of course, the animation bits This volume includes the scripts of all 23 episodes from the first and second series of the famous Monty Python's Flying Circus shows. Well loved and much quoted pieces such as "The Lumberjack Song," The Architect Sketch," "The Spanish Inquisition," "Archaeology Today," "Dead Parrot," "Test Match," and "Hell's Grannies" are included in this volume.

This volume considers the numerous philosophical ideas and arguments found in and inspired by the critically acclaimed series Breaking Bad. This show garnered both critical and popular attention for its portrayal of a cancer-stricken, middle-aged, middle-class, high school chemistry teacher's drift into the dark world of selling methamphetamine to support his family. Its characters, situations, and aesthetic raise serious and familiar philosophical issues, especially related to ethics and morality. The show provokes a bevy of rich questions and discussion points, such as: What are the ethical issues surrounding drugs? What lessons about existentialism and fatalism does the show present? How does the show grapple with the concept of the end 'justifying' the means? Is Walt really free not to 'break bad'? Can he be redeemed? What is the definition and nature of badness (or evil) itself? Contributors address these and other questions as they dissect the legacy of the show and discuss its contributions to philosophical conversations.

Jonathan Bignell presents a wide-ranging analysis of the television phenomenon of the early twenty-first century: Reality TV, exploring its cultural and political meanings, explaining the genesis of the form and its relationship to contemporary television production, and considering how it connects with, and breaks away from, factual and fictional conventions in television. Relationships with surveillance, celebrity and media culture are examined, leading to an appraisal of the directions that television culture is taking in the new century. His highly-readable style is accessible to readers at all levels of Culture and Media studies.

"A timely intervention into debates on the representation of feminist and feminine identities in contemporary visual culture. The essays in this collection interrogate how and why certain formulations of feminism and femininity are currently prevalent in mainstream cinema and television, offering new insights into postfeminist media phenomena"--

How does culture articulate, frame, organise and produce stories about social class and class difference? What do these stories tell us about contemporary models of success, failure, struggle and aspiration? How have class-based labels been revived or newly-minted to categorise the insiders and outsiders of the new 'age of austerity'? Drawing on examples from the 1980s to the present day this book investigates the changing landscape of class and reveals how it has become populated by a host of classed figures including Essex Man and Essex Girl, the 'squeezed middle', the 'sharp-elbowed middle class', the 'feral underclass', the 'white working class', the 'undeserving poor', 'selfish baby boomers' and others. Overall, the book argues that social class, although complicated and highly contested, remains a valid and fruitful route into understanding how contemporary British culture articulates social distinction and social difference and the significant costs and investments at stake for all involved.

"Rose presents a comprehensive historical explanation of the related changes in television and in the four performing arts. . . . Highly recommended for both culture students and enthusiasts of the performing arts." Library Journal

The high-pressured, fast-paced environment of television production leaves little time for producers to reflect on how the potentialities of texts and images will be interpreted outside of the immediate broadcast imperatives. This volume brings together the producers and analysts of television in a formal and productive way.

This book offers a detailed analysis of the Islamic Republic of Iran's approach towards human rights in the media. It looks at the state-owned and state-controlled Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), employing content analysis and multimodal critical discourse analysis to explore its underlying strategies in portraying the international rights norms. The book also features analysis of surveys and interviews of recent Iranian migrants to determine the extent to which the Iranian public is aware of human rights principles and their views on whether and how the international rights norms are portrayed on IRIB.

Americans have been watching and enjoying British television programming since the mid-1950s, but the information on the personalities involved is difficult, if not impossible, to find in the United States. This guide provides biographical essays, complete with bibliographies, on 100 of the best known and loved actors and actresses from Richard Greene (Robin Hood) and William Russell (Sir Lancelot) in the 1950s through stars of Masterpiece Theatre, including Robin Ellis and Jean Marsh, to the new generation of British comedy performers such as Alexei Sayle and Jennifer Saunders. Not only are serious dramatic actors and actresses, such as Joan Hickson and Roy Marsden to be found here, but also the great comedy stars, including Benny Hill and John Inman. Among the many shows discussed in the text are Absolutely Fabulous; Are You Being Served?; Dad's Army; Doctor Who; EastEnders; Fawlty Towers; The Good Life; The Jewel in the Crown; Poldark; Rumpole of the Bailey; Upstairs, Downstairs; and Yes, Minister. The guide offers not only factual information but also samplings of contemporary critical commentary and in-depth interviews with Terence Alexander, Richard Briers, Benny Hill, Wendy Richard, Prunella Scales, and Moray Watson. This is a reference source that also serves as a fascinating entree into the wonderful world of British television, one that is as fun to browse as it is to use for factual documentation.

Celebrate the greatest television show of all time with this definitive tribute to The Wire. Twenty years after the debut of The Wire, HBO's landmark crime drama remains one of the most celebrated and beloved television shows of all time. Now, this deluxe coffee table book tells the story of a historic production, through candid, never before-seen photography from the HBO archives. The visual story of The Wire is narrated by all-new interviews with creator David Simon, and key cast and crew members, including Dominic West, Wendell Pierce, Sonja Sohn, Lance Reddick, Michael B. Jordan, and Idris Elba. Unmatched in its depth, this prestige volume is the ultimate retrospective of the greatest television show of all time.

The existence of commercial television in Europe is relatively new compared to the United States and was 'officialised' only in 1989 with the adoption of the Television without Frontiers Directive. The introduction of private television - to some extent coordinated at the European level, but to a large extent shaped by the EU Member States - was fiercely commented upon in the 1980s. Nevertheless, most assertions on the phenomenon of private television are based not so much on empirical findings but rather on ideological arguments in favour or against commercial television. More often than not, arguments are entrenched in 'boom' and 'doom' perspectives on the commercialisation of media. In addition, academic research on private television remains scarce to date: the limited attention from scholars in Europe stands in sharp contrast with the extensive research in the field on public service broadcasting. Clustered around three themes, European and national experiences, content and markets, and policies, Private Television in Western Europe: Content, Markets, Policies aims to fill this gap, transcending the 'boom' and 'doom' scenarios that seem so dominant in media studies research.

This book makes a case for the synergetic union between reality TV and the music industry. It delves into technological change in popular music, and the role of music reality TV and social media in the pop production process. It challenges the current scholarship which does not adequately distinguish the economic significance of these developments.