When Northern Exposure first aired on television in 1990, viewers were introduced to the small fictional town of Cicely, Alaska, and its quirky yet endearing citizens. During its run, Northern Exposure received critical acclaim, winning two Peabody Awards, seven Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes. Though the show was cancelled after six seasons, it has had a profound impact on contemporary television. In Northern Exposure: A Cultural History, Michael Samuel revisits the cult television series and celebrates its legacy, from its surreal narrative to its diverse onscreen representations. Covering the show's production history, characters, individual episodes, fan culture, and critical response, Samuel reveals Northern Exposure's wide cultural impact during its time on air and ever since. Complete with an exploration of the town where the series was shot and a comprehensive guide to all 110 episodes, Northern Exposure: A Cultural History is the perfect companion to this classic series. A fascinating and accessible retrospective, this book recalls a cultural moment in American television defined by a series that wasn't afraid to push boundaries.

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 Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season Two) takes fans behind the scenes of the second season of the Emmy Award-winning Disney+ live-action Star Wars television series. Filled with concept art, character, vehicle, weapon, and creature designs, and interviews with key crew and creatives, including executive producer/showrunner/writer Jon Favreau and executive producer/director Dave Filoni, The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season Two) will provide readers with an exclusive look at the stunning art and design work that helped bring new and returning characters and locations to life. Season two of The Mandalorian tracks the continuing adventures of Din Djarin and The Child as they explore the far reaches of the Star Wars Galaxy, alongside returning allies from the first season. Along the way, they encounter a gallery of exciting new cast members including Rosario Dawson (Sin City, Kids) as Ahsoka Tano, Timothy Olyphant (Justified, Deadwood) as Cobb Vanth, Katee Sackhoff (Star Wars: Clone Wars, Battlestar Galactica) as Bo Katan, and Temuera Morrison (Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones) as the fan-favorite bounty hunter Boba Fett.

In this ultimate guide to the lives of Finn the Human and Jake the Dog, Adventure Time's most epic duo provides all the instructions needed to rescue princesses, explore deadly dungeons, and save the world from unspeakable evil. Finn the Human and Jake the Dog are on the scene to defeat evil and school the world on the art of coming to the rescue. Hero Time by Finn and Jake is the last word on saving the world from unspeakable evil.

"This book fills a need. It will be used by scholars and revered by undergraduates doing papers. It is a highly desirable acquisition for libraries of all types." Choice "[an] essential purchase for universityand most college libraries as well as large public libraries." Reference Books Bulletin

This book outlines how the protagonists in The Nibelung's Ring, The Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones attempt to construct identities and expand their consciousness manifestations. As the characters in the three works face the ends of their respective worlds, they must find answers to their mortality, and to the threat it implies: the loss of identity and consciousness. Moreover, it details how this process is depicted performatively. In a hands-on and interdisciplinary approach, this book seeks to unveil the underlying philosophical concepts of identity and consciousness in the three works as they are represented audio-visually on stage and screen. Through the use of many practical examples, this book offers both academic scholars and any interested readers a completely new perspective on three enduringly popular and interrelated works.

"Television and Common Knowledge" considers how television is and can be a vehicle for well-informed citizenship in a fragmented modern society. Contributors first examine how common knowledge is assumed and produced across the huge social, cultural and geographic gulfs that characterize modern society, and investigate the role of television as the primary medium for the production and dissemination of knowledge. Later contributions concentrate on specific TV genres such as news, documentary, political discussions, and popular science programs, considering the changing ways in which they attempt to inform audiences, and how they are actually made meaningful by viewers.
Contributors: Suzanne de Cheveignon, John Corner, Daniel Dayan, John Ellis, Jostein Gripsrud, Klaus Bruhn Jensen, Anders Johansen, Peter Larsen, Sonia Livingstone, Graham Murdock, David Morley, Roger Silverstone and Eliseo Veron

National TV and government broadcasting policies in the Arab countries have been experiencing dramatic changes for more than a decade, but challenges remain. At a time when high hopes are raised by the revolutions in Arab countries, the present book is crucial. The real, sometimes overwhelming changes observed in the national broadcasting in many Arab countries are more likely the result of the progressive evolution of broadcasting than a sudden and brutal mutation. Senior scholars and authors of distinguished writings on medias in Arab countries provide here a state-of-the-art analysis of the situation of national television, and address the following central question: What do the Arab national broadcastings say today about public policy in this sector and about political opening? The contributors to this volume deal with the reforms of public broadcasting organizations, relationships between national, private and public actors in this sector, and finally the evolution, perspectives and issues of national broadcasting.

In eleven original studies by social scientists, this is the first volume to focus on television reality crime programming as a genre. Contributors address such questions as: why do these programs exist; what larger cultural meaning do they have; what effect do they have on audiences; and what do they indicate about crime and justice in the late twentieth century? Adaptable at both undergraduate and graduate levels, Entertaining Crime will contribute to discussions of crime and the media, as well as crime in relation to other issues, such as gender, race/ethnicity, and fear of crime.

"Genre in Asian Film and Television takes a dynamic approach to the study of Asian screen media previously under-represented in academic writing. It combines historical overviews of developments within national contexts with detailed case studies on the use of generic conventions and genre hybridity in contemporary films and television programmes"--

Innovation for Media Content Creation provides a fresh approach to the strategic, logistic, creative, and managerial aspects of media content and television programming development. Mr. Quintero has taken the philosophy and methodologies of innovation that have traditionally been confined to use in product development and manufacturing or technological environments, and applied it in the media industry. This well-organized, step-by-step guide provides the framework and tools needed to deliver innovative, creative content successfully and consistently in today's multi-platform television landscape. Executives, creative professionals, and students alike will find value in this one-of-a-kind book.

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.

Insult your enemies in magnificent style and learn brand new declarations of love! This comprehensive Firefly dictionary and phrasebook takes in both the history of language in the 'Verse and modern usage. Explore all the terminology used in the show, be it spacefaring-speak, medical jargon or frontier phrases. Plus, get the inside scoop from the show's language consultant. A must-have for all Browncoats.

This book explores the cycle of horror on US television in the decade following the launch of The Walking Dead, considering the horror genre from an industrial perspective. Examining TV horror through rich industrial and textual analysis, this book reveals the strategies and ambitions of cable and network channels, as well as Netflix and Shudder, with regards to horror serialization. Selected case studies; including American Horror Story, The Haunting of Hill House, Creepshow, Ash vs Evil Dead, and Hannibal; explore horror drama and the utilization of genre, cult and classic horror texts, as well as the exploitation of fan practice, in the changing economic landscape of contemporary US television. In the first detailed exploration of graphic horror special effects as a marker of technical excellence, and how these skills are used for the promotion of TV horror drama, Gaynor makes the case that horror has become a cornerstone of US television.

Comedian, teatime talk show host and all-round entertainer, multi-award winning Paul O'Grady is one of the most popular figures on British television.But his real-life journey has been more dramatic than any of his on-stage stories.Born into a noisy Irish Catholic household in Birkenhead, Paul was always determined to live a colourful life. He was a boxing champion as a boy. He became a dad as a teenager. He has been a barman in a brothel and spent his first years in London working as a carer to some of the capital's most at-risk kids.In this, the first major biography of the star, Neil Simpson reveals the extraordinary highs and the terrible lows of Paul's life. He explains: how Lily Savage was born as a way to make more money - and help Paul take his mind off the horrors he saw every day as a social worker; how tough it was for the 'blonde bombsite from Birkenhead' to break into the entertainment mainstream; and, why Paul decided to risk everything by throwing off Lily's wig and carving out a new career as himself.The depression, the private grief and the near fatal heart attacks that struck as Paul re-invented himself as the funniest and most successful chat show host in the country. Frequently hilarious and sometimes heart-wrenchingly sad, Paul O'Grady has always lived his life on a rollercoaster of emotions. Today he is a proud grandfather, a multimillionaire and a man loved by millions of devoted fans. This is his incredible story.

USE FIRST TWO PARAGRAPHS ONLY FOR GENERAL CATALOGS... This volume offers a response to three ongoing needs:
* to develop the main composition principles pertinent to the visual commmunication medium of television;
* to establish the field of television aesthetics as an extension of the broader field of visual literacy; and
* to promote television aesthetics to both students and consumers of television.
Based on effective empirical research from three axes -- perception, cognition, and composition -- the aesthetic principles of television images presented are drawn from converging research in academic disciplines such as psychology (perceptual, cognitive, and experimental), neurophysiology, and the fine arts (painting, photography, film, theater, music, and more). Although the aesthetics of the fine arts were traditionally built on contextual theories that relied heavily on subjective evaluation, on critical analyses, and on descriptive research methods, the aesthetics of today's visual communication media consider equally valuable empirical methodologies found in all sciences. Investigations in these different academic disciplines have provided the constructs and strengthened the foundations of the theory of television aesthetics offered in this book.
Special features include:
* a great variety of pictures supporting the topics discussed;
* a thorough, up-to-date, and specifically related bibliography for each of the major parts of the book;
* computer drawings illustrating the concepts examined in the text;
* scientific data -- tables and charts -- documenting the research findings cited;
* simplified explanations of the processes of visual, auditory, and motion perceptions of images, enhanced by specific diagrams;
* detailed analyses of the threefold process of stimulation, perception, and recognition of televised images; and
* workable, easy-to-understand and use rules of picture composition, visual image evaluations, and television program appreciation.

"A raw glimpse" (Entertainment Weekly) into her lifelong battle with personal demons and near-fatal addictions--and reveals the shattering truth behind her complex, secretive, and damaging history with her father, the legendary John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas.
Not long before her fiftieth birthday, Mackenzie Phillips made headlines with her arrest for drug possession at Los Angeles International Airport; the actor-musician-mother had been on her way to a reunion of "One Day at a Time, "the hugely popular '70s sitcom on which she once starred as the lovable rebel Julie Cooper.
Born into rock-and-roll royalty, flying in Learjets to the Virgin Islands at five, making pot brownies with Donovan at eleven, Mackenzie grew up in an all-access kingdom of hippie freedom and heroin cool. As a rising Hollywood star herself, she joined the nonstop party in the hedonistic pleasure dome of her father's making, and a rapt TV audience watched as Julie Cooper wasted away before their eyes. By the time Mackenzie discovered how deep and dark her father's trip was going, it was too late.
As an adult, she has paid dearly for a lifetime of excess, working tirelessly to reconcile her wonderful, terrible past and the pull of her magnetic father. By sharing her journey toward redemption and peace, the star who turned up "High on Arrival "has finally come back down to earth--to stay.

"The Dynasty Years" documents and analyses in detail the "Dynasty phenomenon", an event in 1980s television which heralded a profound transformation of European television. From the operatic camp of Krystle and Alexis' fight in the lily-pond or the Moldavian wedding massacre to the unprecedented gay sub-plot, "Dynasty" represented, in the words of co-producer Esther Shapiro, "the ultimate dollhouse fantasy for middle-aged women". Using evidence from audience survey results, newspaper and magazine clippings and letters to broadcasters and drawing on semiotics, psychoanalysis, feminism and critical social theories, Jostein Gripsrud examines every aspect of "Dynasty's" production, reception and context. The result is a groundbreaking critical approach to the study of media communication, integrating political economy, textual analysis and audience studies. Jostein Gripsrud offers a theoretical but empirically grounded critique of many central positions in media studies, including notions of "audience resistance" and the "sovereign" audience and its freedom in meaning-making, arguing against what he perceives as the uncritical celebrations of the soap-opera genre.

Narcos is the hugely-popular Netflix series that follows the drug war from the rise and fall of El Patron - the man responsible for the international addiction to cocaine - to the ingenious emergence of the Gentlemen of Cali. Need another hit? Discover the truth behind every aspect of the show's production with behind-the-scenes photos. Then get to the source of the series with exclusive interviews with the cast and crew. Narcos: The Art and Making of the Show is a detailed investigation into the creation of this addictively gripping and shockingly authentic historical drama.

This fascinating text offers the first in-depth exploration of acting processes in British television. Focused around 16 new interviews with celebrated British actors, including Rebecca Front, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Ken Stott, Penelope Wilton and John Hannah, this rich resource delves behind the scenes of a range of British television programmes in order to find out how actors build their characters for television, how they work on set and location, and how they create their critically acclaimed portrayals. The book looks at actors' work across four diverse but popular genres: soap opera; police and medical drama; comedy; and period drama. Its insightful discussion of hit programmes and its critical and contextual post-interview analysis, makes the text an essential read for students across television and film studies, theatre, performance and acting, and cultural and media studies, as well as academics and anyone interested in acting and British television.

As a young kid growing up in a farm town, Ross Mathews might as well have wished for a pet unicorn or a calorie-free cookie tree to grow in his front yard. Either of those far-fetched fantasies would have been more likely to come true than his real dream: working in television in Hollywood, California. Seriously, that stuff just doesn't happen to people like Ross. But guess what. It totally did. Now, with his first book, Ross takes us inside his journey as a super-fan, revealing the most embarrassing and hilarious moments of his small-town life and big-city adventures. From learning to swear like a hardened trucker to that time in high school when had to face down the most frightening opponent of all (his girlfriend's lady bits), Ross holds nothing back. Oh, then there's his surprisingly shady past involving the cutest pair of plus-sized women's pajama bottoms, deliciously dangerous pot butter, and embezzled sandwiches. And, of course, how he's managed to turn an obsession with pop-culture into one-on-one interactions with celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Tiffani-Amber Theissen, Madonna, Michelle Kwan, and countless more without ever having a single restraining order issued against him. Infused with Ross's trademark humor, unique voice, and total honesty, MAN UP! is a mission statement for anyone who doesn't fit the mold. His hasn't been the most traditional way to build a career in Hollywood, but Ross has somehow managed to make his mark without ever compromising who he is. He is as serious about this as he is about Golden Girls trivia: You don't need to change who you are to achieve your dreams (although there's nothing wrong with a makeover every now and then). You just need to Man Up!