The Contemporary Television Series
Michael Hammond and Lucy Mazdon
Abstract
This study of the contemporary prime-time ‘quality’ serial television format gives an account of prominent programmes such as 24, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ER, The Sopranos and The West Wing, and explores their influential position within the television industry. Divided into the areas of history, aesthetics and reception, the text provides an overview of an increasingly hybrid television studies discipline. Chapters consider the formal and aesthetic elements in the contemporary television serial through approaches ranging from those concerned with issues of gender and sexuality, national iden ... More
This study of the contemporary prime-time ‘quality’ serial television format gives an account of prominent programmes such as 24, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ER, The Sopranos and The West Wing, and explores their influential position within the television industry. Divided into the areas of history, aesthetics and reception, the text provides an overview of an increasingly hybrid television studies discipline. Chapters consider the formal and aesthetic elements in the contemporary television serial through approaches ranging from those concerned with issues of gender and sexuality, national identity and reception to industry history and textual analysis. The book also includes British examples of ‘quality’ serial television, emphasising not only their cultural specificity but also the transnational context in which these programmes operate.
Keywords:
24,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
ER,
The Sopranos,
West Wing,
television industry,
television studies,
television serial,
gender,
sexuality
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2005 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780748619009 |
| Published to Edinburgh Scholarship Online: September 2012 |
DOI:10.3366/edinburgh/9780748619009.001.0001 |
