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Annotation Double agents, international terrorist rings, family relationships, and forbidden love are among the themes discussed in this companion guide to Alias , ABC's fast-paced drama series about the life of CIA operative Sydney Bristow. An extensive episode guide and explanation of the complex storylines offers a comprehensive perspective on the series' first three seasons. A map of Rambaldi artifacts uncovered, locations that Sydney visited, profiles of the James Bondlike gadgets used, and a discussion of continuity errors make this roll call of favorite and unknown facts about Alias essential for devotees and new fans of the drama.
This work indexes books, dissertations and journal articles that mention television shows. Memoirs, autobiographies, biographies, and some popular works meant for fans are also indexed. The major focus is on service to researchers in the history of television. Listings are keyed to an annotated bibliography. Appendices include a list of websites; an index of groups or classes of people on television; and a list of programs by genre. Changes from the second edition include more than 300 new shows, airing on a wider variety of networks; 2000-plus references (more than double the second edition); and a large increase in scholarly articles. The book provides access to materials on almost 2300 shows, including groundbreaking ones like All in the Family (almost 200 entries); cult favorites like Buffy: The Vampire Slayer (200-plus entries); and a classic franchise, Star Trek (more than 400 entries for all the shows). The shows covered range from the late 1940s to 2010 (The Walking Dead). References range from 1956 to 2013.
By the author of The Handmaid's Tale Now a major NETFLIX series Sometimes I whisper it over to myself: Murderess. Murderess. It rustles, like a taffeta skirt along the floor.' Grace Marks. Female fiend? Femme fatale? Or weak and unwilling victim? Around the true story of one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of the 1840s, Margaret Atwood has created an extraordinarily potent tale of sexuality, cruelty and mystery. 'Brilliant... Atwood's prose is searching. So intimate it seems to be written on the skin' Hilary Mantel 'The outstanding novelist of our age' Sunday Times 'A sensuous, perplexing book, at once sinister and dignified, grubby and gorgeous, panoramic yet specific...I don't think I have ever been so thrilled' Julie Myerson, Independent on Sunday
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.
For many years, conspiracy theories have been among the most popular story elements in Hollywood films. According to the "conspiracy culture," Government, Big Business, the Church, even aliens--all of which, bundled together, comprise the ubiquitous "Them"--are concealing some of the biggest secrets in American and world history. From The Manchurian Candidate (1962) to JFK (1991), The Matrix (1999) to The Da Vinci Code (2006), this decade-by-decade history explores our fascination with paranoia. The work paints a vivid picture of several of the more prevalent conspiracy theories and the entertainment they have inspired, not only in theatrical films but also in such television series as The X-Files, Lost and V.
A comprehensive and sustained analysis of the development of storytelling for television Over the past two decades, new technologies, changing viewer practices, and the proliferation of genres and channels has transformed American television. One of the most notable impacts of these shifts is the emergence of highly complex and elaborate forms of serial narrative, resulting in a robust period of formal experimentation and risky programming rarely seen in a medium that is typically viewed as formulaic and convention bound. Complex TV offers a sustained analysis of the poetics of television narrative, focusing on how storytelling has changed in recent years and how viewers make sense of these ...
The Essential Cult TV Reader is a collection of insightful essays that examine television shows that amass engaged, active fan bases by employing an imaginative approach to programming. Once defined by limited viewership, cult TV has developed its own identity, with some shows gaining large, mainstream audiences. By exploring the defining characteristics of cult TV, The Essential Cult TV Reader traces the development of this once obscure form and explains how cult TV achieved its current status as legitimate television. The essays explore a wide range of cult programs, from early shows such as Star Trek, The Avengers, Dark Shadows, and The Twilight Zone to popular contemporary shows such as Lost, Dexter, and 24, addressing the cultural context that allowed the development of the phenomenon. The contributors investigate the obligations of cult series to their fans, the relationship of camp and cult, the effects of DVD releases and the Internet, and the globalization of cult TV. The Essential Cult TV Reader answers many of the questions surrounding the form while revealing emerging debates on its future.
The only all-access AUTHORIZED behind-the-scenes look at the making of the smash TV show, with reflections and anecdotes that readers won't find anywhere else - from cast members, writers, and creator/executive producer J.J. Abrahams.
Created around the world and available only on the web, Internet "television" series are independently produced, mostly low budget shows that often feature talented but unknown performers. Typically financed through crowd-funding, they are filmed with borrowed equipment and volunteer casts and crews, and viewers find them through word of mouth or by chance. The fourth in a series covering Internet TV, this book takes a comprehensive look at 1,121 comedy series produced exclusively for online audiences. Alphabetical entries provide websites, dates, casts, credits, episode lists and storylines.
The Fox-TV series 24 might have been in production long before its premier just two months after 9/11, but its storyline—and that of many other television programs—has since become inextricably embedded in the nation's popular consciousness. This book marks the first comprehensive survey and analysis of War on Terror themes in post-9/11 American television, critiquing those shows that—either blindly or intentionally—supported the Bush administration's security policies. Stacy Takacs focuses on the role of entertainment programming in building a national consensus favoring a War on Terror, taking a close look at programs that comment both directly and allegorically on the post-9/11 wo...