Table of Contents

Preface (1st Edition); Preface (2nd Edition); Acknowledgments; Notes on Contributors; What is Genre?; Genre Theory; G. Creeber; Studying Genre; S. Neale; Television and Genre; S. Neale; The Uses and Limitations of Genre; G. Turner; Genre, Hybridity and Mutations; G. Turner; Genre, Format and 'Live' TV; G. Turner; Genre Study - Beyond the Text (Lost); J. Mittell; Drama; Studying Drama (G.W. Brandt/J. Tulloch); R. Nelson; The Single Play (The Wednesday Play/Play for Today; G. Creeber); The Western (Alias Smith & Jones); W. Boddy, (Deadwood; G. Creeber); The Action Series (Man from UNCLE/Avengers); T. Miller (24; G. Creeber); The Crime Series (Hill Street Blues); L. Cooke (CSI); (The Sopranos; G. Creeber); Hospital Drama (ER); J. Jacobs; Science Fiction (Star Trek) - Luke Hockley (The X-Files; C. Johnson), (Dr. Who; M. Hills); Drama-Documentary (Cathy Come Home/The Last Day; J. Corner); The Mini-Series (Roots/The Singing Detective; G. Creeber); Costume Drama (Pride & Prejudice); R.Nelson; The Teen Series; R. Moseley (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; C.Johnson); Postmodern Drama (Twin Peaks); A. Page (Ally McBeal; R. Nelson), (Heroes; G. Creeber); Soap Opera; Studying Soap Opera; A. McCarthy (Dallas; G. Creeber); Realism & Soap Opera (Soul City); A. McCarthy; Soap Operas and their Audiences (A Country Practice); J. Tulloch; The Telenovela (Brazillian Soaps); T. Tufte; Comedy; Studying Comedy: (Humour Theory); B. Mills; The Sketch Show (Monty Python's Flying Circus); S. Neale, (Brass Eye; B. Mills); Situation Comedy part 1; J. Hartley; Situation Comedy part 2 (The Unruly Woman Sitcom); J. Feuer, (Sex and the City; G. Creeber); The 'Gay' & 'Queer' Sitcom (Will & Grace); J. Feuer; Contemporary Sitcom ('Comedy Verite') (The Office; B. Mills); Children's Television; Studying Children's Television (Goodnight, Mr. Tom); M. Messenger-Davies; The Child Audience (Pre-school Programming); M. Messenger-Davies; Moral Panics (Teletubbies); P. Wells; Children and Advertising; M. Griffiths; News; Studying Television News: (The Propaganda News Model: Herman & Chomsky); J. Lewis; (The Glasgow Media Group; J. Harrison); Analysing the News; J. Lewis (How to Analyze a TV News Programme; J. Hartley); Constructing News Values (Gatekeeper Studies); J. Harrison; Objectivity and Television News (BBC & Impartiality); J. Harrison; The Infotainment Debate; J. Hartley; The Globalisation of Television News (CNN- Cable News Network); J. Hartley; Citizen Journalism (Al-Jazeera); J. Harrison; Documentary; Studying Documentary; J. Corner; Form & Content in Documentary Study; J. Corner; Documentary and Realism (Documentary Fakes); J. Corner; Observational Documentary - Fly-on-the-Wall - (New Reflexive Documentary); S. Bruzzi; Educational Programming (Discovery Channel & Walking With Dinosaurs); K. J. Donnelly; Reality Television; Introduction (Big Brother); J. Dovey; Studying Reality TV (Audiences and Reality TV); A. Hill; Docu-Soaps (Accidental Footage); S. Bruzzi; Reality Talent Shows (Strictly Come Dancing); A. Hill; Make Over Shows (Supernanny); A. Hill; Animation; Studying Animation; P. Wells; TV Animation: A Brief Overview (TV Anime and Japanese Aesthetics); P. Wells; Children's Cartoons (Cartoon Controversies); P. Wells; Adult Animation (Adult Swim); P. Wells, (The Simpsons/South Park); K. Donnelly; Popular Entertainment; The Populist Debate; T. Miller; The Quiz Show (Who Wants to be a Millionaire?); W. Boddy; The Celebrity Talk Show (The Tonight Show); J. Shattuc; The Confessional Talk Show (The Oprah Winfrey Show); J. Shattuc; Sport (The Super Bowl); R. Brookes; Music on Television (MTV) K. J. Donnelly; Ordinary Television; F. Bonner; Daytime TV; J. Hartley; Advertising (The Levi's 501 'Launderette' Commercial); D. Chandler; Bibliography; Index.

About the Author

GLEN CREEBER is Senior Lecturer in Film and Television at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He is the author of Dennis Potter: Between Two Worlds (Palgrave, 1998) and of The Singing Detective in the BFI TV Classics series (2007).

Reviews

Studying the major television genres (e.g., drama, comedy, news, documentary) is critical to appreciating the television medium as a whole. With this work, first published in England by the British Film Institute, editor Creeber (Dennis Potter: Between Two Worlds; A Critical Assessment) aims to give telecommunications students a means of investigating and appreciating these genres. Focusing mainly on American and British TV, internationally recognized telecommunications scholars furnish capsule explanations of various aspects of TV news and entertainment. Each article includes a recommended reading list, and an exhaustive bibliography is provided at the end of the book. "Grey box" studies that give more focused attention to critical issues and standout programs are situated throughout. A quality addition to any telecommunications collection, this is recommended primarily for academic libraries. David M. Lisa, Wayne P.L., NJ Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.