American Science Fiction TV: Star Trek, Stargate and BeyondFrom "The Next Generation" and "The X-Files", to "Farscape" and "Enterprise", sci-fi television series in the US have multiplied since the 1980s. Jan Johnson-Smith shows how, in line with national political upheavals, this vibrant and perplexing genre set about expanding the myth of the Western frontier into deep space. She looks at the "sense of wonder" or sublime that infuses much Frontier art and science fiction, and traces a possible historical precedent to the genre in the fabulous and heroic journeys of the Classical epic. She discusses narrative styles and their influences, from the overarching narrative of "Babylon 5" to the episodic formula of "The Outer Limits", considers how experimental series such as "Twin Peaks" challenge conventional structures, and how and why sci-fi television has adopted new technologies. She also explores the juxtaposition of arcane language and technological jargon in modern American sci-fi television, revealing the extraordinarily alien, yet curiously familiar arena it creates. |
From inside the book
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Page ix
... John Ellis and Andy Medhurst, who offered advice when part of this was a doctoral thesis, and I am especially grateful to Eric Chauvin and James Morrison for their time and candour in interview. As is customary to note, the ideas here ...
... John Ellis and Andy Medhurst, who offered advice when part of this was a doctoral thesis, and I am especially grateful to Eric Chauvin and James Morrison for their time and candour in interview. As is customary to note, the ideas here ...
Page 2
... John W. Campbell Jr. called for sf to be 'an effort to predict the future on the basis of known facts, culled largely from present-day laboratories'.1 Almost thirty years later, Reginald Bretnor described sf as 'fiction based on ...
... John W. Campbell Jr. called for sf to be 'an effort to predict the future on the basis of known facts, culled largely from present-day laboratories'.1 Almost thirty years later, Reginald Bretnor described sf as 'fiction based on ...
Page 3
... John Thornton Caldwell calls 'televisuality'. 6 From the murky, low-quality black and white images of the 1950s, where static backgrounds/excessive wordiness dominated, through the actionpacked but blurry and anodyne images of the 1970s ...
... John Thornton Caldwell calls 'televisuality'. 6 From the murky, low-quality black and white images of the 1950s, where static backgrounds/excessive wordiness dominated, through the actionpacked but blurry and anodyne images of the 1970s ...
Page 6
... John Hellman has argued convincingly that writers and artists have found a new location for a free re-working of the frontier myth in science fiction. He uses the original Star Wars trilogy as his focus, 12 but the television series ...
... John Hellman has argued convincingly that writers and artists have found a new location for a free re-working of the frontier myth in science fiction. He uses the original Star Wars trilogy as his focus, 12 but the television series ...
Page 10
... John Sheridan, and the final section of this book is devoted to this remarkable, ground-breaking series. Perhaps the only programme to have ever truly competed with Star Trek in the creation of a sustainable and plausible future ...
... John Sheridan, and the final section of this book is devoted to this remarkable, ground-breaking series. Perhaps the only programme to have ever truly competed with Star Trek in the creation of a sustainable and plausible future ...
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Common terms and phrases
action actually alien allows American ancient appears articulated associated audience Babylon become called Centauri challenge characters comes command concept concerns consider context continuity create crew cultural Dark Deep Space Delenn demonstrates diegesis Earth effect Enterprise epic episode equally established example existence experience exploration film final forces frontier future genre human idea identified ideology images individual issues John language later light lives London Maquis McQueen means military Minbari narrative nature Nine occurs offers original parallel past perhaps planet political potential present Press problem programmes question races reality reference remarkable says science fiction season sense Shadows Sheridan ship shows Sinclair Star Trek Stargate station story Sublime suggests television tells texts turn universe Vietnam visual Voyager Western whilst wormhole