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
Results 1-5 of 87
Page vi
... Aliens Utopian futures Star Trekking: Narrative Language Imagery Nautical families Narrative ideology 86 93 96 102 106 109 115 Four The Sacrifice of Angels: Military History and Ideology 119 Alien invasion 120 Sedition 123 The legacy of ...
... Aliens Utopian futures Star Trekking: Narrative Language Imagery Nautical families Narrative ideology 86 93 96 102 106 109 115 Four The Sacrifice of Angels: Military History and Ideology 119 Alien invasion 120 Sedition 123 The legacy of ...
Page 1
... alien-English dictionaries and recipe books provide an embarrassment of riches for fans of many series. Yet curiously little has been written about the collective television genre or its recent narrative, aesthetic and ideological ...
... alien-English dictionaries and recipe books provide an embarrassment of riches for fans of many series. Yet curiously little has been written about the collective television genre or its recent narrative, aesthetic and ideological ...
Page 4
... alien life forms, time travel, warp drives. Visual sf needs to manifest images of those concepts convincingly, and at some level sf television narratives must compete with the immense pyrotechnics of cinema and the often less ...
... alien life forms, time travel, warp drives. Visual sf needs to manifest images of those concepts convincingly, and at some level sf television narratives must compete with the immense pyrotechnics of cinema and the often less ...
Page 7
... alien and yet simultaneously reassuringly familiar. The very nature of sf demands that we renegotiate at every step; in doing so, we are made aware of our own inconsistencies as well as those of the creative process itself. The ...
... alien and yet simultaneously reassuringly familiar. The very nature of sf demands that we renegotiate at every step; in doing so, we are made aware of our own inconsistencies as well as those of the creative process itself. The ...
Page 9
... Alien Nation demonstrates. A trend noticeable in more recent Star Trek series is for aliens to be portrayed by actors from ethnic groups: the question of difference is therefore highlighted both internally and externally to the story ...
... Alien Nation demonstrates. A trend noticeable in more recent Star Trek series is for aliens to be portrayed by actors from ethnic groups: the question of difference is therefore highlighted both internally and externally to the story ...
Other editions - View all
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