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 4
... perhaps it is time for us to consider that stories can emerge from more than the plotted action-narrative: mise-en ... perhaps (just maybe) it was 'quite interesting' in the end. As a result, perhaps predictably, Strange Days (1995) ...
... perhaps it is time for us to consider that stories can emerge from more than the plotted action-narrative: mise-en ... perhaps (just maybe) it was 'quite interesting' in the end. As a result, perhaps predictably, Strange Days (1995) ...
Page 7
... television during the 1980s may impress us less, but perhaps we would do well to remember how much it impressed us at the time. The phenomenon of televisuality reaches across all of television: it changed things forever. The 7 INTRODUCTION.
... television during the 1980s may impress us less, but perhaps we would do well to remember how much it impressed us at the time. The phenomenon of televisuality reaches across all of television: it changed things forever. The 7 INTRODUCTION.
Page 8
... perhaps deserve their own book, I explore them only briefly in order to provide an historical context for both sf itself and for television narrative. It is the series produced from the televisual revolution in the mid 1980s onwards ...
... perhaps deserve their own book, I explore them only briefly in order to provide an historical context for both sf itself and for television narrative. It is the series produced from the televisual revolution in the mid 1980s onwards ...
Page 10
... perhaps Quantum Leap, which failed to follow sf's common law of not changing the past – far from it, Dr Sam Beckett and his sidekick Al positively relished tweaking it at every opportunity, aided and abetted by their computer, Ziggy ...
... perhaps Quantum Leap, which failed to follow sf's common law of not changing the past – far from it, Dr Sam Beckett and his sidekick Al positively relished tweaking it at every opportunity, aided and abetted by their computer, Ziggy ...
Page 20
... perhaps most important, of the kind of significance which these aspects of the world can bear'.21 Readers identify specific components in a text and in doing so they 'naturalize the details of the text by relating them to some kind of ...
... perhaps most important, of the kind of significance which these aspects of the world can bear'.21 Readers identify specific components in a text and in doing so they 'naturalize the details of the text by relating them to some kind of ...
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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