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 43
Page 2
... reality. Today, we are familiar with pictures of the earth from space, yet it was only during the 1968 Apollo 8 mission that William Anders took the first pictures of the earth from the moon. Orbiting telescopes like Hubble afford us ...
... reality. Today, we are familiar with pictures of the earth from space, yet it was only during the 1968 Apollo 8 mission that William Anders took the first pictures of the earth from the moon. Orbiting telescopes like Hubble afford us ...
Page 4
... realities of prosaic scientific experimentation. The magnificent film The Andromeda Strain (1970) pays lengthy attention to time-consumingroutine technologicaland scientific methodologies, and whenever I screen it to my undergraduates a ...
... realities of prosaic scientific experimentation. The magnificent film The Andromeda Strain (1970) pays lengthy attention to time-consumingroutine technologicaland scientific methodologies, and whenever I screen it to my undergraduates a ...
Page 10
... realities, backward time travel is inherently disastrous, regardless of good intentions. Perhaps this is why poor Dr Beckett never quite made it home. The case studies culminate in a detailed study of all of these aspects of modern ...
... realities, backward time travel is inherently disastrous, regardless of good intentions. Perhaps this is why poor Dr Beckett never quite made it home. The case studies culminate in a detailed study of all of these aspects of modern ...
Page 19
... reality. Science fiction's alternative realities are created both in and through visual or verbal language: its imaginary worlds are initially formed in a manner identical to those of other genres. The difference is that in sf these ...
... reality. Science fiction's alternative realities are created both in and through visual or verbal language: its imaginary worlds are initially formed in a manner identical to those of other genres. The difference is that in sf these ...
Page 20
... reality. This is achieved in several ways. It occurs through the form and style of the textual presentation and its utilisation of various linguistic strategies – poetic phrasing, arcane juxtapositions, neologisms and transformed ...
... reality. This is achieved in several ways. It occurs through the form and style of the textual presentation and its utilisation of various linguistic strategies – poetic phrasing, arcane juxtapositions, neologisms and transformed ...
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