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 3
... suggests are 'the greatest imaginative capacities of the film medium'.5 However, science documentaries such as The Planets, Walking With Dinosaurs and Space also indulge in astounding feats of cgi. These not only open up vast new areas ...
... suggests are 'the greatest imaginative capacities of the film medium'.5 However, science documentaries such as The Planets, Walking With Dinosaurs and Space also indulge in astounding feats of cgi. These not only open up vast new areas ...
Page 16
... suggests that it is a modern genre, since the technologies with which it is chiefly preoccupied are relatively new, whilst publisher and author Lester del Rey illuminates a direct lineage springing from ancient Mesopotamian texts and ...
... suggests that it is a modern genre, since the technologies with which it is chiefly preoccupied are relatively new, whilst publisher and author Lester del Rey illuminates a direct lineage springing from ancient Mesopotamian texts and ...
Page 17
... suggests that (along with utopian fiction), gadget-orientated sf originated in a: desire to create and predict the possibility of a better world. In sf, this better world will be created and predicted though science and technology ...
... suggests that (along with utopian fiction), gadget-orientated sf originated in a: desire to create and predict the possibility of a better world. In sf, this better world will be created and predicted though science and technology ...
Page 22
... suggesting that 'in poetry any verbal element is converted into a figure of poetic speech.'33 Christian Metz took it to a comparable level in visual arts, arguing that any element in cinema could be turned to expressive purposes, i.e. ...
... suggesting that 'in poetry any verbal element is converted into a figure of poetic speech.'33 Christian Metz took it to a comparable level in visual arts, arguing that any element in cinema could be turned to expressive purposes, i.e. ...
Page 23
... suggesting that what sf offers is simply 'the estrangement and renewal of our own reading present'.35 In Terminal Identity (1993), Scott Bukatman suggests that sf primarily 'narrates the dissolution of the very ontological structures ...
... suggesting that what sf offers is simply 'the estrangement and renewal of our own reading present'.35 In Terminal Identity (1993), Scott Bukatman suggests that sf primarily 'narrates the dissolution of the very ontological structures ...
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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