The Television Genre Book / Edition 3

by Glen Creeber

Overview

Genre is central to understanding the industrial context and visual form of television. This new edition of the key textbook on television genre brings together leading international scholars to provide an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the debates, issues and concerns of the field. Structured in eleven sections, The Television Genre Book introduces the concept of 'genre' itself and how it has been understood in television studies, and then addresses the main televisual genres in turn: drama, soap opera, comedy, news, documentary, reality television, children's television, animation and popular entertainment.

This third edition is illustrated throughout with case studies of classic and contemporary programming from each genre, ranging from The Simpsons to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and from Monty Python's Flying Circus to Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. It also features new case studies on contemporary shows, including The Only Way Is Essex, Homeland, Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, Planet Earth, Grey's Anatomy and QVC, and new chapters covering topics such as constructed reality, travelogues, telefantasy, stand-up comedy, the panel show, 24-hour news, Netflix and video on demand.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781844575268
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	08/31/2015
Edition description:	3rd ed. 2015
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Glen Creeber is Senior Lecturer in Television Studies at Aberystwyth University, UK. He is the editor of Tele-Visions: An Introduction to Studying Television (2006) and co-editor of Digital Cultures: Understanding New Media (2009), among other titles.

Table of Contents

Preface (1st, 2nd, 3rd Editions).- Notes on Contributors.- PART I: INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS GENRE?.- 1. Genre Theory; Glen Creeber.- 2. Studying Genre; Steve Neale.- 3. Genre and Television; Steve Neale (Gene Development: Henri Focillon's Four Stages Of Evolution; Terry Bailey).- 4. The Uses And Limitations Of Genre; Graeme Turner.- 5. Genre, Hybridity And Mutations; Graeme Turner (Life On Mars: Genre Hybridity With A Twist; Robin Nelson).- 6. Genre And Format; Glen Creeber.- 7. Genre Study: Beyond The Text (Lost); Jason Mittell.- PART II: DRAMA.- 8. Studying Television Drama; Robin Nelson.- 9. The Crime Series; Mareike Jenna (The Sopranos; Glen Creeber).- 10. The Detective Series (Dexter); Mareike Jenner (Sherlock; Mareike Jenner and Lisa Richards).- 11. The Police Procedural; Lez Cooke (CSI; Glen Creeber), (The Wire; Mareike Jenner).- 12. The Action Series; Toby Miller (24; Glen Creeber) (Homeland; Lisa Richards).- 13. The Western; William Boddy (Deadwood; Glen Creeber).- 14. Teen Drama (Glee) (Skins); Rachel Moseley.- 15. Hospital Drama; Jason Jacobs (Grey's Anatomy; Mareike Jenna) (House M.D.; Mareike Jenner).- 16. Drama-Documentary (Cathy Come Home; The Day After; John Corner).- 17. Costume Drama (Jane Austin Adaptations); Robin Nelson (Downton Abbey; Glen Creeber).- 18. Telefantasy (Buffy the Vampire Slayer); Catherine Johnson (Game of Thrones; Helen Wheatley).- 19. Science Fiction (Star Trek); Luke Hockley (The X-Files; Catherine Johnson) (Doctor Who; Matt Hills).- 20. Postmodern Drama (Twin Peaks); Adrian Page (Ally McBeal; Robin Nelson) (Heroes; Glen Creeber).- PART III: SOAP OPERA.- 21. Studying Soap Opera; Anna McCarthy (Dallas; Glen Creeber).- 22. Realism and Soap Opera (Soul City); Anna McCarthy (EastEnders; Glen Creeber).- 23. Soap Operas and their Audiences (A Country Practice); John Tulloch.- 24. The Telenovela (Brazillian Telenovelas); Thomas Tufte.- PART IV: COMEDY.- 25. Studying Comedy (Humour Theory); Brett Mills (Comedy and 'Child Directed Speech'; Ian Wilkie).- 26. The Sketch Show (Monty Python's Flying Circus); Steve Neale.- 27. Stand-Up Comedy; Ian Wilkie.- 28. Situation Comedy, Part 1; John Hartley (The Unruly Woman Sitcom; Jane Feuer).- 29. Situation Comedy, Part 2; Jane Feuer (Sex and the City; Glen Creeber).- 30. The 'Gay' and 'Queer' Sitcom (Will and Grace); Jane Feuer.- 31. Contemporary Sitcom: 'Comedy Vérité' (The Office) (BrassEye); Brett Mills.- 32. The Panel Show (QI); Brett Mills.- PART V: CHILDREN'S TELEVISION.- 33. Children's Television as Genre; Jason Mittell, (Horrible Histories; Lisa Richards), (Sesame Street; Glen Creeber).- 34. Moral Panics (Teletubbies); Paul Wells.- 35. Children and Advertising; Merris Griffiths.- PART VI: NEWS.- 36. Studying Television News (The Propaganda News Model: Herman and Chomsky); Justin Lewis (The Glasgow Media Group; Jackie Harrison).- 37. Analysing Television News; Justin Lewis (How to Analyse a TV News Programme; John Hartley).- 38. Constructing News Values (Gatekeeper Studies); Jackie Harrison.- 39. Objectivity and Television News (The BBC and Impartiality); Jackie Harrison (The Aesthetics of 24 Hour News; Glen Creeber).- 40. The Globalisation of Television News (CNN Cable News Network); John Hartley.- 41. Citizen Journalism (Al-Jazeera); Jackie Harrison.- PART VII: DOCUMENTARY.- 42. Studying Documentary; John Corner (Big Fat Gypsy Weddings; Glen Creeber).- 43. Form and Content in Documentary Study; John Corner.- 44. Documentary and Realism; John Corner.- 45. Observational Documentary: Fly-on-the-Wall (New Reflexive Documentary: 'The Broomfield Film'); Stella Bruzzi.- 46. Educational Programming (Discovery Channel and Walking With Dinosaurs); K.J. Donnelly.- 47. Natural History Programming (Planet Earth); Brett Mills.- 48. The Travelogue; Glen Creeber.- PART VIII: REALITY TELEVISION.- 49. Intro.