Television Studies

The 1970s was one of the most culturally vibrant periods in American history. This book discusses the dominant cultural forms of the 1970s - fiction and poetry; television and drama; film and visual culture; popular music and style; public space and spectacle - and the decade's most influential practitioners and texts: from Toni Morrison to All in the Family, from Diane Arbus to Bruce Springsteen, from M.A.S.H. to Taxi Driver and from disco divas to Vietnam protesters. In response to those who consider the seventies the time of disco, polyester and narcissism, this book rewrites the critical engagement with one of America's most misunderstood decades.

The classic serial, invented by BBC Radio Drama sixty years ago, survived and adapted itself to television, the arrival of colour and the global market in what has become a flood of classics with all channels competing for ratings and overseas sales. This richly detailed book traces these developments and analyses the genre's response to social, economic, technical and cultural changes, which have re-shaped it into the form we recognise today. The book contains considerable interview material with performers and media professionals.

While the western was a staple of cinema for many decades, the form began to fade as its greatest star, John Wayne, made fewer films of distinction toward the end of his career. In the mid-1960s, the genre was redefined by a handful of directors, including Don Siegel and Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone, who offered something edgier, bloodier, and more violent.

Hollywood film scores underwent a supersonic transformation from the 1950s through the 1970s. This genre-by-genre overview of film and television soundtrack music covers a period of tremendous artistic and commercial development in the medium. Film and television composers bypassed the classical tradition favored by earlier screen composers to experiment with jazz, rock, funk and avant-garde styles. ...

From 1973 to 1987, Fright Night was a fixture of the late Saturday evening schedule on independent New York television station WOR-TV. ...

The History of Science Fiction traces the origin and development of science fiction from Ancient Greece up to the present day. The author is both an academic literary critic and acclaimed creative writer of the genre. Written in lively, accessible prose it is specifically designed to bridge the worlds of academic criticism and SF fandom.

The face of 1980s television was shaped by a man who stayed behind the scenes. Stephen Cannell's reluctant white knights--put-upon private eye James Rockford, World War II fly-boys the Black Sheep Squadron, hapless superhero Ralph Hinckley, fugitive mercenaries the A-Team, and maverick cop Hunter--traversed the television landscape from the 1970s to the 1990s. Cannell changed the face of the action-adventure genre, updating the crime-show format with a hybrid of rebellious morality, juvenile wit, intelligent sarcasm, and radical conservatism. ...

Passengers disco dancing in The Love Boat's Acapulco Lounge. A young girl walking by a marquee advertising Deep Throat in the made-for-TV movie Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway. A frustrated housewife borrowing Orgasm and You from her local library in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Commercial television of the 1970s was awash with references to sex. In the wake of the sexual revolution and the women's liberation and gay rights movements, significant changes were rippling through American culture. In representing--or not representing--those changes, broadcast television provided a crucial forum through which Americans alternately accepted and contested momentous shifts in sexual mores, identities, and practices. Wallowing in Sex is a lively analysis of the key role of commercial television in the new sexual culture of the 1970s. ...

Set in the rugged beauty of the English countryside, this series begins with the arrival of James Herriot to the Yorkshire Dales in the late '30s. The newly qualified outsider from Scotland finds he still has much to learn if the country folk are ever to accept him as a vet on par with Siegfried Farnon, who established the Darrowby practice. As Herriot struggles with the native dialect, skeptical clients and ingrained rural superstitions, he must also learn how to weather the flare-ups between Siegfried and his younger brother, Tristan. Soon Herriot falls in love with Helen, a local farmer's daughter, only to suffer constant reminders that "the course of true love never did run smooth."

The Flip Wilson Show was an instant smash when it premiered on NBC in September 1970, becoming the highest-rated variety program on television. In a bold departure from the standard fare of the time, The Flip Wilson Show did without large production numbers, house band, regular cast, or elaborate sets. From a round stage in front of a studio audience, gifted comedian Flip Wilson entertained the country with nothing but his hilarious monologues, a stellar array of guest stars, and great sketch comedy.

Bob Newhart stars as Dr. Robert Hartley, a successful Chicago psychologist specializing in group therapy sessions. Bob's patience is often tested by his patients, who are all trying to "find themselves." Even at home with his wife Emily, Bob is surrounded by an assortment of nutty and neurotic neighbors.

Includes all 24 funny and memorable episodes including fan favorites.

A 20th century astronaut is revived out of 500 years of suspended animation to become the greatest hero of a future Earth.

A collection of the first episodes of five 1970's cop shows. Contains the first episodes from: Starsky And Hutch, Charlie's Angels, The Rookies, S.W.A.T., and Police Woman.

A telenovela set in Coroado, a village in the interior of Brazil's state of Goiás. Explores the struggle of the Coragem brothers, João, Duda, and Jerônimo. Plot lines include the love between Jerônimo and his foster sister, Potira, and the affair between João and the psychologically troubled Maria de Lara, who has three personalities. Other characters include the brothers' father, the feared Colonel Pedro Barros, absolute master of Coroado, and his brother Ricardo.

Mass murders, kidnappings and a flasher may be troubling to the residents of Fernwood, Ohio. But pigtailed, gingham-frocked housewife Mary Hartman has a much more serious problem: waxy buildup on her kitchen floor. And while her husband Tom struggles in the bedroom and her best friend, country singer Loretta Haggers, struggles to make it big in Nashville, Mary teeters closer to the edge, desperate to save her marriage, keep her family together and give her kitchen floor a proper shine.

A father and son run a junkyard business together.

This collection features favorite Sesame Street memories, including puppets Don Music and Roosevelt Franklin, Guy Smiley and Fat Blue and songs "Telephone rock," "What's the name of that song?" and more.

A late-night comedy show featuring memorable short skits, hilarious sketches, parodies of television commercials, a live guest band featuring original musical performances, and a pop-cultural guest host each week.

The controversial sitcom that defined the late 70s and became an instant classic. Soap took viewers into the homes of two of the most dysfunctional families ever-- and we couldn't help but embrace every eccentric one of them!