Television Studies

After 9/11, there was an increase in both the incidence of hate crimes and government policies that targeted Arabs and Muslims and the proliferation of sympathetic portrayals of Arabs and Muslims in the U.S. media. Arabs and Muslims in the Media examines this paradox and investigates the increase of sympathetic images of "the enemy" during the War on Terror. ...

Crime dramas have been a staple of the television landscape since the advent of the medium. Along with comedies and soap operas, the police procedural made an easy transition from radio to TV, and starting with Dragnet in 1952, quickly became one of the most popular genres. Crime television has proven to be a fascinating reflection of changes and developments in the culture at large. In the '50s and early '60s, the square-jawed, just-the-facts detectives of The Untouchables and The FBI put police work in the best light possible. As the '60s gave way to the '70s, however, the depictions gained more subtle shading, and The Streets of San Francisco, The Rockford Files, and Baretta offered conflicted heroes in more complex worlds. ...

Defining Visions is a powerful narrative social history that examines television's rise as the great "certifying agent" in American life. This revised edition extends its coverage to the end of the 20th century. It defines the "Television Age" as a discrete period in American history bracketed by monumental events--the triumph of the Allied victory of WWII and the devastation of 9/11. ...

Now that television shows can live forever as DVD sets, the stories they can tell have changed; television episodes are now crafted as chapters in a season-long novel instead of free-standing stories. This book examines how this significant shift in storytelling occurred. In 1981, NBC's Hill Street Blues combined the cop show and the soap opera to set the model for prime-time serial storytelling, which is evident in The Sopranos, The Wire, and Breaking Bad. In 1963, ABC's The Fugitive showed how an anthology series could tell a continuing tale, influencing The X-Files, House, and Fringe. In 1987, NBC's The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd changed the situation comedy into attitudinal comedy, leading to Weeds, Nurse Jackie, and Entourage. The DVD Novel: How the Way We Watch Television Changed the Television We Watch not only examines how American television shows changed, but also what television artists have been able to create. ...

After decades of silence on the subject of homosexuality, television in the 1990s saw a striking increase in programming that incorporated and, in many cases, centered on gay material. In shows including Friends, Seinfeld, Party of Five, Homicide, Suddenly Susan, The Commish, Ellen, Will & Grace, and others, gay characters were introduced, references to homosexuality became commonplace, and issues of gay and lesbian relationships were explored, often in explicit detail. In Gay TV and Straight America, Ron Becker draws on a wide range of political and cultural indicators to explain this sudden upsurge of gay material on prime-time network television. ...

Reality programming--a broad title for unscripted shows that involve non-actors--is really an updated version of a classic television genre that had its first successes decades before The Real World or Survivor made their premieres. The wild success reality television has achieved of late has pushed the envelope of such programming ever further away from the genre's innocuous beginnings. The time is now ripe for a look back on how this genre has developed, what it reveals about us, and what has transformed it into one of the most powerful forms of entertainment on television today.

TV shows that retain their popularity over the years do so for obvious reasons: good production values, good acting, and compelling storylines. But detective stories in particular also endure because they appeal to the gumshoe in all of us. America is obsessed with crime solving. Nancy Grace on CNN Headline News, Greta Van Susteren on Fox, and the seemingly annual recurrence of the courtroom sensation all testify to this fact. And these people and cases are able to reach their phenomenal status not simply because of the media-the media only demonstrates the enormous national appetite for this material. Rather, Cold Case, CSI, and Law & Order have achieved their current popularity because they all respond to the same national craving for crime, and do so with great skill and creativity. Round Up the Usual Suspects provides a comparison of the crime fighting models and justice proceedings of each of these TV series. ...

This work outlines the theories and approaches to the study of television in an accessible form for students. It is divided into four sections - forms of knowledge, audiences, gender and race.

The Fox-TV series 24 might have been in production long before its premier just two months after 9/11, but its story line and that of many other television programs has since become inextricably embedded in the nation's popular consciousness.

Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings seem to be a typical suburban couple, but they're actually lethal KGB agents plotting to bring down America. As the Cold War escalates, Philip and Elizabeth must take extreme measures to continue their mission to keep their true identities hidden.

After an unremarkable chemistry teacher learns he has terminal cancer, he turns to an exciting life of crime to provide for his loved ones.

After musical mogul Lucious Lyon is diagnosed with a potentially fatal disease, he must choose which of his three sons with succeed him at the legendary Empire entertainment company. The game changes when ex-wife Cookie returns from prison. This groundbreaking series features a pulsating soundtrack from legendary music hit maker Timbaland.

In season 2, Hannah forges ahead in her writing pursuits, but her enthusiasm is tempered by the responsibility for Adam; Marnie needs her best friend and former roommate; Jessa returns from her honeymoon in Mexico; Shoshanna takes charge of her new identity; and Ray has an out-of-sight, out-of-mind attitude.

Jim Longworth is a no-nonsense Chicago detective who relocates to Florida anticipating plenty of sunshine, golf, and easy living. What he finds, however, is a caseload swamped with murder. As the investigator relies on experience, instinct and forensic science to crack baffling cases, he pursues the affections of a pretty, quick-witted medical student. Join Jim and his investigative team in the sleepy resort town of Palm Glade, where the forecast is always sunny with a chance of homicide!

Details the surprising and unforeseen events that take place in the life of Jane Villanueva, a hard-working, religious young Latina whose family tradition and a vow to save her virginity until her marriage to a detective is shattered when a doctor mistakenly artificially inseminates her during a checkup.

The story of three Israeli soldiers captured for seventeen years and the lives they return to after being released.

After Ichabod Crane risks his life to rescue Police Lt. Abbie Mills from Purgatory, the two face even greater danger as sinister forces in Sleepy Hollow gain momentum. With Katrina held captive by the Headless Horseman, and Frank Irving mysteriously back from the dead, Ichabod and Abbie must rely on instinct to know who to trust in their quest to permanently vanquish Moloch.

Former Senator Selina Meyer was a charismatic leader and a rising star in her party with her eye on the White House, then she became Vice President. VEEP follows the whirlwind day-to day existence of Vice President Meyer as she puts out political fires, juggles a busy public schedule and demanding private life, and defends the President's interests, even as she tries to improve her dysfunctional relationship with the Chief Executive.

Three years after the devastating ZN1 virus gutted the country, a team of everyday heroes must transport the only known survivor of a zombie attack, and humanity's last hope to develop a vaccine, from New York to California. However, he's hiding a secret that could endanger the mission.