Cult television / Sara Gwenllian-Jones and Roberta E. Pearson, editors.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Gwenllian-Jones, Sara.

Pearson, Roberta E.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Television programs.

Physical Description:

xx, 242 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, [2004]

Summary:

Atelevision series is tagged with the label "cult" by the media, advertisers, and network executives when it is considered edgy or offbeat, when it appeals to nostalgia, or when it is considered emblematic of a particular subculture. By these criteria, almost any series could be described as cult. Yet certain programs exert an uncanny power over their fans, encouraging them to immerse themselves within a fictional world. In Cult Television leading scholars examine such shows as The X-Files: The Avengers: Doctor Who; Babylon Five; Star Trek; Xena, Warrior Princess; and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to determine the defining characteristics of cult television and map the contours of this phenomenon within the larger scope of popular culture.

Contents:

pt 1. Cult ; 1. Toward a constructivist approach to media cults / Philippe Le Guern ; 2. The mainstream, distinction, and cult TV / Mark Jancovich and Nathan Hunt ; 3. Quality science fiction / Petra Kuppers ; 4. "Bright particular star" / Roberta Pearson

pt. 2. Fictions ; 5. Virtual reality and cult television / Sara Gwenllian-Jones ; 6. Charactor, or, The strange case of Uma Peel / David A. Black ; 7. Flexing those anthropological muscles / Karen Backstein ; 8. Monsters and metaphors / Mary Hammond

pt. 3. Fans ; 9. How to tell the difference between production and consumption / Alan McKee ; 10. Trainspotting The Avengers / Toby Miller ; 11. Star Trek, Heaven's Gate, and textual transcendence / Jeffrey Sconce ; 12. A kind of German Star Trek / Eva Vieth.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

0816638306

0816638314

OCLC:

52942908