Star Trek and American Television / Roberta Pearson, Máire Messenger Davies.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pearson, Roberta E., Author.

Davies, Máire Messenger, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Star trek (Television program).

Television series--United States--History and criticism.

Television series.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (254 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, CA : University of California Press, [2014]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

At the heart of one of the most successful transmedia franchises of all time, Star Trek, lies an initially unsuccessful 1960s television production, Star Trek: The Original Series. In Star Trek and American Television, Pearson and Messenger Davies, take their cue from the words of the program's first captain, William Shatner, in an interview with the authors: "It's a television show." In focusing on Star Trek as a television show, the authors argue that the program has to be seen in the context of the changing economic conditions of American television throughout the more than four decades of Star Trek's existence as a transmedia phenomenon that includes several films as well as the various television series. The book is organized into three sections, dealing with firstly, the context of production, the history and economics of Star Trek from the original series (1966-1969) to its final television incarnation in Enterprise (2002-2005). Secondly, it focuses on the interrelationships between different levels of production and production workers, drawing on uniquely original material, including interviews with star captains William Shatner and Sir Patrick Stewart, and with production workers ranging from set-builders to executive producers, to examine the tensions between commercial constraints and creative autonomy. These interviews were primarily carried out in Hollywood during the making of the film Nemesis (2002) and the first series of Star Trek: Enterprise. Thirdly, the authors employ textual analysis to study the narrative "storyworld" of the Star Trek television corpus and also to discuss the concept and importance of character in television drama. The book is a deft historical and critical study that is bound to appeal to television and media studies scholars, students, and Star Trek fans the world over. With a foreword by Sir Patrick Stewart, Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Foreword

Introduction: "it's a television show"

1. Star Trek and American Television History

2. Art, Commerce, and Creative Autonomy

3. The Craft-Workshop Mode of Production

4. Actors: The Public Face of Star Trek

5. World Building

6. Character Building

Conclusion: "it's not a television show"

Appendix: List of Interviewees Quoted

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9780520959200

0520959205

OCLC:

877770834