The Cult TV Book From Star Trek to Dexter, New Approaches to TV Outside the Box

by Abbott, Stacey

• ISBN13: 9781593762766
• ISBN10: 1593762763
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-05-11
• Publisher: Soft Skull

Summary

Whereas cult TV used to mean marginal programs with a small, loyal fan base the phenomenon is now key to the television industry. Fandom is global and online; cult status for a show is fostered by the networks; and cult series are noted for their spectacular special effects and sumptuous visual style.

Author Biography

Stacey Abbott is a Reader in Film and Television Studies at the University of Roehampton. Her research focuses on the horror genre and the gothic in film and television, with a particular specialism in both vampires and zombies.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. x
About the Contributors	p. xii
Introduction: 'Never Give Up-Never Surrender!': The Resilience of Cult Television	p. 1
Defining Cult TV: History, Aesthetics, Discourses
Observations on Cult Television	p. 7
Members Only: Cult TV from Margins to Mainstream	p. 19
Case Study: Twin Peaks-Miles Booy	p. 28
The Aesthetics of Cult Television	p. 31
Babylon 5	p. 41
Playing Hard to ‘Get’-How to Write Cult TV	p. 45
The Twilight Zone	p. 55
Reading Cult TV: Texts and Contexts
The Avengers/The New Avengers	p. 61
Mainstream Cult	p. 67
Case Study: Grey's Anatomy	p. 74
Transgressive TV	p. 77
Case Study: Trailer Park Boys	p. 84
Case Study: Masters of Horror	p. 87
Innovative TV	p. 91
Case Study: Buffy the Vampire Slayer	p. 100
Case Study: The Prisoner	p. 103
Representation: Exploring Issuses of Sex, Gender, and Race in Cult Television	p. 107
Case Study: Angel	p. 114
Case Study: Battlestar Galactica	p. 117
Boldly Going: Music and Cult TV	p. 121
Constructing Cult TV: The Broadcast Industry and Cult Television
The Star Trek Franchise	p. 131
Cult TV and the Television Industry	p. 135
Case Study: HBO and the Sopranos	p. 148
Case Study: The Quatermass Serials	p. 150
Cult Channels: Showtime, FX, and Cult TV	p. 155
Case Study: The X-Files	p. 163
Through the Oblong Window: The Regulated Duopoly and the Creation of a Cult Children's 'Canon' in Britain	p. 167
Case Study: Bagpuss	p. 175
Cult TV and New Media	p. 179
Doctor Who Miles Booy	p. 189
Writing Tie-ins	p. 191
South Park	p. 199
The Cult in Cult TV: Audiences, Fans, and Fandom
Dark Shadows	p. 205
Television and the Cult Audience: A Primer	p. 209
Case Study: Da Ali G Show	p. 221
The Cult of Cult TV?	p. 225
Subcultural Celebrity	p. 233
Sapphire & Steel	p. 239
Gen, Slash, OT3s, and Crossover-The Varieties of Fan Fiction	p. 243
Works Cited	p. 248
Television and Film Guide	p. 260
Index	p. 268
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