Cult TV is a very exciting area of contemporary television. "The Cult TV Book" is the companion reference to this TV phenomenon, whose shows push the boundaries and offer biting commentaries on society today. Cult TV is also changing. Where being cult used to mean being marginal with a small, loyal fan base, cult TV 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. So, what is cult TV today?
Leading scholars, writers and journalists redefine our understanding of cult TV, with new approaches to and case studies on: Cult TV aesthetics, History of cult TV, Cult TV & new media, The 'sub-cultural celebrity', Jane Espenson on how to write cult TV, Cult TV & the broadcast industry, Music, Innovation, Cult channels, Children's cult TV, Sex, Gender, Race, Cult audiences, Transgressive TV, Cult of cult TV, Nancy Holder on writing tie-ins, TV & Film Guide, Fan fiction, "Battlestar Galactica", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Doctor Who", "The Avengers", "The Prisoner", "Quatermass", "The Sopranos", "Masters of Horror", "The Twilight Zone", "Twin Peaks", "Grey's Anatomy", "Bagpuss", "South Park", "The X Files", "Da Ali G Show", "Trailer Park Boys" and "Angel". Contributors include: Stacey Abbott, Sergio Angelini, Jes Battis, Stan Beeler, Miles Booy, Simon Brown, Bronwen Calvert, Jane Espenson, Dick Fiddy, Lincoln Geraghty, Janet K. Halfyard, Matt Hills, Nancy Holder, Catherine Johnson, Lorna Jowett, Roz Kaveney, Roberta Pearson, Denzell Richards, Hillary Robson, David Simmons, Sharon Sutherland, Paul Sutton, Sarah Swan, Donato Totaro, Rhonda V. Wilcox and Tat Wood.
Table of Contents
Introduction - Stacey Abbott
Section One - What is Cult TV?
• Observations on Cult Television
Roberta Pearson
• Members Only: Cult TV from Margins to Mainstream Sergio Angelini & Miles Booy
• The Aesthetics of Cult TV
Rhonda Wilcox
• Telefantasy and Beyond:
Cult TV and Genre
Stacey Abbott
• Playing Hard to 'Get': How to Write Cult TV
Jane Espenson
Section Two - the Texts
• Mainstream Cult
Matt Hills
• Gone but not Forgotten: The Cult Sleeper
Simon Brown and Stacey Abbott
• Transgressive TV
Jes Battis
• Innovative TV: narrative, style and genre
Stacey Abbott
• Representation: Exploring issues of sex, gender, and race in Cult TV
Lorna Jowett
• Music and Cult TV
Janet Halfyard
• The Cult of Children's TV
Tat Wood
Section Three - The Industry
• Cult TV and the Television Industry
Catherine Johnson
• Cult Channels : Showtime, FX and Cult TV
Simon Brown
• Cult TV and New Media.
Denzell Richards
• Writing Tie-ins for Cult TV
Nancy Holder
Section Four - Audiences
• Television and the Cult Audience
Hillary Robson
• Subcultural celebrity
Matt Hills
• The Cult of Cult TV
Dick Fiddy
• Doing it for themselves: Fan interpretations of cult TV
Roz Kaveney
Case Studies
Angel (Lorna Jowett)
The Avengers/New Avengers (Paul Sutton)
Babylon 5 (Sergio Angelini)
Battlestar Galactica (Bronwen Calvert)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Stacey Abbott)
Dark Shadows (Stacey Abbott)
Dr. Who (Miles Booy)
Grey's Anatomy (Hilary Robson)
Masters of Horror (Donato Totaro)
The Prisoner (Sergio Angelini)
Quatermass (Cathy Johnson)
Sapphire and Steel (Sergio Angelini)
South Park (David Simmons)
The Sopranos (Cathy Johnson)
Star Trek/franchise (Lincoln Geraghty)
Trailer Park Boys (Sharon Sutherland and Sarah Swan)
Twilight Zone (Stan Beeler)
Twin Peaks (Miles Booy)
The X-Files (Simon Brown)
Teleography
Bibliography
Index
