Television: General
Adams, Phillip (1997), 'The
truth is out there--but don't look for it on TV', Weekend Australian
Aug 9-10. More Adam's vitriol--this time about television.
Anderson, Doug (1996), 'The
moose vamooses', Sydney Morning Herald Guide Jan 15-21. A eulogy for
the end of Northern Exposure on Australian screens. In New Zealand it
has suffered death by scheduling.
Anderson, Tim (1995), 'Thou
Shall Not Steal Television: signal theft in the Age of Information',
The Velvet Light Trap 36, Fall. An interesting piece of the changing
role of the viewer for cable television.
Afrani, Mike (1996), 'The
rise of the African soap opera', New African February . Television soap
operas in Ghana,Kenya and Tanzania.
Appleyard, Bryan (1996),
'Why we need the lies', The Australian Magazine Nov 23-24. How every
generation 'has to find its own source of paranoia..from The Prisoner
to The X-Files'.
Alvarado, Manuel (2000),
`The "value" of TV drama: Why bother to produce it?', Television & New
Media 1.3, August. Argues that TV drama is still a must for large publically-funded
institutions, such as the BBC, but its future is bleaker in smaller
European countries.
Billen, Andrew (1998), 'Laughter
in the dark', New Statesman Aug 21. A glowing review that concludes
'Seinfeld is beautiful, but in a dark, dark way'.
'The box dethroned: television's
uncertain future', Special Supplement, NewStatesman 24 July 2000. Leading
figures and commentators in British broadcasting (such as Chris Smith,
John Tusa, Julie Burchill, Melvyn Bragg) offer their perspectives on
the current state of British television, and its likely futures.
Cantor, Paul A. (1997),
'In praise of television: the greatest TV show ever', American Enterprise
Sept/Oct. A Shakespeare scholar lauds The Simpsons.
Casetti, Francesco (1996),
'Communicative situations: the cinema and the television situation',
Semiotica 112-1/2. The social ritualsand contexts of watching television
and film.
Cavander, Kenneth (1998).
'The art & craft of jumping fences', American Theatre March. Six
theatre writers talk about writing for television.
Coleman, Loren (1996), 'The
truth behing The X-Files', Fortean Times 82. For those who believe that
The X-Files is something to do with 'real' events.
Collins, Michael (1997),
'You must be joking', The Guardian July 14. A British critic that comedy
should give up on irony and 'play it straight'. But I say..the more
irony the better!
Collins, Michael (1998),
'Tears'r'us', The Guardian Jan 19. How the media 'fell in love with
the new sensitivity'.
Corner, John (1997), 'Television
in theory', Media, Culture & Society 19. Ways of studying television
fromm theoretical perspectives.
Cooks, Leda M. & Roger
C. Aden (1995), 'Northern Exposure's sense of place: constructing and
marginalizing the matriarchal community', Women's Studies in Communication
18:1, Spring. NE is likely to produce academic writing for some time
despite its demise on screen.
Dordick, Gwendolyn &
Seth Rachlin (1997), 'Television in the lives of the homeless', The
Communication Review 2(2). Interesting research on the role of television
in the lives of residents of a public shelter for homeless men in New
York City
Durbin, Karen (1998), 'Shakespearean
soaps for complicated times', New York Times Oct 18. The best police
dramas as morality plays.
Dyas, Ronald (1997), 'Structure
of episodic television: detective, police and mystery dramas', Creative
Screenwriting 3:4. Recipes for TV drama. Useful for teaching narrative
structures.
Ellis, John (2000), 'Scheduling:
the last creative act in television?', Media, Culture & Society 22.
An interesting examination of scheduling on British television.
Farber, Celia (1996), 'Don't
tread on me', Spin 12:2, May. Roseanne Barr gives her unguarded opinions
on critics, life and television. This 'TV Nation' issue of Spin also
features articles on TV sport shows, a profile ofAaron Spelling , girls
and TV, The X-Files , and talk shows.
Fischoff, Stuart (1995),
'Confessions of a TV talk show shrink', Psychology Today Sept/Oct. Criticisms
of American talkshows ('With a very few exceptions, those who book the
guests must be con artists and ambulance chasers') from a former participant.
Fiske, John & Kevin
Glynn (1995), 'Trials of the postmodern', Cultural Studies 9(3). Analyses
the Rodney King beating to explore 'the instability of truth in a mediatized
society'.
Flaherty, Mike (1997), 'Xenaphilia',
Entertainment Weekly March 7. The 'cultlike passion for TV's most ferocious
and fetching heroine' on Xena: Warrior Princess. The NZ origins of Lucy
Lawless get a good mention.
Fretts, Bruce (1995), 'TV
saves the world', Entertainment Weekly Oct 20. Fretts presents '10 reasons
TV is better than the movies' eg 'Movie characters are one-night stands.
TV characters are Friends!') He is writing about American TV but worth
testing this on your students!
Gardam, Tim (1998), 'Television's
true lies', New Statesman May 15. Accusations of deception in television
documentaries.
Glynn, Kevin (1996), Normalization
and Its Discontents; the Conflictual World of TV Talk Shows. Paper to
the 17th Biennial ANZASA Conference, Christchurch. A spirited defence
of the discourses of the American TV talk show.
Greenwald, Jeff (1996),
'Write for Star Trek', Wired January. The possibilities of writing to
formula, and selling a script to the producers of Star Trek.
Handy, Bruce (1998), 'It's
all about timing', Time Jan 12. A cover story about the imminent demise
of Seinfeld. Life will never be the same again!
Heath, Rebecca Piirto (1998),
'Tuning in to talk', American Demographics Feb. The American fascination
with TV talk shows.
Heaton, Jeanne Albronda
& N.L. Wilson (1995), 'Tuning in to trouble', Ms Sept/Oct. Strong
criticisms of US talk shows, from the authors' Tuning In Trouble: Talk
TV's Destructive Impact on Mental Health.
Hirsch, Irwin & Cara Hirsch
(2000), `A look at our dark side: Seinfeld's humor noir', Journal of
Popular Film & Television 28:3, Fall. The dark side of one of the best
sitcoms ever made. Also in this issue is Morreale `Sitcoms say goodbye:
the cultural spectacle of Seinfeld's last episode', and Tueth, `Fun
city: TV's urban situation comedies of the 1990s'.
Jacobs, A.J. (1995), 'Talkin'
trash', Entertainment Weekly December 8. Another, more populist, defence
of Ricki Lake and her TV talk show kin.
Kane, Pat (1996), 'There's
method in the magic', New Statesman & Society Aug 23. Argues the
value of The X-Files and sci-fi, against 'Science's warriors of rationality'.
Kennedy, Dana (1997), 'The
mad chatters'. Entertainment Weekly May 2. Amateur web sites on film.
Krause, Andrea J. &
E.M. Goering (1995), 'Local talk in the global village: an intercultural
comparison of American and German talk shows', Journal of Popular Culture
29:2. The role of talk shows in 'constructing/preserving national narratives'.
Koszarski, Richard (1998),
'Coming next week: images of television in pre-war motion pictures',
Film History 10. A fascinating investigation of how television was portrayed
in films of the 1920s and 1930s.
Lawson, Mark (1996), 'Over
here, and doing fine', New Statesman & Society May 24. Argues that
the sniffy attitude of British critics to American TV programmes must
change, in face of ER, Murder One and The X-Files.
Liebes, Tamar (1996), 'Notes
on the struggle to define involvement in television viewing', Reseaux:
the French Journal of Communication 4:1. Arguements overthe 'closed'
and 'open' texts in audience readings of texts.
Little, John (2000), `Pandora's
box', The Media Australian Oct 12. How the personal video recorder will
transform viewing habits and revolutionise TV as an advertising medium,
through its ability to allow viewers to create their own schedule.
Lipsky, David (1997), 'All
Gillian Anderson wants is her dark places', Rolling Stone Feb 20. A
great interview with Scully. The pictures are even better!
Lipsky, David (1997), 'The
virtue of paranoia', Rolling Stone Feb 20. An extended interview with
Chris Carter, the inventor of Scully and Mulder.
Livingstone, Sonia &
T. Liebes (1995), 'Where have all the mother's gone? Soap opera's replaying
of the Oedipal story'. Critical Studies in Mass Communication 12, June.
A comparison between the narratives of fairy stories and the stories
daytime soaps such The Young and the Restless tell.
'Losing the plot', New Zealand
Herald August 31, 1996. An article from The Economist about the problems
of developing good British sitcoms. (Father Ted is obviously a good
model!)
Matelski, Marilyn J. (2000),
`Jerry Springer and the wages of fin-syn: the rise of deregulation and
the decline of TV talk', Journal of Popular Culture 33:4, Spring. The
rise and fall (and possible rise again) of 'trash talk TV' in the USA.
McDonald, Bernard (1996),
'Drug of the nation', Pavement 17 June/July. A New Zealand appreciation
of transgressive TV (X-Files et al).
McLean, Adrienne L. (1998),
'Media effects: Marshall McLuhan, television culture and The X-Files',
Film Quarterly 51:4, Summer. The literal conjunctions of The X-Files
and media theory.
McNamara, Martin (1998),
'A load of crap on television', The Guardian June 29. One of the last
taboos--defecating--is shown on British television, in the cause of
public health.
Mehl, Dominique (1996),
'The television of intimacy', Reseaux: the French Journal of Communication
4:1. The role of public confession in contemporary television.
Mules, Warwick (1998), 'Media
evolution', AQ July-August. Argues that tel;evision parodies such as
the wonderful Australian series Frontline (shamefully neglected in New
Zealand) demands a rethink of contemporary journalism.
Mullen, Megan (1995), 'Surfing
through "TV Land": notes towards a theory of "Video Bites" and their
function on cable TV', The Velvet Light Trap 36, Fall. Calls for a new
theory of television 'flow' and viewer reception.
Neumann, Anne Waldron (1996),
The X Files and the longing for belief, Quadrant Sept. Argues that the
adventures of Scully and Mulder provide'a kind of space for belief'.
For some of us, however, it is just good drama!
Neumann, Anne Waldron (1996),
'The Simpsons', Quadrant Dec. An appreciation of Homer, Bart & Co,
and their role in 'encouraging children to be postmodern about their
television viewing'.
Newman, Rae (1998), 'Remote
rules!', Next Jan. The remote control in New Zealand homes. One those
articles which asks the wrong sort of people for their opinion and knows
nothing about research. But it is interesting.
O'Reilly, John (1996), 'So
you think this sick?', The Guardian Dec 23. How Carter's Millennium
outdoes The X-Files
Owen, David (2000), `Seriously,
he's the funniest man in television', The Media Australian July 27-Aug
2. Profiles George Meyer, the real genius behind The Simpsons.
Raphael, Chad (1997), 'Political
economy of Reali-TV', Jump Cut 41. The rise of reality-TV shows on American
television.
Riggs, Karen E. (1996),
'The case of the mysterious ritual: murder dramas and older women viewers',
Critical Studies in Mass Communication 13. Research on television and
the daily rituals of the elderly.
Rule, Greg (1996), 'A day
in the life of The X-Files', Keyboard March. A long article which focuses
on the contribution of composer Mark Snow.
Scannell, Paddy (1995),
'For a phenomenology of radio and television', Journal of Communication
45(3), Summer. Explores the parallel magic and mundane world of radio
and television.
'Seinfeld turns nothing
into $385m', The Australian Sept 9. Jerry heads Forbes magazine's 1998
highest-paid entertainers list.
Sherry, John L. (1997),
'Prosocial soap operas for development: a review of research and theory',
The Journal of International Communication 4(2). A review of the literature
on the use of serial drama for educational purposes.
Simon, Ron (1998), 'Serial
seduction: living in other worlds', Television Quarterly 3. The history
of the soap opera.
Simpson, Roger (1997), 'Ratings,
reason and television drama', Between The Sheets Nov 19. An Australian
writer recounts his experiences of writing television drama
Stabile, Carol A. (1995),
'Resistance, recuperation, and reflexivity: the limits of a paradigm',
Critical Studies in Mass Communication 12. The 'analytical and political
limits of..the paradigm of resistance', focusing on Roseanne and other
sitcoms.
Tom, Emma (1999), 'Reality's
for people who can't handle TV', The Weekend Australian Oct 2-3. 'Reality
TV' programmes on Australian television.
Turner, Graeme (1996), 'Infotainment
Tonight', arena magazine Oct-Nov. The excesses of Australian current
affairs.
Walker, Chip (1996), 'Can
TV save the planet?', American Demographics May . A strange title for
an article about the emergence of global youth culture.
Wark, McKenzie (1996), 'Schlock
of the Newties', arena magazine Oct-Nov. A pock-in-the-eye for self-appointed
intellectual critics of TV. Good stuff!
Wark, McKenzie (1996), 'Suspicious
midsets', Weekend Australian Nov 16-17. Argues that the 'success of
The X Files challenges our views about what 'quality' television should
be'.
Watson, Bret (1996), 'Pay
Daze', Entertainment Weekly Aug 16. The big bucks to US television actors
and 'Are they worth it?'.
Wear, Peter (1997), 'Who
Who?', The Bulletin June 24. An Australian scrap over newly-discovered
Dr Who footage.
Willis, Ellen (1996), 'Bring
in the noise', The Nation April 1. A defence of talk shows, arguing
that 'Popbashing is the humanism of fools".
'Virtual Geography' , 21-C
1-96. McKenzie Wark in conversation with Philip Adams and Darren Tofts
about his 1995 book on international television Virtual Geography.
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