Walter Metz – författare

A study of the sitcom Bewitched that examines its entire run to discover the show’s numerous interlocking themes, tensions, and innovations.

The classic situation comedy Bewitched chronicled the everyday lives of Samantha, a witch, and Darrin Stephens, her mortal husband, dramatizing the often-humorous troubles caused by their "mixed marriage." For much of its eight-year run, Bewitched enjoyed strong popularity because of its broad appeal. A parade of magical characters, animals, special effects, and gimmickry used to portray witchcraft ensured that the series appealed strongly to children, while its domestic tensions, feminist undertones, and hints at gay and lesbian subculture grabbed the attention of adult viewers. Bewitched also participated in industrial innovations, like the shift from black-and-white to color television production, and found itself caught in the political shift from Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society to Richard Nixon’s staunch conservatism. With all of these factors in mind, Walter Metz considers the series an important touchstone in 1960s and 1970s culture.

Previous academic criticism on Bewitched only considers a handful of episodes. This book considers the Bewitched series as a whole, demonstrating that the show can look very different depending upon which of its episodes are being examined. Metz draws several interlocking themes from the series, including the political identity conflicts that arise from the Stephenses’ marriage, the significance of history raised by characters popping in and out of the past, the postwar surveillance culture represented by the fear of discovery of Samantha’s secret, and the show’s self-reflexive stance toward television itself. In addition, Metz situates Bewitched in television history, examining the ways that its production techniques, storylines, and characters both borrowed from the past and contributed their own innovations to the medium.

A cult favorite that continues to air regularly more than forty years after it first premiered, Bewitched has claimed a prominent place in television history. Scholars of film and television studies, along with fans of the show, will appreciate Metz’s careful look at the show’s appeal and the serious issues raised by this beloved and deceptively simple sitcom.

An analysis of the under-studied sitcom Gilligan’s Island that addresses key questions about American social life in the 1960s.

Gilligan’s Island, created by Sherwood Schwartz, aired for three seasons between 1964 and 1967 on the CBS network. While the series was typically dismissed for its episodic inanity, author Walter Metz argues that this characteristic is precisely the source of the show’s innovation as it produces a vibrant critique of dominant American values. In this analysis of Gilligan’s Island, Metz reveals the inner workings of American television and society through an intensive look at the popular sitcom.

In twenty-one short sections, Metz investigates many aspects of Gilligan’s Island: the narrative, the characters, the plot, and the performativity. Through multiple episode analyses and character examinations, Metz shows how the castaways’ actions on the island held deeper meaning and illustrated American social customs. The book also looks at several different themes presented in the show and connects them to many literary traditions, including Shakespeare (The Tempest and Hamlet), existential theatre (Waiting for Godot), and classic American literature (Moby-Dick). Through this discussion, Metz examines the literacy of Gilligan’s Island and the way it knowingly returns to certain tropes from high literature, masking their expression in a distinctly populist American idiom. Metz also addresses the legacy of Gilligan’s Island and its profound effect on American television, as evidenced by popular contemporary shows like Survivor and Lost.

At one point in time, Gilligan’s Island was the most syndicated show around the world, but few scholarly articles exist about it. Fans of the show and those interested in television history and popular culture will enjoy this playful and informative study that fills a gap in television history.