TV Milestones – serie

A lively examination of the classic 1960s American crime show.Hawaii Five-O, created by Leonard Freeman in 1968, is an American police procedural drama series that was produced by CBS Productions and aired for twelve seasons. Author Brian Faucette discusses the show's importance by looking at how it framed questions around the security and economy of the Hawaiian Islands in connection with law enforcement, the diversity of its population, the presence of the US military, and the influx of tourists.Faucette begins by discussing how the show both conformed to and adapted within the TV landscape of the late 1960s and how those changes helped make it the longest-running cop show in American TV history until it was supassed by Law and Order. Faucette argues that it was Freeman's commitment to filming on location in Hawaii that ensured the show would tackle issues pertinent to the islands and reflect the diversity of its people, culture, and experiences, while helping to establish a viable film and TV industry in Hawaii. Faucette explains how a dedication to placing the show in political and social context of the late 1960s and 1970s (i.e., questions around policing, Nixon's call for "law and order," the US military's investment and involvement in the Vietnam War, issues of racial equality) rooted it in reality and sparked conversation around these issues. Another key element of the show's success is its connection to issues of tourism and the idea that TV can create a form of "tourism" from the safety of the home. Faucette concludes with discussion of how Hawaii Five-O led to the development of other shows, as well as attempts to reboot the show in the 1990s and in 2010.Faucette makes a strong argument for the series as a distinctive artifact of a time in US history that witnessed profound changes in culture, politics, and economics, one that will excite not only scholars and students of television and media studies but any die-hard fan of gripping police procedurals.

Explores The Americans as a groundbreaking series that brilliantly merged the spy genre and domestic melodrama.Based on the actual KGB strategy of planting "illegals" into American life during the Cold War, The Americans (FX 2013–2018) focuses on Philip and Elizabeth Jennings (Matthew Rhys and Kerri Russell), Soviet spies posing as middlebrow travel agents in the Virginia suburbs. Groundbreaking and unsettling, The Americans spins its stories of espionage, violence, and politics around narratives of marriage, romance, bromance, and family. Exploring the series' bold merger of the spy genre and domestic melodrama, author Linda Mizejewski focuses on the characters and relationships that made this series memorable: the extraordinary women who defy the femme fatale stereotype of the spy genre, the conflicted men, and perhaps most shockingly, the children who are both victims and provocateurs. Do viewers of this Cold War thriller root for "the good guys"—the American agents in pursuit of the Jenningses—or for the Jenningses themselves, the attractive couple whose personal stories compel us even as they plot the takedown of the United States? Mizejewski argues for the importance of The Americans' portrayal of 1980s suburban life as a microcosm of the moral complexities of citizenship and national identity. Drawing on television studies and feminist media theory, this book examines the series' seamless loop of espionage violence and family melodrama, as well as its savvy uses of 1980s pop culture and music. Far from invoking nostalgia, the replication of the 1980s "look" invokes uncertainties about how, exactly, we should see Reagan's America and the Cold War. Yet the appeal of this series rests on solid footing in the Americanism it both critiques and espouses. Mizejewski examines The Americans' struggles with this ambiguity and with the contradictions of identity, gender, marriage, and the meanings of home.Everyone from scholars and students of television and media studies, genre studies, gender and sexuality studies, and popular culture, to superfans who can't believe the show is over will revel in this highly approachable and fun read.

Provides a history and criticism of an important disrupting force in early science-fiction television programming.Joanne Morreale highlights the differences of The Outer Limits (ABC 1963–65) from typical programs on the air in the 1960s. Morreale argues that the show provides insight into changes in the television industry as writers turned to genre fiction—in this case, a hybrid of science fiction and horror—to provide veiled social commentary. The show illustrates the tension between networks who wanted mainstream entertainment and the independent writer-producers, Leslie Stevens and Joseph Stefano, who wanted to use the medium to challenge viewers.In five chapters, The Outer Limits makes a case for the show's deployment of gothic melodrama and science fiction tropes, unique televisual characteristics, and creative adaptation of any cultural sources to interrogate the relationship between humans and technology in a way that continues to influence contemporary debate in such shows as Star Trek, The X-Files, and Black Mirror. Underlying the arguments is the eerie notion of The Outer Limits as a disruptive force on television at the time, purposely making audiences uncomfortable. For example, in its iconic opening credit sequence a disembodied "Control Voice" claims to be taking over the television as images mimic signal interference. Other themes convey Cold War paranoia, ambivalence about the Kennedy era "New Frontier," and anxiety about the burgeoning military-industrial-governmental complex. The book points out that The Outer Limits presaged what came to be known as "quality" television. While most episodes followed the lowbrow tradition of televised sciencefiction by adapting previously published stories and films, the series elevated the genre by rearticulating it through themes and images drawn from myth, literature, and the art film.The Outer Limits is lucid yet accessible, well researched and argued, with enlightening discussions of specific episodes even as it gives attention to broader television history and theory. It will be of special interest to scholars and students of television and media studies, as well as fans of science fiction.

The legacy of a bold, pioneering telenovela adapted for US television.Ugly Betty (ABC, 2006–10) erupted onto the US network television scene as the first telenovela successfully adapted for American audiences. The series features a Latina protagonist, her family, and a diverse cast navigating contemporary American social issues, such as gender and beauty norms, immigration, racial and ethnic difference, sexuality, and class. Infused with the show's trademark humor, dramatic contrasts, and bold aesthetics, Ugly Betty boasted a complex narrative and representation of how one community chases the American Dream, which sustained the multi-award-winning show through four celebrated seasons. David R. Coon conducts detailed character and scene analysis, alongside insights from the executive producers on the same scenes, for a deep read of the development and impact of the show.

A searing, incisive analysis of the show that redefined queer television for a generation.The British cat-and-mouse spy thriller Killing Eve (BBC America, 2018–22) became an international sensation, captivating fans and critics alike. In this sharp and accessible study, scholar and fan Clare Sears presents a compelling queer reading of the series, examining how it appropriated and subverted thriller conventions to center the complexity and queerness of women's desires. Focusing on the show's lead characters, Sears unpacks portrayals of psychopathy that challenged familiar tropes of monstrosity and analyzes the significant controversy that surrounded the series' ending. Drawing on exclusive interviews with creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge and executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle, Sears reveals how industry conditions, audience dynamics, and broader cultural and historical factors shape contemporary television. Written for fans, scholars, and general readers, this book offers an engaging account of Killing Eve and its contributions to television history as innovative, escapist queer TV.