The DVD Novel: How the Way We Watch Television Changed the Television We Watch

ISBN-13: 9780313385810 / Angielski / Twarda / 2012 / 231 str.

Greg Metcalf

Opis

In 1981, NBC's "Hill Street Blues" combined the cop show and the soap opera to set the model for primetime serial storytelling, which is evident in "The Sopranos," "The Wire," and "Breaking Bad." In 1963, ABC's "The Fugitive" showed how an anthology series could tell a continuing tale, influencing "The X-Files," "House," and "Fringe." In 1987, NBC's "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd" changed the situation comedy into attitudinal comedy, leading to "Weeds," "Nurse Jackie," and "Entourage." "The DVD Novel: How the Way We Watch Television Changed the Television We Watch" not only examines how American television shows changed, but also what television artists have been able to create.

The book provides an alternate history of American television that compares it to British television, and explains the influence of Dennis Potter's "The Singing Detective" on the development of long-form television and the evolution of drama shows and sitcoms. The work considers a wide range of network and cable television shows, paying special attention to the work of Steven Bochco, David Milch, and David Simon, and spotlighting the influence of graphic novels and literary novels in changing television.