"My name is John Crichton. 'I'm lost'. An astronaut. Shot through a wormhole. In some distant part of the universe. 'I'm trying to stay alive'. Aboard this ship. 'This living ship'. Of escaped prisoners." During its fourth and - for the present - final season, "Farscape" was the Sci-Fi Channel's highest rated original series. With its dedicated fan-base, "Farscape" seasons are still top-billing Sci-Fi DVDs. This first proper analysis of the show, written by a scholar-fan, uncovers "Farscape's" layers and those of the living spaceship Moya. Jes Battis proposes that "Farscape" is as much about bodies, sex and gender, as it is about wormholes, space ships and interstellar warfare. It is this straddling of genres that makes the show so viewable to such a broad audience, of which almost half are women. He explores "Farscape's" language and characters, including Moya, its creation of 'family and home', of masculinity and femininity, and the transformation of an all-American boy.

Reversing a common science fiction cliche, Farscape follows the adventures of the human astronaut John Crichton after he is shot through a wormhole into another part of the universe. Here Crichton is the only human being, going from being a member of the most intelligent species on our planet to being frequently considered mentally deficient by the beings he encounters in his new environment. John Crichton befriends a group of beings from various species attempting to escape from imprisonment aboard a living spaceship. The series, which broke many of the so-called "rules" of science fiction, follows Crichton's attempts to survive in worlds that are often hostile to him and his friends. Their adventures center on each being's attempt to find a way home. The essays in this volume explore themes running throughout the series, such as good and evil, love and sex, and what it means to be a hero, as well as the various characters populating the series, including the villains and even the ship itself.

In 1998, the series "Charmed", the story created by Constance M. Burge of three sisters who discover that they are powerful witches, first aired on the WB network. The series ran for eight series and into top-rating DVDs, and has established a continuing presence as cult TV. The world of "Charmed" is distinctively one of female solidarity, with sisters Piper, Prudence, Phoebe and, with the death of Pru, half-sister Paige making up the 'power of three'. In their crusade against the demonic population of their home city of San Francisco, the Halliwell sisters have also inherited their powers and "The Book of Shadows" through the female line. The expert contributors to "Investigating 'Charmed'", all of them fans of the show, explore its nature as ground breaking TV. They debate the status of "Charmed" as third wave feminist narrative, as well as its upturning of notions of sexuality, and its creation of alternative forms of family life. The San Francisco setting is explored as is "Charmed's" brand of witchcraft and fantasy, its mythological antecedents and female heroes. Looking also at the fans' relationship to the show, as well as its novelizations, fan fiction and blogs, the book on this fantastic magical show concludes with a complete Episode Guide.

First aired in 2001, "Alias" is a spy drama with a central action heroine, a complex narrative of moral twists, turns, lies and double-crosses, and an imaginative array of gadgets, gizmos and glamorous costumes. It has become a leading cult television series with a loyal fan following. In the wake of 9/11, "Alias'" themes of doubles and duplicity have been perfectly placed to comment on global relations and the personal paranoias of post 9/11 citizens. But as much as "Alias" reflects contemporary global politics, at its core are themes of family and relationships. The series is ending with a bang in 2006 and "Investigating "Alias"" is the first book to give a full and fascinating examination of the series in its entirety, with a complete episode guide. Placing the series within the wider context of American Quality Television and the spy genre, contributors consider the central role of family, race, gender and moral ambiguity in "Alias". They also focus on the creator of "Alias", JJ Abrams, and discuss the development and influence of the fan world beyond the series with in-depth studies of DVD releases, tie-in, fan and slash fiction. is the first book to give a full and fascinating examination of the series in its entirety, with a complete episode guide.

Joss Whedon, probably the first recognised TV auteur, who brought us Buffy and Angel, is also the creator of the remarkable space Western "Firefly" and the major Firefly film "Serenity". "Firefly" ran for twelve hour-long episodes in 2002 before being cancelled by the network. But this premature burial had an extraordinary outcome: the fans - self-named Browncoats - just kept multiplying, buying the dvds, keeping the show alive with blogs, fan fiction, podcasts, their own films, meetings, conferences; their numbers increased when the major Firefly motion picture 'Serenity' was released in 2005.This book is the definitive one on both "Firefly" and "Serenity". It is ambitious, in-depth and comprehensive, covering all aspects, from detailed chapters on scenes and themes, through explorations of the music, the characters, actors and fans. It is written by over 20 of the best US and international Whedon scholars, tv and film critics and writers. It's the must-have book for followers of Whedon and his works and for students of quality and cult tv.

Production Studies is the first volume to bring together a star-studded cast of interdisciplinary media scholars to examine the unique cultural practices of media production. The all-new essays collected here combine ethnographic, sociological, critical, material, and political-economic methods to explore a wide range of topics, from contemporary industrial trends such as new media and niche markets to gender and workplace hierarchies. Together, the contributors seek to understand how the entire span of "media producers"—ranging from high-profile producers and directors to anonymous stagehands and costume designers—work through professional organizations and informal networks to form communities of shared practices, languages, and cultural understandings of the world.

Horror is a universally popular, pervasive TV genre, with shows like True Blood, Being Human, The Walking Dead and American Horror Story making a bloody splash across our television screens. This complete, utterly accessible, sometimes scary new book is the definitive work on TV horror. It shows how this most adaptable of genres has continued to be a part of the broadcast landscape, unsettling audiences and pushing the boundaries of acceptability. The authors demonstrate how TV Horror continues to provoke and terrify audiences by bringing the monstrous and the supernatural into the home, whether through adaptations of Stephen King and classic horror novels, or by reworking the gothic and surrealism in Twin Peaks and Carnivale. They uncover horror in mainstream television from procedural dramas to children's television and, through close analysis of landmark TV auteurs including Rod Serling, Nigel Kneale, Dan Curtis and Stephen Moffat, together with case studies of such shows as Dark Shadows, Dexter, Pushing Daisies, Torchwood, and Supernatural, they explore its evolution on television. This book is a must-have for those studying TV Genre as well as for anyone with a taste for the gruesome and the macabre.