This study sheds light on the impressive work done by writers of television series, highlighting their sources of inspiration and their exceptional talent for maintaining interest and mirroring changes in mentalities in lifestyle. It offers numerous original interpretations of various categories of such television shows, and explores the ways in which older series have been developed, and what has been maintained and changed in more modern TV series.

Hermione’s bottomless bag; Paddington’s hard stare; Nanny McPhee’s mysterious and magical personality; Yondu’s flying arrow. These seemingly unrelated characters, personality traits and magical belongings all merge under Mary Poppins’s umbrella. Australian-born P. L. Travers’s iconic English governess has been entertaining readers worldwide since 1934. Over time, the audience for Mary Poppins has only grown as a result of various film and stage adaptations (e.g., Disney’s Mary Poppins in 1964 and 2018). This book aims to inform those professionals who are eager to discover more about the connection between popular culture and children’s literature concerning Mary Poppins. It is the first to collect and introduce films, sitcoms and other books that have adapted Mary Poppins’s most characteristic personality traits (such as her bitter-sweet ironic mood), unusual teaching methods, and her use of magical accessories (such as her umbrella and carpet bag).

Contemporary Television Series: Narrative Structures and Audience Perception proposes an interdisciplinary and multicultural approach of old concepts like fiction, reality and narrativity applied to actual worldwide television series. The authors that have contributed to this volume analyze the almost invisible barriers between fiction and reality in television series from different perspectives. The results of their studies are extremely interesting and revealing. The new perspectives offered by this volume will be of great interest to any scholar of European and international studies, because they bring to light new ideas, new methodologies and results that could be further developed. This volume allows readers to explore these unique insights, even if they are not senior researchers, and to easily digest the content, and also to acknowledge the impact of the viewing of television series on reality and on their own lives.

This book integrates culture and authenticity into Chinese classroom practice through exploring the potential of contemporary TV drama as teaching and learning materials for intercultural Chinese language teaching and learning. In addressing the four main challenges in culture teaching in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL), this book focuses on precisely this area of pedagogical practice in Chinese as foreign language education and draws on a wide interdisciplinary base, including foreign language education, cultural studies, and intercultural communication to explore the potential of authentic TV drama as language and culture materials for revitalising TCFL and foreign language teaching more generally. It examines in detail the culturally shaped beliefs, values, and practices that give meaning to the action and language of the selected clips in a modern, award-winning Chinese TV drama. This book shows a potential experiential pathway into (pedagogical) practices to bring contemporary culture into classrooms, to engage learners with contemporary and authentic texts, and to encourage inquiry-focused teaching practices, which – in being intercultural – allow for learners’ own interpretations of cultural messages in interaction and to recognise learners as learning to understand their own values and beliefs as they learn to explore those of other cultures.

An engaging and provocative study of the contemporary prime-time 'quality' serial television format, this book gives a timely account of prominent programmes such as 24, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ER, The Sopranos and The West Wing and explores their influential position within the television industry. Divided into the areas of history, aesthetics and reception, the text provides an illuminating overview of an increasingly hybrid television studies discipline. Chapters consider the formal and aesthetic elements in the contemporary television serial through approaches ranging from those concerned with issues of gender and sexuality, national identity, and reception to industry history and textual analysis. The book also includes British examples of 'quality' serial television emphasizing not only their cultural specificity but also the transnational context in which these programmes operate. Features*Section introductions provide student-friendly explanations of the various approaches and methodologies employed in the book*Chapters are written by an international team of experts in the field of television studies*Ideal for use as a textbook on courses in contemporary television taught at undergraduate level

Television: the medium we love, the medium we love to hate and the medium that changed the world. Larry Brody offers a unique look at this cultural phenomena - how it evolved as a business, as a form of entertainment, how it affected us and the technological advances that have developed. Brody offers a history of the industry and his own perceptions and experiences of television. In the hands of Larry Brody this new addition to the Turning Points series is as entertaining and satisfying as a night of really good TV.

"Through detailed case studies this book breaks new ground by linking together two major themes: the production of realism and its relationship to revelation. It addresses 'truth telling', confession and the production of knowledges about the self and its place in the world".--BOOKJACKET.