Sherry Ginn

Gillian I. Leitch

Stories of time travel have been part of science fiction since H. G. Wells sent his nameless hero hurtling into Earth’s distant future in The Time Machine. Time travel enables the storyteller to depict alternate realities, bring fictional characters face to face with historical figures, and depict moral and ethical dilemmas in which millions of lives (or the world as we know it) are at stake. From Doctor Who and Quantum Leap to the multiple incarnations of Star Trek, time travel has been a staple of science fiction television for more than fifty years. Time-Travel Television: The Past from the Present, the Future from the Past surveys the whole range of time travel stories on the small screen. The essays in this collection explore time travel series both familiar (Babylon 5, Stargate SG-1) and forgotten (The Time Tunnel, Voyagers!), as well as time-travel themed episodes and arcs in series where it is not central, such as Red Dwarf, Lost, and Heroes. Contributors to this volume consider some of the classic themes of time-travel stories: the promise (and peril) of “fixing” the past, the chance to experience (and choose) possible futures, and the potential for small changes to have great effects. Exploring time travel as a teaching tool, as a vehicle for moral lessons, and as a background for high adventure, this book offers new perspectives on many familiar programs and the first serious study of several unjustly neglected ones. Time-Travel Television is essential reading for science fiction scholars and fans, and for anyone interested in the many ways that television brings the fantastic into viewers’ living rooms.

The Past from the Present, the Future from the Past

Time-Travel Television

C.W. Sullivan III

Donald E. Palumbo

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.

Essays on the Groundbreaking Television Series

The Worlds of Farscape

This book explores how time travel has been used as a plot device in a number of television shows, including iconic programs like Doctor Who, Heroes, Lost, Quantum Leap, Red Dwarf, and the Star Trek franchise, among others. It is organized into three general themes Origins, Correcting the Past, and Exploring the Future."

Michael G. Cornelius

The end of the world may be upon us, but it certainly is taking its sweet time playing out. The walkers on The Walking Dead have been "walking" for nearly a decade. There are now dozens of apocalyptic television shows and we use the "end times" to describe everything from domestic politics and international conflict, to the weather and our views of the future. This collection of new essays asks what it means to live in a world inundated with representations of the apocalypse. Focusing on such series as The Walking Dead, The Strain, Battlestar Galactica, Doomsday Preppers, Westworld, The Handmaid's Tale, they explore how the serialization of the end of the world allows for a closer examination of the disintegration of humanity--while it happens. Do these shows prepare us for what is to come? Do they spur us to action? Might they even be causing the apocalypse?

Essays on Society and Self at the End of the World

Apocalypse TV

“Science fiction” can be translated into “real unreality.” More than a genre like fantasy, which creates entirely new realms of possibility, science fiction constructs its possibilities from what is real, from what is, indeed, possible, or conceivably so. This collection, then, looks to understand and explore the “unreal reality,” to note ways in which our culture’s continually changing and evolving mores of sex and sexuality are reflected in, dissected by, and deconstructed through the genre of science fiction. This book is a collection of new essays, with the general objective of filling a gap in the literature about sex and science fiction (although some work has gone before, none of it is recent). The essays herein explore the myriad ways in which authors—regardless of format (print, film, television, etc.)—envision very different beings expressing this most fundamental of human behaviors.

Essays on the Carnal Side of Science Fiction

The Sex Is Out of This World

Alyson R. Buckman

Heather M. Porter

This collection of essays contextualizes Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse as a postmodern investigation into what makes us human and as an examination of how technology invariably transforms our identity and perhaps even our humanity. Together, these essays provide a provocative meditation on how one example of science fiction comments on the state of personal identity in a 21st-century society dependent on forms of technology that threaten the individual. This collection of essays examines the various characters and themes presented in the series throughout its two-year run on television. In addition, the essays look at how the series fits into Joss Whedon’s oeuvre as auteur, director, and producer.

Confounding Purpose, Confusing Identity

Joss Whedon's Dollhouse

Ever since the premiere of the small-screen incarnation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1997, the television worlds of Joss Whedon—which have grown to include Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse—have acquired a cult following of dedicated fans and inspired curious scholars. The quest for power and control over humans and other animals is a constant theme running throughout all four series. This study explores the myriad natural and supernatural methods Whedon’s characters use to achieve power and control over unsuspecting friends and foes, including witchcraft and other paranormal means, love, aggression, and scientific devices such as psychosurgery and psychopharmacology. A catalog of characters and a complete list of episodes for each series completes this valuable addition to the growing body of scholarship on television’s “Whedonverse.”

Power and Control in the Television Worlds of Joss Whedon

"This book is a collection of new essays, with the general objective of filling a gap in the literature about sex and science fiction. The essays explore the myriad ways in which authors writing in the genre, regardless of format (e.g., print, film, television, etc.), envision very different beings expressing this most fundamental of human behaviors"--Provided by publisher.

First appearing in Marvel Comics in the 1960s, Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, was introduced to movie audiences in Iron Man 2 (2010). Her character has grown in popularity with subsequent Marvel films, and fans have been vocal about wanting to see Black Widow in a titular role. Romanoff has potent appeal: a strong female character who is not defined by her looks or her romantic relationships, with the skill set of a veteran spy first for the KGB, then for S.H.I.E.L.D. This collection of new essays is the first to examine Black Widow and her development, from Cold War era comics to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Essays on an Avenger with a Very Specific Skill Set

Marvel's Black Widow from Spy to Superhero

Marveläó»s Black Widow from Spy to Superhero

Paul Zinder

Tanya R. Cochran,

With diverse contributions from scholars in English literature, psychology, and film and television studies, this collection of essays contextualizes Fringe as a postmodern investigation into what makes us human and as an examination of how technology transforms our humanity. In compiling this collection, the editors sought material as multifaceted as the series itself, devoting sections to specific areas of interest explored by both the writers of Fringe and the writers of the essays: humanity, duality, genre and viewership.

Essays on the J.J. Abrams Science Fiction Series

The Multiple Worlds of Fringe

With diverse contributions from scholars in English literature, psychology, and film and television studies, this collection of essays contextualizes Fringe as a postmodern investigation into what makes us human and as an examination of how technology invariably transforms our humanity. The essays provide a provocative meditation on how a stellar example of science fiction television comments on the state of personal identity in a 21st-century society dependent on technology that both enlivens and threatens the individual. In compiling this collection, the editors sought material as multifaceted as the series itself, devoting sections to specific areas of interest explored by both the writers of Fringe and the writers of the essays: humanity, duality, genre, and viewership. Taken together, the section headings serve as a map to the many thematic readings the editors and contributors apply to Fringe.

Sherry Ginn

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