From the Avengers to Miami Vice: Form and Ideology in Television Series (Cultural Politics)

This book offers an analysis of a range of different British and American television series from the 1950s to the present day. Three broad categories are used to organize the analysis: "human nature" ("Bonanza", "The Untouchables", "The Invaders", "Star Trek"); "pop" ("The Prisoner", "The Avengers", "The Man from UNCLE", "Mission: Impossible") and the police series ("Hawaii 5.O", "Starsky and Hutch", "Kojak", "Miami Vice"). The emphasis is on the discussion of underlying ideological strategy and the text seeks to establish television criticism as a form of interpretative explanation whilst coming to terms with the historical determination of each series. The book is aimed at students and teachers in the field of cultural, media and communication studies, as well as avid followers of television series.