ABSTRACT
From re-runs of 'TV classics' like The Avengers or Starsky and Hutch, to soundtracks, club nights and film remakes such as Mission Impossible II, the action series is enjoying a popular revival. Yet little attention has been paid to the history, nature and enduring appeal of the action series, and its place in popular culture, past and present.
Action TV traces the development of the action series from its genesis in the 1950s. From The Saint to Knigh t Rider, contributors explore the key shows which defined the genre, addressing issues of audiences and consumption, gender and sexuality, fashion and popular culture. They examine the institutional and cultural factors influencing the action series, and relate shifts in the genre to other forms of popular culture including film, pop music, fashion and popular literature.
Chapters include:
* Of leather suits and kinky boots: The Avengers, style and popular culture
* 'Who loves ya, baby?': Kojak, action and the great society
*'A lone crusader in a dangerous world': heroics of science and technology in Knight Rider
* Angels in chains? feminism, femininity and consumer culture in Charlie's Angels
* 'Who's the cat that won't cop out?' Black masculinity in American action shows of the sixties and seventies
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|70 pages
Situating the Action TV Series
chapter 1|19 pages
The Business of Action
chapter 2|21 pages
‘So You're the Famous Simon Templar'
chapter 4|12 pages
‘A Lone Crusader in the Dangerous World'
part II|61 pages
Representation and Cultural Politics in the Action TV Series
chapter 6|15 pages
‘Who's the Cat that Won't Cop Out?’
part III|45 pages
Audiences Reading and Re-Reading the Action TV Series
part IV|62 pages
The Cultural Circulation of the Action TV Series