Television Series as Literature

Acknowledgements
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction: Considering Television Series as Literature
	References
Part I Theory
2 “As Literature” Approaches and the Academic Canonization of Television Studies
	References
3 Toward Sphere Theory
	Theme and Setting
	Character
	Plot
	Narrative Perspective
	Style
	The Sphere’s Interdependency
	References
4 The Poetics of Screenwriting: Approaching the Teleplay from a Literary Perspective
	Introduction
	2. From the Orthodoxy of Screenwriting to a Poetics of Screenwriting
	The Teleplay as Literature
		“Two Players. Two Sides”: The Narrative of Lost’s “Pilot”
		“Heaven is a Place on Earth”: The Screenwriter as Controlling Agent in Black Mirror’s “San Junipero”
	Conclusions
	References
5 From Frenetic to Vivid: Phenomenological Reading of Immersive Television Narratives in Black Mirror and Russian Doll
	Introduction
	Seven-Eights Below: Black Mirror and Russian Doll
	Conclusion
	References
6 Simone de Beauvoir Meets Walter White: Breaking Bad as Authentic Literature
	Introduction
	Simone de Beauvoir, Literature and Existential Freedom
	Television, Information and Freedom
	Breaking Bad, Literature and Freedom
	Conclusion
	References
7 Literary Remediations of Contemporary Television Series: From The Familiar to Storytel Originals
	Introduction
	The Familiar: Remediating Televisual Complexity
	Storytel Originals—Towards Serial Simplicity?
	Conclusion: Serial Complexity and Straightforward Stories
	References
8 The Literary in Television, or Why We Should Teach TV Series in Literature Departments
	References
9 The Teleserye as Literature and Pangako Sa ‘Yo
	Introduction
	The Teleserye as Novel Performed
	The Literary Position as Decolonising the Mind
	Reading the Teleserye and Pangako Sa ‘Yo
	Conclusion
	References
Part II Practice
10 Rat Phones, Alligators, Lemon Pepper Wet: The New Absurd of Atlanta
	Introduction
	The Absurd
	Understanding Atlanta and the New Absurd
	Grand Narratives: The Sleepy Hippo and Ahmad White
	Conspiracy Theories: Alligator Man and a Rag Doll Made of Dish Cloths
	Conclusion
	References
11 Reading a Police Procedural as a Lyrical Text
	Introduction: The Art and Science of Moments
	The Case of a Boat in a Haunted Basement
	Polyvalence of Moments, Symbiosis of Modes
	References
12 Contemporary Fables in the Digital Age: A Literary Approach to Black Mirror
	Introduction: Black Mirror as a Collection of Twenty-First-Century Fables
	Actants and Events
	Structure and Possibilities
	Moralizing Lessons: The Dangers of Technological Devices
	Conclusions
	References
13 ‘University Politics’: Change and Continuity in Representations of Higher Education Between ITV’s Series Inspector Morse and Colin Dexter’s Morse Novels
	Introduction
	‘We’re Not Politicians’: Challenging the Claim That Television Robs Books of Their Politics
	‘These Dreadful Cuts’: Thatcher’s Fiscal and Education Policy, Neoliberalism in the University Sector and Associated Changes to Higher Education
	Conclusion
	References
14 Musical Paratexts: Song Lyrics in Television Series
	Introduction
	Non-diegetic: Closing Credits
	Non-diegetic: Opening Credits
	Non-diegetic: Incidental Songs
	Diegetic: Background Songs
	Diegetic: Songs Interacted with by Characters
	Conclusions
	References
15 “It’s the Beauty that Hurts the Most”: Rectify as Televisual Novel
	Introduction
	Rectify’s Literary Pacing and Meditative Tone
	Rectify’s Complex Characterization and Character-Driven Story
	Audience Engagement Distinctions Between Reading and Watching Narratives
	Conclusion
	References
16 “Draped in the American Flag, Burning”: Mad Men and the Literary Tradition
	Section I: Mad Men, the Novel
	Section II: Beyond Bakhtin: The Characterological Chronotope of Don Draper
	Section III: Do Advertising Executives Dream of Canonic Literature?
	References
17 “Read a Fucking Book!”: Reading for Redemption in Boardwalk Empire
	Introduction
	References
18 Shakespearean Sitcom: Upstart Crow, Shakespeare’s Plays and the Problem of Literature on Television
	Introduction
	Shakespeare: The Working Class Sitcom
	Televisual Literature/Literary Television
	References
Part III Postscript
19 Married at First Sight: A TV Literature Experiment
	References
Index