Contents Update British Science Fiction Film and Television

British Science Fiction Film and Television: Critical Essays

Edited by Tobias Hochscherf and James Leggott
Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III

Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-4621-6
EBook ISBN: 978-0-7864-8483-6
notes, bibliography, index
237pp. softcover 2011
Price: $35.00

About the Book
Written by international experts from a range of disciplines, these essays examine the uniquely British contribution to science fiction film and television. Viewing British SF as a cultural phenomenon that challenges straightforward definitions of genre, nationhood, authorship and media, the editors provide a conceptual introduction placing the essays within their critical context. Essay topics include Hammer science fiction films, the various incarnations of Doctor Who, Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, and such 21st-century productions as 28 Days Later and Torchwood.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: British Science Fiction Beyond the TARDIS
TOBIAS HOCHSCHERF and JAMES LEGGOTT 1

1. H.G. Wells and Science Fiction Cinema
JAMES CHAPMAN 11
2. Aftermaths: Post-Apocalyptic Imagery
CHRISTIAN HOFFSTADT and DOMINIK SCHREY 28
3. The BBC Versus “Science Fiction”: The Collision of Transnational Genre and National Identity in Television of the Early 1950s
DEREK JOHNSTON 40
4. Hammer Horror and Science Fiction
DAVID SIMMONS 50
5. Robert Fuest and The Final Programme: Science Fiction and the Question of Style
MICHAEL DU PLESSIS 60
6. “Anything Can Happen in the Next Half-Hour”: Gerry Anderson’s Transnational Science Fiction
JONATHAN BIGNELL 73
7. Tracking UFO: Format, Text and Context
PETER HUTCHINGS 85
8. A Clockwork Orange, Exploitation and the Art Film
I.Q. HUNTER 96
9. Visions of an English Dystopia: History, Technology and the Rural Landscape in The Tripods
LINCOLN GERAGHTY 104
10. The Future of History in Dennis Potter’s Cold Lazarus
CHRISTINE SPRENGLER 117
11. Expatriate! Expatriate! Doctor Who: The Movie and Commercial Negotiation of a Multiple Text
PETER WRIGHT 128
12. Invasion of the Brit-Snatchers: National Identity in Contemporary Science Fiction Cinema
AIDAN POWER 143
13. A Cosy Catastrophe: Genre, National Cinema, and Fan Responses to 28 Days Later
BRIGID CHERRY 156
14. Desiring the Doctor: Identity, Gender and Genre in Online Fandom
REBECCA WILLIAMS 167
15. Invaders from Space, Time Travel and Omnisexuality: The Multi-Layered Narrative of Torchwood
LEE BARRON 178

Chapter Notes 193
Select Bibliography 213
About the Contributors 217
Index 221

About the Author
Tobias Hochscherf is a professor of audio-visual media at University of Applied Sciences in Kiel, Germany. His research on European film and television culture has been widely published.
James Leggott is a senior lecturer in film and television studies at Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. He has published on various aspects of British film and television culture.
Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He lives in Greenville.
C.W. Sullivan III is a professor of arts and sciences at East Carolina University and a full member of the Welsh Academy. He is the author of numerous books and the on-line journal Celtic Cultural Studies.