Transnational Television Drama

Transnational Television Drama

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Transnational Television Drama Special Relations and Mutual Influence between the US and UK Elke Weissmann Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK

Elke Weissmann 2012 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2012 978-0-230-29775-3 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2012 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-33412-4 ISBN 978-1-137-28394-8 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9781137283948 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12

Contents List of Figures Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations and Acronyms vi vii ix Introduction 1 1 US and UK Television, 1970 to 2010 15 2 National Difference and Transnational Assimilation 39 3 Transnational Aesthetic Influences and Performance 64 4 The Development of a New Genre 95 5 Transnational Audiences of Forensic Science Drama 117 6 The National in International Co-Productions 140 7 National Fantasies of American Quality Drama 164 Conclusions and Outlook 186 Notes 193 Bibliography 195 Index 216 v

Figures 2.1 Dynasty publicity photo from Season 3: the simple background accentuating the designer clothes 50 3.1 Upstairs, Downstairs, Facing Fearful Odds, Season 4, Episode 12: the establishing shot constantly returns the audience into a theatrical auditorium space 73 3.2 Visual spectacle over visibility: the morgue in the first episode of the first season of Life on Mars 84 3.3 John Simm as Sam Tyler looks surprised in Life on Mars (Episode 1, Season 1) 88 3.4 John Simm looks confused and annoyed in Life on Mars (Episode 1, Season 1) 88 3.5 Jason O Mara as Sam Tyler looks surprised in the US version of Life on Mars (Episode 1: Out Here in the Fields, Season 1) 89 3.6 Jason O Mara looks puzzled in the US version of Life on Mars (Episode 1: Out Here in the Fields, Season 1) 89 vi

Acknowledgements This book synthesizes research conducted as a doctoral student, postdoctoral researcher and lecturer. The years have seen me move from the north of the British Isles to the south and back again, and have seen me return to my theoretical origin of media studies via a stint in screen studies and some wonderful trips into broadcast history, and US cities and archives. These theoretical influences have clearly left their mark, and I hope have made this book a rich and multi-disciplinary study of the relationship between UK and US television drama. My thanks are then due in many countries and to many people: David Morgan who has accompanied me on these travels and has been my most trusted proofreader; my PhD supervisors Christine Geraghty and Karen Boyle whose support and own work have been invaluable and truly inspirational; Jonathan Bignell and Simone Knox for working on the same project and whose advice and support I can still rely on; Stefan Weiler for giving me his time to explain how to write essays (see what you ve done!); Kim Akass and Janet McCabe for their excellent editorship and bearing with me; Helen Thornham for the most productive and exciting working relationship; David Hesmondhalgh for his enthusiasm for discussing the cultural industries; and all the other wonderful academics who have influenced this book throughout the years, in particular Michele Hilmes, Jeffrey Miller, Paul Rixon, Jean Chalaby, Andrea Esser, Lothar Mikos, Manuel Jose Damasio, Robin Nelson, Roberta Pearson, Ruxandra Trandafoiu, Stéphanie Genz and Cathy Johnson (the list could be endless). Thanks to the wonderful archives and the even more wonderful archivists at the BBC Archives in Cavesham, the British Film Institute, the British Library (both in London), the Mitchell Library Glasgow, the National Public Broadcasting Archives at the University of Maryland, the Archives of the University of California, Los Angeles, and The Paley Center for Media, Los Angeles. Thanks also to the two excellent editors at Palgrave Macmillan, Felicity Plester and Catherine Mitchell, as well as the peer reviewer for their useful feedback. My gratitude also goes to those who have provided the funds to facilitate my studies: Glasgow vii

viii Acknowledgements University, which supported my PhD, the AHRC, which funded the postdoctoral position at the University of Reading, and Edge Hill University, which financed conferences and a sabbatical, which allowed me to complete this book. The book is partially an outcome of the AHRC funded project British Television Drama and Acquired US Programmes, 1970 2000.

Abbreviations and Acronyms A&E Arts & Entertainment ABC American Broadcasting Company ABC Weekend Television Associated British Corporation Weekend Television AMC American Movie Classics ARD Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland BARB Broadcasters Audience Research Board BBC British Broadcasting Corporation BFI British Film Institute BSkyB British Sky Broadcasting Group CBC Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CBS Columbia Broadcasting System CNN Cable News Network CW CBS and Warner Brothers Television Network DR Danmarks Radio DTT Digital terrestrial television DVD Digital versatile disc DVR Digital video recorder E4 Entertainment 4 (part of Channel 4) Fin-Syn The Financial and Syndication Rules HBO Home Box Office IMDb Internet Movie Database ITC Incorporated Television Corporation ITV Independent Television MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer MTM Mary Tyler Moore MTV Music Television NATPE National Association of Television Program Executives NBC National Broadcasting Company NET National Educational Television NPBA National Public Broadcasting Archives ix

x List of Abbreviations and Acronyms PBS RCA TF1 VCR WB Public Broadcasting Service Radio Corporation of America Télévision Français Video cassette recorder Warner Brothers Television Network