03709nam 2200577 a 450 991077810890332120230721031757.00-292-79508-410.7560/716421(CKB)1000000000479662(OCoLC)646733970(CaPaEBR)ebrary10245780(SSID)ssj0000109485(PQKBManifestationID)11135768(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000109485(PQKBWorkID)10046833(PQKB)11175708(MiAaPQ)EBC3443293(MdBmJHUP)muse2139(Au-PeEL)EBL3443293(CaPaEBR)ebr10245780(DE-B1597)587747(OCoLC)1280942788(DE-B1597)9780292795082(EXLCZ)99100000000047966220061005d2007 ub 0engurcn|||||||||txtccrBeautiful TV[electronic resource] the art and argument of Ally McBeal /Greg M. Smith1st ed.Austin University of Texas Press20071 online resource (286 p.) Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph0-292-71642-7 Includes bibliographical references (p. [205]-266) and index.Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction: Why Ally? -- Aesthetics -- 1. Practical Music, Personal Fantasy: Creating a Community of Song in Ally McBeal -- 2. Getting into Ally’s Head: Special Effects, Imagination, and the Voice of Doubt -- Narration and Argument -- 3. Redeeming Ally: Seriality and the Character Network -- 4. “Is It Possible to Love Somebody Only Two Days?”: Guest Stars and Eccentricity -- 5. Victim of Love: Ally McBeal and the Politics of Protection -- Afterword -- Episode List -- Notes -- Bibliography -- IndexDuring its five-year run from 1997 to 2002, the popular TV show Ally McBeal engaged viewers in debates over what it means to be a woman or a man in the modern workplace; how romance factors into the therapeutic understanding of relationships; what value eccentricity has and how much oddity society should tolerate; and what utility fantasy has in the pragmatic world. In addition to these social concerns, however, Ally McBeal stood out for being well-constructed, narratively complex, and stylistically rich—in short, beautiful TV. Starting from the premise that much of television today is "drop-dead gorgeous" and that TV should be studied for its formal qualities as well as its social impact, Greg M. Smith analyzes Ally McBeal in terms of its aesthetic principles and narrative construction. He explores how Ally's innovative use of music, special effects, fantasy sequences, voiceovers, and flashbacks structures a distinctive fictional universe, while it also opens up new possibilities for televisual expression. Smith also discusses the complex narrative strategies that Ally's creator David E. Kelley used to develop a long-running storyline and shows how these serial narrative practices can help us understand a wide range of prime-time TV serials. By taking seriously the art and argument of Ally McBeal, Beautiful TV conclusively demonstrates that aesthetic and narrative analysis is an indispensable key for unlocking the richness of contemporary television.TelevisionAestheticsTelevisionAesthetics.791.45/72Smith Greg M970910MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910778108903321Beautiful TV3806330UNINA