{"product_id":"beautiful-tv-1","title":"Beautiful TV","description":"\u003cp\u003eDuring its five-year run from 1997 to 2002, the popular TV show \u003ccite\u003eAlly McBeal\u003c\/cite\u003e 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, \u003ccite\u003eAlly McBeal\u003c\/cite\u003e stood out for being well-constructed, narratively complex, and stylistically rich—in short, beautiful TV.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStarting 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 \u003ccite\u003eAlly McBeal\u003c\/cite\u003e in terms of its aesthetic principles and narrative construction. He explores how \u003ccite\u003eAlly\u003c\/cite\u003e'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 \u003ccite\u003eAlly\u003c\/cite\u003e'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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy taking seriously the art and argument of \u003ccite\u003eAlly McBeal\u003c\/cite\u003e, \u003ccite\u003eBeautiful TV\u003c\/cite\u003e conclusively demonstrates that aesthetic and narrative analysis is an indispensable key for unlocking the richness of contemporary television.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Greg M. Smith","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43572764901558,"sku":"9780292777842","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0251\/4980\/0541\/files\/missing-cover_8839af54-ddff-4d4a-863a-d080ef7c04c9.jpg?v=1746711899","url":"https:\/\/combined-academic.myshopify.com\/products\/beautiful-tv-1","provider":"Combined Academic Publishers - Mare Nostrum Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}