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Book Code: C8163
ISBN: 0-275-98163-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-98163-1
312 pages, photos
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 1/30/2004
List Price: $39.95 (UK Sterling Price: £22.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • Britton has produced a comprehensive guide to the many espionage-oriented television series that have aired in the United States from the 1960s to the present.... Offers a fascinating window into an understudied genre. The first entry in a new series on television, this work is recommended for academic libraries that support television and popular culture programs and public libraries.
    —Library Journal
    May 1, 2004
  • Britton has written the Baedeker of spy television films and series, an encyclopedic history of this popular television genre....Public libraries; comprehensive academic collections supporting coursework in the history of television.
    —Choice
    September 2004
  • [A] powerful contribution not only to Praeger's television collection, but to television analysis as a whole....Spy Television considers the history of spy shows on the screen, why they succeeded or failed, and how fact and fiction have been molded by them.
    —Internet Bookwatch/The Midwest Book Review
    October 2004
  • Spotlight on The Arts Top 10 Performing Arts Book
    —Booklist
    November 1, 2004
  • Starred Review. Here, for all television addicts, is a much-needed, long-overdue, in-depth exploration of one of the medium's more enduring genres: spy TV....All of the classic series are discussed in considerable detail, but what makes the book such a resounding success for fans of the genre is the coverage of the forgotten show or the curious fact, stuff other books miss but devotees love....Britton's broad knowledge and his commitment to packing as much detail as possible into his book, that makes Spy Television an indispensable addition to any television buff's reference shelf. If you love spy TV, this book is, well...thrilling.
    —Booklist
    April 1, 2004
  • Endorsement From Jon Heitland, author of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Book: The Behind the Scenes Story of a Television Classic: Britton has conducted an exhaustive analysis of a unique time in our cultural history--the spy craze of the 1960s and its subsequent ripple effects over the years. He's left no stone unturned in digging up not only the classic entries in this genre, but also the obscure, the forgotten, and the one-season wonders. I thought I knew every entry in this genre, but his book reminded me of many I'd forgotten, and informed me on many I had missed completely. This book is the definitive history of the spy phenomenon that was a cultural outgrowth of the Cold War.
  • Endorsement From Danny Biederman, writer/director, Hollywood SpyTek: Wesley Britton has his finger squarely on the pulse of the TV spy. A wonderfully comprehensive examination of the numerous spies who have passed through our living rooms over the decades, Britton's Spy Television covers the espionage gamut from Avengers to Wild Wild West. A must-have for anyone interested in the history of this all-important TV genre.
Description: From the early 1960s, in which television spies were used essentially as anti-Communist propaganda, through the subsequent years that both built upon and parodied this model, and finally to today's gadget-laden world of murky motives and complex global politics, spy television has served as much more than mere escapism. From the beginning, television spies opened doors for new kinds of heroes. Women quickly took center stage alongside men, and minority leads in spy programs paved the way for other kinds of roles on the small screen. For half a century, television spies have been trained professionals, reluctant heroes, housewives, businessmen, criminals, and comedians. They have by turns been glamorous, campy, reflective, sexy, and aloof. This is the first book-length treatment of one of TV's oldest and most fascinating genres. Topics include:
  • How both popular and obscure spy shows came to the screen
  • Why they succeeded or failed
  • Analyses of series both famous and obscure
  • A dissection of the ways in which fact and fiction have routinely been blurred in the genre
    Wesley Britton's comprehensive guide provides readers, from casual viewers to die-hard fans, with behind-the-scenes stories to this notable segment of television entertainment.
  • Table of Contents:
    • Acknowledgments
    • Introduction
    • Defining a Genre
    • The Roots of a Family Tree
    • Bond, Beatles, and Camp: The Men from U.N.C.L.E
    • More British than Bond: John Steed, The Avengers, and Feminist Role-Playing
    • Cold War Sports and Games: I Spy and Radical Politics
    • The Cold War and Existential Fables: Danger Man, Secret Agent, and The Prisoner
    • The Page and the Screen: The Saint and Robin Hood Spies
    • Interchangeable Parts: Missions: Impossible
    • Bond on the Prarie: From The Wild Wild West to the Secret Adventures of Jules Verne
    • Tongues in Cheek to Tongues Sticking Out: Get Smart and the Spoofing of a Genre
    • Also Rans and New Branches: Network Secret Agents from 1963-1980
    • Reagan, Le Carre, Clancy, Cynicism, and Cable: Down to Earth in the 1980s and 1990s
    • The Return of Fantasy and the Dark Nights of Spies: The X-Files, La Femme Nikita, and the New Millennium
    • Active and Inactive FILES: Alias, 24, The Agency and 21st Century Spies
    • Conclusion
    • The Past, Present, and Future of TV Espionage: Why Spies?
    • Chapter Notes
    • References
    LC Card Number: 2003053634
    LCC Class: PN1992
    Dewey Class: 791
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