Quite a while ago, almost two years now, I wrote a chapter on the audience’s reaction to the Americanization of a British programme in a book edited by Rebecca Williams (University of Glamorgan).
I am glad to announce that this book, entitled Torchwood Declassified: Investigating Mainstream Cult Television, has recently be released. It was published by I.B. Tauris.
To briefly quote the publisher’s description of this excellent edited collection, whose contributors include world-renowned scholars Matt Hills, Stacey Abbott and Rebecca Williams:
‘Focusing in particular on how the meanings and understandings of cult television have shifted and become subject to technological, industry and marketing changes in recent years, Torchwood Declassified explores aspects of the show including its aesthetics and branding, its use of tropes from the horror genre, vast tie-in merchandise, status as a spin-off, the nature of a celebrity that is both cult and mainstream, as well as the use of sound and music, and Torchwood’s connection to place and location.’As for my contribution, entitled ‘Cult Yet? The “Miracle” of Internationalization?’, it is the third chapter in the book, and belongs to ‘Section 1: Media Institutions, Branding & Multi-Platforming’.
A brief summary of the latter could be:
The sci-fi series Torchwood started on BBC3 as a small spin-off from an immensely successful programme, Doctor Who. After discussing Torchwood’s prior positioning in relation to the cult and mainstream labels, this chapter analyses the unexpectedly violent reaction of Torchwood’s fans with regards to the use of American cult Television writers on the programme’s latest series, and how the latter impacted on Torchwood’s cult and mainstream status. By addressing the viewers’ negative response towards Miracle Day, this paper exposes the opposite consequences which resulted from the latter. It finally outlines the impermanency of this situation, and the long term repercussions which may arise from it.
For all those interested is this brilliant academic collective work, it can be found at Amazon.COM, Amazon.co.UK and Amazon.FR. More information can also be found at the Publisher’s page.
