London Met duo take on the tough guys
London Met's Bill Osgerby and Anna Gough-Yates are the editors of Action TV: Tough Guys, Smooth Operators and Foxy Chicks, a book focusing on post-1950's 'action' series television.
Casting a critical eye over the genre, the contributors give us a humorous retro-ride through the classics. At the same time, they outline how action TV's' influence extends to the present day. Or rather, how it's given rise to a generic amalgam where an interplay of genres takes place. Contemporary action series such asThe X Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer pay homage, in a knowing and ironic way, to their predecessors of the 1960's and 70's.
A collection of chapters examines the crème de la crème of both American and British action TV series, encompassing everything fromMission: Impossible to The Persuaders. Each contribution is lent weight by the authors grounding the serials they discuss within their relevant social, economic and political contexts. Plots, actors and aesthetic nuances are all considered against the background of cultural upheaval of the time.
Importantly, the book sets the scene for the 'commercial viability' argument. A debate that has raged within the entertainment industry since the very beginning of action TV.
It is a publication that can be considered as much nostalgic, postmodern celebration of 'low' culture as analytical text. In this way, London Met's Osgerby and Gough-Yates get up close and personal with hard-boiled detectives while remaining tuned into the subject's historical and modern-day cultural status.
Anna Gough-Yates leads the Media Information & Communication Subject area in DASS and teaches on the Media Studies BSc.
Bill Osgerby is Professor in Media, Culture and Communications.
American Popular Culture and Television Studies are research specialisms within the department and enquiries for post-graduate study are invited in these areas. Enquire here.
