Subtitled, }Contemporary American Television & Beyond{ Dealing primarily with the post-1996 era shaped by digital technologies and defined by consumer choice and brand marketing, this book brings together leading scholars, established journalists and experienced broadcasters working in the field of contemporary television to debate what we mean by quality TV. Contributors ix Acknowledgements xv Preface Robert J. Thompson xvii Introduction: Debating Quality Janet McCabe and Kim Akass 1 'Quality TV' On Show Karen Fricker 13 Part 1: Defining Quality: Critical Judgements and Debate 17 1 Is Quality Television Any Good? Generic Distinctions, Evaluations and the Troubling Matter of Critical Judgement Sarah Cardwell 19 2 Quality TV: A US TV Critic's Perspective David Bianculli 35 3 Quality TV Drama: Estimations and Influences Through Time and Space Robin Nelson 38 4 As Seen on TV: Women's Rights and Quality Television Ashley Sayeau 52 5 Sex, Swearing and Respectability: Courting Controversy, HBO's Original Programming and Producing Quality TV Janet McCabe and Kim Akass 62 Part 2: Defining Quality: Industry, Policy and Competitive Markets 77 6 Quality Control: The Daily Show, the Peabody and Brand Discipline Jimmie L. Reeves, Mark C. Rogers and Michael M. Epstein 79 7 Inside American Television Drama: Quality is Not What is Produced, But What it Produces Peter Dunne 98 8 Quality US TV: A Buyer's Perspective Dermot Horan 111 9 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Quality, the Fifth Channel and 'America's Finest' Ian Goode 118 10 The Problem of Quality Television: Television Schedules, Audience Demographics and Cultural Policyin New Zealand Geoff Lealand 129 Part 3: Defining Quality: Aesthetics, Form, Content 143 11 HBO and the Concept of Quality TV Jane Feuer 145 12 Seeing and Knowing: Reflexivity and Quality Jonathan Bignell 158 13 Quality and Creativity in TV: The Work of Television Storytellers M e Messenger Davies 171 14 Mark Lawson Talks to David Chase Mark Lawson 185 15 Writing Music for Quality TV: An Interview with W.G. 'Snuffy' Walden Peter Kaye 221 16 Read Any Good Television Lately? Television Companion Books and Quality TV David Lavery 228 Afterthoughts: Defining Quality: Into the Future 237 17 Lost in Transition: From Post-Network to Post-Television Roberta Pearson 239 TV and Film Guide 257 Notes 265 Bibliography 271 Index 287