Space and Time

Essays in this work examine treatments of history in science fiction and fantasy television programs from a variety of disciplinary and methodological perspectives. Some essays approach science fiction and fantasy television as primary evidence, demonstrating how such programs consciously or unconsciously elucidate persistent concerns and enduring ideals of a past era and place. Other essays study television as secondary evidence, investigating how popular media construct and communicate narratives about past events.

David C. Wright, Jr., is an associate professor and chair of the Department of History and Government at Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania.
Allan W. Austin is a history professor at Misericordia University. He is also a book review editor for Journal of American Ethnic History.

Edited by David C. Wright, Jr. and Allan W. Austin
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 231
Bibliographic Info: bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3664-4
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5634-5
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction: Viewing the Past through Science Fiction and Fantasy Television

DAVID C. WRIGHT, JR., AND ALLAN W. AUSTIN      1

1. Reflections of a Nation’s Angst; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Twilight Zone

NOVOTNY LAWRENCE      9

2. Beneath the Surface: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea as Cold War Science Fiction

RANDALL CLARK      29

3. Looking Glass War: The Topsy-Turvy World of The Prisoner

BRYAN E. VIZZINI      43

4. The Limits of Star Trek’s Final Frontier: “The Omega Glory” and 1960s American Liberalism

ALLAN W. AUSTIN      61

5. Lost in Translation: Autonomy, Agency, and Cybernetic Anxiety from Apollo to The Six Million Dollar Man

DARYL LEE      82

6. It’s About Tempus: Greece and Rome in “Classic” Doctor Who

ANTONY KEEN      100

7. Constructing a Grand Historical Narrative: Struggles through Time on Highlander: The Series

DAVID C. WRIGHT, JR.      116

8. The Future as Past Perfect: Appropriation of History in the Star Trek Series

JUDITH LANCIONI      131

9. Too Close for Comfort? Exploring the Construction of Near Future Historical Narratives in Science Fiction Television

KORCAIGHE P. HALE      156

10. “The Future Is the Past”: Music and History in Firefly

KENDRA PRESTON LEONARD      174

11. The Battle for History in Battlestar Galactica

JANICE LIEDL      189

Suggested Readings in Science Fiction and Fantasy Television

DAVID C. WRIGHT, JR.      209

Contributors      215

Index      219