Beautiful TV: The Art and Argument of Ally McBeal

Greg M. Smith

Published by University of Texas Press 2007

Beautiful TV

The Art and Argument of Ally McBeal

Greg M. Smith

https://doi.org/10.7560/716421

Overview
Contents

About this book

During its five-year run from 1997 to 2002, the popular TV show Ally McBeal engaged viewers in debates over what it means to be a woman or a man in the modern workplace; how romance factors into the therapeutic understanding of relationships; what value eccentricity has and how much oddity society should tolerate; and what utility fantasy has in the pragmatic world. In addition to these social concerns, however, Ally McBeal stood out for being well-constructed, narratively complex, and stylistically rich—in short, beautiful TV.

Starting from the premise that much of television today is "drop-dead gorgeous" and that TV should be studied for its formal qualities as well as its social impact, Greg M. Smith analyzes Ally McBeal in terms of its aesthetic principles and narrative construction. He explores how Ally's innovative use of music, special effects, fantasy sequences, voiceovers, and flashbacks structures a distinctive fictional universe, while it also opens up new possibilities for televisual expression. Smith also discusses the complex narrative strategies that Ally's creator David E. Kelley used to develop a long-running storyline and shows how these serial narrative practices can help us understand a wide range of prime-time TV serials.

By taking seriously the art and argument of Ally McBeal, Beautiful TV conclusively demonstrates that aesthetic and narrative analysis is an indispensable key for unlocking the richness of contemporary television.

Author / Editor information

Greg M. Smith is Associate Professor in the Moving Images Studies Program of the Department of Communication at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction: Why Ally? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Aesthetics
1. Practical Music, Personal Fantasy: Creating a Community of Song in Ally McBeal Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
2. Getting into Ally’s Head: Special Effects, Imagination, and the Voice of Doubt Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	47
Narration and Argument
3. Redeeming Ally: Seriality and the Character Network Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
4. “Is It Possible to Love Somebody Only Two Days?”: Guest Stars and Eccentricity Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	145
5. Victim of Love: Ally McBeal and the Politics of Protection Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
Afterword Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	193
Episode List Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	201
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	205
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	253
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	267

Language: English
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 285

eBook

Published: March 6, 2009
ISBN: 9780292795082