Each chapter investigates a major formal feature-- sound, image, time and space providing an introduction to each aspect and culminating with in-depth case studies of selected programs. The book offers full coverage of programs and programming including Friends, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Teletubbies, cartoons, music programming, documentaries, news reports, channel identities and advertising. Features peculiar to television, such as the changing dimensions of the picture ratio and the laughter track are discussed here to reveal how, and why, they contribute to the creation of a televisual aesthetic.
Written by an experienced teacher and television addict, the book is aimed at undergraduate students in media and cultural studies, but looks to change everyone's thinking about television form.