Review #1 I very much enjoyed reading the prospectus ... - Middlebury

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Mittell present several parts of this project at conferences and ... promises to live up to the very high expectations I have come to hold for Prof. Mittell's work.
Review  #1       I  very  much  enjoyed  reading  the  prospectus  for  Jason  Mittell’s  new  book,  Complex   Television.    I  had  heard  Prof.  Mittell  present  several  parts  of  this  project  at  conferences  and   symposia  over  the  past  few  years,  and  have  been  following  his  attempts  to  combine   narratology  and  television  studies  for  the  better  part  of  a  decade.    The  proposed  book   promises  to  live  up  to  the  very  high  expectations  I  have  come  to  hold  for  Prof.  Mittell’s   work.       What  is  the  main  argument  of  the  manuscript?   Complex  Television  argues  that,  contrary  to  received  wisdom  about  the  passivity  of   television  audiences  and  the  simple-­‐mindedness  of  TV  programming,  a  new  form  of   serialized  television  storytelling  has  emerged  that  is  worthy  of  recognition  as  one  of  the   narrative  arts.    Prof.  Mittell  contends  that  mainstream  television  dramas  and  comedies   loosely  referred  to  as  “quality  TV”  require  as  much  creativity  and  artistry  on  the  parts  of   their  producers,  as  much  technological  sophistication  on  the  parts  of  their  makers,  and  as   much  critical  acuity  on  the  parts  of  their  viewers  as  novels  and  films.    Furthermore,  Prof.   Mittell  argues,  television  narrative  has  developed  a  unique  array  of  storytelling  techniques   and  aesthetics  which  existing  forms  of  cinematic  and  literary  theory  and  criticism  can’t   adequately  address.    Prof.  Mittell’s  book  sets  out  to  invest  television  narrative  with  new   respect  as  a  legitimate  art  form,  to  place  its  recent  formal  innovations  in  the  context  of  the   medium’s  own  history,  to  recognize  the  sophisticated  activity  required  of  the   contemporary  viewing  audience,  and  to  develop  a  new  critical  vocabulary  for  discussing   television  based  in  cultural  studies,  narratology  and  the  historical  poetics  that  has  emerged   in  cinema  studies.         Prof.  Mittell  highlights  a  broad  range  of  formal  features  of  complex  TV  in  his  analysis  of   how  the  medium  works.    Serial  form  is  central  to  Mittell’s  argument,  and  it  frames  his   thoughts  about  beginnings  and  endings  of  series;  suspense,  surprise,  anticipation,  and   curiosity  as  aspects  of  audience  comprehension;  temporal  “gimmicks”  such  as  flashbacks,   flashforwards,  ellipses,  jumbled  chronology,  time  travel,  and  real-­‐time  storytelling;  and  the   range  of  viewers’  practices  including  puzzle-­‐solvers,  rewatchers,  and  those  who  trade  in   spoilers.    In  addition  to  serial  form,  Mittell  considers  genre  mixing  (and  the  mixing  of   gendered  appeals  that  goes  with  it);  authorial  presence  and  voice;  and  self-­‐reflexiveness  as   elements  of  complexity  in  quality  TV.    His  study  places  observations  about  all  these   features  in  the  context  of  the  history  of  technological  developments  such  as  DVDs  and  time-­‐ shifting,  changes  in  the  TV  industry,  and  the  evolution  of  serial  plots  over  the  decades  since   Dallas  and  Hill  Street  Blues  established  the  basic  conventions  of  the  “evening  soap.”    As   evidence  of  full  part  the  audience  plays  in  the  construction  and  re-­‐construction  of  complex   TV  texts,  Mittell  examines  transmedial  fan  practices  including  those  generated  by  fans   (wikis,  ret-­‐cons,  and  self-­‐designed  games)  and  those  participated  in  or  consumed  by  fans   (video  games,  novelizations,  websites,  online  video,  and  alternate  reality  games).      Prof.   Mittell  promises  to  offer  observations  on  why  complex  TV  has  blossomed  so  fully  in  the  

first  decade  of  the  twentieth  century,  and  his  book  proposal  demonstrates  that  he  is  a   scholar  uniquely  positioned  to  put  forth  such  an  argument.         2.    Significance  of  the  contribution     The  proposed  book  is  significant  both  for  the  macro-­‐field  of  cinema/TV/narrative  theories   and  for  the  micro-­‐field  of  serial  television  studies.    Prof.  Mittell’s  methodology  promises  to   establish  a  new  and  easily  transferable  way  of  talking  about  complex  TV  forms  in  the   context  of  cultural  history  without  having  to  collapse  the  form  into  either  the  literary  or   filmic  genres  it  resembles.    Complex  TV  is,  as  Mittell  argues,  a  narrative  form  unto  itself,   and  Mittell’s  work  so  far  has  demonstrated  that  he  is  capable  of  sketching  out  a  language   for  talking  about  it  independently  of  film  theory  or  literary  theory.    Like  cinema  studies,  TV   studies  requires  a  deep  awareness  of  the  economic  and  technological  circumstances   driving  generic  change  in  programming;  unlike  film  studies,  TV  studies  also  requires  a   comprehensive  account  of  the  activities  of  actual  viewers.    Prof.  Mittell’s  book  will  map  out   a  method  for  talking  formally  about  TV  in  a  way  that  will  speak  to  film  theorists  and   narrative  theorists,  yes,  but  more  importantly  a  way  that  will  be  distinct  to  TV  studies.    For   the  field  of  serial  television  studies  (and  studies  of  serial  in  all  forms),  Prof.  Mittell’s  book   will  make  the  unique  contribution  of  developing  a  history  of  the  form  that  describes  its   complexities  in  terms  informed  by  narrative  theory.           In  terms  of  comparable  scholarship,  the  only  work  I  can  think  of  that  makes  a  systematic   move  toward  applying  narrative  theoretical  methods  to  the  analysis  of  serialized  television   would  be  Robert  C.  Allen’s  Speaking  of  Soap  Operas,  a  brilliant  book  from  1985  that  subjects   day-­‐time  soaps  to  a  similar  analysis  bringing  history  together  with  narratology  and   audience  analysis.    Since  Allen’s  book  no  one  has  made  the  kind  of  comprehensive  and   focused  use  of  narrative  theory  in  the  study  of  serial  TV,  so  for  those  of  us  who  are   interested  both  in  television  studies  and  in  narrative  theory,  Mittell’s  contribution  will  be   both  welcome  and  overdue.     Prof.  Mittell’s  book  also  promises  to  be  a  uniquely  significant  contribution  to  the  genre  of   academic  writing  itself,  given  his  plans  to  make  a  transmedial  object  of  the  study.    His  plan   to  begin  the  book  with  an  anchoring  chapter  on  “Discovering  Complexity,”  then  arrange  the   subsequent  chapters  as  hypertexts  that  could  be  read  in  any  order  is  brilliant.    It  lends  itself   beautifully  to  digital  reading  of  the  book,  and  even  to  the  “app”  Prof.  Mittell  envisions.    His   plan  to  post  the  manuscript  to  CommentPress  for  peer-­‐to-­‐peer  review  is  also  excellent.    In   making  these  innovations,  Prof.  Mittell  is  participating  in  the  media  that  also  inform  his   argument.    This  makes  for  an  object  lesson  in  the  relationship  between  form  and  content   that  will  closely  mirror  what  Prof.  Mittell  is  doing  in  his  analysis  of  the  structure  of  complex   TV  series.           3.    Potential  audiences    

I  agree  with  Prof.  Mittell’s  prediction  that  the  book  has  potential  to  be  a  “cross-­‐over”  as  well   as  an  important  text  for  scholars  and  students  of  television  studies.    Certainly  it  will  be  a   must-­‐read  for  anyone  writing  a  book  or  dissertation  about  television  in  the  twenty-­‐first   century,  and  would  lend  itself  beautifully  to  graduate  and  undergraduate  seminars  not  just   in  television  studies  but  also  in  narrative  theory.    Its  clear  but  flexible  organization  into   topical  chapters  will  make  it  easy  to  work  into  syllabi  either  in  part  or  in  its  totality.         More  unusually,  though,  given  its  projected  existence  as  an  e-­‐text  and  even  an  “app,”  this   book  will  appeal  to  the  vast  number  of  fans  of  serial  television  who  are  endlessly  looking   for  and  contributing  to  discussion  about  the  form  as  well  as  the  content  of  their  favorite   shows.    The  level  of  sophistication  of  the  discussions  of  media  forms  on  such  websites  as   “TV  Tropes”  suggests  that  there  is  a  wide  non-­‐academic  audience  seriously  interested  in   the  intersection  of  formal  and  cultural  questions  Prof.  Mittell’s  book  will  address.    They  will   participate,  I  am  sure  in  the  on-­‐line  discussion  of  the  manuscript,  and  the  book  itself  will   become  canonical  for  their  own  on-­‐line  forums  and  blogs.    It’s  a  book  that  readers  might   casually  pick  up  in  a  chain  bookstore,  as  well,  and  it  will  be  written  in  a  clear  and  accessible   prose  that  will  inspire  such  people  to  keep  reading.         4.    My  recommendation     I  give  my  strongest  recommendation  for  this  book  to  be  accepted  for  publication.    It  will  be   a  book  that  is  important,  but  even  more  significantly,  a  book  that  is  fun  for  scholars  and   general  readers  alike.    Prof.  Mittell’s  joy  in  his  subject  is  contagious.    I  would  be  happy  to   read  the  manuscript  for  the  press,  once  it  is  complete.         Please  convey  my  sincere  apologies  to  Prof.  Mittell  for  the  delay  in  my  sending  in  this   report.    It  in  no  way  reflects  my  enthusiasm  for  his  project.          

Review  #2     What  do  you  regard  as  the  main  argument  of  the  manuscript  [as  best  you  can  discern  in  the   absence  of  the  full  work]?       The  book  addresses  the  emergence  of  complex  narrative  structures  in  contemporary  US   television,  contextualized  in  terms  of  industrial  drivers,  new  technologies  and  audience   reception.  The  author  himself  provides  the  best  summary:  This  project  argues  that   contemporary  developments  in  television  narrative  have  led  to  the  emergence  of  a   medium-­‐specific  mode  of  storytelling,  moving  beyond  its  cinematic,  literary,  and  theatrical   origins.     Will  the  work  be  a  significant  and  unique  contribution  to  the  field?  How  does  it  compare  to   related  recent  scholarship?       Mittell  is  recognized  amongst  television  studies  scholars  as  the  leading  expert  in  the  field  of   television  narratology.    As  he  himself  says,  “The  most  central  article  from  this  project,   “Narrative  Complexity  in  Contemporary  American  Television”  (published  in  The  Velvet   Light  Trap  in  2006),  has  been  influential  to  the  field,  cited  in  dozens  of  other  works  and   taught  in  numerous  courses.  I  have  since  published  six  book  chapters,  two  journal  articles,   numerous  blog  posts,  and  over  ten  different  public  lectures  on  topics  connected   to  this  project.”    Anyone  interested  in  the  topic  knows  to  turn  to  Mittell’s  work  first.       What  do  you  think  of  the  scholarship,  argumentation,  and  style?       The  scholarship  is  impeccable  drawing  upon  industrial  and  textual  analysis,  personal   interviews,    responses  through  drawn  from  fan  websites,  chat  rooms,  published   commentary,  and  audience  surveys  which  results  in  a  reach  mix  of  evidence.    The  style  is   engaging  and  accessible.       What  audiences  do  you  envision  for  the  work?  How  teachable  is  this  book,  and  do  you  see   potential  in  it  for  course  adoption—if  so,  which  courses?       Scholars  in  the  fields  of  media,  cultural  and  television  studies  as  well  as  in  narratology   should  appreciate  this  book.  It  will  appeal  to  advanced  undergraduates,  postgraduates,  and   perhaps  non  specialist  readers  in  interested  in  contemporary  television.  I  can  envision   using  it  as  the  primary  text  for  an  advanced  undergraduate  course  on  contemporary  US   television  which  I  am  currently  teaching  since  it  covers  all  the  relevant  topics  I’d  want  to   consider  in  such  a  module  and  offers  a  wide  range  of  texts  with  which  the  students  will  be   familiar.  The  book  should  work  in  other  English  speaking  markets  and  perhaps  even   foreign  language  markets  because  of  the  ubiquity  and  popularity  of  US  television.         What  are  the  strengths  and  weaknesses  of  the  work?      

The  book’s  strengths  will  make  it  the  key  work  in  the  field.  The  only  weakness  is  one   common  to  books  that  rely  in  part  on  textual  analysis:  it’s  not  very  engaging  to  read  an   extended  analysis  of  a  text  with  which  you’re  not  personally  familiar.    This  for  me  was  the   case  with  the  Veronica  Mars  chapter.  I  would  recommend  not  having  extensive  analysis  of   any  one  particular  text  but  rather  drawing  on  several  texts  to  make  a  point.       Do  you  recommend  we  publish  this  work?       Without  question.