The Church on British television : from the coronation to "Coronation Street"

This book will be the first systematic and comprehensive text to analyze the many and contrasting appearances of the Church of England on television. It covers a range of genres and programs including crime drama, science fiction, comedy, including the specific genre of ‘ecclesiastical comedy’, zombie horror and non-fiction broadcasting. Readers interested in church and political history, popular culture, television and broadcasting history, and the social history of modern Britain will find this to be a lively and timely book. Programs that year after year sit enshrined as national favourites (for example __Dad’s Army__ and __Midsomer Murders__) foreground the Church. From the Queen’s Christmas Message to royal weddings and Coronation Street, the clergy and services of England’s national church abound in television. This book offers detailed analysis of landmark examples of small screen output and raises questions relating to the storytelling strategies of program makers, the way the established Church is delineated, and the transformation over decades of congregations into audiences. Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Introduction (Marcus Harmes, Meredith Harmes, Barbara Harmes)....Pages 1-13 Front Matter ....Pages 15-15 Being on Television Part One: Broadcasting the Institution (Marcus Harmes, Meredith Harmes, Barbara Harmes)....Pages 17-36 Being on Television Part Two: Broadcasting the Individual (Marcus Harmes, Meredith Harmes, Barbara Harmes)....Pages 37-63 Policy and Possibilities Part One: The Commercial Channel (Marcus Harmes, Meredith Harmes, Barbara Harmes)....Pages 65-76 Policy and Possibilities Part Two: The Third Channel and Beyond (Marcus Harmes, Meredith Harmes, Barbara Harmes)....Pages 77-106 Front Matter ....Pages 107-107 Comedy and Blasphemy (Marcus Harmes, Meredith Harmes, Barbara Harmes)....Pages 109-133 ‘Cricket, Steam Engines and a Complete Ignorance of Theology’: The Comedy of Bishops’ Appointments (Marcus Harmes, Meredith Harmes, Barbara Harmes)....Pages 135-158 The World in Peril: The Church and Science Fiction (Marcus Harmes, Meredith Harmes, Barbara Harmes)....Pages 159-179 The Church and Its Communities: Upper, Middle and Lower Class (Marcus Harmes, Meredith Harmes, Barbara Harmes)....Pages 181-194 The Church and Its Moral Communities: Conflict and Crime (Marcus Harmes, Meredith Harmes, Barbara Harmes)....Pages 195-209 The Church and Its Communities: The Church Domestic (Marcus Harmes, Meredith Harmes, Barbara Harmes)....Pages 211-231 Conclusions: Church, State and Life (Marcus Harmes, Meredith Harmes, Barbara Harmes)....Pages 233-244 Back Matter ....Pages 245-248