The Persistence of Television examines more than 60 years of
television - including popular shows such as Doctor Who, Twin Peaks,
and NYPD Blue - to identify the elements that have entertained and
informed viewers from the beginning of mass broadcasting to the present
day, proposing that most television viewing is rooted in traditional
programming that is received in conventional ways. On-screen faces,
programmes and genres, and production practices drawn from British,
American and Australian television services are examined to demonstrate
how continuity persists in the face of change. There's no denying the
excitement or the value of the new, but the contributors to this book
argue that it runs in tandem with enduring aspects of the already
existing.