Greatest Cult Television Shows of All Time - by Christopher J Olson & Carrielynn D Reinhard (Hardcover)

About the Book

Reaching back to the beginnings of television, The Greatest Cult Television Shows offers readers a fun and accessible look at the 100 most significant cult television series of all time, compiled in a single resource that includes valuable information on the shows and their creators.

Book Synopsis

Reaching back to the beginnings of television, The Greatest Cult Television Shows offers readers a fun and accessible look at the 100 most significant cult television series of all time, compiled in a single resource that includes valuable information on the shows and their creators.

Review Quotes

[Olson and Reinhard] showcase what they consider the 100 most important cult television series in this fun and informative survey. They keep the proceedings--arranged alphabetically--light and lively, with a synopsis, production history, and chatty commentary for each show. Whether a Hollywood production, British comedy, or an animated series, shows can qualify for cult status if, the authors note, they are "offbeat or edgy, drawing a niche audience in a way that mainstream never did." Avid fan-bases keep their favorite shows circulating long after the original run ends, as with The Twilight Zone ("the show marked the true emergence of science fiction as allegory on TV," 1959-1964), The Avengers (1961-1969), Doctor Who (1963-present) Lost in Space (1965-1968), the original Star Trek (1966-1969), Baywatch ("a winning combination of playful sexiness, gripping melodrama, and captivating mysteries," 1989-2001), The Ren and Stimpy Show (1991-1996), and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). As Olson and Reinhard write, "Mainstream status comes and go, but cult lasts forever." This thought-provoking and humorous tribute to cult television's originality and experiments will delight TV geeks of all kinds.

Olson and Reinhard admit that their 100 selections of the greatest cult television shows is a subjective list, in part because of the malleability of the term cult. This volume compiles series that never found a wide audience (Freaks and Geeks), ended too soon (Sports Night), or possibly ran for too long (The X-Files). What connects them is the passion of their fan base, which kept the shows alive in their followers' hearts and, occasionally, on the air owing to letter-writing campaigns. The authors present an alphabetic list (Absolutely Fabulous to The Young Ones) of programs, with each entry offering a brief synopsis and information on the cast and crew and production history, as well as commentary and a useful list of similar shows. Even if readers disagree with the authors picking Saved by the Bell and not Firefly or Pushing Daisies, Olson and Reinhard explain their choices, and specific episode references and quotes demonstrate an encyclopedic knowledge of the topic.

What does it take to be a hit TV series? The recipe is simple: Big ratings, great reviews and a spree of nominations and wins come award season. But what does it take to be a cult favourite? What does it take to seer into the hearts and minds of viewers for a time well beyond a show's run? The answer is less concrete and rather obscure, although you know it when you see the legions of devoted fans a cult TV series amasses and continues to amass, often decades after the last episode has hit the screens. Hit TV shows come and go, but cult favourites are for all time and that's what ... The Greatest Cult Television Shows of All Time explores.... [This] almanac lists some of the most iconic and unforgettable TV shows ever made.

From The Twilight Zone to Sense8, and from Adventure Time to The Young Ones, The Greatest Cult Television Shows of All Time ranges across the times, types, and transgressions of cult TV. Christopher Olson and CarrieLynn Reinhard's choices will no doubt spark plenty of fan responses, but with its focus on production history and smart, succinct commentary - as well as usefully examining the legacy of cult shows - this book expertly energizes debates surrounding the value of cult television.

Provocative and insightful, The Greatest Cult Television Shows of All Time presents a comprehensive and thoughtful list of the best of Cult TV. Crossing genre and national boundaries as well as covering television from the 1960s to the present, this book offers a fresh approach to Cult TV and will reinvigorate our understanding of these much-love series, their creators and, most importantly, their fans. It is a must-have for the cult-TV fan.

Starting with a clear definition of what they describe as "cult television," Olson and Reinhard provide detailed listings and commentary of a variety of television shows celebrated by fans. This book provides a thorough reference guide and an opportunity to revisit beloved series that helped changed the way viewers engaged with television. A fun read, with interesting background and analysis.

The Greatest Cult Television Shows of All Time! Really? That's quite a challenge, but this book does exactly what one would want from such a collection, and that includes starting conversations and debates about the series discussed and not discussed. With a mix of old classics and fascinating surprises, it not only covers key touchstones but also provides new ideas and new programs for our consideration. It is particularly nice to see the collection move beyond the usual fantasy genres. So, turn off the television; silence the phone; and settle back for an engaging read!

About the Author

Christopher J. Olson is pursuing his PhD in Media, Cinema, and Digital Studies at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. Previously, he worked as an Adjunct Professor at Dominican University in River Forest, IL, where he taught classes on masculinity and interracial communication. He is the co-author of Possessed Women, Haunted States: Cultural Tensions in Exorcism Cinema (Lexington, 2016) and co-editor of Making Sense of Cinema: Empirical Studies into Film Spectators and Spectatorship (Bloomsbury, 2016) and Heroes, Heroines, and Everything in Between: Challenging Gender and Sexuality Stereotypes in Children's Entertainment Media. Olson is also the author of 100 Greatest Cult Films (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).
CarrieLynn D. Reinhard is an Associate Professor in Communication Arts and Sciences at Dominican University near Chicago, Illinois. She co-created The Pop Culture Lens podcast and helped found the Professional Wrestling Studies Association. Reinhard is the co-author of Possessed Women, Haunted States: Cultural Tensions in Exorcism Cinema (with Christopher Olson) and author of Fractured Fandoms: Contentious Communication in Fan Communities (Lexington, 2016)