Evolution on British Television and Radio: Transmissions and Transmutations (Palgrave Studies in Science and Popular Culture)

✍ Scribed by Alexander Hall

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2021
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 292
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book charts the history of how biological evolution has been depicted on British television and radio, from the first radio broadcast on evolution in 1925 through to the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species in 2009. Going beyond science documentaries, the chapters deal with a broad range of broadcasting content to explore evolutionary themes in radio dramas, educational content, and science fiction shows like Doctor Who. The book makes the case that the dominant use in science broadcasting of the ‘evolutionary epic’, a narrative based on a progressive vision of scientific endeavour, is part of the wider development of a standardised way of speaking about science in society during the 20th century. In covering the diverse range of approaches to depicting evolution used in British productions, the book demonstrates how their success had a global influence on the genres and formats of science broadcasting used today.

✦ Table of Contents

Preface
Contents
Abbreviations
List of Figures
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Introduction
The Evolutionary Epic and Progressive Narratives in Science
Synthetic Narratives in the History of Biology
Media Histories and Studies of Science
Humanist Blockbusters
Approaches to Studying Media
Surveying British Broadcasting on Evolution
Summary of the Argument
References
Chapter 2: Situating the Story: The Early Years of Evolution on the Wireless
The Stream of Life
Controlling the Content, While Developing the Format(s)
Post-war Consolidations and Contestations
Conclusion
References
Chapter 3: Evolving Content for the Small Screen, from Radio to Early Television Formats
Expanding the Cast
Constructing an Official Institutional Position on Evolution
Evolution on the Small Screen
Conclusion
References
Chapter 4: The Most Malleable of Minds: Evolution in Educational Broadcasting
Religious Contestation of Early Educational Radio on Evolution
A Short History of BBC Educational Broadcasting
Educating the Grown-Ups
Televised Educational Output
Evolution on Adult Education Television
The BBC and the Open University
Conclusion
References
Chapter 5: Imagining Evolution: Drama and Science Fiction
Evolutionary Themes in Early Radio Dramas
Orwell, Darwin and the Dramatisation of the Past
Wells, Ethics and Dystopian Futures
Evolutionary Themes in British Science Fiction Television
Kneale and Literary British Science Fiction
Newman and the Rise of the Serial
Pedler and Techno-Scientific Anxieties
Counterculture, Doom and Declensionism
Conclusion
References
Chapter 6: Humanist Blockbusters: Depicting the Evolutionary Epic on Television
The Ascent of Man
Producing Ascent
A Popular Success, the Reception of Ascent
Other Popular Depictions of Evolution in the 1970s
Nigel Calder’s The Life Game
The Ascent of Man’s Influence on Metanarratives of Science
Sledgehammers and Humanist Blockbusters, from Ascent to Life on Earth
Conclusion: The Humanist Blockbuster Goes Global
References
Chapter 7: Creationism and Non-Darwinian Ideology in British Broadcasting
Limited Airtime for Fundamentalists and Anti-evolutionists
Non-Darwinian and Post-Darwinian Evolutionary Ideas
Reporting on US Affairs or Creating Creationists? Creationism at the BBC
Religious Metaphors on Science Broadcasts
Conclusion
References
Chapter 8: Remembering or Deifying? The Darwin Anniversaries of 1959 and 2009
The Darwin Sesquicentennial Celebrations 1958–1959
The Darwin Centenary on Radio and Television
Refining the Mythic Narrative of Darwin’s Life and Influence
Broadcasting the 2009 Darwin Anniversary, a Reflective Coda
References
Index