Watching Television Audiences offers a comprehensive introduction to the
current state of research into TV audiences. Written by a leading
scholar in the field, it surveys work done on a variety of genres and
programmes, including science fiction from Dr. Who through Star Trek to
the X-files, sitcoms, cop shows, cartoons, news, documentary and many
others. It explores concepts of audience research from the theory of an
implied audience to active audience readings, and examines how scholars
are now seeking to synthesis the two areas in a way which will
constitute a 'third generation' of audience studies. Above all, it
provides students and academics not only with an understanding of the
theory but also of the different methodologies used to research
different types of audience.