Reading between Designs : Visual Imagery and the Generation of Meaning in The Avengers, The Prisoner, and Doctor Who

Rating:
Summary: Cult TV Goes to University
Review: So this is what happens to people who watched a lot of TV when they were young, then went on to become professional students (humanities professors, in other words). They deconstruct their favorite TV shows. Well, okay, that works for me.

In Reading Between Designs, Britton and Barker examine the set designs and costumes in The Avengers, The Prisoner, and Doctor Who. They discuss the changing look of the Avengers over the run of the show, especially the costumes of Steed. In the first few seasons, when the show was only seen in Great Britain, Steed was expensively attired, but within the norms of his class. Later on, he became not only a caricature of upper class snobbery, but a fop as well.

The Prisoner provides a wealth of possibilities for analysis with its contrived sets, carnival-like costumes, and the fact that no one really knows what it was all about. Never having watched Doctor Who, I skipped the part about it, but fans will surely enjoy the discussions of the designs of sets, gadgets, costumes, and characters.

The authors have a very clear and readable style, without the jargon and psycho-babble one might expect in an academic text of this kind. They even acknowledge the annoying habit many of their colleagues have of talking about "reading" television or film. With plenty of black-and-white photos to back up their theories and observations, this is quite an enjoyable book.