Includes bibliographical references (p. [214]-218) and index
Introduction : aims, scope, methods, and standpoints -- Mapping the territory, blurring the boundaries -- Distinctive product : three kinds of quality : The Sopranos, Shooting the past, Shameless -- State of play : the TV drama industry : new rules of the game -- Pushing the envelope : "edgy" TV drama, Queer as folk, Sex and the City, Carnivàle -- Techniques, technologies and cultural form -- Between global and national : 24 and Spooks, Buried and Oz -- "Quality TV" in context -- Singularity sustained : Blackpool, Casanova, State of play