{"product_id":"before-trek-j-p-telotte-9781477335215","title":"Before Trek: Building American Science Fiction Television","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRecounts the early development of TV science fiction as it shaped how American audiences looked at television in an increasingly mediated world.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLong before \u003ci\u003eStar Trek\u003c\/i\u003e became synonymous with televised science fiction, a generation of space operas and anthology programs laid the groundwork for the genre's cultural legitimacy. With \u003ci\u003eBefore\u003c\/i\u003e Trek, J. P. Telotte reexamines the formative decades of science fiction television, the late 1940s through the mid-1960s, when both the medium and genre were defining themselves. At a moment when science fiction was often dismissed as juvenile escapism, early programs such as \u003ci\u003eCaptain Video\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSpace Patrol\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTales of Tomorrow\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eScience Fiction Theatre\u003c\/i\u003e worked to reshape audience and industry expectations, establishing the genre as a vehicle for serious storytelling.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTracing the evolution of the genre through \u003ci\u003eThe Twilight Zone\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Outer Limits\u003c\/i\u003e, and ultimately \u003ci\u003eStar Trek\u003c\/i\u003e, Telotte reveals how television and science fiction developed in tandem, each helping to articulate the technological anxieties of the postwar era. These programs offered viewers new ways of seeing: approaches to social critique, political tension, and cultural change that conventional broadcasting often could not accommodate. By situating early televised science fiction within broader debates about media, modernity, and what Guy Debord termed the \"Society of the Spectacle,\" Telotte reclaims a largely overlooked body of work and demonstrates its foundational role in shaping both contemporary television and the imaginative vocabulary of modern culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e J. P. Telotte\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1477335218\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781477335215\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Texas Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/03\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 216\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs","brand":"J. P. Telotte","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49002017161471,"sku":"9781477335215","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/before-trek-j-p-telotte-9781477335215","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}