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Complex TVMain MenuIntroductionVideos for IntroductionComplexity in ContextBeginningsVideos for Chapter 2AuthorshipCharactersComprehensionEvaluationSerial MelodramaTransmedia StorytellingEndsVideo GalleryTable of ContentsJason Mittell06e96b1b57c0e09d70492af49d984ee2f68945deNew York University Press
Orienting Paratexts
12015-03-15T11:35:57-07:00Jason Mittell06e96b1b57c0e09d70492af49d984ee2f68945de13508structured_gallery1303722015-03-18T12:14:30-07:00Jason Mittell06e96b1b57c0e09d70492af49d984ee2f68945deAlong with shifts in the television industry and technologies, viewer practices have adapted to the digital era with new developments in how people consume narrative television. This chapter explores the range of paratexts that have emerged to help viewers make sense of complex television’s temporality, characters, plot, and spatial orientation, spanning a wide range of programs from St. Elsewhere to Game of Thrones. Through a detailed account of the fan wiki Lostpedia, I explore the complexity of how people watch television and foreground notions of forensic fandom and drillability as modes of television spectatorship.
This chapter refers to many online examples of orienting paratexts. As of March 2015, these are some of the active links to such sites: