Theaction television genre is a style of film that emerged in the 1960s. As with theaction film genre, the action television is at term applied flexibly to present itself in conjunction with various tropes of multiple other genre narratives. This is showcased in early examples of the genre such asStarsky & Hutch (1975–1979) which featured regular sequences of car chases, shoot-outs, explosions, fights and scenes of urban pursuit. The style attaches itself to various other styles of film such as fantasy and horror, withBuffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) and 21st century military themed espionage shows like24 (2001–2010, 2014) andNCIS.
Unlike the film genre, the action genre for television was described by academicYvonne Tasker as both was "largelyuntheorised" and understudied in media academia which she suggested was due to thelow cultural status of early television works who developed the style.
AcademicYvonne Tasker described action as a broad television genre was "largelyuntheorised" in comparison to other television formats more distinct to television such as thesoap opera,talk shows, andsitcoms.[1][2] Studies such asAction TV: Tough-Guys, Smooth Operators and Foxy Chicks (2001) by Bill Osgerby and Anna Gough-Yates did not focus on the historical or formal features of genre.[1]
As with theaction film, the action television genre is used flexibly to present itself in conjunction with various tropes of multiple other genres such asThe Six Million Dollar Man (1973–1978) which had primarilyscience fiction andespionage elements andCharlie's Angels (1976–1981) which combined action with crime and investigation narratives.[3] Action plays an important element infantasy television genres with widely series such asBuffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) andGame of Thrones (2011–2019) which exemplify fantasy with strong horror and action elements.[2]
The serial format of television, involving recurring characters in discrete episodes, began in the United States in the 1950s.[4] During the late 1950s and early 1960s American Television Networks such asNBC,CBS andABC received greater control of their schedules allowing for television producers to earn greater profits allowing them to work with companies to develop continuous repeatable prime-time programs.[5]
Action-oriented genres such as theWestern and crime series thrived within 1950s television.[3] Initially, Western television series for adult audiences appeared in 1955 with 28 different series in the genre being aired between 1958 and 1959, accounting for about 26% of network prime-time television. The television Western lost its popularity around the 1962–63 season, and were replaced with various new styles of shows likeAlfred Hitchcock Presents (1959–1965),The Twilight Zone (1959–1965) and contemporary crime television such asThe Untouchables (1959–1963).[6]Quinn Martin, who worked onThe Untouchables for its first two seasons formed his own production companyQM Productions. The company developed numerous similar series from the 1960s to the mid-1970s that established conventions of action television such as rugged realism and outdoor location shoots and night-time shooting, instead of just darkening footage, which was the common procedure at the time.[7]
Action television programs emerged more distinctly in the 1960s.[3] For decades, action was a prominent feature ofcrime television appearing as early asHawaii Five-O (1968–1980) and remained a key part of the genre for decades.[8] Tasker described the genre as becoming prominent withStarsky & Hutch (1975–1979) through regular sequences of car chases, shoot-outs, explosions, fights and scenes of urban pursuit. While previous television works such asThe Streets of San Francisco (1972–1977) andThe Rockford Files (1974–1980) featured narratives of police officers and car chase stunt work,Starsky & Hutch involved several iconographic action images such as cars chases, gun fights, female bodies on display and physical violence as a more constant feature of individual episodes in the series.[9]
Action and adventure television series that Tasker described as "television staples" throughout the 1970s and 1980s includedThe Six Million Dollar Man,Charlie's Angels andThe A-Team (1983–1987).[3] By the 1980s, the realist style of action television has given way to a new emphasis on image and style that was ushered in partially from shifts in social, economic and politics in the United States with Osgerby, Gough-Yates and Wells writing that this was most exmpleified withMiami Vice (1984–1989) with its constant camera movements, unnatural color sachems and mood music.[10] BothMiami Vice andMagnum P.I. (1980–1988), another action oriented crime series, would achieve success in the 1980s.[11]
Action was less prominent as a feature of crime series through the 1990s, being replaced with shows like dramas and procedurals likeLaw & Order,NYPD Blue, andHomicide, which had conventions with a greater emphasis on dialogue and debate over contemporary issues related to crime and policing.[12] Action also began to play an important element infantasy television genres with widely watched series such asBuffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003).[2] These television productions were in response to the popularity of films likeTerminator 2: Judgement Day and film series likeAlien featured which featured female characters such asSarah Connor andEllen Ripley.[13] These series began with characters and series such asXena inXena: Warrior Princess (1995–2001),Buffy Summers inBuffy the Vampire Slayer and several others that would emerge in their wake such asAlias (2001–2006),La Femme Nikita (1997–2001),Dark Angel (2000–2002), andWitchblade (2001–2002).[14]
The twenty-first century has seen action taking on a greater prominence once more in espionage and military-themed series including24 (2001–2010, 2014) andNCIS and its even more action-oriented spin-off withNCIS: Los Angeles (2009–2023).[11]
Gender is a topic discussed regularly by scholars of action and itshybrid genres for television.[1] Lisa Purse in her bookContemporary Action Cinema (2011) commented that the female action heroes from the late 1990s and early 2000s featured physically empowered women styled after cartoon or comic strips which made them overtly-sexualized, a trend that would continue inaction films in the 2000s.[14]
Tasker described action television as having alow cultural status.[15] She said the lack of academic study of action television was due to the cultural status of shows that were important to the genre such asStarsky & Hutch orMiami Vice.[16]
Elements of action films, such as the intensely paced editing of action films in the 1990s Hollywood productions such as those byMichael Bay, had previously been associated with a style shown in television series likeMiami Vice.[17]