TABLE OF CONTENTS -- Foreword by Reinhard Isensee 9 -- Preliminary Remarks: Kinds of Television 11 -- Thanks and Acknowledgements 14 -- P A R T O N E : O F M Y T H S & M EME S 15 -- 1. The Mythological Genre: Religious Thought in Allegorical Television 17 -- 1.1. Introduction: Scope and Outline of the Investigation 17 -- Structure of the Book 17 -- 1.2. The Mythological Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror 19 -- The Mythological Genre in Television 19 -- The Coherence of Narrative and the Use of Mythology 21 -- 1.3. Theoretical Foundation 23 -- Interdisciplinary Character 23 -- Memetics 23 -- Religion as a Natural Phenomenon 24 -- 2. Seeing Things Differently: A Memetic Approach to Culture 27 -- 2.1. From Genes to Memes 27 -- Selfish Genes, Replicators, Vehicles 27 -- Imitation 30 -- "Viruses of the Mind:" Memes as Evolving Ideas 32 -- The Selfish Phone Meme: Technological Evolution 34 -- Religion from a Memetic Perspective 35 -- 2.2. Memetics as a Way of Seeing 36 -- Theory in Literary and Cultural Studies 36 -- Authors Dead and/or Unconscious: Memetics and Post-Structuralism 38 -- Cui Bono? 39 -- PART TWO: CASE STUDIES 41 -- 3. Errand into the Darkness: Truth and Lies on The X-Files & Millennium 43 -- 3.1. Exposition: The X-Files & Millennium 43 -- 3.2. Franchise-Specific Themes 44 -- The Doors of Perception at the Frontier 44 -- Errand into the Wilderness 46 -- Errand into the Darkness 48 -- Forcing the End 49 -- What is Religious About It? 50 -- The Truth is Out There 52 -- Pseudoscience as Subject to Science 53 -- 4. Between the Darkness and the Light: Prophecy and the Self on Babylon 5 55 -- 4.1. Exposition: Babylon 5 & Crusade 55 -- 4.2. Franchise-Specific Themes 56 -- Rediscovering the Epic on Television 56 -- Who Are You & What Do You Want -- The Soul Caught in Dichotomy 58 -- Creationism and Christianity on Babylon 5 60.

The Soteriology of Sheridan 62 -- The Universe That Sings Itself 63 -- 5. "I Touch the Fire and it Freezes Me:" Soul-Searching on Buffy and Angel 67 -- 5.1. Exposition 67 -- 5.2. Franchise-Specific Themes 68 -- Stories of Choice and Redemption 68 -- The Emancipated Psyche 71 -- Daimonion 72 -- An Apocalypse, Now & Then 74 -- Heroism 76 -- 6. Feeding False Gods: Serpents, Souls and Hallowed Origins on Stargate 77 -- 6.1. Exposition: Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis 77 -- 6.2. Franchise-Specific Themes 79 -- Archeology and Anthropology: Indiana Jones in Space 79 -- Science and Pseudoscience 80 -- Euhemerism in Space 83 -- Creationism in Space: "Hallowed are the Ori" 85 -- Genetic Memory, Lamarckism, Absolute Evil 87 -- The Goa'uld Inside 88 -- Stealing Souls 89 -- Replicators 90 -- 7. "Photons Be Free:" Star Trek's Fourth Discontinuity 93 -- 7.1. Exposition 93 -- 7.2. Franchise-Specific Themes 94 -- "The Measure of a (Wo)Man:" Human Rights for Machines 94 -- The Soul as Free Will 96 -- The Fourth Discontinuity 97 -- PART THREE: A MIND OF ITS OWN 99 -- 8. Points of Comparison: Recurring Patterns & Elements 101 -- 8.1. Recapitulation 101 -- Errand into the Wilderness 101 -- Prophecy and Free Will 101 -- The Soul 102 -- False Gods 102 -- Artificial Intelligence 102 -- 8.2. Themes Across Franchises 102 -- Alien-Human Hybridity 102 -- Ancients 105 -- Gender Roles 105 -- Romantic Stereotypes and Psychotic Narration 107 -- Advanced Humans and Ascension 108 -- Death and Resurrection 109 -- Élan Vital 109 -- Dreams and Visions 110 -- Torture 111 -- Serpents and Arachnoids/Insectoids 111 -- The Cave, The Watcher, The Philosopher, and Atlantis: Platonism 112 -- 8.3. Religion in the Mythological Genre 113 -- 9. The Realism Assumption: Genre, Memetics and the Evolving Text 115 -- 9.1. Sufficient Sense 115.

Down the Rabbit Hole Towards the Klingon Forehead Dilemma 115 -- Science and Fiction 117 -- Science Fiction as Religion? 119 -- 9.2. The Genre as Memeplex 121 -- Independence of Thought 121 -- The Evolving Genre 122 -- Memeplexes and Memetic Drive 123 -- Selection Pressure 124 -- The Evolving Text: Genre as Mold, Genre as Riverbed 125 -- Reality and Fantasy: Of Memes and Groundhogs 127 -- 10. Conclusion: The Toolbox of Theory 129 -- 10.1. The Mind's Eye: Ways of Seeing and Interpreting 129 -- 10.2. The Emancipation of the Soul 130 -- Reality Lost 130 -- … and Recovered 133 -- References 135 -- Index 151.