Publications by Alexander Koch
Music in Comedy Television: Notes on Laughs. Edited by Liz Giuffre and Philip Hayward. Routledge Music and Screen Media Series., 2017
Scrubs (2001) is an American medical comedy series comprised of 182 episodes over nine seasons, s... more Scrubs (2001) is an American medical comedy series comprised of 182 episodes over nine seasons, seven of which originally aired on NBC. The show revolves around the career of Dr. John “J.D.” Dorian, whose inner monologues, flashbacks, and surreal daydreams are littered with popular culture references – often accompanied by recognizable pop songs – providing a comedic and narrative framework throughout. Despite the lack of major critical acclaim or audience size during its run, Scrubs was among the first in a wave of single-camera “narratively complex” comedies to emerge in the early 2000s. This permitted the series to maintain central themes at the episodic level, like traditional sitcoms, while simultaneously focusing on the continual development of romantic relationships, in a manner more indicative of serials. Similarly, Scrubs co-opted a number of conventions across both medium and genre. Still, American television series are not static texts; they evolve to cultivate and/or maintain audience interest (much like genres themselves). Thus Scrubs’ pastiche aesthetic did not result in a new or hybrid text, rather it perpetuated an ongoing negotiation between real and ideal – both of which were further influenced by the integration of popular music.
Conference Presentations by Alexander Koch
Presented during Panel 1 at The Electric Guitar in Popular Culture Conference - March 2015.
Stri... more Presented during Panel 1 at The Electric Guitar in Popular Culture Conference - March 2015.
Strictly using materials held at the Browne Popular Culture Library (BPCL), Dr. Down and I examined the appearances of guitars/guitarists in (primarily) mainstream comic books.
This offered a variety of results - ranging from the singing cowboys (Roy Rogers; Gene Autry) published in late 1940s/early 1950s Dell Comics and cross-promotional titles of the late 1960s (The Monkees; The Partridge Family)... to guitar/musically-powered heroes and villains in a number of DC and Marvel publications during the 1970s, unauthorized biographies (Rock N' Roll Comics) and a few recent holdings - all while noting the various Library of Congress Subject Headings that could potentially be applied to these titles.
Our presentation also offered a brief case study looking at the depiction of female characters in Archie Comics - as they developed from exclusively consumers to producers of music themselves.
Dr. Nancy Down is the Head of the Ray & Pat Browne Library for Popular Culture Studies located in the Jerome Library at Bowling Green State University.
A panel developed with two of my colleagues discussing Netflix's transition from physical disc re... more A panel developed with two of my colleagues discussing Netflix's transition from physical disc rentals to digital streaming service and its effects on the consumption, distribution and production of television programming.
“‘I Watched Ten Seasons in a Week!’: The Loss of the Episode and the Pleasures and Perils of Binge-Watching,” James Beale.
“Availability Development: The Changing Nature of Popularity and Advertising in Television Programming,” Alex Nader.
“‘Is it on Instant?’ Canonization Through the Queue,” Alexander Koch, Panel Chair.
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Publications by Alexander Koch
Conference Presentations by Alexander Koch
Strictly using materials held at the Browne Popular Culture Library (BPCL), Dr. Down and I examined the appearances of guitars/guitarists in (primarily) mainstream comic books.
This offered a variety of results - ranging from the singing cowboys (Roy Rogers; Gene Autry) published in late 1940s/early 1950s Dell Comics and cross-promotional titles of the late 1960s (The Monkees; The Partridge Family)... to guitar/musically-powered heroes and villains in a number of DC and Marvel publications during the 1970s, unauthorized biographies (Rock N' Roll Comics) and a few recent holdings - all while noting the various Library of Congress Subject Headings that could potentially be applied to these titles.
Our presentation also offered a brief case study looking at the depiction of female characters in Archie Comics - as they developed from exclusively consumers to producers of music themselves.
Dr. Nancy Down is the Head of the Ray & Pat Browne Library for Popular Culture Studies located in the Jerome Library at Bowling Green State University.
“‘I Watched Ten Seasons in a Week!’: The Loss of the Episode and the Pleasures and Perils of Binge-Watching,” James Beale.
“Availability Development: The Changing Nature of Popularity and Advertising in Television Programming,” Alex Nader.
“‘Is it on Instant?’ Canonization Through the Queue,” Alexander Koch, Panel Chair.
Strictly using materials held at the Browne Popular Culture Library (BPCL), Dr. Down and I examined the appearances of guitars/guitarists in (primarily) mainstream comic books.
This offered a variety of results - ranging from the singing cowboys (Roy Rogers; Gene Autry) published in late 1940s/early 1950s Dell Comics and cross-promotional titles of the late 1960s (The Monkees; The Partridge Family)... to guitar/musically-powered heroes and villains in a number of DC and Marvel publications during the 1970s, unauthorized biographies (Rock N' Roll Comics) and a few recent holdings - all while noting the various Library of Congress Subject Headings that could potentially be applied to these titles.
Our presentation also offered a brief case study looking at the depiction of female characters in Archie Comics - as they developed from exclusively consumers to producers of music themselves.
Dr. Nancy Down is the Head of the Ray & Pat Browne Library for Popular Culture Studies located in the Jerome Library at Bowling Green State University.
“‘I Watched Ten Seasons in a Week!’: The Loss of the Episode and the Pleasures and Perils of Binge-Watching,” James Beale.
“Availability Development: The Changing Nature of Popularity and Advertising in Television Programming,” Alex Nader.
“‘Is it on Instant?’ Canonization Through the Queue,” Alexander Koch, Panel Chair.