Essays in this work investigate the relationship between our past and science fiction and fantasy television. Some essays contextualize a particular program or series while others discern ways in which a show depicts history. Thus, through close readings of televised science fiction and fantasy, some authors illuminate such topics as Cold War culture, renegotiations of race and gender, anxiety over the impact of technology, and the legacies of colonialism. Other authors study science fiction and fantasy television to show how historical narratives are constructed and communicated to the larger public.