Intro To TV Drama

 Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) or on Google Drive here (you'll need your Greenford Google login) to find Media Factsheet #164 on Television Serial Drama. 

Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions to show your comprehensive knowledge of the television drama genre:

1) What is serial television drama? Write your own definition.

A series of episodes that follow the conventions of a drama genre. A TV show with a continuous plot that unfolds in episodes.

2) List five of the TV dramas discussed in the history of the genre on page 1 of the factsheet. How has the genre evolved over time?

• Doctor Who
•  Hill street Blues
•  Dallas 
•  Knots landing.

Most of the drama programmes made by the BBC, and later by the regional independent television companies, were shot like stage plays in TV studios. Independent television drama companies were the first to record their dramas exclusively on film, which, while more expensive, were better quality and could be sold to foreign markets such as America.

Stephen Bochco’s ground breaking US police drama Hill Street Blues (1981-1987) changed the shape of the television drama series – effectively transforming it into a serial. An ensemble cast was used. Crime stories ran over several episodes.

3) List the sub-genres of TV drama featured in the factsheet. Come up with your own example of an existing TV drama to fit each category.

Police Procedural (crime): Criminal minds

Medical: Greys Anatomy
Period (costume): Bridgeton 

Science-fiction/fantasy: Stranger Things

Family: Friends

Teen: Ginny and Georgia

4) Why is setting so important for TV drama?

This allows the drama to develop over a long period of time, weathering the comings and goings of the cast members by replacing one archetypal character with another.

5) How do TV dramas typically use character? What audience pleasures can be linked to character in TV drama? (Hint: Uses & Gratifications theory!)
Characters are usually used to reflect modern audiences in todays society

6) What is a multi-strand narrative? Give an example of a TV drama that features a multi-strand narrative.
When 2 or more stories are running at the same time. Eg. simpsons

7) What is a cold opening?

A cold open is a scene in a movie or TV show that takes place before the opening credits and a teaser at the beginning to hook the audience and keep them watching.

8) How can Todorov's theory of equilibrium be applied to TV drama serials?
Television drama employs many of the same narrative devices used by film. Generally, stories move through Todorov’s narrative stages though often without the return to equilibrium at the end of each episode.

9) What is the typical form for TV dramas and how are the programmes typically distributed to an audience?

In the US, the commercial networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) schedule most of their drama serials in blocks of twenty-four one-hour episodes, effectively spanning half the calendar year.

In order to accommodate so many commercial breaks the running time of a network drama is around 42 minutes, presenting more simplistic narratives that can weather frequent interruption.

10) How have subscription channels (such as HBO) and streaming services (such as Netflix and Amazon Prime) changed the form and content of TV dramas?
Drama serials presented on subscription cable channels, such as HBO, AMC and Showtime are not governed by the same considerations, hence their dramas allow for a lot more adult and challenging content.

11) Choose a TV drama and do your own analysis of it using the SETTING / CHARACTERS / NARRATIVE / FORM headings as featured on page 3 of the factsheet.

• CRIMINAL MINDS (2005 – present)
• Setting: The FBI’s Behavioural Analysis Unit (BAU) in Quantico, Virginia.
• Characters: Follows the professional and personal lives of a team of FBI profilers. Notable characters include Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner, Special Agent Dr Spencer Reid and Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia.
• Narrative:  Procedural format, but focus on profiling the unknown criminal rather than the crime itself.
• Form:  D i s t r i b u t o r : C B S Television R u n n i n g t i m e : 4 2 minutes

12) How might the TV drama genre evolve in future?

As the film industry moves towards a model of making only high or low budget films, television drama is filling the void vacated by the mid- budget movie (which is much harder to turn a profit on). As Hollywood concentrates on superheroes, special effects and high octane action, many film actors are turning to television to play ‘difficult’, often morally ambiguous, characters in more complex and challenging narratives. This trend is likely to continue. However, as television - with the aid of co-production budgets - makes bigger and more international content there is a fear that the TV producers are moving away from making smaller scale content aimed primarily at domestic audiences.