A serial television drama is a TV genre which has multiple narratives leading to one ultimate ending or cliffhanger, significant events unfold as the episodes go by, alternatively a TV drama can have narratives solved within one episode.
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
Knots Landing
Dallas
3) List the sub-genres of TV drama featured in the fact sheet. Come up with your own example of an existing TV dramas to fit each category.
Police Procedural (crime) - Quantico
Medical - Grey's anatomy
Period (costume) - The crown
Science-fiction/fantasy - Stranger things
Family - The simpsons
Teen - Teen wolf
4) Why is setting so important for TV drama?
Setting allows tension to build up before the character even arrive in some situations as we may see a police crime scene and obviously assume something bad has happened, therefore letting tension build and a plot to thicken quickly. It can also create a gloomy or dark atmosphere using pathetic fallacy and also allows the audience to understand what is happening. In some TV series such as the flash the base, which is star labs gives the audience somewhere they know the characters are safe and is familiar.
5) How do TV dramas typically use character? What audience pleasures can be linked to character in TV drama? (Hint: Uses & Gratifications theory!)
As broadcasters seek to ensure that their most successful brands run for as long as possible it is necessary to populate them with a large cast of characters.
6) What is a multi-strand narrative? Give an example of a TV drama that features a multi-strand narrative.
Television serial drama lends itself to multi-strand storytelling. Medical dramas like Casualty usually have two or more stories running concurrently in an episode, in addition to any serial beats.One way is playing out multiple stories in the space of an episode and developing these stories across a whole series. An example of this is "The Flash".
They employ a teaser at the beginning to hook the audience and keep them watching. This is also referred to as a cold opening to generate enigma or intrigue before the title sequence or first commercial break
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,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?
Cable channels and services like Netflix and Amazon Prime also often commission shorter runs (between six and thirteen episodes) and do not need to stick to rigid running times. They are also not governed by the same considerations, which means that they do not have to follow norms which would attract typical advertisers as they do not simply rely on advertising and receive a lot of money from people paying for the channel, which means that they can allow violence and swearing unlike some free view channels.
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.
TV Show - Suits
Setting - The TV show is set in a law firm in New York
Characters - Follows the professional and personal lives of Harvey Spectre and Mike Ross , one of the most successful lawyers working for a prestigious firm and his prodigy.
Narrative - The TV show follows a multi strand narrative where they both solves law suits together and learn from each other, however they keep running into bumps and situations when they have to keep covering the secret that not only did Mike Ross not complete law school from Harvard, he did not complete any law school.
Form - Distribution Network - USA Network (2011-) (USA) (TV)
Run Time - 42 minutes
12) How might the TV drama genre evolve in future?
With BBC 3’s move to an online only platform, and the rise in the popularity of streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, the form and content of the serial drama is likely to evolve further. Online programme makers are starting to create more short form content, leading to drama serials
that run for much less than 60, or even, 30 minutes.
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