Introduction to TV Drama: Blog tasks

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

TV dramas are a series of fictional scenes that is shared with a sense of exaggeration

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?

The Avengers (1961-1969) 
Danger Man (1962-1968)
 The Sweeney (1975-1978) 
Starsky and Hutch (1975-1979)
 The A-Team (1983-1987)

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

Medical- The good doctor
Science fiction- Stranger things
Teen- pretty little liars

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!)

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, much like soap operas.

To reflect modern audiences, there is a greater presence of strong females as well as
black and ethnic minority characters. Increasingly, gay, lesbian and transsexual characters are also represented in television serials, notably
in Orange is the New Black.

6) What is a multi-strand narrative? Give an example of a TV drama that features a multi-strand narrative.

Operating in a tough, commercial environment, drama producers need to hook and maintain their audience with every episode. As a result, they employ a teaser at the beginning to hook the audience and keep them watching.Medical dramas like Casualty usually have two or more
stories running concurrently in an episode, in addition to any serial beats.

7) What is a cold opening?

Opening to generate enigma or intrigue before the title sequence or first commercial break
(which in the US are frequent). For example, most cop shows this is usually the crime scene.

8) How can Todorov's theory of equilibrium be applied to TV drama serials?

Most TV dramas move through Todorov’s narrative stages (equilibrium, dis-equilibrium and new equilibrium) 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?

The length of a ‘season’, as well as the length of individual episodes, vary according to the institution producing and distributing the programme.

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) How might the TV drama genre evolve in future?

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.

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