TV: Introduction 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.
It is a type of drama which is quite narrative heavy from what they were based off of such as a book being turned into a drama series.

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?

-Pride and prejudice(1996)

-Hill Street Blues(1981-1987)

-The A-Team(1983-1987)

-Dallas (1978-1991)
-"11.26.63" Fox adaptation(2016)

From these examples we can see that genre has changed from what would seem to be a
somewhat of a horror into a more action type, however the adaptation did come from an older time so we can also say that some past genres can be integrated.

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) - Brooklyn 99

-Medical - New Amsterdam

-Period(costume) - Les misrables

-Si-fi/fantasy - The Mandalorian

-Family - Modern Family

-Teen  - 13 reasons why

4) Why is setting so important for TV drama?
Setting helps the audience identify the show and the genre of it, setting also sets the scene to show the situation in which the character is in.

5) How do TV dramas typically use character? What audience pleasures can be linked to character in TV drama? (Hint: Uses & Gratifications theory!)
An example would be a stereotypical type character such as a Hispanic person being a taxi driver as such, they are usually used for some form of comedic effect, however the stereotypes cannot all be bad as they help the audience identify the character and how they are going to be like.

6) What is a multi-strand narrative? Give an example of a TV drama that features a multi-strand narrative.
A multi-strand narrative is the having the multiple perspectives of different characters from their eyes, a show that would do this would be something like the breaking bad series where they show the different perspectives of the two main characters, and sometimes from some of the antagonists.

7) What is a cold opening?
A cold opening is when the show starts with a scene in the middle of the episode, mostly an action packed or tension filled scene in which they will then go to the start of the episode to show what happens to lead to that point.

8) How can Todorov's theory of equilibrium be applied to TV drama serials?
Todorov's theory can easily be applied to a tv drama series as they have all of the protagonists, antagonists, helper, dispatcher, etc. almost all TV drama series follows this sort of character format.

9) What is the typical form for TV dramas and how are the programmes typically distributed to an audience?
They are sectioned into seasons and episodes, the seasons are what hold the episodes.

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?
They have allowed audiences to pick the desired season and the episode and the time they want to watch it from which makes it more accessible and more convenient as they can come back to it at any time.

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.
Breaking Bad

Setting: Desert, school, restaurant, Mexico, etc.

Characters: Follows a chemistry teacher and his old drug addicted student

Narrative:Walter gets lung cancer in which he decides he wants to cook methamphetamine with his old student so that he can make enough money to leave his family with. 

Form: Netflix, Pilot=around an hour 

Episodes= around 50 mins 5 seasons and around 20-25 episodes each

12) How might the TV drama genre evolve in future?
They may make them more accessible such as possibly being more cheaper and most content will be on a streaming service.

A/A* extension task: TV Drama v Film

Building on question 12 above, read this fascinating extended article comparing TV drama to film. It will also help to bridge the gap between our work on the film industry and our new topic of TV drama. Where do you stand on the debate? Is TV drama the key medium of storytelling or will cinema always be king?

 

I think that there will be some experiences in which are only suitable for cinemas and some other for streaming services, however there is the chance that  TV drama may over take cinema due to its flexibility of being able to watch it anywhere making it more convenient for people to watch it from the comfort of their own home. Unless cinema takes a certain turn such as having movies for rent or one time use for people to watch like a service I think that otherwise that TV dramas may take over.