Introduction to TV Drama: Blog tasks

 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.
Serial television drama tells a story which also delivers a narrative resolution. Also, this is chracterised by continuous storylines that has features of deep chracter development, which also has a lot of cliff hangers.

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 5 TV dramas: History
-Eastenders
-Casuality
-Holby city
-Doctors

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.
The sub-genres of TV drama are:
-Police Procedural (crime) - true detective
-Medical - The Good Doctor
-Period (costume) - Pride & Prejudice
-Science-fiction/ fantasy - Doctor Who
-Family - Parenthood
-Teen - Never Have I Ever

4) Why is setting so important for TV drama?
Setting is important for TV drama as it provides context, character, authenticity, and it also provides essential place, as the location can also communicate.

5) How do TV dramas typically use character? What audience pleasures can be linked to character in TV drama? (Hint: Uses & Gratifications theory!)
TV Dramas uses chracters by employing archetypal chracters. In serial dramas, characters go on a journey, allowing them to change and develop. The audience pleasures that could be linked to chracters in TV drama is Blumler and Katz uses and Gratifications. This theory uses the idea of surveillance, diversification, personal identity/ relationship.

6) What is a multi-strand narrative? Give an example of a TV drama that features a multi-strand narrative.
Multi-stand narrative is the idea that there is two or more narratives running concurrently in an episode, such as Casualty.

7) What is a cold opening?
Cold opening - employing a teaser at the beginning to hook the audiences and keep them watching.

8) How can Todorov's theory of equilibrium be applied to TV drama serials?
Todorov's theory of equilibrium can be applied to TV drama series by having stages that usually don't 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 typical form for TV Drama has 60 minutes pilot for each episode. The programmes are typically distributed to an audience by a combination of traditional broadcasts methods and modern digital, on-demand platforms.

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?
Subscription channels and streaming services changes the form and content of TV Dramas by using commission short runs and they don't stick to rigid running times. Also, they allow for a lot more adult and challenging content where they changed from a linear based model to a more on-demand binge worthy format.

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.
The Haunting of Bly Manor:
Setting: The setting that it was set in a fictional countryside estate in England, it was mentioned as Essex in the source material. Also, the setting shows that it seems gothic and isolated which could link to engima codes as well as the narrative. Furthermore, the setting that this TV drama used only focused on this haunted and isolated estate which allows the audiences to have a deeper knowledge about the estate which allows them to understand the narrative more as well as the characters. 

Characters: The characters used in this drama had an ensemble cast but however there is a protagonist which could also be the damsel in distress as she's showing signs of distress from her past experiences. Also, the drama doesn't just focuse on that female character but on other characters as well such as the kids. Furthermore, they also tried to reflect on the modern audiences as they had characters who were lesbians and were in a relationship. This subverts the typical stereotypes in relationships where you need a female and male to be in a relationship. 

Narrative: For the narrative they used a multi-strand narrative where there are a range of multiple stories that highlights different perspectives of different characters. They also didn't have a new equilibrium or resolution at the end of each epiosode, instead they had cliffhangers where it adds to the enigma codes that links to the narrative of the drama. 

Form: The form that the drama was in had 9 episodes where for each episode it is between 45-56 minutes. The drama was a follow up to The Haunting of the Hill house.

12) How might the TV drama genre evolve in future?
TV Drama genre could evolve in the future by film industry moving from mid-budget movies to a more "difficult" and morally ambiguous characters as well as complex narrative.

Extension: 
I feel like it depends on the person whether they would treat films or TV dramas as 'King'. This is because for audiences who prefer to watch films they might just want to know what the resolution or new equilibrium is. They might just not want to waste their time on watching the whole long series just to end up with a lot of cliffhangers and having to watch the whole series just to be able to know what the ending was. Also, they might not want the idea of having a multi-strand narrative as it could be confusing for them. However, there are some series that have episodic narrative where for each episode there's a resolution so audiences who prefer watching film might find it more suitable for them. Furthermore, it could give them an advantage as they might watch the same characters from different episodes which they have already been familiarised with, allowing them to have less confusions due to different perspectives being highlighted. On the other hand, audiences who prefer watching TV dramas might say that it is more likeable to watch TV dramas as it is more exciting due to the cliffhangers and enigma codes. They might also say that they gain more knowledge about the character as there's a sense of character development. Furthermore, audiences might feel a sense of escapism, familiarity and emotional investment throughout the series. Linking to this, I feel like most series are designed to have a sense of personal relationship and identity to the audience so that they can binge watch and continue watching. 

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