Introduction to TV Drama

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

A television drama that has a continuous plot that unfolds in an episode-by-episode fashion.

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?

ABCs The Avengers (1961-1969)
Danger Man (1962- 1968)
The Sweeney ( 1975- 1978)
Minder (1979-1994) 
Starsky and Hutch (1975-1979)

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

Police Procedural (crime)
Medical (Holby City)
Period (Costume)
Science- Fiction/ Fantasy
Family (soap opera)
Teen ( Beverly Hills)
Romance
Film Noir

4) Why is setting so important for TV drama?

Serial dramas play out in a 'precinct' or communal location inhabited by the ensemble cast of characters.Abbey. Serial dramas that tend to focus on a story of the week, invariably ‘cops and docs’, are generally based around a location as opposed to one or two leading characters. 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!)

TV Dramas use characters to provide personal identities and personal relationships. This is supported by Blumer and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory who let us know if we are meant to make positive or negative relationships with the characters. 

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

Television serial dramas that have two or more stories running concurrently within one episode. An example of a multi-strand narrative is the medical drama 'Casualty' 

7) What is a cold opening?

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. 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?

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?

TV dramas usually run for an hour and are spread out in weekly or daily allotments.
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 cable channels such as HBO and AMC are not governed by the same considerations hence their dramas allow for a lot more adult and challenging content.Furthermore, cable channels and services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime often commission shorter runs and do not need to stick to rigid running times.

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.

Stranger things: Historical- period drama/ Science fiction 

Setting:
Stranger things is set in the fictional rural town of Hawkins, Indiana, during the early 1980s. Setting is incredibly important to the plot as this revolves around everything including the context of the TV drama series

Characters:
The characters wear costumes that are relevant to the particular time period that the drama is set in. In terms stranger things, the costumes are based upon retro, vintage 80s clothes. The language also used by the characters is largely the same used in the 80s

Narrative:
Stranger things has a multi-strand narrative. This is because it has four main storylines and each one tackles a different aspect of the mystery. These four main storylines include: The monster, what Hawkins Lab is up to, where Will is and what Eleven's relevance is. Furthermore, it was very interesting to see how each plot tackled one of these mysteries and intertwined in the end

Form: 
This TV drama, created by the Duffer brothers was released as a Netflix original series in July 2016 


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

I believe that the TV drama genre will evolve hugely in the future. More sub-genres will be explored as well as a step up of the use of  multi- strand narratives. TV dramas will start to deal with more complex and peculiar issues and genres as the aim to create something unique and original will definitely continue ahead