2. INTRODUCTION
Genre: the category of a program which is defined by its
characteristics (e.g.- arguments – TV drama)
Sub-genre: What the genre incorporates (e.g.- within a hospital-
Medical TV drama)
Convention: A way in which something is usually done.
There are four main sub genres within the genre of TV drama:
• Crime TV Drama
• Medical TV Drama
• Costume TV Drama
• Soap Opera TV Drama
3. NARRATIVE
Narrative: the story line.
There are to main narrative theorists, Todorov and Propp’s.
• Todorov: Believes stories begin with an
equilibrium, (happiness, normality) then there is a disequilibrium (a
change in normality, a problem), then it ends with an equilibrium (the
problem is solved and the story goes back to happiness and
normality (or new normality)). In a more advanced order he believes
it goes like this:
1. Equilibrium
2. Disruption of equilibrium (disequilibrium)
3. Recognition of disruption (disequilibrium)
4. Attempt to repair disruption (disequilibrium)
5. A reinstatement of equilibrium.
4. NARRATIVE
Propp’s: This theory is more of a character theory, believing there
is a label for all characters.
• The villain (struggles against the hero)
• The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical
object) The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest)
• The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for during
the narrative)
• The false hero (perceived as good character in beginning but
emerges as evil)
• The dispatcher (character who makes the lack known and sends
the hero off)
• The hero or victim/seeker hero, reacts to the donor, weds the
princess
5. MEDICAL TV DRAMA
Conventions of a Medical TV Drama:
• Usually set in a hospital or a doctors which
is the point of interaction (where everything
happens).
• The characters often witness horrific
events, due to it being set in a hospital there
is usually a lot of blood and gore.
• Similar to a Soap Opera but a Medical TV
Drama is believed to be more educational by
using more medical terms and showing what
it is like to work in a hospital in a way, but it
is more dramatized. (It relates to soap
operas in the way that there are usually 2
doctors that fall in love and there are usually
tensions and arguments between doctors.)
6. MEDICAL TV DRAMA
• Medical dramas can also be similar to crime
dramas as often doctors get police involved as
they realize an accident is always quite an
accident or they realize the reason someone
is in hospital is because of their own dodgy
mistakes.
• Medical TV Dramas always hold emotional or
life changing moments to a doctor or patients
life e.g. a patient dying.
• Medical TV Dramas tend to follow Todorovs
theory as there is normality within the
hospital, then there is a medical issue which
rocks the hospital but then at the end the
issue is solved and normality is back.
7. COSTUME TV DRAMA
• Costume/period dramas are often adaptions of a
famous classic novel or play but can be original
works.
• They dramatize different points in history
and can be quite different from
contemporary dramas.
• This type of drama is normally part of a
series.
• These drama’s are old fashion/can be set in
tutor times and traditional.
• A typical period drama is set in a large
country mansion house.
• The costume drama follows Propp’s theory
usually as it is more like a soap and follows
a set of characters.
8. SOAP OPERA TV DRAMA
• In most TV soap operas there are certain aspects
of them that are the same, for example, A British
soap opera almost always features the following
conventions:
• It is a serialized drama that usually runs week-
in, week-out, all year round.
• It features continuous storylines dealing with
domestic themes and personal or family
relationships.
• It generally has a well-known theme tune.
• Small cast, allows more screen time for each
character.
• The plots are open-ended and usually many
storylines are featured or even interlinked in an
episode.
• They are often set around a small, central area
such as a square (as in EastEnders).
9. SOAP OPERA TV DRAMA
• Soaps often have special episodes for events in the
real world such as Christmas or the Millennium.
• British soaps most often feature
common, ordinary, working class
characters, reflecting the preferences of the target
audience.
• As a rule, British soaps are realistic or, at least, aim
for realism.
• Soap operas usually end on a cliff hanger with a
close up reaction shot of someone's face and the
next episode will usually begin on this shot too.
• Three, four or even five storylines will be in
progress during any one episode, with the action
switching between them. As one narrative is
resolved, another completely different one with
different characters will already be underway.
• Soap operas usually follow Propps theory as it has
set characters that follow the suited role and there
are often cliff hangers at the end of an episode
which means there is no equilibrium at the end.
10. CRIME TV DRAMA
A TV crime drama will be identified and
portrayed in a certain way, so that the
viewer will immediately recognise the
category in which this TV drama falls
into (crime). The conventions that are
essential in creating a convincing
crime drama are: Character
types, Setting, Narrative, Style, Theme
s.
Crime dramas can focus on many
different people within or outside of the
law. For example
Police, lawyers, criminals, a team of
detectives, or even a vigilante.
11. CRIME TV DRAMA
Long drawn out TV crime drama will likely
have many sub-plots, in which characters
will from friendships or become enemy’s.
Here are some of the key elements to a
crime Drama:
• A mystery/problem that needs to be solved
• The resolution to a mystery/problem
• Question or morality
• Debates about innocence and guilt
• Conflict between modes of policing
• Different characteristics of villainy
• Crime TV Dramas follow Todorovs theory as
there is always an equilibrium reinstated at the
end, ready for a new disequilibrium in the next
episode.
