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Quality Television The Nature of the Industry • TELEVISION IS, FIRST AND FOREMOST, A COMMERCIAL MEDIUM—LIKE ITS PREDECESSOR RADIO, THE PROGRAMS EXIST TO MAKE AD REVENUE. 1 Culture, Media & Industry Television As Cultural Artifact Father Knows Best (CBS, 1954-55, 1958-60 Television As and NBC 1955-58) Industrial Product Television As Creative Pursuit [Above] Jersey Shore (MTV 2009 - ); [Left] Six Feet Under (HBO 2000-5) 2 Commercial Quality If It Delivers Audiences… Does That Make It Quality TV? 3 4 Characteris*cs of Quality TV • 1. Quality TV is best defined by what it is not. It is not "regular" TV. In a medium long considered artless, the only artful TV is that which isn't like all the rest of it. Quality TV breaks rules. It may do this by taking a traditional genre and transforming it, or it may defy standard generic parameters and define new narrative territory heretofore unexplored by television. • 2. Quality TV usually has a quality pedigree. Shows made by artists whose reputations were made in other, classier media, like film, are prime candidates. Furthermore, directors of small art films have a better chance of making quality TV than directors of blockbuster movies. As the genre developed through the 1980s, a few creators who'd worked exclusively in TV also became associated with this designer label television. In all of these cases, the creators usually insist upon and get a much greater degree of independence from network influence than is typical in the production process of commercial TV. • 3. Quality TV attracts an audience with desirable demographics. The upscale, well- educated, urban-dwelling, young viewers tend to make up a much larger percentage of the audience of these shows than of other kinds of programs. • 4. Desirable demographics notwithstanding, quality shows must often undergo a struggle against profit-mongering networks and non- appreciative audiences. The hottest battles between Art and Commerce, between creative writer- producers and bottom-line-conscious executives are often played out during the runs of these series. With some obvious exceptions, these shows seldom become blockbusters and their survival is often tenuous, at least at the beginning. Their futures often hang in the balance between network favoritism (the renewing and promoting of a low-rated show) and network stupidity (scheduling it in a deadly time slot). When a quality show does become a hit, it is often after a long struggle and some unusual circumstances. • 5. Quality TV tends to have a large ensemble cast. The variety of characters allows for a variety of vlewpoints. Since multiple plots must usually be employed to accommodate all of the characters. • 6. Quality TV has a memory. Though it may or may not be serialized in continuing story lines, these shows tend to refer back to previous episodes. Characters develop and change as the series goes on. Events and details from previous episodes are often used or referred to in subsequent episodes. • 7. Quality TV creates a new genre by mixing old ones. All quality shows integrate comedy and drama. • 8. Quality TV tends to be literary and writer-based. The writing is usually more complex than in other types of programming. • 9. Quality TV is self-conscious and self-reflexive. Oblique allusions are made to both high and popular culture, but mostly to TV itself: Both the classier cultural references and the sly, knowing jabs at TV serve to distance these programs from the stigmatized medium and to announce that they are far superior to the typical trash available on television. • 10. The mode of quality TV tends toward the controversial. Early quality series frequently included some of television's earliest treatments of subjects like abortion, homosexuals, racism, and religion, to name a few. "Quality TV is liberal TV," Jane Feuer wrote in MTM: Quality Television. • 11. Quality TV aspires toward "realism." • 12. Series which exhibit the eleven characteristics listed above are usually enthusiastically showered with awards and critical acclaim. However… • Quality shows are no longer “specialized offerings of the network” • Quality TV is now part of a massive repackaging strategy across generic lines • Quality TV is now “a super-genre, a formula unto itself” The Concept of Quality TV • In “HBO & the Concept of Quality TV,” Jane Feuer states: …there can never be a judgment of quality in an absolute sense… there are always judgments of quality relative to one’s interpretive community or reading formation. 18 Elements of a Quality Sitcom • Single camera set-up • No laugh track • Smart and EDGY • Cinemac cinematography • Ligh*ng varies (contrast) • “On locaon” shoo*ng 19 20 Characteris*cs of non-quality Sitcom • Mul* camera setup • Ligh*ng is bright and even • 3 wall set • Mass-appeal humor • Laugh track 21 Elements of Quality Drama: A Highly Subjective List – Generic Hybridity – Complex and/or Conflicted Characters – Narratives that Play with Audience Expectations – Cinematic or Distinctive Visual Style – Exploits the Episodic Nature of Television Dexter (Showtime 2006 - ) 22 More Viewing Pleasure: It’s Not Just Quality Drama, It’s also HBO • The Wire – Moral Ambiguity + Multi-Layered Characters + Narrative Complexity =Quality ACTIVITY TIME 24 The ‘sit’ and the ‘com’ of sitcom • Most sitcoms feature a group of characters trapped in a particular situation or in a dysfunctional relationship. The situation could include being part of a family; being married to a grumpy old man; or working with annoying people. This is the situation. • Sitcoms are also supposed to be funny. We laugh at, or along with the characters, recognising and understanding their situation. This is the comedy. Summary • Sitcoms have a restricted location • Characters tend to stay in same situation, episode after episode. • There is a limited number of main characters. • Plots are based around everyday events. • Humour is based around personalities and the smaller problems in life. • The characters usually reflect the target audience. • Sitcoms are relatively cheap and easy to make. • They can appeal to a wide range of different audiences. • List 5 sitcoms that you are familiar with • Briefly describe an episode of one of your favorite sitcoms. What made this par*cular show funny? • List and describe the characters of the sitcom you chose to write about. Creating your own sitcom scenario • AYempts to fix situaons that end up making them worse. • A blind date goes wrong. • A crazy friend is in town. • Character brings odd girlfriend/boyfriend home. • One or more characters going into a foreign environment only to return to "where they belong." • A holiday episode Now choose a location • A family home • An office • A spaceship • A hotel • A zoo • A prison • A New York apartment Now choose your character grouping and your situation • Individual (with supporting characters) • Group • Odd couple What is the situation your characters are in? They should be trapped in some way – in a particular situation or in a relationship (ie being part of a family; being married to a grumpy old man; or working with annoying people.) Choose your characteristics • Identify the differences between your main characters • Name them • Design their character traits • You will need to identify their likeable qualities • You will also need to identify their personality flaws • How will you represent these? (Dress, hair and makeup, mise-en-scene, dialogue and actions, catchphrase, visual motifs) OR choose your character types • Person trapped in the ’situation’ of the situation comedy • Person doing the trapping • The idiot/fool/jester • The reliable matriarch/patriarch • The moral authority • The dependable partner • The controlling wife • The useless husband • The grumpy old man • The geek • The ditzy blonde • The rogue • Sweet natured/Dutiful wife or mother • The snob • Dopey mate • Absent-minded eccentric • Overbearing boss • Nosey/meddling Neighbour • The interfering mother-in-law • The over protective parents Devise a Show Questions to resolve: • What is the title of your show? • What kind of camera style would you go for? • Who is the target audience? • What is the intended network? • What would be the ideal TV slot for your sitcom? • What makes it funny? Identify the main sources and types of humour you could expect. • What is familiar/ expected/conventional about your sitcom? • What is unfamiliar/ unexpected/ unconventional about your sitcom? Remember: TV programmes that strike the right balance are the most successful! .
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