By Beth, Nathan, Ollie and Sophie.

CONVENTIONS IN TV DRAMAS

INTRODUCTIONGenre: 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

NARRATIVENarrative: 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.

NARRATIVEPropp’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

MEDICAL TV DRAMAConventions of a Medical TV Drama:

• set in a hospital or a doctors which is the point of interaction

• The characters often witness horrific events,

• Similar to a Soap Opera but a Medical TV Drama is believed to be more technical by using more medical terms

• 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 a doctor and nurse.

• Medical dramas can also be similar to crime dramas as often doctors get police involved

• 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, someone is usually affected.

• Usually a lot of blood and gore

• Full of props you would find in a hospital

EXAMPLES OF MEDICAL TV DRAMAS• Casualty

• Holby City

• Doctors

• Call The Midwife

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.

• Involves romance

EXAMPLES OF COSTUME TV DRAMAS• Downton Abbey

• Arabian Nights

• Return To Cranford

• The Tudors

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

• It generally has a well-known theme tune.

• 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) and have a standardized meeting point like a pub.

• 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.

• Soap operas usually end on a cliff hanger.

• Three, four or even five storylines will be in progress during any one episode, with the action switching between them.

EXAMPLES OF SOAP OPERA TV DRAMAS• Eastenders

• Coronation Street

• Emmerdale

• Hollyoaks

• Neighbors

CRIME TV 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.

• Many sub plots

EXAMPLES OF CRIME TV DRAMAS• The Bill

• Broadchurch

• Midsomer Murders

• Inspector Morse

• Sherlock

• Top Boy

• Miss Marple

• The Walking Dead