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An emerging trend in television media

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    An emerging trend in television media

    Hey all.... Late last night, at approximately 1Am after arriving home from my girlfriend's house, thoughts just started to flow out of me, and i wrote them down. in an informal essay, exploring the emerging theme of 'characterisation' as i've called it, of which BSG played a major part in. Seeing as it was 1Am in the morning, and i had been doing 16 hour days recently at uni (due to a 2 week long course i'm doing), i was rather tired, and there may be grammatical errors and maybe some words missing in sentences. These thoughts just flowed out of me, and i only got about 1/4 of them because i type too slow. I haven't read over it, because i feel proud of it, and dont want to shatter those feelings when i realise it's a pile of crap that i dribbled.

    Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel, Lost, Heroes, Alias, and BSG should get something out of this 'essay' i've done.

    Disclaimer type stuff: The thougts in here are my own, and i do not mean to offend ppl with them. I am not saying that one show is better than another, but merely stating my opinion, so please do not get offended. I enjoy all shows that i mention in this piece..

    oh, and by the way, i am an environmental science student, so i have no idea how a 'tv' essay is meant to be done, so i just wrote....



    Here it is, excuse the length








    An emerging theme in television media.


    Notes: This is just a document outlining my thoughts on a theme I have noticed emerging in the television shows I have viewed. It is my opinions, and shows I have not seen, are naturally, not mentioned. These shows I have not seen may refute certain arguments which I make, and so be it, I don’t know what I don’t know, ya know?


    There is an ever increasing trend in the television media, which has evolved over the last several years, which seems to be contributing somewhat to the quality of television shows on air, my enjoyment of these shows, and critical acclaim given to these shows. That theme can be summarised in one word: Characterisation.

    The evolution of this trend will be discussed in the paragraphs below, in the shows I have seen. This argument may be refuted upon further evidence, or may be strengthened in many respects, but the purpose of this discussion is just to draw out a number of themes which may be elaborated on further on.

    At the time of my youth, I obediently followed a number of television shows as they came and went across the television, gaining and losing interest in them as they went, however, as my memory serves me correctly, there has only been one show which made a lasting impression on me during this time: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a show which turned many people off watching it because of its name, and like many shows which will be mentioned, trying to explain the critical aspects which made the show an excellent viewing experience would usually turn them off. Explaining that the show was about ‘one girl in all the world, chosen to fight the forces of darkness’ is not appealing to the average Joe Bloggs. In it’s seventh and final season, I remember reading a review of the entire show which pointed out something to me, which had been in the back of my mind throughout the entire show in my late youth, the excellence of the show was because of its evolution of its characters: it broke the mould in terms of viewing experience.
    The classic mould for an adventure/action series was a series of episodes within a season which were self contained and had everything neatly wrapped up by the end. Plot arcs existed, usually over a season or two, but that was it. The way Buffy the Vampire Slayer broke the mould was the fact that it had both self contained episodes, as well as story-arc episodes which contributed to the overall story of the season, but it also had inter-seasonal story arcs, and most importantly, character story-arcs. Although I have not seen Babylon 5 (A show I have seen many ‘amateur’ reviews of on the internet stating that it had the best running, 5 season long story arc, and I do not know whether it started before BtVS or after), BtVS may have well been the first show to include this complexity within it. For the first time (in my experience), characters were shown as human beings, capable of growing and evolving and adapting, contrary to the contemporary mould of characters which had been painted in series before. For example, in Stargate, Star-Trek, MacGuyver, just to name a few, the characters are reset at the end of each episode. Even now, 10 years after the beginning of Stargate, Teal’c, Samantha and Daniel remain the same people; their experiences have not affected them at a personal level. Samantha Carter still remains the ‘techno-babble’ solution to all of the SGC’s problems, and can solve anything at a moments notice; Teal’c still remains the relatively quiet but often wise warrior; and although Daniel has ascended to a higher plane of existence a number of times, he still remains the same person. To elaborate on what I mean, the Daniel Jackson of Season 10, if faced with a personal choice, would still chose the same option as the Daniel Jackson of season 2.
    In this case, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was different from similar shows in the ‘adventure’ category as the characters evolved. This can be seen to the extreme by taking a look at the character of Willow Rosenberg. A six year long story arc saw her change her sexuality, learn witchcraft, lose loved ones, and develop as a person. Willow of season 1 was a shy and nervous teenager, while the Willow of season 7, had developed into a personally confident young woman, while still keeping the elements which made her Willow; Willow of season 7 would not necessarily make the same choices as that of Willow of season 1, since she has been changed by her environment and experiences. This evolution of a person, which occurs in real life, can also be evidently seen in Wesley Wyndham Price as he moved from BtVS season 3 through to Angel season 5. He evolved from a ‘stuck-up’ man burying himself in books, to a rough renegade prepared to do whatever it took in order to accomplish his goals.
    Another quality which contributed to Buffy the Vampire Slayers’ quality was that, from my viewing experience, it was the first show which featured an ensemble cast. There was a central main character, but the supporting characters were built up and explored so much that in some cases, we, the viewer, would care about the supporting characters more than the main character, Buffy, herself. The show Alias comes to mind when trying to demonstrate what is meant by the above statement. Alias was a very smart show, capable of drawing us in and making us care about Sydney Bristow, however other characters were not explored in the depths that Sydney Bristow was. Think of the increased success Alias may have been if the characters of Jack Bristow, Irena Derevco (sp?), Marshall, and Dixon, to name a few, had been developed as much as Sydney like what was done with BtVS.
    Although Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a complex and deep show, it did not receive the success it was worthy of. The name, for starters, set the majority of the populace off of viewing the show, however, I believe, that the factors which made this show successful would be discovered by later shows.
    .... continued in first reply

    #2
    ....
    In short, Buffy the Vampire Slayer set the mould which would be followed and shaped in various ways in later years.

    The next show which I am aware of to emerge which built upon the principles mentioned in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and broke the mould, was Lost. With critical acclaim on many fronts, I believe the success of Lost is due to the fact that the show is not about being stuck on an island, but about people. For the first time, an attempt was made to make a television show with ‘real’ people; people who had emotions, who evolved and learned on a personal level, and to show the interconnections between these people. I also read somewhere, that Lost was the first show with a complete ensemble cast like no other show had seen before; the show was not primarily about one person or one group of individuals linked by a common direction in story (such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alias, Dark Angel; Stargate just to name a few), but rather a story about a set of different people, which would pursue different directions (story wise). A series of different story arcs for differing characters also contributes to Lost’s success. Instead of being confined to the serialised, contained episodes, Lost sets up a series of story arcs which develop over a number of episodes and seasons. The key to Lost’s success has been the characterisation, a fact which would, again, be elaborated upon in the future of television viewing.

    Since Buffy the Vampire Slayer, no other show has captivated me like it had, until Battlestar Galactica 2003 (BSG) came along. Here I saw a show, which had built upon the characterization elements of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lost, and added a new element; grittiness, the likes of which had only been seen in movies such as Gladiator, and the crooked-cop show The Shield. I have nothing against DeSanto’s revival effort, but from what I had heard of it, I do not believe it would have been as much of a success that the current BSG has been, because of the characterisation and grittiness introduced into the show. I am also unaware which show went into production first, Lost or BSG (both having 3 seasons and running fairly consecutively: In season 2, BSG and Lost were airing episode numbers within a few of each other: ie, Lost s02e05 would show, and BSG s02e03 would be showing, for example), however both shows use of characterization can be compared and many elements found quite similar, however BSG adds the element of grittiness.
    Like BtVS, the name of Battlestar Galactica serves to turn the majority of the population off of the show, and attempting to explain that it is about ‘a race of robots trying to destroy humankind’ does not really help. However, I believe that to be the storyline of the show, but the show is actually about ‘people at the end of the world’.
    Similarly to Lost, BSG has broke off from the serialised episodes (for the most part) and concentrated on season and inter-seasonal story arcs, in which the characters are playing a part in. I believe that BSG has succeeded somewhat more than Lost in attempting to show ‘real’ people because it attempts to do it in the gritty world of grey, whereas in Lost, elements of Black and White exist. The founding principles of the characters’ motivations in Lost, their determinedness to survive and get off of the island, has not been contested, whereas in Battlestar, the key element of the show has been: Is it right for humanity to survive; is humanity worthy of surviving.
    An element in which Battlestar has done ‘better’ than Lost (this may be argued in terms of what ‘better’ is), is that there is no central character. In Lost, the central character can be said to be Jack, while in Battlestar, a number of central characters, as well as a number of characters which we do not know if they are central or not, can be identified; Battlestar Galactica has a complete ensemble cast. Battlestar, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has also caused quite a lot of controversy among fans; the key element causing controversy in each show being the explicit (at the time) portrayal of a gay relationship in BtVS; and the links which can be seen with the Iraq occupation by some within Battlestar Galactica. In both cases, this level of questioning of the shows’ viewers had never occurred at the time.

    Battlestar is sci-fi and drama in its purest form. Battlestar, in its gritty reality, along with its characterisation and ensemble cast still has one element to throw into the punch; shock and amazement. I am not an avid sci-fi viewer, so I may be a limited minority in this respect, but when watching the “You Cant Go Home Again” two part episode in Season 1, the thought of biological technology, growing organs to perform specific tasks and creating living ‘beings’ (which are clearly not human), and melding them with conventional technology, had never crossed my mind. When Starbuck cuts open a Cylon Raider (an enemy fighter plane) to reveal that its insides are completely organic (its like cutting open a person) completely shocked me and made me think about a broad range of topics. Similarly, viewers of the show had seen a Battlestar use its flack barrage before, but it had never hit me exactly how powerful a Battlestar was until “Resurrection Ship Part 2” in one of the attacking sequences where I realised that one Battlestar, barely functioning, sitting in orbit, could rule Earth (today) if it had just a few nukes, and there would be absolutely nothing we could do about it. The wall of firepower created by just the Galactica alone (never alone Pegasus) is more than we can even comprehend doing today. The average yield of a shell produced by Galactica is probably more than that of a shell produced by today’s naval ships, and yet these are being fired at a rapid fire rate like a machine gun. Maybe this is the dork coming out in me. Another scene to mention is when I was barely interested in the show, but watching the first episode after the miniseries, ‘33’. Nothing yet in any TV show has been able to hit me as much as the scene where a Galactica officer (Dualla) walks into the ‘memorial hallway’, except maybe the Emmy deserving scenes from Colonial Tigh in “Exodus part 2” (which I will not describe as it will probably take up a page). Hopefully, a scene in the upcoming episode “Maelstrom”, of which I only know that it is apparently ‘amazing and Emmy worthy’ will be added to this list.

    Another, more recent show that has come to light to capitalise on ‘characterization’, and has already received critical acclaim and looks as if it may be the most successful show exploring this element is Heroes. Like Battlestar Galactica and Buffy, Heroes can be described in number of ways: ‘a show about superpowers’, or ‘a show about people ((((with superpowers))))’. I believe Heroes’ success lies in the fact that it is portraying real people in today’s world, whereas Battlestar and Lost are portraying real people in a situation which none of us could be in. One element which I believe that Battlestar holds over Heroes is the gritty realism found in BSG. Heroes has not shown this level of grittiness as seen in BSG yet, but I can see the potential for this to develop as Heroes is still on its birth legs and finding it’s place. I believe that the writers (as of episode 14 – Distractions) are heading towards a more complicated, grey area for the heroes, and if they can successfully accomplish that, then Heroes will be the next milestone in the quality and complexity of television viewing experience.

    I am quite surprised that this ‘grittiness’ element found in BSG and The Shield has not been capitalised upon and realised such as the characterisation element which was built upon (either intentionally or unintentionally) by Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I believe in the near future, this grittiness element will evolve and develop much like the ‘characterisation’ element has through BtVS, BSG, Lost and Heroes, however No new shows (especially sci-fi) are emerging at the moment which have this grittiness. I am unaware of shows which are raved about as comparable to Battlestar such as The Sopranos, Deadwood and Prison Break and do not know if these shows meet the criteria which I am stating. I would like for this trend to continue, and I would like to see where a creative mind would be able to take concepts in a ‘gritty re-imagining’ of many current and ex shows. Think of how much better Jericho would be if this treatment was applied. Also, shows like Dark Angel (which I enjoyed, but apparently not many others did), if ‘gritty re-imagined’ could hit the mainstream and be successful. Who knows, in the not too distant future after the death of Stargate Atlantis and the rumoured Third Series, we may see a gritty re-imagining of the Stargate franchise (which I, for one, would like to see: I’m not knocking Stargate btw).



    Notes: So yeah, that just came to me at one stage. I couldn’t tell you what I wrote unless I read it again, it kinda just flowed out and I felt like I needed to say it. Obviously, too much time on my hands (although I’m amazed at that, being a full time uni student and working full time as well and having sleep as my free time).

    Thoughts? Opinions? Discuss pls!

    Comment


      #3
      Know what, judging by the number of views and lack of replies, I think the length of your posts is putting people off. Try breaking it down into bitesize chunks. This is the MTV generation, remember, we can only concentrate for 3 mins at a time.
      sigpic
      "Ce qui ressemble a l'amour est toujours de l'amour." - Tristan Bernard

      Comment


        #4
        Yeah...could you summarize it please?

        Comment


          #5
          I have plenty of time to read, but... a message board post should be short.

          Comment


            #6
            That's fascinating. I think you've got a real point here.

            Though I have to say that chosing Daniel as an example of lack of charater growth in Stargate is a bit off...of all the characters I'd say that he is the most different in s10 (or at least s9, I haven't seen s10 yet) to s1, as demonstrated by his attitude in the s9 ep 'Prototype' - he advocated killing Khalek from the beginning, and didn't seem too bothered about being the one to shoot him. Contrast that to his attitude in the first season...

            But you're not too wrong about it. Sadly.

            I'd like, if I may, to put Farscape up as an example of good characterisation (but feel free to dispute it if you disagree). All the maijor characters - and often the supporting ones - come off as real people, each with a past, each changing over time and through the events that occur. Yes, even the puppets.

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