Storytelling: On TV Shows
“We are interested in what happens in the purview of the boys. We feel that in terms of what we can accomplish, the scope of the show, our storyline is best accomplished where the Impala can go.” ~Sera Gamble, as quoted on May 20, 2011
i almost thought i wasn't going to need to do these anymore. i posted a few right around the Supernatural S6 opener back in September of 2010, and then didn't see any glaring reasons for them throughout the season. i was impressed to say the least. however, with the advent of some casting restructuring, the misunderstandings are starting again.
many times i've compared tv shows to a series of novels, where each season is another volume in the series - like Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings, or even the Nancy Drew series - and each episode in that season is another chapter in the book itself. and for the most part, i've found this to be true.
but, unlike Harry Potter where JK Rowling knew where her characters were headed and had everything mapped out including the very end, tv shows are very different in that respect. there isn't just one author, i'm sure. yes, there's the main writer of the episode, but how many people are in the writers' room? how many collaborated on the storycrafting? then you have to film it - and what if the director (or even the actors) can't make sense out of what the writer wants to say? they you have to edit it. i'm not a film maker, or even a film student, but i'm sure there is much much much more footage shot from many angles and then the editor and director and crew has to put it all together to show the best angles for the best impact to tell the story. what happens if even one important word gets accidentally dropped on the cutting room floor and it throws the whole thing off?
what if a show's creator has a five-season plan awesomely mapped out - with the characters and the plots and all the details planned out - and is cancelled at the end of Season 4? NOW what?
or what if a show centers around two guys roadtripping and spreading the word of a coming invasion, and the three guaranteed seasons are planned out carefully, detailing a well-crafted plot - and the network says to add some more characters into the mix? how do you place them in your map?
how about if your show features characters at various stages in their lives over a few seasons, and how they interact with the people in their lives, where these characters do not change, they can't change, they're family - and one of the actors is offered a higher paying job in a movie? Uncle Joe can't be two different actors in two different seasons, can he?
or what if your show centers around 20 people, and how their lives interact with each other, and everyone gets a chance to present their story equally over the course of several seasons... and one character turns out to be a fan favorite that ratings soar when that character has an prominent role in that episode? what about everyone else?
tv shows - unless they are based on books (and even then that's not always the case) - are not ongoing novel series - they are more fluid, moving, changing, need to meet the budget AND do well in the ratings or get cancelled creatures. they take on a life of their own. characters rise and their storylines fall, they come up from nothing, they crash down to earth.
they are fluid, living beings, these things called tv shows. they grow and swell with the times, they shrink with the economy and budget, but they are mutable, changing creatures. much to the chagrin of some of their audience.
(see also: Storytelling: The End of an Era, But Yet Continuing On... , 22 May 2010)
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i almost thought i wasn't going to need to do these anymore. i posted a few right around the Supernatural S6 opener back in September of 2010, and then didn't see any glaring reasons for them throughout the season. i was impressed to say the least. however, with the advent of some casting restructuring, the misunderstandings are starting again.
many times i've compared tv shows to a series of novels, where each season is another volume in the series - like Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings, or even the Nancy Drew series - and each episode in that season is another chapter in the book itself. and for the most part, i've found this to be true.
but, unlike Harry Potter where JK Rowling knew where her characters were headed and had everything mapped out including the very end, tv shows are very different in that respect. there isn't just one author, i'm sure. yes, there's the main writer of the episode, but how many people are in the writers' room? how many collaborated on the storycrafting? then you have to film it - and what if the director (or even the actors) can't make sense out of what the writer wants to say? they you have to edit it. i'm not a film maker, or even a film student, but i'm sure there is much much much more footage shot from many angles and then the editor and director and crew has to put it all together to show the best angles for the best impact to tell the story. what happens if even one important word gets accidentally dropped on the cutting room floor and it throws the whole thing off?
what if a show's creator has a five-season plan awesomely mapped out - with the characters and the plots and all the details planned out - and is cancelled at the end of Season 4? NOW what?
or what if a show centers around two guys roadtripping and spreading the word of a coming invasion, and the three guaranteed seasons are planned out carefully, detailing a well-crafted plot - and the network says to add some more characters into the mix? how do you place them in your map?
how about if your show features characters at various stages in their lives over a few seasons, and how they interact with the people in their lives, where these characters do not change, they can't change, they're family - and one of the actors is offered a higher paying job in a movie? Uncle Joe can't be two different actors in two different seasons, can he?
or what if your show centers around 20 people, and how their lives interact with each other, and everyone gets a chance to present their story equally over the course of several seasons... and one character turns out to be a fan favorite that ratings soar when that character has an prominent role in that episode? what about everyone else?
tv shows - unless they are based on books (and even then that's not always the case) - are not ongoing novel series - they are more fluid, moving, changing, need to meet the budget AND do well in the ratings or get cancelled creatures. they take on a life of their own. characters rise and their storylines fall, they come up from nothing, they crash down to earth.
they are fluid, living beings, these things called tv shows. they grow and swell with the times, they shrink with the economy and budget, but they are mutable, changing creatures. much to the chagrin of some of their audience.
(see also: Storytelling: The End of an Era, But Yet Continuing On... , 22 May 2010)
-