Week Nine

Wilcox and Lavery (2002) identify 9 defining characteristics of ‘quality TV’ – can you apply any of these to other television series that you have viewed recently? Are there any other characteristics that you could add to their list?

When looking at the television series that I watch, I have tried to compare them to this week’s cult TV series Buffy. In general I find that they are so different to Buffy but overall the series around currently are mostly American or New Zealand comedies about groups of friends, dysfunctional families or Vampire related which is Buffy in a nutshell really. I have looked at the series I watch and related them to the nine characteristics of ‘quality TV’ to see if they can be classed so and if they can ultimately be compared to Buffy as cult TV.

The first characteristic is ‘quality’. What do Wilcox and Lavery mean by ‘quality’? Wilcox & Lavery (2002) say “quality TV usually has a quality pedigree” (p.21) and then refer to Joss Whedon the creator of Buffy and his credentials as a film script writer. Referring to our PowerPoint slides as well the main point of the ‘quality pedigree’ that was addressed was how Joss Whedon himself relates to quality TV and is quoted - “I designed Buffy to be an icon, to be an emotional experience, to be loved in a way that other shows can’t be loved” (p.8). I found on NZ On Air’s website a press release regarding the new TV series ‘Nothing Trivial’ made in New Zealand a statement from NZ On Air chief executive Jane Wrightson, "we've been looking for a quality drama to serve TV One audiences for a while now, and this one has all the credentials”. Wrightson has even used the word ‘quality’ to describe this show which I believe it is. ‘Nothing Trivial’ is written and produced by the makers of two NZ hit shows ‘Outrageous Fortune’ and ‘Go Girls’ so there is definitely a quality pedigree with the makers of this new series.

The second characteristic is that it is common for there to be a struggle to get a quality TV show aired. This is usually due to small networks and perhaps they are not nominated for awards as they are on such a small scale. I would probably relate that to my new favourite TV series ‘Nothing Trivial’ which is made in New Zealand showing on TV One. Being a show in New Zealand it would be hard for it to get a wide scale audience compared to an America show without some kind huge scale marketing. Also with it being on channel One it would only be watched by certain range of audience whereas if it was on channel two the more main stream popular shows are there for a wider range of viewers. However as it is produced by South Pacific Pictures New Zealand’s most successful production company there would be a lot of people involved with making this program a success, but I like how they have chosen TV One instead of TV Two which gives it a more quality boutique feel.

The third characteristic is that quality TV usually has a large cast. With a variety of casting characters for different story lines to branch of and to have the special role for each character: hero, villain, mentor, comedy relief etc. I could relate this to a lot of TV series I currently watch like ‘The Big Bang Theory’ which its main cast consists of four guys who are all science professors and the blonde bombshell. ‘Nothing Trivial’ has a cast of two guys and three ladies in their last thirties, early forties. And I can also relate this to ‘The Mentalist’, which its cast consists of the protagonist - Patrick Jane who is ‘the mentalist’ and four crime detectives who he works alongside with.

The fourth characteristic is that quality TV has a memory it often refers back to in the past and carries on forward in time. With a lot of other shows it always stays in the same time period for example cartoons like The Simpsons. Then there are shows like ‘Shortland Street’ which only move forward and hardly ever look back into the past. An example of a show which does often refer to the past would be ‘Desperate Housewives’ which shows scene shots of the past and explains to new characters what happened in the past, particularly regarding the mysterious death of ‘Mary Alice’ who never appears on the show but is a mystic figure whose voice often used for the narration. ‘The Mentalist’ often refers back to the protagonists past as he experiences flash backs of the haunting reality which is the key theme of the storyline. Another way some shows refer to the past is when they show a recap of the last show before they start into the new show.

The fifth characteristic is the creation of a new genre by mixing old genres together to make something new. I have tried to think of a TV series that is different and ‘new’. It was hard to think of something with a new genre so instead I have looked at a few different examples of new crime investigation dramas. ‘The Mentalist’ is a slight twist of the common crime investigation series. Instead of it having the troubled detectives like ‘Cold Case’ or ‘CSI’ they use an outsider from the crime department to add a different feel, comedy and realness to it. This would be Patrick Jane who has a mental talent of reading people and uses this ability to help solve murderers. Another example of adding a different character would be ‘Medium’ which is based on the true story of a woman who is a clairvoyant / medium who can experience connections with the dead which help her to solve crimes for the police department. And ‘Castle’ which is about a mystery novelist whose stories become reality and he needs to help the police find the killer.

The sixth characteristic is that quality TV is tends to be “literary and writer-based” Lavery & Wilcox (2004), giving the series a strong foundation and gives the viewer’s something to think about. Looking at ‘The Mentalist’ it is compared to the works of Arthur Conan Doyle with his Sherlock Holmes novels. Looking at the ‘Big Bang Theory’ who Chuck Lorre is one of the creators, Executive Producer and head writer’s, his background includes writer, director, producer, composer and song writer. I can only go by what Lorre’s credentials are to think that he would have a definite effect of the writing of his TV series. I have found it quite hard to determine what is literarily based and an example of this.

The seventh characteristic is that it shows self-consciousness through humour. Perhaps an example of this would be Raj’s character from Big Bang Theory who is socially awkward especially with females. The writers have exaggerated this by having his character seize up around girls and cannot talk to them directly only through Chinese whispers with another character Howard who speaks for him.

The eighth characteristic is that it is seen as showing controversial issues. I would believe that ‘Nothing Trivial’ shows controversial issues from the character of’ Michelle’ who is experiencing depression, and on ‘Shortland Street’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ there are big influences on gay and lesbian relationships and also ‘Shortland Street’ has examples of adultery when ‘Callum’ starts dating his son’s ex-girlfriend.

And the ninth characteristic is showing of true representation of Emotional realism, real life experiences with real life emotional portrayal. I think ‘Nothing Trivial’ shows this through all the characters experiences strife’s such as coping with divorce, new relationships and depression. Jane’s character in ‘The Mentalist’ although the storyline and circumstances seem unlikely when he’s character starts to let some of his emotions show it is an example of real raw emotion.

In Conclusion I have found that some TV series have most of these nine characteristics and have some relations to Buffy. The true characteristic I think of Quality TV is emotional realism, which helps to capture and connect the audience to the characters and to the stories the characters tell.

References:

Chuck Lorre. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 12, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Lorre

Lavery, D., Wilcox, R. (2004). Defining Cult TV; Texts, Inter-texts and Fan Audiences. The Television Studies Reader, in R. C. Allen & A. Hill. London and New York: Routledge.

NZ On Air. (2010). New Drama for TV One [Press release]. Retrieved from http://www.nzonair.govt.nz/news/newspressreleases/pressrelease_2010_12_23.aspx