Nice things to say about..

Since my previous blogs focused on some terrible examples of television writing or, in the case of True Blood, some average plot development, I thought it would be worth highlighting some better examples. These shows work on both an episodic and seasonal level, with well written character pieces and season long plot arcs.

Dexter
My favourite series of recent years, Dexter has both the ability to create 50 minute masterpieces that further single plot strands and are continually moving the season arc forward. Michael C Hall's protagonist takes the lion share of screen time and doesn't waste any of it. All four series rely on a chief antagonist- whether it is a fellow monster maniac (Ice Truck Killer, Trinity Killer) or someone closer to home (Lila, Doakes, Minguel). The battle of wits between them is usually well planned out with a climax in one of the last few episodes. Altering this formula slightly has lead to some great moments for viewers, especially the last gasp killing of Lila in Paris.

However Dexter's true strength lies in its treatment of subplots. Whilst many started as cop caricatures, including the tough 'out to prove herself' Debra, the 'weird one' Vince, the sleazy Latino Angel or the ex-SEAL with a dark past James Doakes, the small amount of screen time allows these characters to flourish into full functioning members of Dexter's Miami. Debra in particular has become a key figure and the potential revelation of Dexter's secret will be a key thread moving forward.

Another thing Dexter does better than most is that each series is self contained. Whilst some of the character development can be lost by entering beyond season one, each monster is defeated by Dexter within the twelve episodes. Such dedication to providing a resolution is paramount to rewarding an audience's faith in the show, since the writer's care enough to ensure strings are tied up by the end of the current series. That's right- no cliff hangers. Without resorting to terrible gimmicks, Dexter still manages to genuinely engage the audience. The finale of Series 4 remains one of the greatest things I have had the pleasure of watching.

Buffy: The Vampire Slayer
Forget the compromised movie, and forget Dollhouse. Joss Weadon fired on all cylinders for seven seasons. Each had common story characteristics, a 'Big Bad' and common themes centered on growing up. The main character was clearly the center of character development and to track her progress from high school to adult hood is the chief joy of the story's life span. The series worked best when the villains were truly evil and unstoppable (series two: Angel, series three: Mayor Wilkins, series five: Glory, series seven: The First Evil). At it's best there were rarely bad episodes in a single series- for me, series three is the highlight, with Buffy's final year of high school setting the scene for a rich metaphorical base and excellent additions to the cast including Faith and Oz.

Like Dexter, the series uses its secondary characters well. There is no Buffy without Willow, Xander and others who came and went. Unlike Dexter, Buffy's writers grew in confidence and dedicated entire episodes to these characters with minimal interference from the protagonist. These allowed the plot to stretch beyond themes of power and responsibility and to include other roles in the friendship circle. The writer's remained incredibly loyal to their character's history and the constant references to previous episodes are a hall mark of the series. This can make the show difficult to get into but Buffy rewards repeat and concentrated viewing.

Having to sustain a central arc for 22 episodes proved difficult at times, especially in the uneven middle seasons, but the use of 'one-off' single story episodes were great. From the brilliance of the Gentlemen in season fours "Speechless" to the interesting musical episode "One More with feeling" there were numerous attempts to bend the action/drama genre by trying things that were different. There is a sense of gimmick to these episodes but they generally come off quite well and aren't prolific enough to seem like they are trying to cover for a lack of ability or planning (unlike Lost).


The best television writing supports a model. The show will be founded on a single protagonist and will tie up plot ends by the end of the series. The use of an antagonist is therefore essential to opposing and challenging the protagonist's world and causing them to react to the new threat. At it's best, both Dexter and Buffy, manage this consistently.

flash forward to the death of story telling

So I've watched a bit of Flash Forward and, like its cousin Lost, it appears to have zero direction beyond the basic premise. I won't go into it, but basically everyone blacked out for a minute and a bit and had 'visions.' While almost everyone blacked out (bar the 'men in black'- sorry, X-Files did that motif to death and did it well before they killed it), the world went to crap since planes and buses crashed and kangaroos broke free. Seriously.

A premise should never be confused with good story telling. Having a lot of characters should never be confused with character development. Four episodes in and we know little about even the main characters. The biggest revelation is that the dude from Harold and Kumar is going out with the chick from Bring It On! Oh, and the dude who died in Lost is a shadowy figure, someone like, well...
this guy,

this guy


and this guy.



Which brings me back to previous shows based on a premise. The X-Files' premise of aliens among us and the governments involvement was frustratingly teased out over nine seasons. The eventual ending was actually disappointing for the sole reason that it made sense. Followers of the show could recount the characters history and intertwining plots and could recognise the connections that had been there all along. All it needed was a two hour episode to tie it together.

Lost is well beyond the point of ever actually making sense. So many characters have come and gone and so many plot devices used across seasons that anything resembling rational, authentic story telling is long gone. Having lots of characters does not make us care. By way of example, the constant 'sudden' deaths of Boone et al., actually undermine your audience and cause them to resent their emotional investment. Killing the occasional character works but the constant stream of deaths (and indeed rebirths) doesn't help the audience. You keep pulling this card out every season and eventually they stop watching.

The X-Files largely survived this thanks to the 'one off' episodes that were a self contained story. There was still the major story arch (which was as complicated as hell) but the one off investigations by Mulder and Scully allowed the audience to reconnect with their protagonists and, on occasion, explore side characters as well. The premise was not compromised but it gave a more rounded show, and allowed casual viewers (and the writers) the chance to just see some 'cool stuff.' (The Simpsons did this perfectly during their golden era, though without overarching stories). The result of showing this ability to carry and complete a story was an audience who stayed with the show. They built a faith that they would eventually reveal the truth, something neither of the more recent shows has done. All Lost has done is offer flashbacks and flash forwards, a cheap way that avoids creating moments of exposition that invite the audience to care.

Flash Forward hasn't even been interesting enough to actually use a decent (or even cheap) plot device since they are still exploring their premise. There may be one off character pieces to come but so far it has been a slow process, clouded by a weekly schedule and too many characters. It is difficult to remember who is who when you have cops, FBI, a hospital and then minor characters to follow.

The success of these shows, along with certain novels (The Da Vinci Code) and movie franchises (Clone Wars), is only inviting apathy from the audience.

The art of story telling is the one suffering most. Tell a story and make me care about it. Leave cliff hangers and unresolved threads to the unimaginative.

If you are sick of crappy story telling- go see this (out now at Nova and good cinemas) and start watching this.