Television: Introduction to TV drama

 Television: Introduction to TV drama 

1) The His Dark Materials trailer has the typical conventions of a TV drama. This is because it features an ensemble of characters, as well as a narrative arc that persists throughout the entirety of the series.

2) The genre that is used is fantasy, though it can also be a hybrid of it and action or mystery, as some of those conventions have also been used in the trailer and throughout the series.

3) The narrative that is used is one which involves the main character, Lyra, and the teenage boy, Will, running from somebody or a group of people who are looking for them. In addition, the use of the 'daemons' (animal companions) are used to introduce the idea of fantasy and other worlds, which are mentioned in the trailer. The characters introduced are Will, Lyra and the group of adults, who seem to be both friends and enemies. The typical convention of good vs evil is also mentioned throughout the books and the series, which is a convention of TV drama. 

4) The settings that appear are those typically used in fantasy books and television dramas, such as a forest, island and a group of cities. This could be used to show that the unknown places are those that are unfamiliar to the protagonists, while the city may be more familiar. The mention of being "not from this world" may also allude to this.

5) I believe that the target audience may be a range of young adolescents to adults, as the books are aimed at 9-14 year olds, while the series may have adapted it to perhaps be aimed at older teenagers or young adults. Furthermore, the use of blood and weapons may also be used to be aimed at older audiences, such as adults.

Extension Tasks:

1) The writer of the Guardian article claims that the main lead actor and actress are extremely good at their job. He writes that there are inaccuracies between the books and the series- for example, smartphones are used while they were not in the books. Furthermore, he says that the use of dramatic music is overdone, and there were also inaccuracies in terms of characterisation and the plot of the books, which was changed slightly within the series. The comments talk about how great the series - many say it is great escapism and works well by treating the viewers like adults.

2) These fit the conventions of TV dramas because there is a use of wide ensemble of characters throughout all of these stories. There are many objects that linger in between each story, showing that this uses a narrative arc to link each episode together and build up the loyal fanbase that they had worked hard to make over the years.