Tv Drama Generic Conventions

Characters – even particular kinds of characters: eg, at its most
simple, ‘good’ and ‘bad’ characters.
 Stories – they all tell stories, whether those stories involve
adventure, crime or romance and they often, but not always, end
happily.
 The stories are told against familiar backdrops: – eg, homes,
police stations and offices (for crime dramas), hospitals (for
medical dramas) – most of which are created in studios. However,
most dramas also use outside locations to create particular
effects.
 Camerawork – particular kinds of shots are used: eg, sequences
involving establishing shots followed by mid-shots of characters,
shot/reverse shots to show character interaction and, in particular,
close-ups to show the characters’ emotions.
 Stories use dialogue to tell the stories. Occasionally, monologues
are built in (as voiceovers, a character telling a story).
 Music is used to punctuate the action, create effects (suspense,
tension) and underline emotional moments.
 Particular subgenres tend to have items which make them
immediately identifiable – police cars, blue lights, operating
theatres and scalpels, triage/reception areas in hospitals. Icons of
the genre, they symbolise the (sub)genre.

The I.T Crowd

The Characters in the clip of the I.T crowd