TV Genres

AA310 - Tutorial 6

Structure for the Session

• Overview of general themes and considerations• Case studies of the Single Play, the British Adventure Series

and Science Fiction

General Considerations

• ‘[T]elevision, even more than film, has been looked down upon by intellectuals and cultural commentators as a low brow, vulgar, popular medium.’ - Course book, p. v– How will this impact on your critical analysis when applied to either

the single play, adventure series or science fiction?

General Considerations

• In TV, the writer, rather than the director, is regarded as the key creative influence.– Why do you think this is?

– How may this affect your analysis?

• Much early TV was recorded either live or as ‘live’ (due to the difficulty of editing early videotape systems).– How may this affect your analysis?

TV Timeline - Key Events

• 1953 - Coronation of QEII sees a massive increase in TV sales• 1955 - ITV starts broadcasting in London. 95% of the country can

receive a BBC signal• 1958 - Videotape recording begins• 1964 - BBC2 starts broadcasting• 1967 - Colour transmission begins on BBC2• 1969 - Colour on BBC1 and ITV• 1982 - C4 starts broadcasting• 1989 - Launch of Sky TV• 1997 - C5 begins broadcasting• 2007 - Analogue switch off begins - complete in 2012• 2007 - BBC launches iPlayer• 2008 - Launch of Freesat, including HD channels

British Drama: The Single Play

Armchair Theatre (1956-74)

• The coursebook covers the period from 1959-1965– Refer to the BFI website for audience figures for the 1950s and

1960s - http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/mostwatched/

• Originally produced by Dennis Vance, but more commonly associated with Sydney Newman, appointed Head of Drama at ABC in 1958

• Screened immediately after Sunday Night at the London Palladium, and transmitted from ABC’s Manchester studio

• Newman transformed the fledgling Armchair Theatre strand to become the epitome of ‘agitational contemporaneity’. – This was helped by live broadcast, seen as an asset for the single

play, which was readily associated with the theatre– Consider Newman’s tutelage under John Grierson at the NFB in

Canada

Armchair Theatre (1956-74)

• Lena, O My Lena (1960) is seen by many as the archetypal single play of the early sixties

• Written by Alun Owen, whose childhood in Wales and Liverpool was represented in the characters of Glyn and Tom. In many ways, the plot reflects Owen’s personal insecurities.

• Watch the play on the course video and consider its relationship with British culture in the early sixties.

– How did the visual aspects of the production enhance the story?– Who was the audience for this story?

• More context and clips can be found on Screenonline

The Wednesday Play (1964-70)

• Sydney Newman was appointed to the BBC in 1962, and took responsibility for The Wednesday Play

• ‘It seemed like a conscious insult to the audience…In putting such a man in such a position, the BBC hierarchy were showing the deepest contempt for them’. - BBC Producer Don Taylor, Resource Book, p. 122

• Several new careers were launched by this strand, including Dennis Potter and Ken Loach, and it gained a reputation for challenging drama

• More context and clips can be found on Screenonline• Also, the recently rediscovered examples of single plays may be

used in your essay.

Case Study: Up the Junction (1965)Production

• Written by Nell Dunn, but has become known as a Ken Loach drama - Why?– Loach: ‘You were meant to vision mix on the spot, in the studio, to

eliminate editing, but we shot it more like a film so that it would have to be cut…Our whole intention, at that stage, was to make films - not studio based theatre.’ - Course book, p. 19

• Loach shot and edited it using the 16mm back-up print in order to follow a cinematic workflow. The footage was recorded on newer, lightweight cameras allowing more freedom of movement.

• Consider the framing of shots - Television was intended for very small 4:3 screens in the 1960s, whereas cinema had various ‘widescreen’ ratios - Did this affect the mise en scene? Consider in relation to the opening scene.

Case Study: Up the Junction (1965)Reception

• It scored a BBC audience appreciation rating of 58 (The average for the Wednesday Play was 56), although it received a then record 400 complaints.

• The BBC pulled a repeat of the episode, possibly because of its close timing to the reading of an abortion reform bill

• However, this was less than a year since the BBC had banned The War Game entirely.

• Newman himself felt it was ‘messy, too long and looked down on the working class’ (Course book, p. 28), but commissioned Loach to make the better received Cathy Come Home the following year.

British Drama: The Single PlayClosing Thoughts

• ‘The single play formed only 6 per cent of Drama Group’s output’ - Resource Book, p. 132

• ‘The myth of “writer-led” drama, so central to “official” and critical evaluations of The Wednesday Play, becomes dubious from this point on.’ - Resource Book, p. 135

• Consider why the single play declined and is now rarely seen on British TV.

The British Adventure Series

The British Adventure Series -Highlights and context

• This is the genre that made independent TV, and is indelibly associated with ATV/ITC.

• Key examples include Danger Man (1960-67), The Saint (1962-69), The Prisoner (1967-68), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969-70), The Champions (1969-70) and Jason king (1971-72) - All of which were originally broadcast on ITV.

• The ATV/ITC series were made on film (as was the standard in America), rather than videotape, which enabled ATV to become the first British TV company to set up its own international distribution arm

• The script editor of The Saint (Harry W Junkin) had worked in American television and ensured the dialogue was in the American idiom - ‘gas’ instead of ‘petrol’, ‘elevator’ instead of ‘lift’

• In 1965 Lew Grade sold Danger Man (to CBS), The Saint (NBC) and The Baron (ABC) for a combined total of $10 million

The Avengers (1961-69)

• In the first series the main protagonist was a doctor (played by Ian Hendry) whose fiancée was killed by gangsters at the beginning of the first episode. The doctor sets out to avenge her death and is assisted by a mysterious undercover agent called John Steed (Patrick Macnee).

• Although created by Sydney Newman, it became predominantly associated with Brian Clemens, who had written for Danger Man and would develop a career at Hammer Films.

• As the series developed, Steed became the lead character with a succession of female accomplices

• Watch the clip of A Touch of Brimstone - What elements of ‘Britishness’ can you identify?

The Avengers (1961-69)

• It was the fourth series of The Avengers (the first made on film) that was sold to the American ABC network in 1965. This money enabled the series to be filmed in colour in 1967.

• Despite appearing to avoid sixties ‘pop culture’ trends, the series tapped into two key elements of that decade

• Fashion - The design of Emma Peel’s outfit was by Pierre Cardin

• Sex - Cathy Gale and Emma Peel were both widows - code for sexually experienced

• The introduction to James Chapman’s Saints and Avengers:British Adventure Series of the 1960s is available for free on Google Books

Adam Adamant Lives!

• Sydney Newman appointed as BBC’s head of television drama in 1962

• Newman devised Adam Adamant and appointed Verity Lambert as the show’s producer

• All interior scenes were shot on video and as such, it was recorded ‘as live’, giving it a less polished feel. This also meant it was not sold to America

• Watch the excerpt on the course video and consider the differences between this show and The Avengers

• Finally, consider why the adventure series declined in popularity

Science Fiction

Science Fiction -Context and Development

• The first British sci-fi TV Series was The Quatermass Experiment (1953). It was written by Nigel Kneale (who also wrote a controversial adaption of George Orwell’s 1984 (1954), as well as the acclaimed The Year of the Sex Olympics (1968) and The Stone Tape (1972).

• It was budgeted at £4000 for all six episodes (in the 1950s a typical Sunday night play with one repeat would be budgeted between £2000-3000).

• Watch the opening sequence from Quatermass and identify what themes were addressed, as well as any technological issues the production dealt with.

• Both Quatermass and A for Andromeda (1961) displayed ambivalence towards technology - why?

Science Fiction -Context and Development

• The genesis of Doctor Who is covered via a series of primary documents from the BBC archives at http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/doctorwho/index.shtml

• Read the selection of excerpts on the genesis of Dr Who and consider how these were translated into the finished series.

• The BBC’s Classic Episode guide is also a good resource: http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/index.shtml

Doctor Who (1963-Present)

• Errata - As you probably know, the series has been revived - Your course book covers up to 1989.

• Because of this, the Doctor is described as reamaining ‘upper middle class’ - Not so after Eccleston and Tennant (although Matt Smith has now continued this trend - but don’t forget the assistant).

• It also claims it outlived its cultural purpose - although this is more likely due to poor scheduling, opposition within the BBC (most famously Michael Grade, then Controller of BBC1) and poor casting.

• In the first series the Doctor has three companions – his teenage granddaughter (expected to tap into the ‘with it’ youth audience of the sixties) and her two schoolteachers (who were able to explain historical context). The Doctor was a grandfatherly figure.

• Why was there a trend for historical stories?

– Almost certainly budgetary considerations - It provided the opportunity to use leftover props and sets.

– Originally broadcast at 5.15pm to appeal to children/families

Doctor Who

• Watch the example on your course video (or this clip from The Dalek Invasion of Earth) - What historical event was allegorised?

–The example on your course video is an allegory of the Second World War, although this trend had appeared to end in British cinema by the late 1950s.

–The Daleks used radio broadcasts, humans as slave labour and are cold and ruthless, and it is suggested they represent Nazis. But this was not their first outing, so ensure you provide other evidence to support this argument.

Doctor Who

• Douglas Adam’s tenure as script editor, which coincided with Tom Baker in the lead role, is generally regarded as a high point in the series.

• Listen to ‘The Doctor and Douglas’ and then view an excerpt from The City of Death (1979). Consider the elements of ‘Britishness’ which mark it out from American sci-fi, and assess the impact of this on its success.

American Science Fiction

• The most popular genre on American TV in the fifties was the Western.

• The first successful American sci-fi series was The Twilight Zone (1959-64), followed by the similar The Outer Limits (1963-66). The producer Irwin Allen created more family oriented shows like Lost in Space (1965-68). The Time Tunnel (1966-67) and Land of the Giants (1968-70).

• Consider what societal factors led to these shows.– Two main factors - The Apollo space programme and Lyndon

Johnson’s Great Society programme.

Star Trek (1966-69)

• By far the most culturally pervasive series of the sixties (although its contemporary influence was limited) was Star Trek.

• It was created by Gene Roddenberry, who saw the show as a ‘space western’.

• The pilot (deemed ‘too cerebral’) cost $630,000 to make - a massive contrast to similar British productions.

• Watch the clip from The City on the Edge of Forever Compare to British sci-fi of the same period.

Star Trek (1966-69)

• Plato’s Stepchildren featured the first interracial kiss on American TV, however, its sexual politics were not as progressive.

• ‘The Starship Enterprise is a metaphor for cosmopolitan American society, with its relations with alien races indicative of American foreign policy’ (Course Book p. 185).

• Originally broadcast at 8pm, but shifted to 10pm for its third season, losing much of the youth audience.

• Seasons two & three were broadcast during the height of the Vietnam war, when American foreign policy was questioned.

• The success of Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977) led to Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Robert Wise, 1979), and eventually Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-94).

• Next Generation anticipated the end of the Cold War by ending the enmity between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.

Comparisons

• The course book questions the greater success of Star Trek compared to Doctor Who - although this is now once again debatable.

• The course book suggests that one reason may be Star Trek allegorised the present while Doctor Who allegorised the past. Do you think this is convincing? What other factors may there be?

TMA 05

• Armchair Theatre and The Wednesday Play are two distinct series, but if you discussed just ‘The Scent of Fear’ and ‘Lena, O my Lena’ your essay would be failed as they are two examples from the same series.

• Textual Features include:

– Narrative

– Genre

– Theme

– Visual Style

• Contextual Features include:

– Production history/conditions

– Critical and popular reception

– Wider social and cultural circumstances

Good Luck!

• Any further questions?• P.moody@open.ac.uk• If you have not already done so, add your name to

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