Two Plots Are Better Than One : Dexter and Series Television

I've noticed there are two types of shows on television, the first is shows that have concrete main characters but a new, unrelated plot every time .  These types of shows can be watched out of order with no actually progression of an overall plot.  This type of television show can usually be seen in children's programs for example "Spongebob" or "The Rugrats."  However as I have gotten older I have noticed another type of television programing as I started to become more interested in series television.
    The first television series that has gotten my attention enough to buy the first season DVD and start from the beginning, in order of the series, is "Dexter".  As I came to the completion of the first season I have started to notice a pattern in how the show is formatted.  For every episode there is an individual sub-plot (in this case a bad person Dexter must kill) and also an overarching plot pulling on pervious episodes and the episodes of the future (for example  Dexter's love life and the mystery of Ice Truck Serial Killer).  Once I noticed this pattern I began to think of other popular television shows (everything from Nickelodeon's Avatar to Glee to Spartacus)  and they all seem to follow this same format to one extent or another.

      I had to then ask myself why?  Well as a scriptwriter I looked at this from a storyline standpoint the sub-plot keeps every episode interesting and engaging for an audience that may not be familiar with the show but also heightens the engagement of dedicated followers.  The overarching plot however is what creates the "show followers" and drive to wait and watch the next episodes.  I believe this equates to the marketing of the show in a way.  The fact that a television show can be enjoyed by someone new to it is equally as important as to entertain someone who has watched it from the start.  Seeing a random episode of Dexter is what got me to start over from the beginning in order to understand what exactly was going on.  The usage of two story-lines to in a way to attract new watchers while furthering the entertainment of followers of the series seems to be extremely effective.

     Another interesting point I would like to add is about the story structure of each episode.  The basic outline of a conventional story is supposed to have an introduction, rising action, conflict, climax, falling action, and a conclusion…however as I have looked further into series television (or at least in the case of Dexter) this does not seem to be the case.  I feel as though every sub-plot follows this basic outline curve however the overarching plot provides it's most heightened sense of emotion at the end of every singular episode.  This climax at the conclusion if you will is what keeps audiences coming back and insights feeling of personal investment and connection within a series television program, turning first-timers into followers.
     It would seem from my experience and my research into series television programs this story-line format is at the core for creating a successful televisions series.  I have found that although some shows such as certain sitcoms and children's shows work on a per-episode basis, the shows that acquire the most "hype" and engage the audience most fully are those that utilize this idea that two plots are better than one.  After taking time to verbalize all of my thoughts and as someone who is interested in series television and the television business I have found that taking time to evaluate my own personal reactions as an audience may help to understand how audiences I may one day market to work as well.

 

Writing from Experience: True Fiction

This past year I have been working on many scripts and screenplays and I have begun to notice that by far my best works have been those based off of true events or personal experiences.  When I look at my life as a whole I think to myself, what a bland and average story I have.  I have never been shipwrecked, I've never had any superpowers, I've never even been in a gun fight or in a Jackie Chan style brawl.  However, in my opinion, I have found that you can tell the best stories from the details only you have.  My life has had ups-and-downs, as everyone has had, but the ups-and-downs I've had are unique to me.  My experience is my own and no one else's…that is unless I share it with them.

I recently become a finalist for a film award after submitting a script about a man struggling with addiction.  The story of a man coping with a drug addiction and the effects it has on his family is not a "new" story or ground-breaking idea, however it is the first hand detail through my own perspective and my own re-telling that gives the story its strength.

I feel if I gave the outline of one of my films to anyone they would see nothing special about the idea, but if you give them a script and they see a real conversation that was had, they hear your character's voice, accent, and inflection as you heard it.  They can see the details of a room you stood in.  They can share your experience.  To write a "fiction film" is not always necessarily about making a work of fiction; through my experience to write the best "fiction" films is to take a nonfiction story (or the guise of nonfiction) and present it to the audience so they may share in a personal story they could have never experienced over wise.

Scriptwriting?

Last night, I went to bed around 9 PM.

Today, I woke up at approximately 3 PM.

18 hours of sleep, and I think I'm finally starting to feel healthy again.

I'd like to thank the makers of NyQuil for this; you simultaneously helped me feel better and shot any hopes I had of catching up on work today in the face, and that's not an easy thing to do.

I should know better than to take the stuff the night before I need to get things done by this point in life, but for the relief it provided short term, I can't complain much.  Nevertheless, the sleep it knocked me into actually brought a fuzzy dream that I think might've just influenced my path in TVR, and is taking me in the direction of a scriptwriting minor.  At first, I thought it was absurd; so I dreamed that I wrote a really amazing script and loved it, big deal.  It isn't like it was a prophetic vision of lottery numbers or anything (I wish), right? 

That was my mindset, until I realized I needed to sit down and write a script for a class and would have no other time during the weekend to do it.  So, I scrawled out a rough draft, and, what do you know, it wasn't half bad.  And...I enjoyed writing it?!  Hm.  Interesting.

I shared it with another member of my class for some feedback since I'd missed the day of the assignment in my class, and he really liked it.  He mentioned several points that I could fix up or work on, but was otherwise quite impressed at my "shitty first draft" (shout out to the Developing Story Narratives class and that reading, it's good to know everyone has a rough time in the beginning).

Now, as I'm brushing it up and still enjoying doing it, I'm considering adopting a scriptwriting minor as of next semester.  I used to like doing creative writing back in high school, even submitting to and being the editor in chief of our literary magazine for two years.  I've always thought that within TVR I wanted to go towards things like field production or doing animation, but I think another avenue just opened up.  This is definitely something I'm considering pursuing, because it's never going to hurt to be a bit more well-rounded in the field, and I could someday benefit hugely from knowing both how to produce and edit in the field or a studio as well as how to write for TV.

I'm curious if being in Fiction Field will impact my desire to do scriptwriting at all.  I hope that there are opportunities within this course to create some sort of epic script and storyline, because it'd be good to test the waters before diving in head-first to another commitment in Park.  Also, I think I'd want to sharpen up my writing academically, because it just took me three tries to spell "commitment" correctly.

I guess you've got to start somewhere.