Studying TV Drama - 9781906733049

Students following graduate level courses in Media Studies have had the benefit of many books covering a variety of television genres, but titles on TV drama aimed specifically at students at a lower level have been notably few. But with drama now forming a major part of courses at this level, Studying TV Drama is designed to meet this need, analysing landmark productions from the last six decades as a way into the exploration of the techniques, technologies, aesthetics and values of television drama.

Studying TV Drama begins with a lengthy, general introduction tracing the history of UK TV drama from the 1950s, touching on the likes of Play for Today and Up the Junction. The subsequent chapters take the form of case studies of a specific TV drama, dealing with: the significance of that programme in the history / development of TV drama as a genre; content and narrative structure; representation; dramatic style and form; and technical analysis (camera, sound, editing, mise-en-scene). The chosen case studies focus on contemporary and continuing drama likely to be familiar to students (such as Doctor Who) as well as some landmark productions to act as key points (such as Bleak House). US drama as a particular mode is represented by the Hugh Laurie vehicle, House MD. The dramas selected also represent differences of production style to provide a varied experience for the purposes of analysis, making Studying TV Drama the perfect introduction to the field.