What five television shows would you teach in a writing course?

[shadowkat]

Danielle Nicki
daniellenicki
You’re teaching a TV writing course. What’s the 5 “perfect” shows you assign your students to study?

Sigh, only a television writer would think there is such as thing as a "perfect" television show. [Although a few others did too. There are less television critics online than you'd think - apparently.]

Also, the trick here is NOT to pick your favorite television shows, but the ones that teach specific techniques and changed television as a whole. [At least that's what I'd do. Everyone else seemed to see it as a way of picking their favs.]

I came up with the following list on Facebook, but I'm on the fence. (Also I've studied television series in college.] I'd respond to her directly but she got over 2,500 responses. And 15.5 K retweets. In short, it went viral - because Twitter.

I think it's easier to come up with five films actually.

Here's the best shows to teach in a writing course or five shows that changed how television shows were written. Also it's important to look at how long they were on and if other television shows copied their format.

1. The Wire (HBO) - best cop procedural out there. It basically took Homicide Life on the Streets and Hill Street Blues five steps further. It also is among the few with a hugely diverse cast.

2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - there are a lot of television writers out there who cut their teeth watching this show - and it heavily influenced how they wrote television. It took the slasher/vampire trope and twisted it on its head. Also we can blame it for the "musical" episode that everyone attempted and few pulled off quite as successfully as Buffy did.

3. Lost - introduced a whole new way of telling a story - prior to Lost - most tv shows did the case of the week, or the problem of the week. Lost did the character backstory or flashback of the week. It's A storyline was the serial, and the B was the character backstory.

4. Game of Thrones - changed how fantasy was perceived on television. Because of Game - we have more fantasy series. Also you can show what worked and did not work with that series.

[Although I might switch this one or the Good Wife out with Breaking Bad.]

5. The Good Wife - played with political satire or legal satire, turning the legal procedural into a satire. Granted Boston Legal kind of paved the way, but the Good Wife ran with it.

6. Breaking Bad - has to be in there somewhere, it also changed television. The anti-hero became a thing because of it. It's why we got Ozark, Yellowstone, and so many others. It's basically a "modern" western. Yellowstone reminds me a lot of Breaking Bad, as did portions of Justified.
And it's well structured.

[I'm not a sitcom fan...so not the best judge. I'd say that MASH, Cheers, Mary Tyler Moore Show, All in the Family, Roseanne, and The Good Place should be examined.For a medical procedural? ER - what worked and what didn't. It changed the medical procedural. ]

Hmmm, I might replace The Good Wife with the Good Place. I don't know. Or replace Game of Thrones with Breaking Bad - which also changed Television.

Also we should put a medical procedural in there. Maybe ER? It's by far the most innovative - and it kind of changed how folks did medical procedurals.
Prior to ER - everyone copied St. Elsewhere. Although maybe St. Elsewhere and ER should be taught? I don't know. Aren't you glad I'm not in charge of this curriculum?

I'm glad I don't have to teach television/media criticism or a television writing course to anyone. That would drive me insane.

Which one's would you teach and why?

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What five films would I teach?

Hmmm.

I thought that would be easier. But I'm drawing a blank. If you can think of five films you'd teach - that are perfect for teaching. Have at it.

*****

We could do this meme for everything couldn't we?

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Eh, I'll do the depressing stuff in a different post.

Comments

[mefisto]

I'm sure it did.