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?

***

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?

***

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

Comments

[rose_griffes]

I'd include Avatar: The Last Airbender to cover both kids shows and animated shows.

And for a sitcom, I'd agree with The Good Place. Or The Office--heither US or UK. I'm not a fan of either but both shows had a big impact. Maybe 30 Rock instead--a show I actually did like... at first.

ER, yeah, that's another one that had an impact.

A lot of people would include The West Wing. Never watched it myself but it certainly has its cadre of fans.

[mtbc]

ER did have some variety in the kinds of episodes it had, it seemed to experiment a bit.

One issue with movies is I often saw them out of order thus don't realize which were pioneering.

[shadowkat]

St. Elsewhere might be better for a medical procedural - a lot of shows copied its format.

I'm not really the best judge of kid's shows. Avatar seems a touch violent and adult for kids, but again not the best judge. My brother had my niece watching 1960s situation comedies like the Dick Van Dyke show because of the violence and branding in kids shows. I would include Avatar for the animated cartoon though, with good character driven plotting.

Same problem with sitcoms - I don't tend to like most of the recent ones. The last sitcom I actually made it all the way through was The Good Place. The Office is worth studying - both versions because it helped create the mockumentary. Although I'd pick Arrested Development over the Office (mainly because I found the Office unwatchable for personal reasons, while Arrested Development was the only mockumentary I made it through). 30 Rock...I liked the first season? I might pick Seinfield instead, because it's more different. Or WKRP or News Radio which I liked better than 30 Rock in some respects, or Murphy Brown, which I also liked better.

[shadowkat]

I watched all of the West Wing - which is a good example of what works and doesn't. It got very preachy at times. It also introduced "rapid fire" dialogue approach, which was copied by a lot of television writers, wome to better effect than others. Shonda Rhimes - definitely copied the rapid fire dialogue and the preachy long monologues - both Scandal and Grey's sound a lot like West Wing, and borrow heavily from it's style of writing.

It's not a favorite, but it is a good choice for a writing course.

[shadowkat]

I'm thinking maybe St. Elsewhere over ER now - it influenced more medical series over a longer period. It also gave birth to shows like LA Law and NYPD Blue and Homicide Life on the Streets.

[mefisto]

I agree with 1, 3, and 4. Haven't seen the others so they obviously can't go on my list. I'll have to think about any others that I'd add.

[mefisto]

I'd add Deadwood. I'd say that's the precursor to Justified, Yellowstone, Ozark, etc.

[brittdreams]

I've seen so few TV series that I don't have much to contribute here. I do think including one of the cop procedurals is a good idea, in part because it allows you to introduce the way that those shows were used to "humanize" the police which has really changed society overall.

I was trying to think of a relevant sci-fi show and the only thing that came to mind was Babylon 5 but IDK if that would work.

[cjlasky7]

This is an interesting question. Name five TV shows that exemplify five different STYLES of writing. As you said, not necessarily your favorite shows, but distinctive in their construction. So... my own idiosyncratic list:

1. The Honeymooners. The ur-text of sitcoms. Mostly one set, and four basic characters. The model for just about everything that came after. (Possible substitute: The Dick Van Dyke Show)

2. Dragnet. The granddaddy of all faux documentaries. The rat-a-tat dialogue delivery of Sgt. Joe Friday is worth a class by itself.

3. The Fugitive. Standalone episodes blended with ongoing storyline? Started here. Good jumping off point for discussion of anthology format. (Possible substitute: Twilight Zone)

4. The Simpsons. Commentary on pop culture within pop culture. (Possible substitute: Buffy)

5. Lost. Can't argue with this one. Jump started the new age of long-form television. (Possible substitute: Breaking Bad)

[mtbc]

Aha, and somewhat moving into stuff I didn't watch, though I watched a chunk of NYPD Blue at least and suspect I'd have liked Homicide from the clips I've seen (though wasn't really watching US TV back then).

[mtbc]

B5's the first sci-fi I can think of that really took arc seriously.

[mefisto]

Another very influential show, though I don't think the writing would qualify, is Vikings.

[brittdreams]

The real arc is the reason B5 came to mind. But I'm sure there are plenty of other non-sci-fi shows that have done that well.

[mtbc]

Probably there are? But none are jumping to my mind. At least, apart from series that adapted books.

[brittdreams]

None come to mind for me either. B5 it is then!

[shadowkat]

I'd agree with Babylon 5. He plotted that out in detail.

Although Battle Star Galatica v.2 - did introduce a science fiction series where everyone was human or robot, there were no aliens. Firefly tried, but BSG did do it so well - and that was a first and influenced a lot of sci-fi as a result. It also influenced how people did AI in sci-fi. BSG also has the distinction of flipping traditional gender roles - both the rogue pilot with the heart of gold and his buddy were made female, roles that were previously done as male.

I just felt B5 was a bit more successful in it's overall arcs and plot structure.

(My fav was Farscape - but it's too cult to fit, and didn't further television very much.)

Star Trek did though. As did Doctor Who - who did speculative episodic sci-fi rather well with a morality play factored within it. And Doctor Who predates Star Trek by about four years?

[shadowkat]

You'd have liked Homicide also the Wire, but Homicide is hard to find, and the Wire is on HBO.

[shadowkat]

Interesting...you don't think Buffy should be taught? It's influenced a lot of television, not always in a good way.

[shadowkat]

Interesting, yes, maybe. I've admittedly only tried the first episode. I don't know though - Breaking Bad kind of influenced Ozark - I think?

[shadowkat]

I haven't seen that one, so can't comment. Why?

[shadowkat]

Agreed on the Honeymooners...I Love Lucy borrows heavily from it. (Wait a minute was that before or after the Honeymooners?)

Dragnet - also really started the cop procedural. And the beginning of rapid fire dialogue.

I'm not sure about the Fugitive - I'm thinking Doctor Who? Did it predate the Fugitive? It kind of started the whole episodic series with one main character thread in sci-fi. Although I think old westerns such as Have Gun will Travel may have predated it. However, The Fugitive was by far the most popular and well known - and so many series copied that model for years, from the Incredible Hulk to Touched by an Angel to Doctor Who. I'm just not certain if Doctor Who came before it?

The Simpsons? I wouldn't include it for meta-narrative on pop culture so much as for how it changed how people viewed cartoons. Prior to the Simpsons - cartoons were a Saturday Morning affair - now we have adult situation comedy with the Simpsons. Simpsons - are responsible or can be blamed for The Family Guy, Bob's Burgers, Rick and Morty, King of the Hill, Beavis and Butthead, and others of that ilk.

Buffy I was including for how it changed dialogue - and got quippy short-hand dialogue, also furthered the teen supernatural dramedy.

I don't think Breaking Bad did the same thing Lost did though? Breaking Bad kind of changed it in another way - in pushing serial. Also Lost pre-dated BB, I think?

[yourlibrarian]

I think your 5 pick (if we do Breaking Bad for Good Wife) is a good set. For comedies I'd agree with MASH, Good Place, Mary Tyler Moore and All In the Family. I'd add Community as a 5th one.

[mefisto]

Damn, I mis-typed. I absolutely think Buffy should be taught. It's probably be first on my list (though obviously The Wire is also great).

[mefisto]

Only because its success inspired a ton of copycat shows. The writing is solid but can't really hold a candle to Buffy or The Wire.

[mefisto]

I'm sure it did.

[brittdreams]

I never watched BSG (either version). It's long been on my list. I should really do that one of these days.

I love the arcs of B5. There's something about a tiny moment in season 4 where it all comes together that you realize was hinted at in season 2 and then again in season 3 that makes you go "damn, JMS was a genius".