Talk presented at the International Conference Television, Aesthetics and Reality. Aveiro, Portugal, 2005.

1. Television Drama Series’ Incorporation of Film Narrative Innovation: 24 Nelson Zagalo, Communication and Arts, U. of Aveiro Television, Aesthetics and Reality 2005 Zagalo, N., Barker, A., (2005), Dramatic Television Series as Film Narrative Innovation, in International Conference Television, Aesthetics and Reality, Jul. 2005, Aveiro, Portugal

4. Chronology 1981 - 1987 - Hill Street Blues 1992 - 2002 - X-Files 1994 - ER 1999 - West Wing, The 1999 - Sopranos, The 2001 - 24 2001 - Six Feet Under 2004 - Lost 2004 - Desperate Housewives

5. The Concept Soap Opera open plot structure and complex continuity + Hollywood Film Style complex form (editing, cinematography and acting) = New Television Drama Series complex narrative structure and complex form, permits new and complex realism New TV drama

6. New Drama Forms Soap Operas – Storytelling extended through years CBS “The Guiding Light” is credited by the Guinness Book as being the longest soap opera ever told. Is in the air since 1952. Hollywood – Storytelling concentrated in 2 hours TV drama – runs between months and years Results: Narrative Structure is borrowed from Soap Operas and enhanced a) Multi-Threaded b) Multi-Episode Story Arcs c) Multi-Characters complex narrative structure

7. New Drama Forms a) multi-threaded Higher and interwoven information flow means more complexity and so a Higher Cognitive Workflow Various plots per episode and simultaneous Part of a “The Sopranos” episode (Steven Johnson, 2005)

8. New Drama Forms b) multi-episode story arcs Information Fragmentation Ep.1 Ep.2 Ep.3 Ep.4 Ep.5 Ep.6 Ep.7 Ep.8 Ep.9 Ep.10 Extended plots through series season Extended characters development

9. New Drama Forms c) Multi-Characters Ensemble Characters and Increased Social Networks Desperate Housewives (2004)

10. New Drama Forms Soap Operas – quick and serial produced with little resources Hollywood – big resources and time for each production New TV drama – more resources than soap operas but less than film Results: Style is borrowed from Hollywood a) Natural mimicry of light b) Shot seamless Interior and exteriors c) Framing not conditioned by camera predetermined positions d) Shot in film, not in video as soap operas. complex style form

11. New Drama Forms a) natural/artificial Lighting Six Feet Under the natural light mimicry 2001 The Guiding Light homogeneous unnatural shadowing 2005

12. New Drama Forms b) Interior-exterior sets The Guiding Light fake outside terrace episode from 2005 Lost In a real beach 2004

13. New Drama Forms c) complex framing Desperate Housewives 35 mm Film (2004) American Beauty 35 mm Film (1999)

14. New Drama Forms . Hospital Emergency Room day-by-day (ER) . Psychoanalysis of a Mafia Mob (Sopranos) . Funerary Family social living (Six Feet Under) . Plane Crash Survivors Tragedy (Lost) . Vicariously live in real-time a day of a fiction world (24) TV New Realism The use of soap opera narrative structure in conjunction with Hollywood film style, permits the development of a new TV realism

15. Case Study: 24 Analysis of the first season of the drama series, 24 It is named 24 because the action on the show occurs in "real-time". One season covers the events of one day in the life of Jack Bauer. Every episode covers the events of one hour in that day. So 24 episodes for 24 hours.

16. Case Study: 24 Multi-Plot (A) Prevent the Assassination of a presidential candidate (B) Save kidnapped wife and daughter (C) Find the traitor within organization (D) Unveil the presidential candidate son of being a murderer multi-threaded and multi-episode story arcs

17. Case Study: 24 Uncertainty (a) Hero wife is raped by kidnappers (b) President candidate divorces is wife in the Election Day (c) Hero wife dies at the end Creative liberty, the use of Unpopular Content

18. Case Study: 24 Characters web 4 Families; 15 characters , each one of them plays at least for one episode a central role; This permits Hundreds of plot connections, and an infinite amount of information flow

19. Case Study: 24 Dramatic Artifices . Clock (mean of 10 displays per episode) - Emphasise strong sense of suspense, ticking on-screen from time to time. ( Hitchcock element ) - Shifts between diegetic and non-diegetic plans, augmenting the participative feeling of the viewer

20. Case Study: 24 Dramatic Artifices . Cell phone (mean of 20 calls per episode) - Transformation of text time into a new type of verbal space . - Helps maintaining the action flow for 24 hours - Conveys the feeling of simultaneity actions ongoing . Multi-screens - It picks the “verbal space” developed by the cell phone and creates a new visual space inexistent

21. Case Study: 24 Form as Reality Simulation . Digital video texture - Gives a familiar home video feel . Handheld camera - Imitates human visual perception

22. Case Study: 24 Concept as Reality Simulation . Synchronicity – moment for moment Each watching moment, corresponds to each hero moment - > establishes common touch point between viewer and hero that makes him feel as participative in the world. Viewer knows events are not true, they are fiction, but time is passing for real in his life during the viewing. Clock, makes the connection between fiction and reality. It works like a glue that unifies the suspension of disbelief and the simultaneous breaks - > puts the viewer in an alert state, a continuous shifting between passive and active roles.

23. Conclusions . TV Drama Series are increasing not only the cognitive demand on the viewer but also the emotional pace. . They are so demanding in terms of mental activity from the user that we should start thinking about it not only in terms of a viewing activity but as a participative interaction (videogames). . TV Drama series, are growing and stealing more and more audience from film. Series are becoming quickly the content most downloaded in the internet.