Lesson 3: Sub Genres and Hybrids

So today we were thinking about some other key terminologyfor your exam:

Sub Genres : different specific styles but still within the catergory of TV Crime Genre

Genre Hybrids: When two or mroe established genres mix (e.g Romantic + Comedy)

We also talked a bit about this word and how Crime Drama trys to create it..

Verisimilitude: The world and the rules of reality created by the text.

Then we watched some clips from 3 different SUB GENRES:

• The private investigator (Sherlock)
• The police procedural (The Wire)
• The professions (CSI)

Then we tried to identify differences between the three using this sheet:

Website with good explanations of Subgenres: Crime TV Buddy Cop Show Forensic Drama

HOMEWORK : Read thsi article and try and note down new terms or examples you could use for your exam:

genre crime tv drama

Lesson 2 : Case Study : Sherlock

So today we talked about developing our understanding our knowledge of the conventions and tried to identify them in the excellent Sherlock (BBC, 2011). We watched the first episode of the series and then read through the case study extract (see below)

The eccentric protagonist / red herrings / mystery / use of intelligence over strenght and sidekicks / buddy characters are all exemplified perfectly in this series.

To watch the episodes you could buy the dvd or you could find a link to a filesharing website which im definately not going to mention.. apart from if you click .. HERE!

Sherlock

Lesson 1 : Intro and Conventions

So the first lesson up we talked about how to define the Genre :

Must be on TV. Must be about Crime. Must be dramatical / fictional !

Simple !


Then we listed conventions and watched loads of clips: Here are some of the things we came up with

• Iconography - Guns . Crime Scenes - Blood - Murders - Police - People in suits! and trenchcoats
• Characters : Eccentric Detectives. Often strong females police/detectives . Insider who is well shady ! Corrupt police and gangsters. Intelligent killers.
• Settings are mostly urban although can be regional and sometimes in suburban /countryside areas
• Usually have a large dose of action in contemporary series .
• Storylines feature lots of tension and mystery with lots of twists and 'red-herrings' .

See the list below for a more complete examination........
Crime Conventions

We also watched this to help !

Welcome : The intro;

This blog is a place predominantly for SCCS students to find useful resources to help them prepare for the upcoming GCSE Media Studies exam about TV CRIME DRAMA.

Please leave any comments / questions / feedback you like .

Make sure you look at the useful links list at the top of the page and the youtube playlist of classic clips. You can find lots of examples of TV CRIME DRAMA on channels like Alibi / Sky one /FX and BBC iplayer .

Nice One

Mr Sloan