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ENG 440
Ian Nolte
Complex TV: Chapters 1
"This book's main argument is that over the past two decades, a new model of storytelling has emerged as an alternative to the conventional episodic and serial forms that have typified most American television since its inception, a mode that I call narrative complexity."
Complexity in Context
What is narrative complexity? How should we look at television narrative differently than we do film and literature?
Conventional Episodic Form vs Narrative Complexity
Ozarks
S2 E5
"Game Day"
2018
Dragnet
S3 E17
"The Big Little Jesus"
1953
It's Christmas Eve when Father Rojas at the Old Mission Plaza Church in Los Angeles discovers that the statue of the Infant Jesus is stolen from the crib. The statue's worth is only a few dollars, but it is of great sentimental value for the parish. Friday and Smith promise to try to get it back before mass on Christmas Day, but this means that they have less than 24 hours to catch the thief.
The FBI finds Charlotte's half of the $10,000 she took, which Roy brings up during Marty's interrogation in the hopes that he will turn informant. Roy also informs him that Ruth tried to kill him by wiring the dock the same way she did when she killed her uncles. Roy makes Ruth look like an informant, and Helen asks the Byrdes whether she can be trusted. Marty hesitates before saying yes, then races to the Langmores to warn Ruth. Ruth admits she tried to kill Marty, but says she will not try again because circumstances have changed, so he vouches for her, but Helen's associates subject Ruth to waterboarding interrogation. Ruth does not crack, and Helen tells Marty she is impressed with Ruth's toughness. Marty reminds Wendy that she cheated on him, and Charlotte overhears and informs Jonah. Charlotte and Jonah discuss using what is left of the money they took to buy a van and run away. Helen tells the Snells to burn their poppies so Roy will not find any evidence, but Darlene resists. Wendy brings Darlene adoption information, which is a ploy to enable Buddy to gain access to the Snell farm and burn the field.
The Strange Case of The X-Files
The Strange Case of the X-Files
"The X-Files exemplifies what may be a hallmark of narrative complexity: an interplay between the demands of episodic and serial storytelling, often oscillating between long-term arcs and stand-alone episodes."
"Although the X-Files features an influential array of narrational innovations, the program's eventual creative and critical decline highlights one of the key tensions inherent in narrative complexity: balancing the competing demands and pleasures of episodic and serial norms."
Nine original seasons 1993-2002
A 10th and 11th season in 2016/2018
Episodic vs Serial
"Episodic" does not necessarily mean "uncomplex."
"...narratively complex comdies...use television's episodic form to undercut conventional assumptions of returning to equilibrium and situational continuity..."
Episodic vs Serial
kernels/satellites
kernels: central to the cause-effect-chain of a plot
satellites: inessential to the plot and could be omitted, although they provide text, tone, character
kernels/satellites
These are the natural results of how serial narratives are produced, but they are also part of the fun of enjoying a serial narrative. Asking "Does this detail matter?" is part of the joy of enjoying complex serial narrative.
A Changing Business Model
"For decades, the commercial television industry was immensely profitable by producing programming with minimal formal variety outside the conventional genre norms of sitcoms and procedural dramas...in large part, serialized content posed problems for the industry's cash cow, syndication."
A Changing Business Model
10 seasons/
16 episodes
Series 1 - 6 episodes
Series 2 - 6 episodes
Christmas Special
Season 1 - 6 episodes
Season 2 - 22 episodes
Season 3 - 25 episodes
Season 4 - 19 episodes
Season 5 - 28 episodes
Season 6 - 26 episodes
Season 7 - 26 episodes
Season 8 - 24 episodes
Season 9 - 25 episodes
Operational Aesthetic
Operational
Aesthetic
When narrative is enjoyed not as "what will happen" but "how will it happen." Viewers enjoy complex television because they enjoy "narrative special effects."
The Television Pilot
Complex TV: Chapter 2
"A pilot is an argument for a program's viability, first for the audience of network executives fishing for a hit and then for prospective home viewers who must be persuaded to keep watching."
What is a pilot's goal?
"I contend the chief function of a television pilot is to teach us how to watch the series and, in doing so, to make us want to keep watching--thus successful pilots are simultaneously educational and aspirational. Pilots must orient viewers to the intrinsic norms that the series will employ, presenting its narrative strategies so we can attune ourselves to its storytelling style."
How Do We Close Read Television?
These Questions Need Answers: Veronica Mars's Pilot in Slow Motion
How Do We Close Read Television
"The next sequence begins with a shot tilting down the length of the vertical Camelot Motel sign, ending on street level as the lead biker rolls to a stop in the center of the frame. A series of reverse angles show Veronica staring down the biker, who removes his helmet, beckons her to roll down her window, and then menacingly says, 'Car trouble miss?' We end with a shot of Veronica inhaling as she ponders her next move before we cut to the credits, starting with upbeat music and a vastly different image of a smiling Veronica sitting in the sun. In just under a minute and 40 seconds, this teaser has set up a great deal of information and context for the episode and series as a whole. The neonoir style serves to set a cynical and world-weary tone, with clever narration encouraging a more sophisticated take on conventional crime stories. The frank sexual content of adulterous motel trysts signals a level of maturity unexpected in a program that will later be shown to be based around a high school. And the cliffhanger ending suggests that supsense and action will be a prime ingredient of the dramatic action" (73).