Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
A friend of mine who has written a bit for TV believes that the stuff that tends to be popular is essentially about people helping others, and points to the ongoing popularity of cop shows, lawyer shows, and medical shows as prime time drama. Those all feature protagonists either actively helping others, or trying to prevent others from coming to harm.
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I always thought that the popularity of law and medical shows was in the sheer drama of life and death, and the satisfaction of seeing bad people get caught... the "cynical" side of the "good people getting help" coin... but I guess it amounts to the same thing.
Still, shows about good people maintaining their own good, and occasionally helping others with like interests (
The Waltons,
Little House, etc) have been as popular as cop and lawyer shows, at times more popular. The popularity of law and medical shows over other program types has been a cyclical thing, and probably still is. And essentially, how many shows are
not about helping someone... even if it's just yourself?
I always thought the mark of a successful dramatic show (and ofttimes a comedy) was in having characters the audience could identify with and like, and therefore have a visceral stake in their successes and failures.
'Course, I don't write for TV...