1. What Is a Cime Drama?

1. What is a Television Crime
Drama?
Defining the genre

2. A television crime drama
•Television Crime Drama is a genre (or type) of
TV programme.
•It always follows certain rules. The rules of a
genre are called the conventions (typical
elements) of a genre (type of programme).
•Watch this trailer: http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v
=Fyu413qiOXY&playnext=1&list=PL707CE5DF0C72205B

•What tells you it is a television Crime Drama
programme?

3. Is it a television crime drama?
1.Is it on television, or originally made for
TV? (it can’t be a film that came out in
cinemas)
2. Is it mainly about a crime?
3. Is it a drama (made-up, acted, fictional?)

4. Are these TV crime dramas?
•X-Men
•A documentary about drug smuggling
•CSI: Miami
•Thor
•Reality show about police work
•Dr Who
•Morse
•A story on the news about a murder
•Pirates of the Caribbean
For each example, say why it is or can’t be a TV crime drama. Use the three
questions to help you decide:
•Is it on television, or originally made for TV? (it can’t be a film that came out in
cinemas)
•Is it mainly about a crime?
•Is it a drama (made-up, acted, fictional?)

5. Typical characters
Crime dramas usually include three types of character:
•The ones who solve the crimessolve the crimes (detectives, private eyes, police
officers, forensic scientists).
•The ones who commit the crimescommit the crimes (criminals, murderers, thieves).
•The victimsvictims (the ones who get murdered, attacked, robbed, beaten
up, mugged, stolen from, burgled).
Watch the first 40 seconds of either of these clips - can you work out who
is the criminal, who is the victim and who is the crime solver?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vk2lp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAUbPFIlFIc&feature=relmfu

6. Typical plot / storyline
•The typical plot centres around solving a
crime (the murder, attack, burglary)
•The story usually follows those who solve
the crime (the detectives, police)
•The crime is not usually solved until the
end of the episode or programme.

7. To keep you interested…
One of the pleasures of TV Crime drama is watching the
crime get solved. But if it was solved too quickly or
easily, it wouldn’t be interesting. So Crime Drama plots
usually have:
•A mystery or enigma at the start – a puzzle or mystery –
who killed the dead man? And why?
•Lots of suspense – will they catch the killer in time?
•A red herring – will they arrest the wrong person; do the
clues point to an innocent person?
•Some personal drama – the detective's marriage is
falling apart; the detectives fall out with each other; the
detective loses his promotion.

8. Plot devices
•Watch these two clips of two very different TV
crime dramas. What aspects of the plot devices
can you see?
–Mysteries or enigmas?
–Suspense?
–Red herrings?
–Personal drama?
•CSI:NY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4_HyIc89Wk
•Morse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=qukmZgyOQr4

9. Narratives and closure
•If it is a one-off drama, then the narrative will be
closed (all the loose ends will be tied up at the
end of the programme).
•If it is a series, there may be one storyline that
gets finished in the episode, for example a crime
that is solved, then other storylines that run on
through the whole series. These other storylines
may end on cliff-hangers to keep the audience
coming back for the next episode.

10. Todorov
Todorov suggested that most stories follow five
stages:
•Equilibrium – everything is normal at the start
•Disruption – something happens: a crime, a
mystery
•Recognition – people see something has
happened and react to it
•Attempt to repair – people try to put things right,
solve the crime, catch the criminal
•Resolution - everything is solved, worked out,
fixed, and there is a new equilibrium

11. Applying Todorov’s theory
Watch a whole episode of Rastamouse (on
CBeebies iPlayer) or watch the clip below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZCvydOxcq0
Try to work out the five stages
•Equilibrium: Rastamouse and his friends are playing their music
•Disruption
•Recognition
•Attempt to repair
•Resolution

12. Typical settings for TV Crime
Drama
•Often in the city (seen as a dangerous place)
•But sometimes in the countryside…consider the
murder rate in Midsomer!
•Within this, individual locations often include
police stations, law courts, science labs, police
cars, detectives’ houses, alleyways, nightclubs,
victims’ houses….

13. Match these TV crime dramas with
their setting.
Midsomer Murders Manchester
NYPD Blue English gardens
CSI: Miami Country houses
Rosemary and Thyme Midsomer
Rastamouse Oxford
Poirot Miami
Inspector Morse Baltimore
Cracker New York
The Wire Mouseland
Can you think of anywhere that wouldn’t work as the location
of a TV crime drama?

14. Mise-en-scene
Mise-en-scene refers to what can be seen in a camera shot. Look at this image:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vk2lp
3.What are the characters’ positions (facing the camera? Standing
aggressively? Sitting shyly?) What does this tell us about what kind of
person they are?
4.What are the characters’ facial expressions? (Glaring at the camera?
Smiling? Laughing? Winking?) What does this tell us about what kind of
person they are?
5.What props (things) are there in the shot? (A coffee mug? A new car? A
gun? A pencil?) What does this tell us about the person?
6.What costume does the character have? ( A suit? Jeans? A flowery dress?)
What does this tell us about the person?
7.Where is the location or setting? (in a front room? In prison? In an office?)
What does this tell us about the person?
8.Is the lighting bright or dim? Full-on or from the side? What mood does this
give to the image?

15. Mise-en-scene analysis
•Look at these images. One is from a television crime drama, and one is not.
•http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=
http://blog.tvguide.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/prime_suspect.jpg&imgrefurl
=http://blog.tvguide
•http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006v5y2
Describe what you can see in each image:
•Characters posture, position, facial expression
•Costumes
•Location
•Props
•Lighting
•Camera shot type and angle
How does each image have a different mood and feel?

16. Define the genre
What are the genre conventions of Television
Crime Drama?
Explain, using these words:
genre
conventions
plot
character
setting
Teaching TV Crime Drama www.devonldp.org