The Development of a Television Series - Assignment Example

Research Report T&C Episode summary Dexter: Season Episode The first episode of the television series that has evolved to eight seasons is of immense importance as it sets the basis for the subsequent seasons and episodes. The episode serves an important role of introducing both the characters and settings to the audience. Among the key characters introduced in the episode is Dexter Morgan who is the key main character. Dexter is a serial killer; however, he kills other criminals who have eluded the law (Teuteberg, 2009). He specializes in tracking such criminals by analyzing their pattern of their murders. He therefore works as a blood spatter analysts at the Miami Metro Police’s homicide department. The developers of the film introduce Dexter strategically by portraying all the essential features about him including a portion of his family. After the appropriate introduction of Dexter, the developers further introduce the first antagonist of the television series. Dexter’s first assignment is the investigation of serial killer he nicknames “Ice truck killer” a name later adopted for the episode. The murderer kills his first victim in cold blood; he leaves the body strategically for the police severed and bloodless. Dexter comes into the crime scene and begins analyzing the crime scene. He notices the severed body and its bloodless nature. Additionally, he notices that the murderer in the case leaves the body strategically for the investigators. The victim is a young woman who they readily determine was a prostitute in the city. While Dexter and his team strive to settle the case, the criminal strikes again and just as was in his first case, he kills a prostitute and mutilates her body leaving it bloodless. The patterns of his murders are interesting and Dexter soon develops a pattern arising from the evidence he leaves at the crime scene. The murderer leaves a form of a mutilated doll on the bodies of his victims as a message he seeks to pass to the police. The producers of the first episode employ specific features in order to earn the episode and the entire season a success. The developers ensure that they introduce any important character in the episode and develops an appropriate conflict o sustain the entire episode and season. The first paragraph serves as the background to the both the characters and the settings among other essential features of the television drama. In a bid to develop effective background to the characters in the series, the developers introduce Rita Bennett and Debra. The two are essential characters in the television series who influence the performance of the key character thereby influencing he nature of the plot. Rita Bennett is a divorcee with two children. The developers introduce Rita in the episode as Dexter Morgan’s girlfriend. The two are in a quasi-relationship that complicates Dexter’s life thereby influencing his performance. Debra on the other hand s Dexter’s sister who works with the law enforcement in the country as vice squad officer (Palumbo, 1995). However, Debra strives to transfer from her squad to the homicide department in the city. This presents a conflict of interests thereby developing a strategic conflict within the episode. Dexter is uncomfortable working with his sister in the same department and therefore strives to influence her on the contrary. Debra on the other hand seeks to develop her career and believes that she must transfer into the homicide department in order to achieve such development. Episode’s affiliation to the genre of television crime drama As explained earlier, the first episode is one of immense importance in the development of the series. The episode serves an introductory role in which it introduces the plot. The developers achieve this strategic role by ensuring that they introduce the key character who remains relevant throughout the television series. Besides the characters, the developers introduce the conflict that helps identify the series as a television crime drama. They introduce Dexter as a blood splatter analyst working for the homicide department of the Miami Metro Police. To order to gain authenticity in their introduction of Dexter as such, the developers introduce the first crime that requires Dexter’s expertise (Dunne, 2005). The antagonist, who remains unidentified in the first episode strikes killing his first victim. The police find the young woman’s body mutilated and bloodless. The crime most of the detectives consider random becomes Dexter’s first major crime scene in the television series as he works alongside the force in order to dispense justice. While they strive to solve the first murder, the serial killer strikes again and just as was in the first case the murderer kills a prostitute. The inclusion of the two murders in the same scene is essential as they help portray the serial nature of both the television program and the story line. After an effective analysis of the crime scene and the body of the woman, Dexter determines a pattern that he noted on the body of the first murder victim. Apparently, the murderer leaves a mark of a doll in the bodies of his victims. The identification of the form readily links the second murder to the first thereby quantifying the antagonist as a serial killer. Dexter and his team must therefore work efficiently ad fast enough in order to curb the murder of other unsuspecting female victims as the murderer makes it evident that he only target woman. The developers of the television series employ specific features in the scene in order to make both the episode and the series a success. Just as the name suggests, the crime genre in television series portray different criminal activities that take place in the contemporary society. However, in the development of such programs the developers often ensure that they solve such crimes by ending either in the arrest or in murder of the criminals. Solving the crimes in television series is important in order to portray crime as a vice in the society (DePaulo & Leah, 2010). Most of such crimes take place in the society, depicting such on television and leaving them unsolved may result in the prevalence of such crimes. By solving them, the films portray the police as efficient and capable of deciphering some of the messages left by the murderer in their serial killing thereby putting an end to the series of senseless killing and criminal activities they depict in the films. The developers of the series ensure that they capture all the fundamental features of the series in the first episode. Crime series epitomize the development and compilations in conflicts. The effectiveness of the conflicts determines the success of a crime television series. The developers of Dexter as a television crime series understand the role and essence of conflicts in such television programs and therefore introduce both personal and interpersonal conflicts. The different conflicts the developers introduce in the series are likely to affect the performance of Dexter in his duties as an investigator with the police. Dexter is in a relationship with a divorcee raising two children from her past relationship. The relationship between the two is equally unstable as the two are secret lovers. The relationship is likely to affect the performance of Dexter in his official duties as he takes some of his time off and prefers to keep such times unknown to his colleagues in the police department. The introduction of Dexter’s sister in the first episode is equally important in the development of the television series. After developing a successful career at the vice squad, Debra decides she must join the Homicide department in order to grow her career oblivious of the role her brother plays at the same department. She becomes even more enthusiastic when she learns that her brother is with the same department. The rising cases of serial killing expedite her interest of joining the department since she sees such an opportunity to gain more experience thus develop her career. The developers introduce such characters owing to the influence they would later have on the development of series. The roles of the two female characters and their relationship with Dexter, the main character will definitely affect his productivity. The two therefore represent a conflict of interest that will serve to heighten the conflicts in the series thereby sustaining the continuity, a fundamental feature of every series. Continuity refers to the chronological flow of ideas throughout the episodes as the season advances. The name television series is only relevant when the storyline flows. The developers of the program achieve this by employing specific literary features that are appropriate in developing such programs. The continuity of the criminal activities helps place the television series as belonging in the criminal genre. The developers of the series portray their understanding of the need to foster the continuity in the series in their strategic introduction of the different features of the story. Key among such is the developers’ introduction of the murders. The murders are an indispensable feature of the series; murder is a criminal offense in any country as the government has stringent laws that ban the murder to citizens. The introduction of the first murder case identifies the series as a television crime drama. The second murder is strategic in the introductory segment of the series. The developers ensure to include the second murder in the episode owing to its role in portraying the continuity of the murder streak as they portray the antagonists as a serial killer. While the setting of the second murder among other features remain different, the murderer places a form identical to the one he placed on the first victim a feature that helps identify the serial nature of the murders. The ability of the murderer to evade police throughout is a strategic feature that helps develop the serial aspect of the film and the relevance of Dexter in the plot. Dexter comes out as a specialize investigator who tracks down criminals who evade justice. He analyses the patterns of the murder and the placement of the evidence in the crime scene thereby determining the murders. Suspense is yet another important feature that helps sustain the longevity and continuity of the television series. Suspense is a literary technique through which a developer introduces a conflict and leaves such unsolved. This heightens the interest of the audience as they strive to determine the solution and the chronological flow of actions in a film. The developers of the series Dexter have myriad scenes in which the developers portray their expertise in developing suspense. The first episode embodies the expertise of the developers in using suspense as an important literary feature in the series. The developers strategically introduce several characters and conflicts surrounding their roles in the series (McNeil, 1984). By leaving most of the conflicts unresolved, the series promise solutions to such conflicts in subsequent episodes thereby sustaining the viewership as the series develops. The developers for example introduce myriad characters in the first episode. Most of the characters are likely to suffice throughout the series. Dexter the key character is a specialist in the analysis of blood among other evidence in a crime scene. In order to remain relevant as the key character throughout the series, the developers must portray scenes that require his relevance. By portraying Dexter as such, the developers therefore imply that the series is likely to remain a crime drama throughout the series. The portrayal of Dexter as such is not likely to change unless the developers are interested in changing the genre of the film. Besides Dexter, the developers introduce such characters as the murderer, while he remains undetermined by the police department; he is identified to the audience as the developers portray his roles. He maintains discretion in his heinous acts and obtains gratification from such. He for example target female prostitutes. The vulnerability of his target victims perpetuates his criminal activities thereby heightening the conflicts in the series (Simmons, 1989). The developers introduce both the protagonists and the antagonist in the first episode but leaves the conflict unresolved despite Dexter’s expertise in deciphering the messages left at the crime scene. This feature portrays the conflict that even the developers face. On one hand, they portray Dexter as a professional in investigating the crime scene and his expertise in analyzing the evidence left at a crime scene by a criminal is superb. On the other hand, they portray his inability to solve the case immediately despite his expertise. The developers validate the contradiction by portraying the murderer yet another professional who maintains high level of discretion in his endeavors. He selects his victims strategically targeting one of the most vulnerable population in the city. The development and portrayal of the prostitutes in the series further depicts the narrative expertise of the developers. They maintain a chronological and realistic flow of actions in the plot thereby ensuring that every action achieves a proportionate amount of reaction. The developers position specific features of the narrative strategically thereby validating the plot. The murderer for example obtains an amount of gratification from killing his victims. He targets female prostitutes who operate at odd hours of the night. Furthermore, the precarious nature of their occupation makes the prostitutes more appropriate for the murders. The murderer therefore has a large pool of resources from where he selects his victims since the number of prostitutes is high in the city. Coupled with the active nightlife in the city, the murderer makes it difficult for any police officer to trail his activities. The developers of the series exploit such features thereby developing a realistic story one in which every action is commensurate the human limits. The audience obtains greater satisfaction from films only if they identify with the thematic issues addressed in such and the realistic nature of such portrayal. Crime is a human-interest social feature that has risen especially with the development of urbanization. City settings have large populations with most of such people coming from diverse backgrounds. Serial killing is a social vice that has risen with the advancement of such settings. The same is alluded to the number of prostitutes in city streets (Lindsay, 2009). The high number of clubs and bars operating until late into the night foster the activities of the prostitutes thereby widening the scope of crime within the modern day setups. The themes and social features that the developers of the series employ in their plot are realistic and contemporary. The inclusion of such features provides the audience with greater gratification from the series. In a summary, the development of a television series requires the strategic and precise employment of relevant and realistic literary and social features. Dexter is one such product whose developers seek to earn a greater audience from the society. The developers therefore manipulate the features thereby sustaining the continuity of such works. Continuity is an essential feature that refers to the sustained flow of relevant ideas in the series thereby fostering the storyline. The first episode of the television series forms a background for the storyline a must therefore capture the attention of the audience. The developers of the series achieve this employing such literary features as suspense and effective development and portrayal of conflicts. Conflict sustains the story, a television series requires a more complicated story and the developers of Dexter achieve this by introducing the numerous conflicts and characters in the first episode while minting the intriguing nature of the episode. References DePaulo, B. & Leah W. (2010). The Psychology of Dexter. New York: Benbella Books. Dunne, S. L. (2005). "Movie going in the Modern Novel: Holden, Binx, Ignatius", Studies in Popular Culture 28 (1): 37–47. Lindsay, J. (2009). Darkly Dreaming Dexter (1st ed.). New Jersey: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard. McNeil, D. (1984). "A Confederacy of Dunces as Reverse Satire: The American Subgenre", Mississippi Quarterly 38: 33–47. Palumbo, C. D. (1995). "John Kennedy Toole and His Confederacy of Dunces", Louisiana Folklore Miscellany 10: 59–77. Simmons, J. (1989). "Ignatius Reilly and the Concept of the Grotesque in John Kennedy Tooles ‘A Confederacy of Dunces’", Mississippi Quarterly 43 (1): 33–43. Teuteberg, J. (2009). Americas favourite serial killer. Stockholm: Stockholm University. Read More