Friday 12 September 2014

A new TV Drama: In The Club

In The Club

The new TV drama I watched was called in the club. It was about how a group of pregnant women and their families cope with modern day issues. They story follows different families with their own difficulties with giving birth, whether its: money troubles, under age problems or a big age gap. Each episode focuses on a particular family, but all the other families are still involved and are included in all episodes. most of the other TV Dramas i watch are set back in time, where as In The Club is set very much in the modern day. Everyone watching can relate to the stories and there meanings within In The Club as there is a wide variety of issues that normal everyday families go through, so its nice to have a program that shows some of the realisations with giving birth, not just the positives. 

TV Drama: Hustle

Hustle
character and plot
Due to his past, Mickey has a strong hatred for people who use the system to make themselves rich regardless of the cost to anyone else. He makes it his duty to outwit them, so got a team together to play them at their own game. The gang states that their first rule is, "You can't cheat an honest man," and those who they hustle are dishonest people and do not deserve to be rich. 
style, sound and camera techniques

They use fast music in the chase scenes to make an impact, and to exaggerate the speed of the chase. The style of this drama is based on the 1920’s New York gangsters.When they do a hustle, the uses the camera as the ‘good guys’ eyes so you can see what they did to scam the ‘bad guys’ out of money. They may switch to have the camera as the ‘bad guys’ eyes if they don’t want you to see how the hustle was done.

TV Drama: Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey
characters and plot
The story follows the Crawley family and their servants who live in the country estate of Downton Abbey as they battle with family, money and war. You see stories about living uppstairs as well as downstairs in the kitchens, and the people in between. we see how different classes behaved and acted in Elizabethan times. throughout the series you saw stories from both upper and lower class in every episode, so you had a variety in every episode not just one then the other.
style, sound and camera techniques

they play elizabethan music in the background of some scenes to add more character/ levels to the scene. The beginning to some scenes is just the servants rushing around, with little talking, so this means that they need something to fill the silence, so they play classical music. like call the midwife, very basic camera techniques are used, with only a few zooms to highlight certain characters and there facial expressions.

TV Drama: Call The Midwife

Call The Midwife
Character and plot
Set in the 1950’s, call the midwife follows 8 nurse midwives working and living in a convent in the East End of London, as they look after clients as they go through the dangers of giving birth in the 50’s. The living condition some of these women/families are living in makes the midwives jobs a lot harder. Some of these woman are living in houses that are not suitable for anyone to live in, let alone a newborn vulnerable baby. This causes new diseases to be discovered, but this also means the medication around at the time isn't advanced enough to heal these new diseases, so many people are very ill, or even die due to this. with Miranda Heart as one of the midwives, there is no wonder that there are just as many comedy moments as there is tearful ones.
style, sound and camera techniques
when babies are delivered they play cheerful classical music to create happy mood, and they make sure that the music they pick matches it to the time period so it doesn't stand out. In order to keep with the time period, the camera techniques are kept simple with basic zooming in and out on key people to help the audience to follow the story. everything in this TV Drama is done specifically to match the 50's look: the hair, costume, scenery and props. 

TV Drama: New Tricks

New Tricks
Plot and characters
The story follows the Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS) of the metropolitan police service, as they reinvestigate unsolved cases. With little evidence to go on,  we see the struggles they face when they have to speak to family/friends about a death that they have tried to put behind them. There has been many officers throughout the different series, but the original cast were: Alun Armstrong, James Bolam, Amanda Redman and Dennis Waterman. All of the series follow the same proverb "you can't teach an old dog new tricks".
style, sound and camera

New Tricks uses different pieces of music for different scenarios within the plot. they often uses slow classical music for sad/upsetting moments and use quicker music for the case scenes. when they want us to focus on  a particular thing, they lose focus (blur) everything else except the object (gun/blood). 

TV Drama: Broadchurch

Broadchurch
plot and characters
When a young boy got murdered in the small coastal town of Broadchurch, they got a new detective (David Tennant) to solve the murder case. with the neighbourhood being so small, they have to question family and friends, meaning, you can’t trust all the people you are closest to. the series goes deep into the boys life and leaves you guessing throughout the whole series who the innocent characters are and who is guilty. each episode looks at a different character and their relationship to the young boy. everyone and anyone gets questioned for his murder, and when you think you have worked it out, they throw in another plot twist to make you think otherwise. when the murderer is finally revealed in the final episode of the series, it leaves you wanting more, so its a good thing that a second series of Broadchurch is currently being filmed ready for its release in 2015. 
style, sound and camera techniques

set on the dorset coast, Broadchurch has a particular UK crime/ mystery drama feeling to it. Its filmed as modern day, however at points there has been clever camera tints involved to give what would be a lovely colourful village into a quite dull, gloomy place to live. At particular points, zooms are used to clarify certain information (if they want you to see something specifically). They often use the camera as the murderers eyes, so you can see what they see and how they do it, without giving away the identity of the person. 

What is a TV Drama?

What is a TV drama and what makes it different to other TV shows?


TV Dramas

My favourite TV Dramas:
Broadchurch
New Tricks
Call The Midwife
Downton Abbey
Hustle
In The Club

why do i like them and why do i watch them?
all of these drama's have recognisable actors/actresses that i have seen in other things and i have took an interest in their work. Most of the period drama's i sat and watch with my family, so was forced to watch them, but them started liking them after a couple of episodes. I wouldn't normally choose to sit and watch any of these (mainly the period dramas), but as soon as i saw one episode, i was hooked to all of them.

Character list

Broadchurch:
characters
Olivia Colman- DS Ellie Miller
David Tennant- DI Alec Hardy
Jodie Whittaker- Beth Latimer
Andrew Buchan- Mark Latimer
Jonathan Bailey- Olly Stevens
Arthur Darvill- Rev. paul Coates
Adam Wilson- Tom Miller
Charlotte Beaumont- Chloe Latimer
Matthew Gravelle- Joe Miller
Pauline Quirke- Susan Wright
Joe Sims- Nigel Carter
David Bradley- Jack Marshall

New Tricks:
characters
Alun Armstrong- Brian (2003-13)
James Bolam- Jack (2003-12)
Denis Lawson- Steve (2012-)
Nicholas Lyndhurst- Dan (2013-)
Tamzin Outhwaite- Victoria(2013-)
Amanda Redman- Sandra (2003-13)
Dennis Waterman- Jerry (2003-)

Call the midwife:
character
Jessica Raine- Jenny Lee
Miranda Hart- Chummy
Helen George- Trixie Franklin
Bryony Hannah- Cynthia Miller
Laura Main- Sister Bernadette
Jenny Agutter- Sister Julienne
Pam Ferris- Sister Evangelina
Judy Parfitt- Sister Monica Joan
Cliff Parisi- Fred
Stephen McGann- Dr Turner
Ben Caplan- PC Peter Noakes

Emerald Fennell-Nurse Patsy Mount

Downton Abbey:
characters
Robert Crawley- Hugh Bonneville
Cora Grantham- Elizabeth McGovern
Violet Grantham- Maggie Smith
Mary Crawley- Michelle Dockery
Edith Crawley- Laura Carmichael
Sybil Crawley- Jessica Brown Findlay
Matthew Crawley-Dan Stevens
Isobel Crawley- Penelope Wilton
Tom Branson- Allen Leech
Mr. Carson- Jim Carter
Mrs. Hughes- Phyllis Logan
John Bates- Brendon Coyle
Anna Smith/Bates- Joanne Froggatt
Thomas Barrow- Rob James-Collier
Sarah O'Brien- Siobhan Finneran
Daisy Robinson- Sophie McShera
Mrs Patmore- Lesley Nicol
Alfred Nugent- Matt Milne
Rose Leslie- Gwen Dawson

Hustle:
characters
Danny Blue- Marc Warren
Billy Bond- Ashley Walters
Stacie Monroe- Jaime Murray
Albert Stroller- Robert Vaughn
Ash Morgan-Robert Glenister
Mickey Stone- Adrian Lester

In The Club: 
characters
Diane- Jill Halfpenny
Rick- Will Mellor
Jasmin- Taj Atwal
Dev- Sasha Devan
Rosie- Hannah Midgley
Vicky- Christine Bottomley
Roanna- Hermione Norris
Simon- Luke Thompson
Kim- Katherine Parkinson
Susie- Tara Fitzgerald
Neil- Jonathan Kerrigan