Initial response

My initial response to the brief was to create a TV crime drama, and I have studied these quite thoroughly in class and feel I am most familiar with this genres codes and conventions. However I do no wish to create a typical TV crime drama. I would like to create a TV crime drama based on the criminals narrative, for example, similar to the show 'Breaking Bad', but as well as this would like my show to be much more physiological and mentally jarring. The genre and themes that I have chosen to investigate further do not fit with the typical programmes shown on the ITV channel, however could fit quite well in a late night showing on Channel 5.


As I would like my programme to be a physiological TV crime drama, it will contain sensitive scenes and possibly some inappropriate content for younger viewers. Therefore, the certificate on my programme will be an 18. This works well as its fits to the brief of target audience, and allows a broad range of darker themes to be covered. Which can come across as very gripping and engrossing in a TV crime drama.


Possible ideas/storylines:

• a doctor, whom lost his wife to a drug overdose whilst pregnant with their unborn child. Amazingly the child survived, and the man was tasked with raising her. Losing his wife made this man become physcotic and over time, he too turned to drugs. From a young age the child was kept in one small room in his house for the man to use as his guinea pigs in his medical experiments. Determined to find out the full extent of the effects drugs have on the body and mind, the man drives forward, losing his compassion for his daughter and he spirals further into insanity. Eventually, the man becomes unwell and the girl is faced with the decision to break out of her 'captors' home or save her father. -- I would chose either to film the opening sequence of the first episode. Showing the man at his work, flashing back to the girl in the room, and then back to him driving home. The story would be explained by the girl from her perspective, as a voiceover. This part of the programme would show the disruption. However, another point in the programme that I wish to create is the ending of the programme, showing a significant conflict, as well as the resolution. This would be the point in the narrative in which the child escapes and is free in the world for the first time in her life.

• An adaption of the storyline above, to fit more with the content shown on ITV and Channel 5 - An entertainment documentary series, in which the episodes storylines do not link, but each cover important problems in the world, targeting issues that 18-35 year olds find most important/may have experienced themselves. Issues such as gender dysphoria, homelessness, mental illness and drug abuse. The episode that i wish to film the extract from will be the issue homelessness. The extract will be from the last few minutes of the episode when the main disruption occurs. The beginning of the episode will show a man, dressed formally and clean shaven, in his home. Everything will seem slightly too bright and detailed for the majority of the episode. A voice over from the man will tell audiences who he is, that he is a doctor, and that he lost his wife a few years ago, and is now raising their beautiful daughter alone. The name of the daughter is said once in the voice over, and is written on the child's door. The episode will go on seemingly normal, following the doctor in his life. His daughter falls ill, and she is shown to audiences for the first time in bed, as the man cares for her. - The extract that i wish to film will be from this point onwards. The man kisses his daughter goodnight and goes downstairs, as he is looking at his home, it will jump cut to an extreme close up of the doctors face. He will be closing his eyes very tight. another jump cut occurs to see the same mans eyes, only a dirty unshaven face, and long shaggy hair. The bright filter will be gone, and this man will be sitting in a dark ally. This man will then shut his eyes very hard and the scene will ju,p cut back to the doctor in his home, opening his eyes. The filter will reappear. The doctor, distressed, walks around his house for a while, before going back upstairs to check on his daughter. He sits down on the side of her bed and checks her medicine is all okay, and then leans in to kiss her on the forehead. At this point the scene will cut to show a long shot of the ally the homeless man is in. The long shot will show his kiss a teddy bear, and tuck it higher under a piece of cardboard.  The homeless man, with his eyes closed still, lies down next to the teddy bear, the first (diegetic) words of the episode, other than the voice over, will be spoken as he says goodnight to his 'daughter'.