One or the other

English 2 (ESP 0205) Assignment 1 - Part 1

Nurul Jannah Masturah Binti Jailani (0310210)

One or the Other

A story in dramatic form, typically emphasizing conflict in key characters(Harris, et al. 1995, p.63)

Drama is a genre that is plot-driven and involves an intense development and interaction between characters, usually involving conflicts. It is usually a serious presentation that shows realistic characters and situations. The purpose of this genre is to provoke and entertain the audiences thoughts and emotions through dialogues and actions. It is one of the largest film genres that has many subsets; for example melodramas, epics or romantic genres.

In this assignment, Ive decided to choose two television drama series to compare the differences in the portrayal of the genre and sub-genres. The two series that I chose are Sherlock and Terra Nova. The reason of this choice was because I wanted to highlight the fact that even though both are a drama series, they are very different from each other and both have left an impact on me through their dramas in terms of plotline, protagonists and settings.

Sherlock is a crime and mystery drama based on the fictional character Sherlock Holmes, in the books written by (Sir) Arthur Conan-Doyle back in the 1800s. The series revolves around a detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his flat

mate, Dr. John Watson who was an army doctor that was forced to retire from the Afghanistan war due to an injury.

The plot begins with the appearance and introduction of Dr. Watson. After returning from the war, he was acquainted with Holmes, whom he eventually became flat mates with. The storyline starts to thicken when the first murder case was presented. Throughout countless cases in the series, the relationship between the detective and the doctor developed into a mutual understanding. Despite Dr. Watson constantly getting frustrated with Holmes antics, he remained by his side, assisting in ways that he could.

Holmes in the drama was made to be exactly the same as the one in the book. The legendary detective back in the Victorian era was famous because of his use of logic and observation and was said to have a fetish of tobacco, a master of disguise and the occasional use of drugs. In the modern settings, the detective was slightly altered, to fit the 21st century. Sherlock Holmes in this series was clearly depicted as a sociopath. He was arrogant yet eccentric, a personality that is uncommon amongst protagonists in dramas nowadays, but very intriguing. Its not a typical hero, who has good looks, strong and always saving a damsel in distress, but simply a normal man whose personalities is misunderstood and complex.

In this series, Sherlock Holmes has been transposed to the present time to be contemporary, edgy and dangerous. The creators targets the younger audience interests by implementing modern objects in the series to aid the detective in his investigations such as Blackberry phones and laptops to search and store information relevant to cases that are being worked on. It also shows that the new Sherlock is technologically advanced, something the new generation can relate to.

One of the reasons why the setting of this series is modernized is to introduce the legendary detective to newer generations. The fictional character, Sherlock Holmes, was actually based on a real man. It was someone who the author, Conan-Doyle had studied under, Dr. Joseph Bell. Similar to the real person, Holmes was created to have the same characteristics as his, which is to draw large conclusions from making small observations. This trait is also found in Holmes of the television series.

The other television series that Ive mentioned was Terra Nova. Although being a relatively new series, it has been, unfortunately, been cancelled due to high budget that is not proportionate to the ratings. The series follows an ordinary family, the Shannons. Different from Sherlock, Terra Nova is from a science fiction drama genre. It focuses on the scientific and futuristic qualities that are highly advanced, like the medical equipment and weaponry shown multiple times in the episodes.

It starts out as the future humans, going back to prehistoric times through time travel that was possible with the advanced technology. The Shannons were chosen to join the Tenth Pilgrimage and were to travel back in time, a daring and risky step taken in order to save the human race from the dooming future. The father, Jim Shannon, was convicted after he had assaulted an officer when a policy of two children only was in effect, which means he must leave one of his children behind. They ended up sneaking the youngest daughter through the portal.

After Terra Nova was shown, the leader of the settlement, Commander Nathaniel Taylor was introduced. The father was initially put to work detail in a farm but eventually; he worked his way and became a law enforcement officer in the settlement. Similar to all dramas, the plot and character relations, especially between the Shannons, develops after some time.

The main protagonist from this series would be Jim Shannon. A father of three, he worked hard to restore his relationship with his children. The children shied away from their fathers approach since they havent seen him for almost three years, after he was convicted. The eldest and only son, especially, was the most difficulty Jim had been through to get close. He was very convinced that their father had been selfish to just simply attack someone without thinking up with a plan that made their family awkward.

The first part of this series is set in the future, where the world is overdeveloped, overcrowded and a majority of species of animals and plants has gone extinct. By the year 2149, the world was dying. As the plot progresses and they went back in time, the setting of the show has changed permanently to prehistoric environments which flashbacks of their lives from the future. The location of the settlement however, has never been stated in the show. But their home in the future was in America.

Ultimately, these two drama shows have caught a lot of attention with its story, characters and their settings. From what Ive understood, even though they are almost completely different from each other, these dramas involve serious and intense elaboration of how the story unfolds and expand itself.

Reference List

Davies, S. (2010, July 23). Sherlock, BBC One, review. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/7907566/Sherlock-BBC-Onereview.html

Harris et al. (1995). The Literacy Dictionary: The Vocabulary of Reading and Writing. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books

Hibberd, J. (2012, March 6). Fox cancels 'Terra Nova'. CNN. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/06/showbiz/tv/fox-terra-nova-cancelledew/index.html

Memmott, C. (2012, August 27). Sherlock Holmes gets modern treatment in two TV shows. USA Today. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/news/story/2012-08-27/sherlockholmes-elementary/57356504/1

Main Film Genres. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.filmsite.org/genres.html History: Sherlock Holmes. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.sherlockholmes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id =52&Itemid=54

Rose, L. (2012, May). Fox Cancels 'Terra Nova'. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/terra-nova-cancelledfox-spielberg-258808

Strever, J. (2009, November). Elements of Drama. Retrieved from http://ol.scc.spokane.edu/jstrever/lit/cw2005/drama.htm

Terra Nova. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.fox.com/programming/shows/?sh=terra-nova