A recent discussion on Twitter about television shows with “mythologies” raised the question of the origin and meaning of this term. I thought I’d take a shot. The term “mythology” seems to have sprung up in the mid Nineties and is only used in reference to television shows. We generally don’t speak of movies or [...]
All Drama Is Conflict
Drama is about conflict. Right? “Would you like a story about two people who always get along and everything in their life is great?” Uh, no. How you execute conflict is the variable. I could do a cop show about police in conflict with criminals. And all the police officers are terrific people. But I [...]
How to tell a big story on TV.
Art and commerce so frequently conflict with each other. For the artist, the object is to create of work of beauty and meaning: A painting, a novel, a song. You create the work; but from the business standpoint, you want to re-create. Do it again. Write the sequel, Drag it out for years. Turn the [...]