Commercials

It’s no secret that the prime-time network shows are built for commericals. The shows are built to bring in a large demographic and bring big bucks to the major networks. Personally i’m not a big fan of network shows, I prefer cable shows such as Sopranos or The Wire. The writing and quality production on cable shows is held to a much higher standard. If you are going to pay monthly for HBO there better be a reason for it. Network shows require a lot of razzle dazzle and smoke an mirrors to keep you interested. It’s becoming more and more common these days that a popular network show has to bow out awkwardly because a network has extended it to long, and never really thought about drawing out the show based on a specific conclusion.

Networks vs. cable

We began to discuss in class the different challenges in writing for network television and the cable market.  The success of program serialization on networks such as HBO has challenged the traditional 4 or 5 act structure of commercial-interrupted dramas.  How do you think the commercial paradigm has affected the development of the weekly television show?  What might have been different if the 4 act structure had not been adopted?