Television

Tectonic shift in the Television space

I wrote an article for an upcoming independent e-magazine called Indian Mutinies. Here’s the link to the edited version on their website

At a recent family dinner, one of my older (and louder) uncles downed an entire whiskey glass in his hand before particularizing the state of the nation. “The biggest problem with the country is these news anchors on TV. For the sake of a few bloody rating points, these channels create mountains out of mole-hills”, he boldly expounded and continued. In another corner of the same room, I winced quietly at this generalisation. This wasn’t the first time someone shared a similar sentiment. There is no comparison between the sedate newsreaders of yesteryear with the current crop. However, I was uncomfortable at his ire being directed elsewhere.

As per my uncle, TV channels have compromised on their quality to pander to the gallery. For want of more “TRP” or “Television Rating Points”. His outburst got me thinking for the next few days.

When did the word “ratings” start such becoming a negative word? Why does a section of individuals, like my elderly uncle, feel that “ratings” are a bad thing?

As an employee of a multinational TV broadcasting company, I have the privilege of being witness to the use of ratings within the business. We are required us to pay close attention to these numbers since it forms the measurement basis of two key components – viewership & advertisers. In reality it translates into a series of mundane and cold calculation that is the daily work of so many office-goers. So what’s the fuss all about?

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What is the HBO Effect?

The current period of American television is remarkable for many reasons. Societies and media habits are changing rapidly in the face of technological advances. Yet, broadcasters are betting their prize monies on the traditional long-form style of story telling. Look around and you’ll notice an emerging consensus on how current drama series are the television equivalent to literary novels. (Comparisons are already being drawn to the serialized short stories of Charles Dickens who would first publish his works in a weekly/monthly format and later as a complete novel) One of the many remarkable aspects of this period is the scholarly documentation of current developments. And almost all academicians, journalists & bloggers agree that the current “Golden Age of Television” (this is the 3rd, by the way!) owes immensely to one company – HBO. By the turn of the 21st century, HBO set the gold standard for scripted content with shows like “Oz” (1997), “Sex and The City” (1998), “The Sopranos” (1999) and “The Wire” (2002). In my mind, their existing business model is so efficient it allows them to reach out to a global audience much larger than they can fathom. TV shows primarily aimed at Americans are finding more viewers outside of their legit subscriber base. Its as if the suits are being held back by archaic traditional rules while the producers are leap-frogging into a future where stories are cutting across cultural boundaries. Probably that must be one of the unsaid rules among studio execs of the Golden Age – to put faith in works of creative writers and allow them to push the envelope with bolder experiments. As an Indian, I find all this is too complex to wrap my head around. The domestic TV business is heavily dependent on advertising and any show’s survival is linked to the amount of interest it can generate among sponsors. Conversely, high profile shows (like twitter’s favorite show Satyameva Jayate) is allowed to stay on-air with declining ratings as long as the moolah keeps flowing. But why is HBO so different? And how did it all this start?

Tony Soprano is Don Draper's granddaddy!

Tony Soprano is Don Draper’s granddaddy!

The most recent attempt to answer this question is Dean J.DeFino’s book “The HBO Effect”. The central thesis of his book tries to prove that HBO’s fame is not an aberration but a product of the broadcasting environment at that time. The author certainly dives deep into his research to justify the role of HBO as an avant-garde in America’s culture. This is a must-read for admirers of the brand and serious academicians alike. (more…)

What does Shoma Munshi tell us about our TV shows?

Popular TV shows, in some ways, give academicians a key-hole view into the social and economic conditions of the region & the viewers.

On the business end, the keen observer can estimate the behind-the-scenes working & the various firms associated with making the TV show. A few questions I can think of – “Who are the producers? What does the show talk about the screenwriting style? How are actors recruited? How are these shows funded and are studios profiting from said shows?” Then there’s the broadcaster who has commissioned these shows. “How often do they schedule the popular TV shows? Is this cable or pay-TV? What sort of advertisements do they place within these shows?” 

From the audience’s reaction, there’s so much we learn about the society in general. “Who are the main viewers of the show? Which of the show’s characters are most popular? How is the relation between characters depicted on screen? What social issues are addressed in this show? What purpose is fulfilled by watching this show?” So on and so forth.

A truck load of worthy questions that can be filed in by those more learned than me. So much can be discussed and debated on TV shows alone. Unfortunately, I find myself watching Indian TV shows less these days (grumble-office-grumble) and lesser in pursuit of academically studying them.

Which is why I was looking forward to reading Shoma Munshi’s latest book on this topic – “Remote Control: Indian Television in the New Millenium”.

Shoma Munshi is a social scientist with a distinguished career in academics. She has authored other books on Indian mass media and I was looking forward to her analysis of the subject. The publishers also make the claim overleaf stating that this “… book shows how everyday reality in India in the 21st century shapes television and how television, in turn, shapes us”

My one word review – DISAPPOINTING. The rest 1200 words explain just why.

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What’s on TV: “Diya Aur Baati Hum”

I’ve always nurtured a desire to understand the writing process. While my own writing is moving at its (cough) natural pace (cough), I diverted my time over the past few weeks to indulge in a more academic purpose.

Today you’re going to read about my script breakdown of a Hindi TV show.

That’s right – those primetime dailies that feed on the tears of every husband who has surrendered his power over the remote control.

This self-study began as an experiment to acquaint myself with the grammar of our Hindi dailies. There ought to be something to learn when millions (literally, MILLIONS) of viewers across the country are committing themselves so religiously. So in a move that impressed no-one in my house, I dived in and got my hands dirty.

I sat down and tracked the most watched show on Hindi TV for an entire month!

**sound of crickets break the awkward silence**

Don’t judge me, man. You’ll realise the kind of service I’m doing here for science, ok? FOR SCIENCE!

Diya Aur Baati Hum (We are the Light & the Lamp)

Diya Aur Baati Hum (Can you hear Shubha Mudgal already?)

Diya Aur Baati Hum (Can you hear Shubha Mudgal already?)

Airs on Star Plus at 9 PM from Monday to Saturday. Official site

This is as soap-operatic as TV soaps can get. One of the definitive prime-time shows that is at the core of Hindi TV drama. Since Aug’11, the show has become a staple of the Star Plus weekly schedule. A wildly popular serial that has been dubbed/remade for Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Urdu, Sri Lankan and (no kidding) Romanian audiences across the world.

What’s the show about?

It’s a story of an ambitious and educated girl Sandhya (Deepika Singh) who aspires to become an IAS officer. Through a series of odd circumstances, she is married into a traditional household at around the same time when she loses her parents in a tragic accident. She must now rely on her caring, introvert husband Suraj (Anas Rashid) to guide her through an oppressive environment to achieve that grand dream.

In a nutshell, every week millions of middle aged women tune in to see their beloved Sandhya cope through a domestic crisis with the sole support of her husband Suraj – “I will achieve success in the face the biggest challenges because my spouse supports me”

Through the prism of this Rajasthani family, the show’s producers (Two’s Company) bring out stories of scheming in-laws, inter-caste relationships, wedding processions and the entire shebang of small-town India. The extended cast in this show broadly includes:

  • Suraj’s parents
  • Suraj’s two brothers AND their wives
  • Suraj’s sister AND her husband AND the husband’s parents
  • … and a woman who was engaged to Suraj in the past.

Each week the writers ensured I lose track by packing in as many twists and turns in each episode. Thankfully, the background score would cue in on time to tell me which one’s are the evil characters!

Framework

The major part of the study required me to gather the raw data. This was the framework of story breakdown derived from watching 28 episodes spread across a month.

I dream in Excel colors.

“World domination begins with an Excel spreadsheet” – Anon

The purpose of this grid was to capture the core aspects of each episodic story

  1. Day and Date of telecast
  2. Theme – the main or overarching idea(s) central to the episode’s story
  3. Plot Device – mostly one or more things/events/tasks that keeps the characters busy
  4. Acts – the three acts of each story line (Context/Conflict/Resolution) in each episode
  5. A, B, C & D Stories – Stories were divided on the basis of the stakes involved

Stories were distinguished based on the stakes involved

Every episode consisted of more than one storyline making it necessary to clearly define them. In this study, stories were categorized based on the stakes they carried and NOT on characters. If Sooraj’s Mother was central to the B Story today, then the next episode’s B Story may feature Sooraj’s sister & her husband.

It was also observed that the D Story would comprise certain plots that may be relatively unimportant in one episode but subsequently feature as the A/B story in later episodes. For instance, Mohit not giving more money to buy new cosmetic products for Emily’s parlour was a minor plot in one episode (D Story: 29th Mar) but later the shop is seized by officials for using expired products (B Story: 8th Apr)

Is it possible to plot stories on a line graph?

This is the part that’s going to drive the writers up the wall. The last thing any creative professional would like to see is their work being technically analysed. But this visual schema lends itself to understand 22-min daily episodes taken together. Between all those index cards, corkboards & mind maps, I tried my hand giving a shot at plotting stories using a simple line.

Disclaimer: This is completely experimental and I’ve not even trademarked it yet (hyuck!). Feel free to let me know if there’s a better form of visual representation.

This is an example of a B story (TX date – 21st Mar ’14)

A single episode story on a line graph

A single episode story on a line graph

A simple story of Suraj making jalebis can be identified with a line moving from Context to Conflict to Resolution while traversing Positive & Negative outcomes.

The same graph without the screengrabs

The same graph without the screengrabs

Here’s another example with two stories spread across multiple episodes.

The A Story (Sky-diving challenge):

22nd Mar, Saturday: Cadets Sandhya & Zakir volunteer for the sky-diving task as part of their IPS training

24th Mar, Monday: Zakir is under false impression that he has won competition since he is sure Sandhya would chicken out. But he is informed by his trainer that she has chosen a higher altitude than him to skydive. Will she succeed?

25th Mar, Tuesday: Sandhya completes the skydiving mission at a higher altitude than her competitor.

The B Story (Spouse’s permission):

22nd Mar, Saturday: To take part in the challenge,  Sandhya must take the signed approval of her husband and family members

24th Mar, Monday: Sandhya calls up Sooraj to request his permission for the skydiving mission. Sooraj not only grants her permission but gives Sandhya a strong pep-talk to achieve her dreams; he tells her to find courage within herself while he handles the family matters

Both these stories on a single line graph would look like this.

Two stories represented on the same graph

Two stories represented on the same graph

After removing those screengrabs, that line graph looks easier to comprehend.

The cleaner version without anyone's faces

The cleaner version without anyone’s faces

Must be noted that not every scene/story must adhere to this structure since they may be used for purpose of exposition or to illuminate character. Such scenes were omitted from the study.

Now for the Real Deal

I did this exact same exercise for a bunch of episodes. And this is what I got. Presenting in three separate parts.

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Why do I need a TV show to worry about my country?

… but before I start any serious discussion on Satyameva Jayate, is no one else here annoyed about the abbreviation – SMJ? Shouldn’t it be SEJ? Didn’t Marketing check that the actual Sanksrit word is  satyam-eva jayate (सत्यमेव जयते) and not satya-meva jayate?

(Sorry. I’m working on fixing my OCDs. For now, let’s move ahead)

Aamir Khan is back in your living rooms! His Sunday morning TV show, Satyameva Jayate returns for a second season on Star Plus this March. “Jinhe desh ki fikr hai” (for those concerned about the nation), the promos tell us. This time around, Aamir doesn’t even hide the fact that he’s going to be like that uninvited guest in your house on a Sunday. So what brought him back?

SEASON 1 SOUNDED LIKE MANNA FROM THE HEAVENS

The first season of the weekly show was probably one of the most ambitious risks the Star TV network undertook. It was a giant leap never taken before. An A-list celebrity, simulcast on 9 channels including 4 southern languages and a huge marketing push by the country’s biggest TV house. I still recall the excitement with which all my colleagues wondered what the show was going to be about while we left our offices on the Friday evening. At least among the city dwellers, there was a definite sense of anticipation to see Aamir Khan do *something* on TV.

All this before the show went on air, of course.

At the end of the first season, reactions have been quite polar. Aamir presented 13 issues ranging from female foeticide to rainwater harvesting. A rough outline of a show’s script would contain one or more of these elements:

  1. Selecting a social problem in the first 30 seconds
  2. Highlight one or more real-life incidents that are the most visceral/shocking
  3. Interview the victims/oppressed/aggrieved parties. Aamir usually evokes seriousness by wrinkling the forehead
  4. Interview experts in the field to discuss about what could be a possible (but never conclusive) reason for this problem
  5. At least one chart with facts and numbers.
  6. More real life examples. Aamir begins to sound exasperated and so is the audience. At this time, a hotline number flashes on the screen to express support or make donations (BTW, are you aware that the show generated Rs.22 crore worth donations last season?)
  7. Show ends with a poignant song. Aamir may or may not cry. Melodrama. Melodrama.

UNDERSTANDING VIEWER RECEPTION

Satyameva Jayate generated reactions across the board. All the way from genuine praise to lack of connectivity. I watched a few episodes of last season and also caught the one that aired last Sunday. My honest reaction? Its very hard to STOP watching once you’ve begin. Just like last time around, the show approaches issues with adequate research and facts. In a manner of a few minutes and through Aamir’s eloquence, the viewer KNOWS a problem exists. The definition becomes clear. Credit must be given to getting that part right.

Things get muddled once the show starts taking itself seriously. This is the part where it attempts to document causes & solutions.

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