Television Drama Work for Sabina
Narrative Theories Application
3 Act Structure (The Apartment)
3 Act Structure (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
Film Stills Analysis
Sitcom Analysis
Intertextual References in a Long Form TV Show (Sex Education)
My TV Show Proposal
My TV show's genre is a sitcom, as it is comedy based and follows a cyclical narrative where each episode has an individual storyline of a problem that the characters must overcome together, and that is solved by the end of each episode, thus Todorov's theory can be applied to each episode. My sitcom is aimed at individuals between the ages of 14 and 30 and represents a range of communities and cultures, specifically LQBTQ+.
The "love" Square
Four People. Two Apartments.
Two Real Couples. Two Fake Couples.
Show Synopsis
Two couples in their mid 20s (one man loving man couple and one woman loving woman couple) are looking to buy a flat in London - and they both find a flat block they deem perfect. However, when one couple discovers that the landlady who owns the flat blocks is homophobic and later complains about not being allowed to buy a flat there when walking down the street, the other couple overhears and starts a conversation which leads to a scheme to pose as two heterosexual couples in order to buy the flats.
Influences
The concept of the four friends is influenced by popular sitcoms such as Friends and New Girl - specifically Friends in terms of the characters having two different apartments/flats but one being a more central location also known as the common environment. In my show this location will be the bigger of the two apartments which the two actual couples will compete for and will be won by Daisy & Ishita, to emphasize Daisy’s competitive nature and introduce that she is a person who is used to winning and doing well at things, and also to portray that Ishita supports her in this and is, although not as driven and competitive, equally strong when faced with challenges. A strong point of sitcoms like this is the relationships that the characters build with each other, both romantic and platonic, and the idea of the found family trope, which my show will similarly have in the two couples who have their queer solidarity that brings them together in their efforts of trying to move despite socially imposed challenges.
The sitcom will have high-key lighting as this works to emphasize the comedy aspect and keep an upbeat tone to the show, so the first few episodes will be set in summertime, since London is generally, at most times of the year, rather cold and wet. However, at the points of the show where it takes a more serious tone, the lighting (and potentially the weather events too) will be altered to fit a darker tone, which is also known as pathetic fallacy.
Character Profiles
Full Name: Sameer Kumar
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Nationality/Culture: Indian (grew up in India and London)
Nickname: Sam
Date of Birth: 29th of March 1998
Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
Current Residence: The UK, lived in India till he was 7, then moved to the outskirts of London where he lived for 11 years (though moved house 3 times during this time). Went to university for 3 years later.
Race: Indian
Height: 5 foot 13
Hair Colour: Dark brown
Skin Colour: Brown
Eye Colour: Brown
Significant Costume: Usually wears plain t-shirts and jeans
Introvert/Extrovert: Ambivert - not particularly shy as such but isn’t massively sociable
Speech Accent: Has a typical London accent
Behavioural Traits: Isn’t particularly affectionate, scratches his head when he’s nervous
Identity Traits: Pragmatic, has a strategic approach to problems, can be a little rigid and scared to try new things
Psychological State: Happy about moving in with Olly and moving out and starting his own life. Both nervous about the logistics of starting his own business (thing) and also excited at the prospect of it
Hopes/Fears: Hopes to start a course/charity teaching young people carpentry. Fearsome won’t work out and he will be stuck working in a cafe for all his life
Religion/Spirituality: Atheist
Family/Friends: Comes from a hard working family where he is loved and respected. His parents are still together and he has a brother and sister who are twins and considerably younger than him (16 years old) however, they aren’t particularly aware of his interest in carpentry, as he is scared to share his ambitions with them in case they don’t work out
Career/Work: Has a job in a cafe that is just down the street from the flat. Wants to start a course to support young people trying to get into carpentry
Living Environment: Currently lives with parents and siblings and loves them but wants to find his own place in the world and to stretch out on his own.
Memories/Past: Worked with his mother and grandfather on practical projects (e.g. building stuff) which developed his interest in carpentry
Full Name: Olly James
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Nationality/Culture: Father is Australian, mother is English, lived in England most of his life (travelled a lot with mother)
Nickname: Sam
Date of Birth: 17th of November 1999
Sexual Orientation: Gay
Current Residence: In the UK in the outskirts of London (20 minutes away from Sam, lives in a flat with his dad, as his dad is planning to move back to Australia once Olly goes to live with Sameer IN London
Race: White British
Height: 5 foot 6
Hair Colour: Mousy brown
Significant Props: Is often wearing some form of hat (e.g. a bucket hat or a cap)
Skin Colour: White
Eye Colour: Blue
Significant Costume: Dresses typically in chequered shirts and is always wearing shorts
Introvert/Extrovert: Exrovert
Speech Accent: A British accent with hints of Australian from growing up with his dad
Behavioural Traits: Very energetic, quite competitive, shrugs shoulders often, tends to take things fairly un-seriously, but is also very empathetic and considerate
Identity Traits: Compassionate, empathetic, loving, caring, optimistic, comedic
Psychological State: Is excited to move in with the man he loves and start his new job as a football coach
Hopes/Fears: Hopes that he can be successful in his job
Religion/Spirituality: Atheist
Family/Friends: Was raised mostly by his dad as he was the product of a one night stand and his parents never particularly saw eye to eye. They co-parented for the first two years with him living mostly with his mum but then his mother decided to pursue a career in singing on cruise ships and hotels, meaning Olly grew up mostly with his dad at home, but also went with his mother from time to time travelling
Career/Work: Going into football coaching
Living Environment: Lives in a slightly run down house with his father, but has a very good relationship with him
Memories/Past: Played football a lot with his father
Full Name: Daisy East
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Nationality/Culture: White British
Nickname: Daise (pronounced Days)
Date of Birth: 31st of August 1998
Sexual Orientation: Lesbian
Current Residence: A small town in the middle of no-where - having had a gap year after college and having been to university in for 3 years (where she met Ishita, who was on a different course but shared accommodation with her) she returned home to the small town but is eager to get back into the urban world, planning to move to a flat in London with her girlfriend Ishita
Race: White British
Height: 5 foot 8
Hair Colour: Ginger
Skin Colour: White
Eye Colour: Brown
Significant Costume: Wears very made up outfits when going out such as dresses and wears simplistic make-up (e.g. eyeliner) and day to day wears vintage Pinterest style clothing
Introvert/Extrovert: Extrovert, very outgoing and slightly competitive
Speech Accent: Standard British accent
Behavioural Traits: Is quick to defend herself or come back with a quick witty remark, loves her friends strongly and is affectionate with them (e.g. the first to initiate a group hug etc.)
Identity Traits: Confident, sassy, popular, competitive
Psychological State: Nervous to move away, feels her life has been very sheltered and (even though she’s been to uni) feels she might not be able to make a life for herself without her parent’s support
Hopes/Fears: Wants to have a successful career and pave a way for her life, and be able to provide financially for herself, is slightly insecure about her relationship, and feels that if Ishita lives with her she might see her in less appealing light and not want to be with her anymore
Religion/Spirituality: Atheist
Family/Friends: Comes from a protective but loving family who encouraged her academically but not so much socially (however, despite this, her drive to go out lots and make lots of friends is still very much there
Career/Work: Studied business at university and looking to find a position in London
Living Environment: Her parents are quite protective and “shelter” her, making her urge to get out and experience life to its fullest much larger. Despite this, she gets on well with her parents and her older brother who visits from time to time but lives in America
Memories/Past: Had a passion for basketball in secondary school/college and used it as an escapism from the stress and pressure she felt in life. This continues to be a passion of hers through her 20s when the show is set
Full Name: Ishita Ahmed
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Nationality/Culture: Was born in Pakistan but moved to the city of Manchester before her 2nd birthday (family moved to provide more opportunities for her and her sister (3 years older than her)
Nickname: Ishu
Date of Birth: 12th of October 1997
Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
Current Residence: Lives in Manchester (is used to city life), went to university in London to study art for 3 years
Race: Asian
Height: 5 foot 8
Hair Colour: Black
Significant Props: Wears glasses
Skin Colour: Brown
Eye Colour: Brown
Significant Costume: Wears oversized hoodies
Introvert/Extrovert: Relatively introverted and shy, but sometimes perks up with a witty comment that people don't expect from her. Is much funnier and confident around people she is close with and trusts
Speech Accent: Has a Manchester accent
Behavioural Traits: Is only fully open and herself around the people she cares for and knows care for her (we see this as her relationships with Sameer and Olly develop)
Identity Traits: Is very intelligent, hardworking and loving
Psychological State: Excited to continue urban life and at the prospect of having her first home with her girlfriend
Hopes/Fears: Wishes to use her degree in art to get into interior design, but is currently searching for any job related to art that she can get in the meantime (part of the reason she wanted to return to London) (e.g. working in an art gallery) Fears her lack of confidence and shyness will limit her in the industry
Religion/Spirituality: Aethiest
Family/Friends: Her parents weren't particularly fond of the idea of her perusing art to start with as they didn't think it had many prospects, but opened up to the idea once they realised her heart was set on it. Has a very good relationship with her sister
Career/Work: Looking for a part time/temporary position in the art world before going into a career of interior design
Living Environment: Has freedom to be independent now, but growing up her parents were quite restrictive on her social activities and were even unsettled by the idea of her going to university
Memories/Past: Spent a lot of time with her sister as they were both creative people and had a passion for art
First Episode
-Sameer and Olly are looking at flats in London on a laptop and find one they deem perfect
-They visit the flat block and, upon confrontation from a woman who lives there asking what they are doing, they tell her they're interested in buying a flat. She shows them around and then regretfully informs them that the landlady is extremely homophobic and will most probably decline their offer.
-Meanwhile we see Ishita and Daisy (at an earlier point in time) on factetime similarly looking into flats. They too land on the same block of flats and decide its exactly what they're looking for.
-The two couples pass each other on the streets of London (Sameer and Olly leaving the flat block and Daisy and Ishita making their way towards it) and Daisy overhears the other couple talking about a set of flats they couldn't buy and Daisy interjects, asking what flat block they are talking about since they are also looking into flats in the area. Sameer explains to her about the flat block they have just looked into and why they wouldn't be "eligible" for the flat. Daisy, a very defensive and fierce protector of human rights and LGBTQ+ rights is angered by this and the 4 start a heated discussion of how unfair it is.
-Sameer, Olly and Ishita are all, whilst unhappy and angered, ready to move on and find somewhere else to look. However, Daisy states "Why should we miss out on our perfect flat when we haven't done anything to NOT deserve it?" She then begins scheming a way to get back at the landlady, and soon comes up with an idea:"What if we pretend to be two heterosexual couples?" Everyone looks at her skeptically until she further explains: "It would be perfect, we could easily get the flats if we didn't have our sexuality's against us- or rather HER homophobia against us. We pose as two het couples and pretend to move in together as our respective couples, get in, then switch back. Bam, we've got ourselves our perfect flat with little effort. Plus, once we've bought the flats she can't exactly kick us out." There's a very long pause and then Sameer cuts in that the landlady will make their lives a living hell if she finds out. Olly, a rebellious joker smiles widely and says "And what's to say we can't make HER life a living hell too?"
-They all travel to a cafe (the same one that Sameer ends up working at) to come up with a plan and get to know each other. They decide that Olly and Daisy make a more fitting match and Sameer and Ishita also. We then see a montage of the "couples" working on how to get through the interview (an upbeat song plays in the background).
-After they have schemed and planned, we see them arrive at the flat block and we see another montage of their interviews with the landlady, in which Olly and Daisy completely DON'T stick to the planned conversation and spend the entire interview trying their hardest to tell embarrassing lies about each other (a challenge started by the joker Olly and continued by the competitive Daisy). At the end of their interview they sort of realise that this might have messed up their chances but the landlady seems to love their chaotic energy believing it will bring "some liveliness and diversity" to the block. Sameer and Ishita, completely oppositely, take a very strategic and pragmatic approach to the interveiw and also get through to the landlady, who believes them to be a sweet couple who are "very clearly in love". Each couple is shown to leave the room and high five one another and then the episode ends on this high.
This fits Todorov's theory as at the beginning of the episode, the four main characters are living normal life which represents equilibrium. They then face the disruption and recognition of disruption when they find out about the homophobic landlady and then the repairing of the damage occurs when they come up with and carry out their plan, and we reach equilibrium again as they are granted their apartments at the end of the episode.
Future Episodes
Ep 2: The four are given the keys to their flats, but upon finding that one of the flats is slightly bigger all four of their competitive sides come up to get the best flat for their couple. A man from the flat next door finds them fighting over it and is curious as to what is happening. The four decided to trust in him and tell them their struggle, to which he sets them a series of challenges to partake in as couples to see who deserves the bigger flat.
Ep 3: The landlady hosts a welcoming party for the four of them, but the majority of the block’s residents are already aware of the fact that their relationships as two sets of boyfriend and girlfriends is fake, but everyone at the party is supportive of them and helps them to keep up appearances as they are all against the landlady’s homophobic beliefs. During this episode Sameer goes for a job interview at the cafe and Ishita befriends a woman at the party (the same one who show Olly and Sameer around in the first episode) who has a job opportunity for her at a local art gallery.
Representation Theories
Mood Board
I believe that David Gauntlett's identity theory can be applied to my show, as it represents queer characters and characters of different races who don't necessarily conform to the stereotypes (some of which are rather negative or cliche and don't actually represent the majority of the people in these groups) which is progressive and allows people to see a variation in the representation of those communities and realise that you don't have to fit in some bracket of expression and identity to be in those groups.
In terms of theories such as the Male Gaze by Laura Mulvey, my TV show will definitely not conform to this portrayal of women OR men (as seen in the more recent idea of the Female Gaze, as I believe it incredibly important to portray the strength and independence of women within the media and not rely on their sexual appeal to entertain the audience as this is plainly regressive.
