--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@...> wrote: > > I'm a fan of television. I think some of the best > work in the motion picture arts is being done on > TV. The genre of a TV series or mini-series, in > the wrong hands, can turn high art into low schlock, > as lamentably happened with the American remake of > "Life On Mars." Or, in the right hands, a TV series > or mini-series can become the counterpart of a great > novel. > > I've watched or rewatched a few TV series lately, > from start to finish, in a kind of exercise in trying > (a la "Manhunter") to recapture the mindset of good > storytelling. So I've been thinking about what makes > a good story into a great story. One of the things > I've come up with is character arc. Do the characters > stay pretty much the same through an entire 6-to-12 > episode mini-series (or season of an ongoing series), > or do they keep changing on you? I've found that I > prefer stories filled with characters who change on me > a lot, who have long and complicated character arcs. > > For example, two performances in the last couple of > years strike me as standouts in terms of character arc. > The first was in, of all things, "Spartacus: Blood and > Sand." Early on we are introduced to -- and by "intro- > duced to" I mean we get to see literally everything > there is to see about her, nude -- to a character > named Ilithyia. She is played by an Australian actress, > Viva Bianca. When we first meet her, she seems a bit > of a beautiful but shallow dingbat. But over the course > of 12 episodes she turns into one of the most evil > villains I've ever seen onscreen. Ilithyia is right up > there with Hannibal Lechter. She did things in this > series that completely surprised me and made me think, > "Whoa! Reassessment time. This woman is not who I > thought she was." I love that. > > Another actress who got to play a character with > *tremendous* arc just got ignored in the Emmy nominations, > which I think is a cryin' shame. Emilia Clarke gave a > knockout performance as Daenerys Targaryen in "Game Of > Thrones." Again, we are introduced to her naked, leading > us as viewers to think we've seen all of her. When we > first see her, she's a beautiful but naive virgin, and > a bit of a spoiled princess. Technically she's not a > princess; she's the rightful queen of the whole land. But > she's still 15 or so and unformed. To watch the change > in her as she is married off to a barbarian warrior lord, > becomes the queen of his tribe, and gives birth not only > to his son but a few more magical creatures as well is > jaw-dropping. It's almost the definition of "high > character arc."
Agreed - she has done a fine job and the script has her growing in each episode. Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister is absolutely superb, with layers of his character being revealed as time passes. > > So this got me thinkin' about the arc of some of the > characters on the TV series of Fairfield Life. Do we have > a high arc, or a low arc? Do people tend to change over > the years, or stay the same? And IF they change, do other > people let them, or is there a concerted attempt to draw > them back "into character" and replay the same scenes > they played years ago, in exactly the same way? No > answers here, only questions. Now to the fun part: > > What if Fairfield Life WAS a TV series? Would it be on > during prime time, or as a daytime soap? Would it be on > FOX or AMC or HBO or the Oprah Channel? How would TV > Guide classify it -- would it be considered more like > "John From Cinncinnati" or more like "Jersey Shore?" > Which actor or actress would you want to play you in > the series? Has the series jumped the shark, or is it > just getting into its classic "Lucy" episodes period? > > This post, based on my watching of the series so far, has > the potential to turn either into a fun thread or a > contentious one. Or a mix of both. I'm curious to see > what'll happen. > > I'm gonna go for the fun part. I'm thinkin' that I'd like > to see my character played by Kevin Spacey, doing a kind > of combination of Verbal Kint and Lester Burnham. Either > that or Robin Williams. >
