You will find that TV dramas all have the following ingredients: Characters – even particular kinds of characters: eg, at its most simple, ‘good’ and ‘bad’ characters. Stories – they all tell stories, whether those stories involve adventure, crime or romance and they often, but not always, end happily. The stories are told against familiar backdrops: – eg, homes, police stations and offices (for crime dramas), hospitals (for medical dramas) – most of which are created in studios. However, most dramas also use outside locations to create particular effects. Camerawork – particular kinds of shots are used: eg, sequences involving establishing shots followed by mid-shots of characters, shot/reverse shots to show character interaction and, in particular,close-ups to show the characters’ emotions. Stories use dialogue to tell the stories. Occasionally, monologues are built in (as voiceovers, a character telling a story). Music is used to punctuate the action, create effects (su...