Comparing TV Dramas

90210

The OC

Skins 

The three TV Dramas that I compared were 90210, The OC and Skins. The OC and 90210 are American dramas and Skins is British. Skins is the odd one out, the unconventional one of the three for many reasons. You can see from the opening scenes that 90210 and the OC are very much about the setting, as they are set in iconic places (Beverly Hills and Newport Beach) and the shots make the places look glamorous and the watchers envy the people that live there. Whereas in Skins, which is set in Bristol, it still shows the setting but it doesn't look particularly glamorous it just looks like boring English suburbs.

In the story lines within 90210 and the OC, there are adults involved almost as much as teenagers, whereas in Skins the story lines are primarily about the teens life. It trys to show that the characters in Skins are a lot more independant than those in 90210 and the OC. The opening scenes also tell the watchers that the overall tone of Skins is quite a lot darker and more serious than those in 90210 and the OC. The shots in the opening scenes of 90210 and the OC are mainly the characters smiling, laughing and having fun, whereas in Skins, it mainly shows them doing all the things that someone would associate with Skins such as partying, drinking ect.



The plot line of Skins explores issues such as dysfunctional familes, mental illness, adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death. Although 90210 and the OC also explore issues similar to some of these in their plot lines, they do it in a way that is not as graphic or dark - the overall tone of 90210 and the OC is quite happy and light. Another thing that makes Skins different to the other two is the audience. Skins has an '18' certificate and was shown on TV at 10pm, whereas the OC and 90210 were shown at 9pm. This meant that Skins was quite a 'ruder' than the other two. 90210 and the OC sometimes feature swear words but it would never be anything ruder than 'pissed off'. Skins features a much wider range of swear words. Also, you would never see a full on sex scene in 90210 or the OC, even if it was implied, whereas Skins is a lot more graphic.

Analysing Characters

Ashes to Ashes Clip

Costume/dress - This tv show is set in the 1980’s so a lot of the things being worn are things that you would maybe associate with the 1980’s such as the white leather jacket that Alex is wearing. The DCI who is the dominant figure in this clip is dressed smartly to show authority. Also, this scene shows feminists, and feminists are stereotypically expected to dress in quite a masculine way, which they do in this clip. When Alex walks in, she stands out quite a bit because she looks a lot more feminine than any other women in the clip.

Voice - The three men are shown to be quite different in this clip. Gene Hunt, the DCI, is shown to be the dominant male figure becuase he is the only one that manages to get a serious answer out of the woman he is interrogating. He is also quite patronising when he walks into the place where all the feminists are at the beginning, by calling the speaker 'love' ect. He is also shown to be very serious about his job - 'I am trying to find out who killed this man, if that makes me a fascist then Heil Hitler'.

The other man who cannot get the woman to tell him her name is shown to have a short temper. Eventually he gives up and arrests her anyway without knowing her name - this sort of reinstates the fact that it is set in the eighties because police wouldn't be able to do that nowadays.

Finally the other man, injects an element of humour into the clip when he is questioning the woman becuase he is shown to be slightly dumb.

Sound - The song that is being played in the background 'Girls on film', is an appropriate song for this clip for a number of reasons, firstly, it is a song from the eighties so again this reinforces the fact that it is set in the eighties. Secondly, the repeated word in the song is 'girls' so it fits in well with the visual of loads of women all crammed in to one place. Thirdly, when this song came out it was quite provocative and represented women in a sexual way, which is a contrast with the visual becuase the feminists are the complete opposite to what that song was trying to represent and it would probably be something that they would get annoyed by.

Camera angles - At the beginning of the clip, medium close ups and long shots are used to show the speaker and the amount of people listening to her. It then shows the three men standing and watching and this is a reaction shot because it shows the disapproving, sceptical and slightly bored looks on their faces.

Long shots are then used when everyone is in the police station to establish the setting and tell the audience what has happened (they have taken all the feminists in for questioning)

Then, when the women are being questioned, over the shoulder shots are used to remind the audience that they are being interviewed.