I have been planning this post for a long time since I consider myself a huge movie and TV shows fan and “expert”. The TV show nowadays is an artistic genre on its own. First, episodes are shorter than a whole motion picture which allows people more time and flexibility when watching, truth is we are all very busy during the week and don’t have the time to see a nice long movie every evening, so one or two episodes of a good TV show is often the better option. Second, themes, topics, genres are equally diverse and the quality and cast invested are much better than they used to be, the same or even better than some full-fledged motion pictures. Mini-series have also become very popular and highly appreciated as an artistic genre, having about 10 long episodes at the most, allowing the screenwriters to tell their stories in an even more gripping way, allowing for more time for the characters and plots to develop. Viewers can get really involved in the stories and characters they are continuously watching, being a part of the story that gets in their minds and homes every day. One of the reasons behind this urge in TV shows and mini-series is the rise of streaming media (like Netflix) and high-quality TV channels on demand reserved only for movies and special editions (like HBO), available in hundreds of countries in hundreds of different languages all around the world. The high demand and popularity of TV shows quickly spurred investment and those programmes and services started even producing their own quality shows - some of my favourite such examples being HBO’s “True Detective” and Netflix’s “Narcos”. I googled the issue and found out a nice compact article that I think describes the special qualities of TV shows very well: http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/oct/23/10-reasons-tv-better-movies. Another positive tendency about TV shows and mini-series is that there are some very good examples that come from Europe, offering another perspective, different from the American one that we’ve gotten so used to - here some of my favourite examples include UK’s “Luther” and “Downton Abbey” and Swedish/Danish “Bron/Broen”. There is a rich variety of genres and I have my personal favourites from each one of them, but here are a few examples to illustrate my point: My top favourite genre is the crime/thriller, where my first place goes to season 1 of “True Detective”. Perfect cast, perfect acting (Matthew McConaughey), perfect script (Nic Pizzolatto), perfect cinematography and directing (Cary Joji Fukunaga). Characters are very well-written and especially Rust can get you completely mesmerized. He is both realistic and dreamy in his logical black&white clear, but pessimistic view of the world and of humanity. As he himself insists he is a realist although some might call him a pessimist. His character is very well complemented by both the story and the voodoo magical and creepy setting of Louisiana. It’s a story well told that transcends the boring detective TV shows flooding the small screen that mostly focus on finding hairs and other DNA samples of the killers. In “True Detective” one can really enjoy things characteristic of good movie making - inspiring and realistic character development, discussion of psychological and existential issues, suspense, beautiful dreamy setting, perfectionism on every level of movie making (artistic and technical). I will not bother you anymore with details, just see for yourself, but before that my favourite quote coming from Rust at the end of the final episode that represents his revelation and change of mind: “There was a moment, I know, when I was under in the dark, that something… whatever I’d been reduced to, not even consciousness, just a vague awareness in the dark. I could feel my definitions fading. And beneath that darkness there was another kind—it was deeper—warm, like a substance. […] Well, once there was only dark. You ask me, the light’s winning.“ Now, as a second example, I have selected something on a brighter note, a breadth-of-fresh-air on contemporary TV, very funny and cute - "Jane the Virgin”. I am not sure how to determine the humour in that show, it’s so unique (at least for me). It’s following the life and adventures of Jane (who gets pregnant although she is a virgin, as absurd as it sounds, it really happens and is well-grounded in terms of the story) and her Mexican family, composed only of women (her mother and grandmother) who are obsessed with telenovelas and thus Jane sees all that happens to her through the prism of the cheesy telenovela styling and as if she herself is the telenovela star of her story. The actual implementation of this idea turned out to be very subtle and fresh without being too rude or making fun of such people and their lifestyle. On the contrary, it’s cute, genuinely funny and refreshing. Gina Rodriguez (Jane) is absolutely hilarious and the typical telenovela structure with a narrator’s voice who is commenting solemnly on some of the more important twists and turns is a great idea. I am not fond of comedies that much, but this one is worth it. A third example worth mentioning in my opinion belongs again to the genre of the crime/thriller (my favourite after all), this time, however, the production is European. It’s the Swedish/Danish show “Bron/Broen” (“The Bridge”). Scandinavians have long-lasting traditions in the crime genre, especially when it comes to literature. Fans will surely remember Stieg Larsson’s “Millenium” trilogy which turned into a bestseller worldwide, was made into Swedish movies and a Hollywood adaptation by master of the genre director David Fincher. “Bron/Broen” is an absolute jewel among all TV shows going on at the moment. Main character Saga Noren is absolutely gorgeous, her behaviour being awkwardly weird and charming at the same time. It is implied that she has some kind of a disease that makes her always tell what she thinks to everyone no matter how delicate the situation is. Although this is often problematic in terms of her relationships as a person, it is helpful in her job as a homicide detective and thus she excels in what she does. It’s a very empowering role for women (it is known for a fact that Sweden and maybe other Nordic countries have matriarchal societies where women don’t often ask for help, but rather take control of the situation by themselves). Saga is exactly this woman, very professional, smart, concentrated and for better or worse “emotionless”. It is often implied that she has no emotions, which might be easily true in most of the cases, especially work-related, but when it comes to her personal relationships with her male colleague friends, she is conflicted between her friendship and feelings for them and her professional and moral duties of what she knows is right or wrong. These nuances in her character and the fact that she is very peculiar make the show so special. But the qualities of “Bron/Broen” are in no way limited to Saga Noren’s character, the supporting characters, plot and stylistic devices are also very strong. For example, every episode usually introduces one or two new plot lines or characters that will impact the overall plot on a later stage in the series development. This way viewers are introduced with new characters who trigger some chain of events which are only gradually revealed once there has been enough information and the time has been right. This is a very smart choice because it creates suspense in an intelligent and logical way, as if you are discovering new people involved somehow in the crimes investigated, but you have to find out how exactly they are related to the crimes gradually, hand in hand with the detectives themselves. It’s like you are finding the pieces of the puzzle, one piece at a time, until finally you are able to see the full picture.
