PAPER 2 SECTION A TELEVISION CRIME DRAMA Introduction

Crime Drama

Sub-Genres

• In the cosy mystery genre, the detective is usually an amateur, the violence is never described in detail, and the setting is often a small town. The detective uses their powers of observation and deduction, as well as an excellent general knowledge to solve the crime. 
• In the hard-boiled private investigator genre, the detective works in a large city, and the violence is explicit. The detective follows clues in the dark underbelly of the city.
• The legal thriller requires research into the rules and procedures of a legal world. Readers want to know what happens after a crime is committed and an arrest is made. You can use crises of legal conscience to make your characters more rounded. 
• Modern PIs are often former policemen, They are usually hired by private individuals to solve mysteries or crimes, and to find people.
• The police procedural is realistic and should be as accurate as the author can make it. The reader is taken to squad rooms, morgues, courts, and crime scenes. This genre is complicated and the detective is often under a lot of pressure. For example, he could be dealing with many cases, he generally has personal problems with relationships, and his superiors want the case solved. There are secondary characters, including suspects, police officers, lawyers, and criminals. 
• The medical thriller is a suspense novel that takes place in a hospital. The protagonists are usually doctors or nurses. The plot is based on situations unique to medicine and medical research. 
• The forensic thriller is where the lead character is usually a woman who is a scientist or pathologist. Research is needed. Accuracy is essential. Most of the action takes place in crime scenes and morgues, and in the lead character’s home. 
• The general suspense thriller features a protagonist who is generally thrown into the action in the aftermath of a crime. This hero is often an ordinary person who is called on to solve a problem. Sometimes, this person must prove his or her innocence, often to the police and other characters in the novel.
• The military thriller has a protagonist who is often a member of the military, MI5 or MI6, the CIA, or the FBI, or a consultant to a military agency. Readers of this genre love the details and a lot of research is necessary. Often the criminals are crooked politicians or terrorists. The action often spans continents.
• The buddy genre is which 2 people often both men are put together and work together even though they are almost usually binary opposites. The two often contrast in personality, which creates a different dynamic onscreen than a pairing of two people of the opposite gender.
• The gangster genre which often glorifies the criminal activities of gangsters, elevating them to almost hero status. These anti-heroes sometimes reach the conclusion that crime does pay but often carries moral, psychological, and physical repercussion.
• Vigilante genre is when the protagonist or protagonists engage in vigilante behaviour, taking the law into their own hands. Usually its for revenge in which the legal system fails protagonists, leading them to become vigilantes.
• Historical genre is a crime drama set in the past, for example, in the Wild West or Victorian England and many more. Rules and crimes would be different in the past, so it is interesting to see how the detective figures crimes out in those times. 

Hybrid Genres

• Sci-Fi 
• Horror
• Comedy

Narrative

Many crime dramas begin with an opening teaser. This is where we see the crime happen but we don't see the perpetrator. However it doesn't always start that way. Next we usually see the life of the main character before they are called into the crime scene. The main character and the sidekick investigate the crime scene and try to solve it. Many suspects appear and many are accused of committing the crime until the main character and the sidekick figure out who did it and arrest them or the crime is very complicated and every episode is a new clue or crime until the end when they finally figure it out. The narrative in every crime drama is usually a constructed reality which contains:

• A (car) chase
• The crime is usually murder/drama that will usually be to do with family of the protagonist
• Use formulas
• Employ some stereotypical representations
• Make iconic use of hand guns, police cars, banks, uniformed and un-uniformed police and explosions
• Conflicts due to difference in policing
• Betrayal
• Someone's private life becomes public
• The villain will have an unidentified issue

With Luther, it starts with the end of an investigation as Luther has found the villain and is chasing him. Then the villain falls and almost dies, Luther is slightly traumatised by this and he struggles to cope during work, effecting him for numerous episodes. The next crime is shown, and Luther is called to it with his new sidekick who is a new recruit. Throughout the first episode, Luther figures out how the crime was committed and who did it, However, going against conventions, Luther doesn't arrest the villain straight away and seems to help her continuing onto other episodes.

Technical Codes

The iconography of Crime Drama are Suits, Lab coat (forensics), Police uniform, Police badge, Police cars, Police tape, Technology e.g. surveillance, recording and Weapons. Setting example would be a Police station, City – more people = more crime, Interrogation Room, Crime scenes and many more. Fast paced action is used to build suspense, using fast transitions and hand held cameras, and loud fast music. While, slow, intense scenes use slow cuts with proper cameras to keep concentration on what is happening with quiet, slow music or silent so it isn't to distracting and the audience can concentrate on the scene. Close ups, upper body shot and eye level shots etc. are used in intense scenes whereas, wide shots, tracking shots and two shots etc. are used in fast paced scenes.

Character Codes

Usually the main character is a police officer/detective/CID however it doesn't always have to be. The main character tends to have experienced an accident of some sort and are going back to work. The sidekick tends to be in the scientific work, such as forensic scientist or is a victim of a crime that has happened or is a rookie in the crime job and is following the main character around. The boss is usually at the office or where there work base is, maybe sometimes they come out to the crime scene if its really important, there are two types of boss, can have the boss who supports the detective even though they aren't playing by the rules or the boss who is very strict and sticks with the rules.. The villain usually has a motif for why they did the crime(s), if its a series with the same villain then the villain usually messes the main character around for many episodes until caught but if the villain is just for one episode then they always get caught by the main character at the end.