For many, television is escapist entertainment. Sure, we want to be able to relate to the people we see on TV, but really we are happy to live vicariously through the exciting lives of the characters on our favourite TV shows.
In an article published in the December 9th edition of the Globe and Mail, Gayle McDonald interviewed Abi Morgan, who wrote the HBO miniseries Tsunami: The Aftermath. Of the subject matter, Morgan said, “I’m always interested in extraordinary events that happen to ordinary people. Because that is the real world.”
Although not exactly the real world, Lost is an example of a current trend in television: the dramatization of extraordinary events happening to ordinary people. Lost is based on the premise that a plane full of strangers crash-landed on a desert island that seems to have a mind (and magnetic force field) of its own. Not only must the survivors deal with finding food and building shelter, but with vicious, inapposite animals and mysterious residents with perplexing intentions.
This is, perhaps, an extreme example. So let’s look at Ugly Betty: a normal, bespectacled girl from Queens is crash-landed in the fake, appearance-oriented world of a fashion magazine, where not only must she deal with fulfilling the responsibilities of her job, she must navigate vicious co-workers and perplexing office politics. Everyone likes a good underdog story and we collectively cheer when the normal Betty uses her smarts to triumph over the obstacles of working in the world of haute couture.The extraordinary happening to the ordinary is a trend in television that may have found its inspiration in the popularity of the myriad reality shows: normal people thrown into exceptional situations. On Survivor we see regular people from Middle America living in very abnormal circumstances – they must fend for themselves and complete tasks requiring athleticism and smarts. And from this premise comes the dramatic structure of Lost; the only differences being the polar bears and production costs. (Seriously. The producers are like The Others, constantly watching and analyzing the every move of the characters, then shaping the story line through clever editing.)
Reality shows such as American Idol or, more appropriately, America’s Next Top Model, have likewise set the stage for Ugly Betty. They take inexperienced contenders and throw them into the exclusive worlds of music and fashion and then watch them flounder. Just like Betty. (Granted, though, Ugly Betty must have gleaned some inspiration from the book The Devil Wears Prada one would guess.)
There has been a shift in the basis of hit TV shows from the 90s to the first decade of the 21st century. Ten years ago, one of the most popular shows was based around four characters poring over "the excruciating minutiae of every single daily event!" Seinfeld fans know that the decade’s defining show was really about nothing – four regular people going about their daily lives. Even Friends and Home Improvement were sitcoms about normal people living regular lives.
So where will TV go next? Well, there seems to be a few shows that appear to feature the opposite: extraordinary people living in ordinary situations. Medium sees a mom who works for the district attorney’s office and solves crimes by having psychic premonitions. Ghost Whisperer is about a woman with supernatural powers that allow her to talk to ghosts. And the recent Heroes is based around characters that discover they have superhuman powers whilst living their regular human lives, struggling to cope with this duality. As cheerleader Claire Bennet (who is gifted with the ability to regrow tissue) says in one episode: “Maybe being different isn't the end of the world. It's just who I am.” Just who she is? I’m sorry, but Claire’s whole “spontaneous regeneration” power thing so would not have happened in real life.
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