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Television Show Analysis

Essay Instructions:
In Her scathing dismissal of television,Marie Winn calls TV"bereft of value,and quotes psychologist Robert Kubie,who states that television "rarely delivers any lasting fulfillment."In this essay you will investigate a TV show in depth and attempt to determine its quality.Your job is to see whether Winn's assessment suits the show you have selected to study. First chose a television show to watch.It can be any sort of show:TV news(local or national,a half-hour sit-com,an hour drama,a talk show,a reality show,or any other show you wish,as long as it was specifically produced for ,and originally conceived ,by design,to be viewed by a TV audience.Thus,live pro sporting events,which are conceived as professional competitions,are out,but TV documentaries of sports figures are acceptable;broadcast feature films which were prepared for and first shown on the "big screen"are out,but "made-for -TV films are all right. Watch the show,and record it so that you can study it closely and re watch it. Analyse its value as a product,and explain whether you feel it is a show which succeeds in providing a worthwhile viewing experience .You may use your own criteria to judge the quality of the show,but if you would like more assistance with assessment criteria,or if you are unsure of what areas to watch for and write about,use as many of the ten questions provided below as you need: 1.DEMOGRAPHIC:for which audience has this show been designed?Is there a particular age group or gender to which the show has been aimed? 2.RATING and POPULARITY:What is the popularity of the show you selected?If you can,find the most recent Nielsen Rating of the show.Is it in the list of top ten most watched shows?It is near of the rating?it is near the bottom of the ratings,with a comparatively low viewership?Give statistics and numbers. 3. PACKAGING:Consider the opening and closing theme song(if either exists)for the show.An opening theme song is designed to advertise the show and make people want to watch the show it introduces.How successful do you think the opening theme is?A closing theme song is designed to give the viewer "something to remember",and to interest that viewer enough to make him or her to return to the show next time.How successful is the closing theme in doing this? 4.TITLE:Consider a show's title.What clues,if any,to the nature ,style,or atmosphere of the show are revealed in the title?Explain your answer.What message ,if any,does the title send about the show's purpose,nature or quality?Explain. 5ACTORS OR PERFORMERS:How do the stars and guests of the show contribute to,or detract from,the success or quality of the show?Are the actors,performers,or hosts and guests of the show from the same "group"or "class"as the target audience.Explain. 6.PURPOSE:What is the purpose of the show?What kind of show is it?Is its purpose to entertain?To inform?Acombination of both?Neither?something else ?Explain. 7. SUCCESS of PURPOSE:Does the show achieve its designed purpose?In other words,if it a show which appear to promise being informative to the viewer,for example,does it it succeed to being truly and meaningfully informative?If its his purpose to entertain,does it succeed?Why, or why not?Explain? 8.CULTURAL MESSAGES:Does this sow contain any cultural"messages"?That is ,is there anything notable about the assignment of specific roles, behavior, limitation,abilities,or qualities,to any age group,gender,social group or class,ethnicity,religious group ,etc.? 9.ADVERTISING:Catalog and categorize the kinds of commercials shown during the show.To which audience do they appear to be aimed?Illustrate this by discussing a few specific commercials,and describe the target audience of these commercials and the products/services they advertise.Does the target audience of the commercials match the target audience of the show?Explain. 10.RATING:Considering all the aspects of the show which you have explored,what overall rating do you give this show,how \"good\"is this show?If its popular show ,does this show deserve the popularity it seems to have ?If it is unpopular show,does it deserve to be more popular than it is?Finally,does watching this show fit Winn's description of an experience which is\"bereft of value"?Why,or why not? Be sure to use MLA format in this paper,and consult the MLA templates on the documentation websites to be sure you build your works cited on the correct model,(In text citation has to match with work cited!)Example:Show name.Network.Day/M/Y.Medium. But IFF your show reference a particular episode of the show,include the title of the episode before the name of the show: Work cited: "Gloria Gets Suspicious." Modern Family.WABC,New York. 30 Nov.2011. Television. The Day/Month/Year-the show seen by you.
Essay Sample Content Preview:
[Name]
[Course Title]
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Television Show Analysis
The television show that would be analyzed in this paper is titled ‘House M.D.`. House M.D. is a medical drama and currently the eighth season of the show is airing on the television. This is a critically acclaimed television show and it has been nominated for and received numerous Emmy awards. The lead actor of the show is Hugh Laurie and the character that he plays is named Doctor Gregory House. The character House is very humorous and he is deeply attracted to medical puzzles. Due to his extraordinary medical knowledge, he is said to be one of the best diagnosticians in the country.
The episode of the show that I saw most recently is titled ‘Dead and Buried`. Like all other episodes, this too featured a completely unique medical puzzle. Dr. House`s team has a 14 year old patient who is suffering from teen angst. Later, when the symptoms of the patient worsen, the team realizes that the patient`s actual problem is not just an age factor and this leads to a series of medical tests. Ultimately, the team diagnoses the problem successfully and the episode features so many dramatic events that lead to the ultimate diagnosis. The episode also features another case on which Dr. House himself works without involving anyone from his team, and the patient is a boy who died five years ago. This shows that Dr. House would reach any extremes to satisfy himself by solving all the medical puzzles that are thrown his way or that are sought by House himself. The episode is well received among the viewers and the critics.
Due to the complex nature of the medical cases in the show and the language used, the show has been aimed at a mature audience. The show contains so much humor which is also mature at times and it should not be viewed by children. However, the humor and the language are totally acceptable among mature audience and it is enjoyable too. Therefore, the show is exclusively aimed at a mature audience. The show is equally enjoyable for both male and female audience.
House is one of the most popular shows on television and it is viewed by audience all around the world. The show has enjoyed very high TV ratings and the Nielsen ratings for the show peaked in its third season with an average audience of 19.4 million per episode. For its fifth season, the show slipped to nineteenth place when it attracted an audience of 12 million per episode. The most viewed episode of the show is from its season four and it is titled ‘Frozen` which attracted more than 29 million viewers. The show enjoys high ratings in its ongoing season as well.
The opening theme of the show is the song ‘Teardrop` by Massive Attack. The theme of the show is widely popular and it has played a significant role in the popularity of the show. The opening theme is an instrumental part of the song ‘Teardrop` and it serves its purpose very nicely i.e. advertising the show and making people want to watch the show. The closing theme of the show is also inspired by the opening theme. The closing theme is not a part of the original song but it resembles the song. The closing theme also serves its purpose very nicely and makes the viewers remember the show.
The title of a television show is also very important because...
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