The term ‘quality television' is generally used to describe a genre or style of television programming that is sometimes thought of being a higher quality than other genres, referring to programmes that are perceived as more expensively produced and, especially more culturally worthwhile, due to subject matter or content.
The characteristics of quality television would be a narrative complexity, more thought-provoking, more sophisticated, more artistic, more literate, more stylistically complex and more psychologically deeper than the normal television fare.
Not all television that is ‘good' is considered ‘quality television', "To determine quality one need only refer to details of the programme and show that they exhibit fundamental defining features. To determine real value – to make a critical judgement and try to persuade other of it – one must both interpret the programme and evaluate it according to explicit criteria. ‘Quality' is not synonymous with value or how good something is; it is closer to being a set of generic traits that distinguish a group identity", Cardwell, Sarah.
Jon Cook and Thomas Elsaesser, academics at the University of Amsterdam defined ‘quality television' into nine aspects. That the show should be historical, displaying or becoming part of the national culture; should be well written, well-acted etc.; should consist of high production standards; should be popular and/or durable; should appeal to a diverse range of audiences; should educate the audience in some way; should feature a technological edge; should represent minorities, human rights, and other social elements and should serve a specific market niche.
With regards to this study, two shows that I would consider to be ‘quality television' would be Netflix's ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events' (2017- ) and BBC's ‘Sherlock' (2010- ). Both of these shows are in the drama television genre and cover five of the nine aspects of ‘quality television' defined by Cook and Elsaesser.
The first aspect that Netflix original show, ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events' covers would be that it is very well written. The show is in keeping with the tone of the books that it is based on, telling the viewer that if they like happy ending they shouldn't continue watching the show. This is one of the best ways to get kids interested as if you tell them not to do something they are going to want to do it.
Many times, the show breaks the fourth wall as Lemony Snicket's character, the narrator, is talking to the audience by looking directly into the camera but there is one point in the first episode where I felt that it was written perfectly. It happens just before Mr Po, the bank manager, tells the Baudelaire's that their parents have died, Lemony Snicket looks straight into the camera, hesitates to speak and then sighs and walks away from the camera. The pause that Lemony's character takes shows the emotion of the scene.
The second aspect that the show covers would be that it displays high production standards. The stylistic colouring of the series is used to affect the tone of the show along with the dark lighting used to go with the dark tone of the stories. The editing is also of high standards as in the first episode, there is a brilliant crossover shot, mixed with some special effects where it follows a bird catching another bird to change from the shot of the Baudelaire's to one of Count Olaf. The use of the bird in the transition is to once again dramatically change the tone of the scene without having to use any dialogue. The series won two Leo Awards in 2017 for Best Make-Up in a dramatic series and Best Hairstyling in a dramatic series.
The third aspect that the show covers would be that it is popular and durable. ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events' started off as a collection of thirteen books; it then became a film made in 2004 which was meant to lead on to other films but it wasn't as successful as thought. In 2017, it then became a Netflix series which has been very successful with the first series of the show is the second most streamed Netflix original show on its opening weekend.
The fourth aspect that the show covers is that it appeals to a diverse range of audiences. The story of the Baudelaire's is one that is designed for kids, but it is not dumbed down for them so adults can also enjoy the show as normal. Some examples of how it does this would be, the introduction card reads, "To Beatrice- darling, dearest, dead." This is how the show starts off which immediately drags in the older audience to wonder what the context of this is going to be.
Another example of how the show is blunt in its delivery of bad news in the scene in the first episode when the Baudelaire's are on the beach and then Mr Po arrives to tell the children about the death of their parents. "It is a nice day, I have some very bad news for you children, your parents have perished in a terrible fire. They perished in the fire that destroyed your entire home… Perished means killed." This example shows that its directed for an older audience by the language used but also explains the dialogue used to its younger audience so that they aren't confused.
This example leads to the last aspect that the show covers that it educates the audience in some way. Throughout the show, the characters sometimes have to explain the words they use for the younger audience the show has.
The second show that I am talking about is BBC's ‘Sherlock'. The first aspect that the show covers is that it is part of the national culture of the UK. Fans of BBC ‘Sherlock' are the most passionate strand of Holmes' fans, having at some points caused problems with production, when over a thousand of them showed up to the Baker Street set, which is Gower Street in London.
The second aspect that the show covers is that it is very well written and well-acted. ‘Sherlock' has been nominated for a variety of different awards, including Best Actor, Editing, writing, sound mixing, visual effects and more. It has been nominated for 42 awards and has won 24 awards currently. One example of the excellent writing I thought was in the first episode when one of John's first lines is, ‘Nothing ever happens to me' it then cuts to the opening credits. I thought this was a great way of introducing the show and starting to develop John's character.
The third aspect that the show covers is the high production standards of the show. Each series of Sherlock consists of three, feature-length episodes, each lasting an hour and a half. Having won many awards for outstanding cinematography, outstanding single-camera picture editing, outstanding special visual effects in a supporting role, etc.
Throughout the show, text is inserted in post-production to show text messages which is a great method for continuing the storyline without the need of having to cut to other scenes or have unnecessary dialogue. A great example of this method is when Sherlock is investigating a crime scene as you see how quickly his mind is working, or when he goes into his ‘mind palace'.
The fourth aspect that the show covers is that it is very popular, consisting of four series so far and with plans to continue. With the airing of episode one of series three, nearly ten million people tuned in to watch the return of Sherlock after a two-year break. ‘The Empty Hearse' was the episode that revealed how Sherlock survived falling off a building, Mark Gatiss wrote two lengthy sequences proved to be fan fantasies dreamed up by characters within the show who were obsessed with the fate of Sherlock as viewers of the show were. One of these theories included an alleged homoerotic charge between Sherlock and Moriarty that was inspired by external fan fiction.
The last aspect that the show covers would be that it appeals to a diverse range of audiences. It is written to appeal to a wide audience as well as the die-hard fans of the show who have influenced the plot lines sometimes. Crime dramas are aimed towards both a male and female audience but with having the two main characters male there is a slight majority of fifty-two percent of females watching the show.