Character Development

On character development.

Every successful sitcom and drama that has ever been produced for television has had one defining component upon which the rest of the show’s success was built: Characters. Well-developed, thought out, finely acted, thoroughly explored, well-written, and above all relatable characters. It seems like a no-brainer, but so many television shows thoughout the years, and especially these days, have totally missed the point.

Exhibit A: NBC’s current incarnation of “Knight Rider”, as well as any show that even remotely resembles this show in terms of writing, and approach to the material. It’s got a gimmick. Every show has a gimmick, even if they call it a “premise”. The gimmick, whether it’s single loser(s) sharing an apartment in New York or talking car works for the government, is meant to be used as a launching pad. A show cannot be written around a gimmick and expected to last. Being single is not interesting. A talking car is even less interesting. An hour of primetime filled with a talking car and explosions is torture. Stuff in a shower scene, half-naked escapades and explosions, and you’ve got a show that, at least according to the evidence presented, must have been deliberately designed to make the viewer stupid(er).

Take another NBC show: Heroes. Equally ridiculous gimmick. People with superpowers. Good for its initial shock value, then nothing. Only this show is well into its third season, with an online spinoff and impressive DVD sales of the first two seasons. Thanks entirely to well-written, thought out, believable characters. That’s no easy feat considering it boasts one of the largest ensemble casts on television. It would be simple to think that one or two of these characters are protagonists, and the rest are stock characters whose worlds revolve soley around the main character. This is wrong. Each character, and I’ll repeat that for any writers who may be reading this, EACH CHARACTER has his or her own complete story and backstory and subplot and mannerisms and interest and beliefs and, oh yeah, powers. Seems like alot of work when it would have been a lot easier to just wrangle up a dozen Maxim and GQ models, tell them to read some lines, add in some special effects and call that a show. There is not, shocking as it may seem, an explosion in every episode of Heroes. Or a “love” scene, whatever may qualify for that these days. Or a shower scene, even with Ali Larter as part of the main cast.

There are over top action sequences, each one thoroughly led-up to, explained, and relevant to the overall story of the show. Proof that a little planning, and a little caring about the product being produced for others, goes a long way. This is too obvious for anyone not to know this. More than likely, people who allow shows like “Knight Rider” to be seen by others and attach their names to the credits just don’t care. They understand that characters are the core of any show. They just don’t care. About making a good show or being successful. About anything. And those are dangerous people.