Module Identifier TF30620  
Module Title TELEVISION DRAMA  
Academic Year 2000/2001  
Co-ordinator C Prys-Jones  
Semester Semester 2  
Pre-Requisite TF10410  
Course delivery Lecture   10 Hours  
  Seminar   10 Hours  
Assessment Exam   2 Hours EXAMINATION (2)    
  Essay   ESSAY (2500)   40%  

Aims
This module builds upon the method used in the Part I television module and analyses the non-verbal structure of television writing. The main development of the module when compared with Part I lies not only in the quality of analysis required but more importantly, in the more comprehensive focus on individual 'authors' such as Potter, Bleasdale and LaPlante.

Learning Outcomes:

Typically, upon completion of this module a student will be able:
- To demonstrate an awareness of the range of dramatic formats on television
- To show an analytical understanding of a range of televisual dramatic texts
- To critically evaluate discourses relating to the academic study of television drama
- To critically apply theoretical models of television theory to the television dramas studied.

Content:

The lectures, seminars and screening will study the history and development of British, European, and American television drama. Questions such as authorship, notions of quality and the difference between naturalism and non-naturalism will be addressed.

Reading Lists
Books
** Essential Reading
Brandt, George (ed.). (1981) British Television Drama. CUP
Brandt, George (ed.). (1993) British Television Drama in the 1980's. CUP
Brunsdon, Charlotte. (1997) Screen Tastes: soap operas to satellite dishes. Routledge
Cook, John. (1998) Dennis Potter: a life on screen. MUP
Corner, John (ed.). (1991) Popular Television in Britain: studies in cultural history. BFI
Creeber, Glen. (1998) Dennis Potter: between two worlds. A critical reassessment.. Macmillan
Dyer, Richard et al,. (1981) Coronation Street. BFI
Fiske, John. (1987) Television Culture. Routledge
Gilbert, W. Stephen. (1998) Fight and, Kick and Bite: the life and work of Denis Potter. Hodder and Stoughton
Goodwin, A. et al. (1990) Drama-Documentary. BFI
Hill, John & McLoone, Martin (eds.). (1997) Big Picture, Small Screen: the relations between film and television. Luton Press
McKnight, George. (1997) Agent of Challenge and Defiance: the films of Ken Loach. Flicks Books
McQueen, David. (1998) Television: a media student's guide. Arnold
Millington, Bob & Nelson, Robin. (1986) Boys from the Blackstuff: the making of a television drama. Comedia
Nelson, Robin. (1997) Television Drama in Transition: forms, values and cultural change. Macmillan
Paget, Derek. (1990) True Stories? Documentary Drama on radio, screen, and stage. MUP
Potter, Denis. (1986) The Singing Detective. Faber
Ridgman, Jeremy (ed.). (1998) Boxed Sets: television representations of theatre. University of Luton Press
Self, David. (1984) Television Drama: an introduction. Macmillan
Shubik, Irene. (1981) Play for Today: the evolution of television drama. Davis-Poynter
Stead, Peter. (1993) Dennis Potter. Seren Books
Taylor, Don. (1990) Days of Vision: working with David Mercer, Television Drama then and now. Methuen
Tulloch, John. (1990) Television Drama, agency, audience and myth. Routledge
Wayne, Mike (ed.). (1998) Dissident Voices: the politics of television and cultural change. Pluto
** Recommended Background

Crisell, Andrew. (1997) An Introduction History of British Broadcasting. Routledge
Ellis, John. (1982) Visible Fictions. Routledge
Hartley, John. (1992) Tele-ology. Routledge
Selby, Keith and Cowdery, Ron. (1995) How to Study Television. Macmillan
Williams, Raymond. (1990) Television: technology and cultural form. Routledge
MacCabe, Colin. (1986) High Theory, Low Culture: analysing popular television and film. St Martin's Press
Feuer, Jane. (1995) Seeing Through the Eighties: television and Reaganism. BFI
Viewing:.
Lena O, My Lena (Alun Owen); Up the Junction (Nell Dunn/Ken Loach); Boys from the Blackstuff (Alan Bleasdale); Cathy Come Home (Jeremy Sandford/Ken Loach); The Singing Detective (Dennis Potter); Prime Suspect (Lynda LaPlante); The Kingdom (Lars Von Trier).