Desperate Housewives S05 Ep12: Narrative

Usually, in every episode of Desperate Housewives, a lot happens and the narrative progresses much further, as with most modern TV dramas, in order to satisfy a modern day audience. Most of the scenes are fairly short and there are a lot of scenes in each episode as audience demands are greater and audiences want to be constantly entertained and lose interest very quickly.

In Desperate Housewives there are several mini storylines which revolve around each of the main characters. In each episode, as with most TV dramas, we see a progression with each of the characters in some way.

Beginning, Middle and End
Edie and Susan get locked in Edie's basement. Edie asks Susan about her love life and tells her she is dependent on men as she has never been without one for very long. Edie then tells Susan about her father and Susan realizes that is why Edie has been with and used so many men. Finally, Susan tells Jackson she's not moving in with him and Edie forgives Dave who moves back in with her.

Lynette finds out where Porter is - with her mother. Her mother lies to Lynette and tells her that Porter has left. In the middel the audience think Lynette's car has crashed but in actual fact it hasn't. She tricks her mother and Porter in order to get them to come to the hospital. She then convinces Porter to come home and face his trial. Porter gets off his case and Lynette visits her mother. They agree things have to change and make-up.

Equilibrium
- Bree and her son-in-law are getting along fine.
- Katherine and Mike's relationship is going well and they are happy.
Disruption
- Bree gets told by her son-in-law Alex that she treats her husband unfairly and is rude to him. In the middle we see the two of them fight after which Alex declines her offer for the house. Bree then argues with her son over it and he refuses to come in between them.
- Katherine tells Mike she might move away but he doesn't try to persuade her not to.
Equilibrium

- Finally they make up when Bree gives Alex permission to criticize her as she realises she often steps out of line and so he could help her.

- Dave asks Mike if he is still in love with Susan but Mike tells him he is falling in love with Katherine. At the end Mike leaves her flowers with a card saying don't go and they kiss.

Happy Ending
At the very end we see that all the characters have progressed in some way and the ending is a happy one. Mike leaves flowers for Katherine telling her not to leave and we see them kissing. Edie forgives Dave who then moves back in with her. Gaby is happily wathcing her kids being told that from now on they must obey her. Lynette is spending time with her mother and is happy. Bree has made up with Alex and is showing him colour samples from their new house. Susan is learning to live alone without a man and enjoy doing so for the first time.

So overall the ending is a happy one for everyone. However, as is typical with the end of Desperate Hosuewives, the audience is given a warning that all is not ok and something bad will soon happen. This is portrayed through the character of Dave and the audience is already aware that he wants to take revenge on Mike. While Katherine and Mike are sharing a kiss at the end, we see Dave behind a window watching the two of them.

Characters - Binary Opposition
This is most evident in this episode through the characters of Mike and Dave. Mike offers to let Dave stay at his house. The audience is already aware that he wants to take revenge on Mike. The camera shows us a CU of Dave's face letting the audience know what he is thinking. He smirks as he realises this could be an oppurtunity he could use. Mike is completely oblivious to all this. IN the final scene with Miek and Katherine where they share a happy moment together we see Dave watching them from behind a window. He is an outsider and separte from this moment, looking in from the outside. The camera focuses on him even though he is not involved in the moment and this tells the audience his intentions are sinister, particularly as we are aware that Katherine and Mike are not aware that he is watching. The camera acts as an indicator to the audience that Dave is going to disrupt their happines very soon.

Spooks: Narrative in TV Drama

STANDARD NARRATIVE CONVENTIONS

Beginning, Middle and End

A couple wake up and go downstairs to eat breakfast. They do not realise that they are being watched by terrorists. The woman Fiona and her partner Danny, who both work for the MI5, get kidnapped by the terrorists. The terrorists demand that the Prime Minister must annouce he will remove troops from Iraq. Danny ends up getting shot and in the meantime the MI5 work out that taking their agents hostage was simply a ploy to distract them from their real aim; to kill the Prime Minister. In the end, Fiona's husband Adam saves her and the Prime Minister while the terrorist holding Fiona captive is shot.

Characters - Good/Bad

The audience is usually able to identify the good characters and the bad characters quickly when watching a TV drama. This is because the director chooses to present a character as either good or bad in different ways so that the audience will see that character a certain way. These different ways include the following:

• costume
• body language
• camerawork
• editing

In Spooks, at the very beginning this is done in many ways including camerawork. We are let into Adam and Fiona's world and feel as if we know them well in the first few minutes as we already know so much about them through MCUs and MSs. However, with the terrorists seated in the car outside we are unable to se their faces and some of the shots are made to look obscure to make their identities even more ambiguous. We only see parts of their faces at a time such as their eyes or their lips and even though these are CUs we feel distanced from them. The director gives us little pieces of information at a time about the terrorists whereas from the first shot of Fiona we are able to see her gender, race, class and are given information about her lifestyle as well as Adam's.

Happy ending

At the end of this episiode of Spooks, Fiona is rescued after the female terrorist caves in and tells Adam where she is being held captive. Tension is heightened as petrol is being poured over Fiona by the terrorist. She begins to get hysterical and the audience is put on the edge of their seat. At the very last minute, just as the terrorist is about to burn Fiona alive, something smashes against the window. Then men come in and shoot the terrorist. Fiona is rescued and runs outside to meet Adam. They hug each other and the episode finishes on this image, which is essentially a happy ending.

Most stories end happily because they follow the narrative pattern of equilibrium-disruption-equilibrium. Audiences naturally prefer there to be a happy ending as it has more of a positive feel and leaves the audience feeling satisfied and not distressed. TV contains an element of escapism as audiences often watch TV to escape from their lives for a while. Therefore, audiences would want a happy ending as they want to feel happier after watching a TV drama.

Beginning

A standard way of beginning a narrative story is what starts as an ordinary, everyday morning suddenly being threatened. This follows the narrative structure used often which begins with an equilibrium but then there is a disruption. The disruption is then usually resolved and then the narrative returns to an equilibrium.

In Spooks, the day begins at an equilibrium as an average normal day. Adam and Fiona wake-up and start this day just as they would any other. Fiona makes coffee and toast for breakfast and Adam is getting dressed for work when he enters the kitchen. We then see them both leave dressed smartly for work.

Audience involvement

This is done through the danger that is set up. The audience is encouraged to take sides through binary opposition. Some character is identified as evil with traits that suggest this and some characters are identified as good. In Spooks this is set-up at the beginning through thew use of colour in mise-en-scene. The walls and background in the couple's house are clean and white, a colour we associate with goodness. We are able to see them with clarity and each of the shots show us their actions and tells us about their relationship, making us feel as if we know them intimately and allows us into their everday life. The terrorists, on the otherhand, are sitting in a black car with darker surroundings instantly making the audience view them as a threat and as evil. Their identity remains hidden and ambigous so the audience is made to see them as a threat and will be less inclined to like them. They are still and tense, not giving much away, making the audience unable to relate to them and therefore distanced from them.