British “Dramacoms”: An argument for Self-contained* Episodes

                 From following British television shows like Sherlock, Doctor Who, and Misfits, I have realized that many U.K. dramas have much less focus on season-long narrative arcs than their American counterparts. Instead, these dramas have (pretty much) standalone episodes where each episode has a singular mystery (Sherlock), alien (Doctor Who), or lightning-charged baddie (Misfits) to deal with. This concept turns each episode into an “adventure of the week” of sorts with little narrative continuity knowledge required of the viewer to enjoy the episode. I will prove this point through analysis of the three dramas previously mentioned. Bear with this post, it is a little long, but it all comes together in the end.

                First off, I will use Doctor Who as it is by far the easiest of the bunch to make the case for lack of overall narrative arcs. The fact that Professor Becker was able to choose two completely random episodes from two very different seasons illustrates perfectly the self-contained nature of these dramatic shows. Obviously we needed to get a little background on who the Doctor is and how he works, but outside of this very basic knowledge we as viewers were able to hit the ground running. Now, not to short-change the series, there are some narrative elements/mysteries that are carried across episodes (i.e. “The Master”, “Bad Wolf”, cracks in the universe etc…). However, these narrative arcs usually play backseat and when they appear in episodes act more as treats for devout fans than as necessary knowledge in order to enjoy the series.

                Second, Sherlock, is another series that I have watched all the episodes and can confidently say that each can (once again, pretty much) be watched as a standalone entity. Although there is a narrative arc of this rivalry between Moriarty and Sherlock that spans the first two seasons, most of the episodes only reference it briefly and instead focus on the central mystery that is completely started and wrapped up throughout the course of the program. In fact, even the season two finale that deals the most with the rivalry between the two enemies could easily be viewed by a newcomer with little background knowledge on what has happened before.

                Lastly, Misfits, is a little trickier than the other two. Since the show does deal with individuals that have superpowers, it is necessary to know exactly what each individual can do. However, outside of that, there is little that is absolutely necessary for viewers to know in order to enjoy the episode. For example, Professor Becker gave a quick rundown and we were able jump all the way ahead to end of the first season and I would argue we could have gone in with even less knowledge (we just may have missed out on some subtle relationships between characters that are not crucial). Unlike similar American superhero shows like Heroes that has very closely connected episodes that cannot be viewed out of order, Misfits episodes almost always focus on one baddie (who is usually a good person) that they must take down. 

             Now, the reason for writing so much on this is that this whole concept of standalone episodic series with little narrative arcs was what really turned me off as a viewer when first starting to watch these series. I love my American shows like Lost where every episode is crucial in unraveling one more layer of the mystery. Even shows like Buffy and Smallville (two series that Woods argues are most similar to Misfits) have large narrative arcs where there is one big bad or threat that exists throughout the entire season. Thus, when these British series failed to include this cohesion between episodes, I was initially disappointed. However, good things come with time, and after spending more time with these British series I realize their advantages and why I actually might like them better. You see, when you have standalone episodes with little narrative continuity, each episode is able to be distinctively creative and try out new story lines and ideas. Unlike American shows, these series are not bogged down and limited by the need to advancing the narrative and as such are able to provide unique and creative stories that wildly vary from episode to episode (as could be seen in “Blink” episode we watched of Doctor Who). This “variety bag” of sorts allows each of the series to always seem fresh and new with its audience instead of maintaining the same tone and methods from episode to episode as many American shows do. And, no British series I have seen so far does this better than Misfits.

              Due to certain plot devices like Curtis’s ability to rewind time, the series is able to take each individual episode to truly innovative heights. For example, one of my favorite episodes allows us to see what would happen if all the ASBO offenders made their powers public and we get a fully fleshed out episode that makes us as the viewer think that the writers are going to go ahead with this whole fame and fortune thing as a completely new and different course for the series. But in the end, all of the characters minus Curtis get killed and he is able to conveniently rewind time and bring us back to the beginning of the episode, erasing the significance of everything that came before. Although many may see this decision to erase the events that transpired as a cop-out, instead I like to view it in a fun and innovative way to interact with the characters in a way that can’t happen in regular American series. These essentially “what-if” scenarios/storylines are very similar to American sitcoms where all the craziness in the world can happen and yet by the end of the episode we are able to go back to square one (albeit with a few changes of course). And I think that is a very nice way to describe some of these drama series I have been mentioning…full-length British “dramacoms” (sorry I don’t get much more creative than that). Like sitcoms, these “dramacoms” allow us to have creative, self-contained episodes while also providing some carryover content for the hardcore. It’s like having  your cake and eating it too.