Thursday, March 1, 2018

Television: Twilight Zone & The Simpsons

BRAINSTORM: Look at the list and write the titles of some example samples of television shows that fit the category. Consider which shows you are familiar with, which ones are interesting to you, and what tropes are often found in the ones you watch.

Then decide as a class on a genre (or two or three)...if you were to make a TV show, what genre would you pick?
Action, adventure, anime, animation, black comedy, law, cop/crime, costume drama, mystery/suspense, soap opera, game show, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, family drama, comedy, situational comedy, reality show, medical drama, military, paranormal investigation, western, romance, parody, children's program, food/cooking, talk show, nature, travel, home repair, religious, other?
Then:

Twilight Zone (1959-1964) ran for five seasons (156 episodes) on CBS. Rod Serling produced, wrote, and narrated the series. The original series was shot in black and white and used popular (or soon to be popular) actors in cameo or non-repeating character roles. The unexpected twist or surprise ending was a popular trope of the series. Genres included fantasy, science fiction, suspense, and psychological thriller, and the show influenced future shows in these genres.

Other shows like The Outer Limits, Night Gallery, Ray Bradbury Theater (Bradbury also wrote for Twilight Zone), Tales From the Crypt, Goosebumps, X Files, and the more recent Black Mirror, are all inspired from this original show. Twilight Zone was recreated and updated with a new series in 2002.

We will read a little of the script: "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" originally from a short story of the same name by Richard Matheson. It stars William Shatner (a later Captain Kirk) as the protagonist.

Next:

The Simpsons:

Emerging from the Tracy Ullman Show (a comedy sketch show), Matt Groening's The Simpsons is the longest running American television program in history. The primetime animated show began in 1989 and is still running.

Please read the article on the Simpsons (see homework).

We will screen two episodes. I've included a fan-written script (not in proper tv format) and a sample of storyboards. Let's take a look.

HOMEWORK: Please read "The Birth of the Simpsonian Institution" by Chris Turner. On your BLOG, please post a summary of main points or information in the article you read, AND consider the ancestors and descendants of the Simpsons (the graphic on the last page of the article). Discuss a show not listed and, after researching it, explain how it influenced or has been influenced by the Simpsons.

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