Fiction can save television

FICTION CAN SAVE TELEVISION

The concept of seasons have come up in the Indian television milieu courtesy rampant adaptation of foreign reality show concepts ,but its just a misnomer as this is just because the duration of the reality shows can’t be over a stipulated number of weeks due to the concept of the shows .

Once the winner is found on a show, they quite simply move on to the next season ,which is easier as there is no read to go and write an entire season, but instead the need to just to hold fresh auditions for casting –be it for talent or celebrity based shows.

This is quite unlike the west where every ‘fiction’ show has an overarching storyline for a season and each studio or satellite channel renews the shows for the forthcoming seasons based on its popularity and ratings.

This is quite unlike the west where every ‘fiction’ show has an overarching storyline for a season and each studio or satellite channel renews the shows for the forthcoming seasons based on its popularity and ratings.

TV has to move from dailies to weekly shows, because it is impossible to create a 20-22 minute script that is entertaining day in and day out without compromising on content and quality .Looking back at the finest produced serials in India –Hum Log, Buniyaad ,Nukkad, Mahabharat, Ramayan, Circus,Wagle Ki Duniya, Shrimaan Shrimati,Malgudi Days et al and we find that all were aired once or max twice a week.

But the today, the quality of fiction writing has sunk to such depths that each episode is comprised of 2 dialogues and 1 monologue with jarring sound effects and pliagiarised soundtracks of hindi films.Each episode should tell a thing or two,else it’s just an insult to the viewers’ intelligence.I seldom find it on Indian television.

TV content should become so good that people don’t see television as a conduit or passage to the film industry. For that, TV has to raise the bar of its own performance, enhance its production values and push the envelope, tear it -if need may be. A lot of stars from the film industry have come into anchoring and judging on reality shows on television, because the money influx has been huge .But they are not in TV for the same reason as say Michael Douglas in ‘The West Wing ‘or George Clooney in ‘ER’ or Alec Baldwin in ’30 Rock’ who do quality work in TV despite being huge Hollywood stars, and they are able to do so on the back of quality fiction .

It’s such an empowering medium and its reach is humbling, yet the content remains shallow and misrepresentative of our times. There is a need that is unrequited, potential that is unexplored ; markets,fans and people waiting to be tapped and that is a huge opportunity in itself.Do you really think if given a choice,the youth would watch what currently is on television?Some major game changer ,say a major production house should see this as opportunity and delve in TV production,which respects the intelligence of the audience.

Fiction has reached excruciating depths ,but nobody seems to care.The channels never take a risk,never show content that can engage people and not make couch potatoes out of them.They don't have the guts for it ,not one single one of the general entertainment channels(GEC's).