POV on TV

[lyore]

I've was watching The Dresden Files (TV show, not books) recently (Why was it cancelled? Why? *sob*) and in a brief break between episodes I got a random spurt of inspiration for a in-progress fic. I scribbled off the phrases before I lost my train of thought and then realised Huh. Wrong POV. The rest of the fic is 3rd person limited, and I'd written this in 1st. No biggie, easy to change.

But it started me thinking... why did I default to writing it in first person? There was nothing in the fic itself that required it. Then it dawned on me - I wrote it in the first person because I was watching a TV that is in the first person. Mystery solved.

Except The Dresden Files isn't written in the first person, since it's a TV show. I'm not sure it even makes sense to think about a first-person POV TV show, barring 'Blair Witch' gimmicks. But it does have a narrator.

I'm not sure when I started to equate the idea of a narrator in a show with first person narration in a book. On one hand, it makes sense; the narrator is (generally) talking directly to the audience using the first person. It (can) give the same direct insight into the main character's thoughts. I'm also tempted to say that shows with narrators also tend to be tightly linked to the storylines of the narrator, (versus, say, an ensemble show) but I'm making this assumption from a sample size of two (The Dresden Files and The Invisible Man). Not exactly a huge statistical pool. On the other hand, the show freely uses scenes where the protagonist is not present, although only when required for dramatic purposes (by which I mean it is usual for Harry to be present, unless there is a pressing, plot-related reason for him being there - having been kidnapped, for instance, and the show needing to show to audience how Murphy found him).

Regardless, I've found that watching shows with narration has the same effect on my writing as reading things in the first person - it shunts my brain directly into 'first person' mode.

What do you guys think? Is there an equivalent to (written) POV in TV shows, and is it a function of direction, camera-work, writing, or something else?

Comments

[amethyste5.livejournal.com]

I would say it is largely the writing that creates first person, and I'd like to add one to your list of examples. I always felt Profiler was in first person, though it would split between Sam's pov and Jack's. (The camera work on Jack pov was very first person, but in a clausterphobic fashion that was quite creepy.)

Scrubs is very first person, but it annoys me so I hate to mention it. (Annoyance being a function of the narrating character, not the pov)

[lyore.livejournal.com]

I've never watched Profiler, but am amused that they have characters called Sam and Jack :P I've also never really watched Scrubs, although I always meant to get around to it.

Thanks for the examples!

[amethyste5.livejournal.com]

Sam is a girl, and the profiler, Jack is a serial killer, it's short for Jack of All Trades. He's obsessed with her, killed her hubby in her house, so of course she's a tad bit pre-occupied with finding him. It was a wonderful series (not including the final season) bu it's now off the air. It used to do x-over episodes with Pretender, another first person one now that I think about it.

[lyore.livejournal.com]

It did crossovers with the Pretender? I must find this show.

I was debating whether I personally see Pretender as a 'first person' show - in the end, I sort of don't, just because there is so much focus on Miss Parker as well as Jarod, and therefore non-Jarod scenes are fairly standard, instead of the exception.

[amethyste5.livejournal.com]

Maybe first person but from two different persons? (Jarod and Miss Parker, obviously)

(BTW, if you find Profiler, I have to confess, I had a thing for Bailey.)

[lyore.livejournal.com]

Bailey, huh? When I find it I'll keep an eye out.

(And I love that icon!)

[amethyste5.livejournal.com]

Alas, it is the only one I didn't make myself. ;~}

Bailey is not exactly pretty, but he has character, and his character is what I liked. (I've since seen him in a few things and decided he should NEVER wear shorts. It was upsetting)

[redbyrd-sgfic.livejournal.com]

Have you read the SG-1/Profiler crossover fic that plays off the name things very well? (I'm awful with fic names but could probably turn it up if you're interested.)

[lyore.livejournal.com]

No, I haven't. If you could find it that would be great (we all know about my thing for crossovers!). Don't worry if you can't though.

[amethyste5.livejournal.com]

I have not but I'd love to!

Pretty please?

[redbyrd-sgfic.livejournal.com]

Fortunately it wasn't that hard to find.

Wrong Turn by Brionhet. There's a sequel, which IIRC is slash, but the first one is gen.

[amethyste5.livejournal.com]

RATS! blocked by the filters. I'll have to wait till I get home to read it.

Thank you! Cookies for you!

[redbyrd-sgfic.livejournal.com]

I think of POV in television all the time, though it might be a little hard to explain why I think a particular episode is in a particular POV.

For example, I think of COTG in Stargate is largely Jack's POV. He's most of the major scenes, we see a few things he's not there for, but all the exposition is from his POV. TBFTGOG is Daniel's POV. Fire and Water alternates between Daniel and Jack. Learning Curve alternates between Sam and Jack. Some episodes use POV from the whole team, others slant it heavily toward one or two characters- in that, as you pointed out above, the character(s) is(are) present for almost all the scenes saving only the ones that have to be there for expositional reasons.

I think this is signalled largely by amount of screen time devoted to the characters (hence direction?), but also to some extent by the writing.

[lyore.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I'm not the only one!

Hmm. POV Stargate is interesting, since it is such an ensemble show. Looking at the episodes you've listed, do you think that it (or we, I guess) tend to default to the POV of the 'most involved' character (eg, this is an episode about Jack, so unless given clear clues otherwise, we think of it from Jack's POV?)?

[redbyrd-sgfic.livejournal.com]

I would say *usually* it's the most-involved character. There are edge cases- The Light, for example is nominally a "Daniel episode" but I would argue that the POV is actually Jack's (in part because Daniel's unconscious for so much of it).

Another interesting ep is SGA The Last Man, where they got the POV *wrong*- it's John's POV, but he doesn't do anything- the action all belongs to other characters.

[lyore.livejournal.com]

God point about 'The Light'-type episodes - ones which are mostly about one specific character, but for whatever reason (usually because they spent most of the episode dead, dying or unconscious), are filmed from another character's POV.

I'm not as familiar with SGA, but it's interesting to consider cases where 'they' (director/writer) get it wrong. To me, this seems a case of 'them' defaulting to the standard POV of the show (which I would argue is Jack for SG-1 and John for SGA), rather than considering what works best for the episode.