TV

Walter White wasn't the only character breaking bad during the series. One could argue that each character had their own character flaw that led to Walter's path of self-destruction. Could it be the Schwartz's greed? Gustavo's manipulation of White's ego? Jesse's lack of assertiveness against Walt? Or maybe his emasculation at the hands of Skylar and Hank?

Analyze the ways in which this TV series has successfully managed to go from an innocent and fun graphic novel to a dark TV series covering some graphic themes. Many people thought it would fail- what made it succeed?

In a relatively recent episode of the new Sci-fi comedy show 'The Orville,' titled 'About a Girl' an interesting discussion is raised about the issue of gender identity, sexual categorisation, social acceptance and cultural interference. In the episode the same-sex couple (aliens known as the Moclan, of which all are male) give birth to a female, an unusual but not unheard of situation. The Moclan believe that growing up as a female in an almost exclusively male society is the equivalent to experiencing a form of social disability or social isolation. Yes, already an incredibly confronting concept. However, the two fathers differ on what is to be done, with one wishing to have their girls sex organs altered to allow her to live a "normal" life as a male Moclan.

The mostly human-based crew of the space ship become involved in this debate, strongly arguing for the right to her original gender to be honoured. Arguments concerning genital mutilation, female rights, and nature versus nurture all arise. This episode comes to ahead when a trial is held to decide and a very rare female Moclan is found. She has been living up in a cave in the mountains, but is also the races' most celebrated writer and philosopher. She argues for the right of the child to be allowed to remain a girl. However, the council ultimately rules in the favour of having her sex changed. A decision The Orville crew must accept as being a culturally acceptable choice.

Now, this discussion is not a new one, as often Sci-fi, and especially Space Operas, will use the alien race division to debate topics relevant to cultural and racial difference. However, an unusual choice by the writers is that unlike usual network shows, the alien race does not "come to its senses" and perceive the world from the human (privileged and thus better) viewpoint. Well, while I can respect this as a creative choice, and perhaps and interesting sociological choice, I can not help but be left with a bad taste in my mouth. Is this because I am so Westernised in my view I cannot accept that other culture's have the right to their view? Is it as a feminist that this is too close to genital mutilation for me to stomach? Or have I become so used to the stereotypical television norm of "making it all better" that I find it difficult to reconcile my expectations of entertainment with real life?

With the advent of online streaming services, is the television platform nearing its end? If so, how much longer can the platform last? If this topic was picked, the writer could research evidence leading to the conclusion that TV will die out soon or if it still has many years left to go.

The medical drama "House," starring Greg Laurie, burst onto the scene several years ago with an engaging and intriguing premise. A true medical detective, Gregory House seeks the answers to dangerous physical and mental conundrums that threaten to steal his patients' lives. The show featured many rare diseases and fascinating patient stories, leading scores of viewers to tune in each week.

However, some of those viewers had a love-hate relationship with the hit series' main character. Gregory House is anything but your stereotypical friendly, warm, family practitioner. He doesn't care about his patients; he takes their cases because said cases are "interesting." A pit bull has better bedside manner than this man. House is also a drug addict and a consummate jerk to anyone he comes in contact with. He flaunts authority, breaks rules, and is perhaps unrealistically self-absorbed. His personality, or lack thereof, led some viewers to change the channel while others said things like, "If I'm sick, call Dr. House" (a once-popular saying on Facebook Flair).

With these two elements of the show in mind, consider how House–its premise and protagonist–has influenced our perceptions of medicine. Is House a realistic physician? Does he, or his show, prompt us to be more sympathetic and empathetic toward our doctors and other fellow humans? Does House make medicine look like a noble profession, or is he a medical Sherlock Holmes whose intelligence and curmudgeonly ways are used as gimmicks? For those who are loyal House fans, what kept them coming back for eight years?

Why do fans pair characters together? With shows like "Once Upon A Time", where a multitude of fairy tale characters interact with one another, fans have developed a term called shipping. Shipping is the act of fans pairing two characters together in a romantic relationship, regardless of it happening in the show or not. Shipping can even reach past genres, with some fans pairing characters from two different shows. With so many ships that fans support, sometimes aggressively, it brings up the question as to why. What is the psychological reasoning behind wanting to pair characters together?

Vince Gilligans brainchild Breaking Bad is a television series which is often mentioned within the conversation of the greatest television series of all time. This is attributed to Gilligan's excellent storytelling abilities- particularly his use of foreshadowing throughout the series. An article discussing this narrative technique used within Breaking Bad including specific examples would be quite enthralling.

Perhaps one of the most talked about and bingeable Netflix shows is Justin Roiland and Dan Harmons: "Rick and Morty". Drawing influence from 'Back to the future', combining it with philosophical pessimism and a convoluted plot line featuring parallel universe- the shows success is rooted from its spontaneous humour and erratic social commentary . This formula behind this creative process has been emulated by numerous shows to great success which would make an article about this trend exploring why such success is present, quite compelling.