XPost: rec.arts.sf.tv, rec.arts.tv   
   From: david@creeknet.com   
      
   Barry Margolin wrote:   
      
   > In article ,   
   >  "David Cheatham"  wrote:   
   >   
   > > Barry Margolin wrote:   
   > >   
   > > > For either demographic, it's not enough JUST to put a pretty girl   
   > > > on the show, the subject matter still has to be entertaining to   
   > > > them.  Boys might find Miley attractive, but they're not going to   
   > > > watch the show because it's about girly stuff (I've never   
   > > > actually seen it, but I assume dating and romance are common plot   
   > > > elements).   
   > > >   
   > > > Sci-fi and action has traditionally not had much of a female   
   > > > audience.  Some of this may be because girls tend to be turned   
   > > > off by science, viewing it as a more male activity.  But if you   
   > > > give a lead role to a woman, it breaks that stereotype.  Now you   
   > > > have a show that can appeal to the wider demographic.  Boys like   
   > > > it because it's sci-fi AND it has kick-ass babes, girls like it   
   > > > despite it being sci-fi BECAUSE it has kick-ass babes.   
   > >   
   > > This implies that men care more about the premise, whereas women   
   > > don't care about the premise as long as they can see some strong   
   > > women as characters. I don't know if that makes men or women   
   > > shallower.   
   >   
   > Women care about premises, too.  But the premises that they tend to   
   > gravitate to are romantic, not action.   
      
   I don't know if you can call 'romance' a premise of any fiction except   
   a rom-com. (Perhaps Desperate Housewives? Dunno, never seen it.) The   
   premise is something like 'character drama'...human interaction is the   
   premise, with romance just being a type of that.   
      
   > What I'm saying is that if you have a show whose premise is not the   
   > type that a particular gender will consider, you can attract them by   
   > adding certain character types.  So many women won't be immediately   
   > interested in a sci-fi action show, but if you put a woman in the   
   > lead lots of them will give it a try.   
   >   
   > And once they try it, they might like it.  The problem is getting   
   > over initial biases, and creative packaging can accomplish that.   
      
   Yup. Or you can do what Lost did, and realize that sci-fi fans are so   
   starved for good shows they'll find your sci-fi by themselves, so what   
   you do is you package it as a character drama, and then *later* show   
   it's sci-fi. ;)   
      
   Or you can, to come full circle, present a character drama IN SPACE,   
   which is what Caprica apparently is. (I have not watch it.) Sadly,   
   these historically have not worked that well.   
      
   In the end, almost all shows are attempting much more characterization   
   than they'd be doing two decades ago. I think at some point, we might   
   end up with essentially four types of dramas:   
      
   Straight character dramas with no other consistent plot (Soap operas.)   
   Character dramas with a real premise, like hospital workers   
   Character dramas with a imaginary premise, like a superdetective, but   
   they're in the real world   
   Character dramas set in an entirely fictional world, aka, sci-fi.   
      
   Every other drama format seems to be dying out, even shows that were   
   successful in the past. It doesn't matter you've got a group of people   
   who save the world each Tuesday...audiences want them to date, and talk   
   to their parents, and have hobbies.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)