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What Makes A Great Episode?


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Old 24-08-2016, 08:24
Ben96
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What ingredients make a brilliant episode of a soap? Is it lots of humour, character interactions, drama, twists in the story, all of the above or something else? How many story strands should be included in an episode for example? The reason for me starting this thread is from watching Emmerdale It has become apparent to me that even when soap is in good shape, there are episodes that are quite weak, sometimes preceding very good episodes, but what makes a "good" or "great" episode of a soap? Feel Free to state what makes a "poor" episode as well If you wish.


For Me

- Maximum of 4 story strands
- Lots of humour & banter among characters, warm interactions etc.
- Drama & good storytelling (no brainer really)
- Nods to the past (where appropriate)
- A twist in the tale /something unexpected
- Realism - An important one for me, scenes of characters going to work, up to their usual everyday stuff etc makes It feel "grounded" in reality.
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Old 24-08-2016, 08:53
_elly001
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Interesting topic. I tend to agree with you but I'd add a couple more things:

-Structure. I think this is hugely underrated and not really talked about, but when an episode has a logical, well put together 'arc' it can really elevate what's happened on screen. Most recently in EE I think they did this incredibly well in Peggy's death episode. Although the rest of the storyline was hit and miss, I felt that the episode where she took her life was almost something you could watch as a standalone drama with no previous insight into the character of Peggy and you'd still have an emotional response to it.

-A 'theme' to link storyline strands together. This can sometimes be a bit hokey if it's too obvious but when it's done well it can really shed new light on existing storylines. Again, EE did this well recently with the father and son episode.
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Old 24-08-2016, 09:08
little-monster
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Can't be doing with too much banter and humour. I still can't get over those atrocious scenes with Jimmy's gang in the pirate ship and having a water fight with the kids. Pure cringe. I felt ashamed to be half british that day.
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Old 24-08-2016, 09:14
Ben96
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Interesting topic. I tend to agree with you but I'd add a couple more things:

-Structure. I think this is hugely underrated and not really talked about, but when an episode has a logical, well put together 'arc' it can really elevate what's happened on screen. Most recently in EE I think they did this incredibly well in Peggy's death episode. Although the rest of the storyline was hit and miss, I felt that the episode where she took her life was almost something you could watch as a standalone drama with no previous insight into the character of Peggy and you'd still have an emotional response to it.

-A 'theme' to link storyline strands together. This can sometimes be a bit hokey if it's too obvious but when it's done well it can really shed new light on existing storylines. Again, EE did this well recently with the father and son episode.
I completely agree that structure is very important, which makes me think of continuity which Is related to structure. Continuity errors are a real bug bearer of mine, and when they occur ruin the illusion of realism.
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Old 24-08-2016, 09:14
cyrilandshirley
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1. Based around the strongest characters.
2. Decent plot hinge for a strong story.
3. Cracking script that's true to character.

So the episode the other week on ED where Cain tried to seduce Charity:

Based around great characters - Cain/Charity/Moira
Sense of jeopardy because we know Cain still really loves Moira - will he wreck his marriage?
Script that was funny, sexy, and also a bit tragic, that referenced all their history.
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Old 24-08-2016, 09:16
cyrilandshirley
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Can't be doing with too much banter and humour. I still can't get over those atrocious scenes with Jimmy's gang in the pirate ship and having a water fight with the kids. Pure cringe. I felt ashamed to be half british that day.
That was terrible.

Maybe we need another thread - what makes a terrible soap episode?
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Old 24-08-2016, 09:19
little-monster
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That was terrible.

Maybe we need another thread - what makes a terrible soap episode?
Good idea
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Old 24-08-2016, 09:22
Ben96
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That was terrible.

Maybe we need another thread - what makes a terrible soap episode?

As I said In my original post feel free to discuss what makes a poor episode too, although It will surely just be the opposite of the points made for a "great" episode?
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Old 24-08-2016, 09:49
cyrilandshirley
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As I said In my original post feel free to discuss what makes a poor episode too, although It will surely just be the opposite of the points made for a "great" episode?
Actually, I prefer positive threads to moany ones. Makes you think though, doesn't it?
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Old 24-08-2016, 10:29
RickLopez
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I like it when lots of characters are involved and are seen interacting with lots of different people, to inject a sense of community.
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Old 24-08-2016, 13:20
Ben96
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I like it when lots of characters are involved and are seen interacting with lots of different people, to inject a sense of community.
I agree, this is very important for me too, It also adds realism.
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Old 24-08-2016, 13:35
M_J2
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I agree with _elly001, think it's really important that the story arcs are really built together well in advance. Thats one of the things i respect about Emmerdale, they build a story from 8 months or longer and build up nicely too it.

I also like Funny episodes that mostly feature actors that are good at it. It's like when Corrie has Norris, Mary, Tim, Steve etc and they have the "comedy" writers in. But that usually works every 2 months say.
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Old 24-08-2016, 13:38
Andybear
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That's a difficult question as what some people think is a bad episode, other people think is a good one. It just comes down to personal taste.
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Old 24-08-2016, 14:13
Ben96
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That's a difficult question as what some people think is a bad episode, other people think is a good one. It just comes down to personal taste.
That's true, but what for you personally makes a "great" episode, or indeed a "poor" one?
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Old 24-08-2016, 14:25
katt
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Eastenders - a Carter free episode is always a good episode for me
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Old 24-08-2016, 14:37
VGKid
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I'd say one of the most important thing is to have little filler. By this, I don't mean to remove interactions or stuff like that, that's great. But take when Stacey returned to EE, and we had almost a week of duff duffs of Stacey making a brief appearance at the end, having seen Kat.

Or when Sharon found out that Bobby killed Lucy. We had about 5 or 6 episodes surrounding Ian begging Sharon not to go to the police but she refuses, only to relent in the next episode until Bobby does something again. If the characters are in the same position before and after an episode - what was the point in watching it? If a friendship has started to grow or a relationship develops - that's great. It doesn't have to always be high drama, but most of all, it should never be pointless
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Old 24-08-2016, 15:17
molliepops
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I like something to make me laugh, something to make me cry and lots of community, family storylines. Just to show they can't please us all I loved the Jimmy pirate ship storyline, and seeing them trying to help Ashley without him finding out.
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Old 24-08-2016, 17:29
robjames69
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Nostalgia - a scene with some long servers, mentioning a moment, event or person
Twist - not a ott thing, but a little twist that takes your breathe away!
Tweetable Oscar Nom - a scene where an actor goes that extra mile and twitter proclaims they should win an oscar for their work

but most importantly..

Plot - a story that grips the audience, whether for one episode or a long running story, it doesn't always need to be a climax or reveal either. Just something that makes you think, this is something really special.
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Old 24-08-2016, 17:48
Andybear
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That's true, but what for you personally makes a "great" episode, or indeed a "poor" one?
For me a good episode is one with balance - a bit of happiness and a bit of drama. I enjoyed last night's Emmerdale for that reason - Marlon and Carly getting together as a proper couple and Vanessa and Tracey finding out they are half sisters and their reactions.
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Old 24-08-2016, 18:39
Bonnie Scotland
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The end credits

(I will now run away QUICKLY ...)
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Old 25-08-2016, 01:29
Ben96
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The end credits

(I will now run away QUICKLY ...)


The end credits have been the best bit of Corrie sometimes over the past year or so.
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Old 25-08-2016, 12:27
Ben96
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1. Based around the strongest characters.
2. Decent plot hinge for a strong story.
3. Cracking script that's true to character.

So the episode the other week on ED where Cain tried to seduce Charity:

Based around great characters - Cain/Charity/Moira
Sense of jeopardy because we know Cain still really loves Moira - will he wreck his marriage?
Script that was funny, sexy, and also a bit tragic, that referenced all their history.
bib - Yes, that's another thing that I forgot! Staying true to character is very important in the writing, characters should react to situations in a way that we would expect them to.
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Old 25-08-2016, 12:50
KornerKabin
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I have to echo what elly has said about structure.

A truly great episode could be watched in isolation from the rest of the 'volume' (previous episodes), without viewers needing extensive prior knowledge to follow and engage with the storylines.

The main structure of a great episode is the one that we all learn in primary school: beginning, middle end. Yes there are gazillions more nuanced approaches to dramatic structure, but this is the absolute basis. Too many soap episodes avoid this structure completely and just bumble along like a blindfolded donkey going for a walk in IKEA from one episode to the next.

The biggest mistake that soaps make time and time again is sacrificing the join between the end of the middle and the beginning of the end (climax and falling action if you know of Freytag's pyramid) in favour of a contrived cliffhanger (usually some form of obstacle that means the climax is not reached) that is supposedly designed to tempt viewers towards the next episode, but more frequently these days is just an annoyance for viewers. Coronation Street, in particular really suffers badly from this in the Monday and Friday double episodes, with the last half of the 7:30 episode being wholly focussed around cutting off the gratification of the viewers with an awkward and jarring cliffhanger that holds back the climax in the hope of bringing them back at 8:30.

I find that Coronation Street Wednesday episodes are often far more enjoyable than the Monday and Friday doubles because they tend to follow a more satisfying structure.
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Old 25-08-2016, 13:11
attitude99
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One thing that helps to make a great episode is the atmosphere. So for example, I think that night time episodes tend to be more dramatic, mainly because they are set at night. This normally works with EastEnders episodes set at night, but it also worked for Hollyoaks E4 episode last Thursday as the power had gone off and the characters were sat talking surrounded by candles and it just felt more drama filled and character driven, but then again that particular episode was brilliantly scripted and acted.

Of course, this isn't the only thing that makes a great episode, but imo it helps.
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Old 08-09-2016, 23:30
Ben96
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I have to echo what elly has said about structure.

A truly great episode could be watched in isolation from the rest of the 'volume' (previous episodes), without viewers needing extensive prior knowledge to follow and engage with the storylines.

The main structure of a great episode is the one that we all learn in primary school: beginning, middle end. Yes there are gazillions more nuanced approaches to dramatic structure, but this is the absolute basis. Too many soap episodes avoid this structure completely and just bumble along like a blindfolded donkey going for a walk in IKEA from one episode to the next.

The biggest mistake that soaps make time and time again is sacrificing the join between the end of the middle and the beginning of the end (climax and falling action if you know of Freytag's pyramid) in favour of a contrived cliffhanger (usually some form of obstacle that means the climax is not reached) that is supposedly designed to tempt viewers towards the next episode, but more frequently these days is just an annoyance for viewers. Coronation Street, in particular really suffers badly from this in the Monday and Friday double episodes, with the last half of the 7:30 episode being wholly focussed around cutting off the gratification of the viewers with an awkward and jarring cliffhanger that holds back the climax in the hope of bringing them back at 8:30.

I find that Coronation Street Wednesday episodes are often far more enjoyable than the Monday and Friday doubles because they tend to follow a more satisfying structure.
I agree, the "cliffhangers" are awful, but It's inevitable that they have to be used, they want viewers to return for the second episode.
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