Quality TV

I was just reading through the introduction (written by Rhonda V. Wilcox and David Lavery) in the book Fighting The Forces: What's At Stake In Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and in it there is a list of nine characteristics of quality TV made by someone named Robert J. Thompson.

I thought it might be interesting to look at those nine characteristics and discuss how they apply to Babylon 5, which I feel and assume most on this board also feel is indeed quality TV.

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1. "Quality TV usually has a quality pedigree." i.e those responsible for the show -- the creators -- have done quality work in the past and been strongly associated with others that have done quality work.

2. "Desirable demographics notwithstanding, quality shows must often undergo a noble struggle against profit-mongering networks and non-appreciative audiences."

3. "Quality TV tends to have a large ensemble cast."

4. "Quality TV has memory." In other words, the characters change and behave in a way that acknowledges that they have a past that continues to grow with each episode. There is no reset button that enables the characters to revert to what they were before the episode and never actually grow.

5. "Quality TV creates a new genre by mixing old ones."

6. "Quality TV tends to be literary and writer-based."

7. "Quality TV is self-conscious." Basically, a quality tv show is aware of its own story history and doesn't abandon it, is aware of the fans, is aware of the real world and events going on in it.

8. "The subject matter of quality TV tends toward the controversial."

9. "Quality TV aspires toward 'realism.'"

I would agree. There are probably other points, but those mentioned cover a lot. The only point I would want to slightly alter...

"Quality TV aspires toward 'realism.'"

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...from the viewpoint of science fiction, "realism" is difficult to agree about. Fantasy, while it may be socially realistic, tends to be technologically unrealistic no matter how much one tries. "Believability" might sometimes offer a better measure.

Lets See for B5:

1. "Quality TV usually has a quality pedigree." i.e those responsible for the show -- the creators -- have done quality work in the past and been strongly associated with others that have done quality work.

yep


2. "Desirable demographics notwithstanding, quality shows must often undergo a noble struggle against profit-mongering networks and non-appreciative audiences."

Somewhat

3. "Quality TV tends to have a large ensemble cast."

Definitely

4. "Quality TV has memory." In other words, the characters change and behave in a way that acknowledges that they have a past that continues to grow with each episode. There is no reset button that enables the characters to revert to what they were before the episode and never actually grow.

B5 is a text book exapmle of this.

5. "Quality TV creates a new genre by mixing old ones."

In some ways. B5 mixed science fiction with political intrigue, not brand new, but plenty of room where no one else had done anything.

6. "Quality TV tends to be literary and writer-based."

Yep.

7. Quality TV is self-conscious." Basically, a quality tv show is aware of its own story history and doesn't abandon it, is aware of the fans, is aware of the real world and events going on in it.

Very much so with B5.

8. "The subject matter of quality TV tends toward the controversial."

Some episodes were very contriversial, some were less.

9. "Quality TV aspires toward 'realism.'"

B5 definitely aspired towards realism, but didn't always make it exactly right. Like Sleepy said, its harder to be realistic on a sci-fi show.

2. "Desirable demographics notwithstanding, quality shows must often undergo a noble struggle against profit-mongering networks and non-appreciative audiences."

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This is the only one with which I'd argue, not because it isn't true, but because it's frequently just as true of really bad shows as of really good shows...

Otherwise, these points seem to fit B5 perfectly.

I say that B5 fully fits the aspiration toward realism because I personally see a difference between something being "realistic" and something being "real."

I was just reading the introduction in the book I mentioned in my original post above and just found it intriguing how many of the elements that the person being quoted stated were, in his opinion, parts of quality TV and how many of them seemed to strongly apply to Babylon 5.

As far as being realistic is concerned, JMS has frquently maintained that he wanted B5 technology to be obtainable, not magic-like tech that has been seen in so many sci-fi shows.

It is alos interesting that the passage you quoted came from a book on Buffy as it, along with B5, are my favorite shows, because the writing on both is of such a high quality.