Recent BBC 1 drama True Love, a series of 5 improvised
interconnected stories with a stellar cast that included David Tennant and Lacey Turner, highlighted one issue for me – that writers matter. A lot.
And what I noticed most of all in this series was the absence of a
writer. The lack of a coherent and intelligent script really showed and resulted in a disappointing
viewing experience. What it especially lacked was depth and pacing. It takes
more than good acting to make a drama convincing.
I also
feel it made for lazy television, a trend that has been accelerating for many
years now. A kind of reality TV
hybrid. One aspect of this is the way the
lyrics and music of popular songs are utilised to convey the emotions of the characters,
functioning like operatic arias; the difference being that an aria is specially
composed whereas the current method is to choose an off the peg song and
shoehorn it into the drama. Maybe I’m
being harsh. Sometimes this can work
very successfully, but it’s a device that can be overused and intrusive, as it was in this series. (Soap dramas Holby
and Waterloo Road are both culprits, programmes I enjoy watching, but the
ubiquitous pop song, used unsubtly, often grates….)
I
wondered why True Love didn’t work for me, when I find Mike Leigh’s dramas, which also
employ improvisation, so brilliant. Answers on a postcard please…..
