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| What makes a great episode? http://forum.ectozone.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=52 |
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| Author: | EGBFan [ August 29th, 2007, 8:32 am ] |
| Post subject: | What makes a great episode? |
I shall start by saying that the poll my look a little lacking. But I spent ages getting it just right, and I shall explain it in a minute. But first. I've been racking my brains trying to think of ways of generating discussion on this board. You can't force these things - but now I finally have something good. ...I think. At any rate, it's something everybody can join in with. This can refer to RGB or EGB - something tells me I might be discussing the latter on my own, but anyway - What makes a truly great Ghostbusters episode? Here's what it might be: Character Good dialogue, good interaction, perhaps some moment of self-realisation... It's a fluid one, I think, but with definite sub-categories. Off the top of my head: - Friends - Enemies - Family - Strangers - Romance Plot Somebody's really bothered to think about the story. What's going on is believable-in-the-world-of-Ghostbusters (which is a very particular kind of believable). You really care about what's going to happen, and aren't disappointed when it does happen. Maybe there are some twists and turns you didn't expect, or maybe not - but either way it has some degree of structure, and progresses as a story should. Action There's a lot of running around, doing cool things and getting into jeopardy. Watching the episode is exciting. It makes you sit forward in your seat, or at least keeps your eyes on the screen and your mind on what you're watching. Humour Quite simply, it makes you laugh. All of these categories can work together, and indeed should do just that with a good writer. In some cases, for example, plot and character may be inextricably linked. The perfect episode would have all four of these aspects to it, and possibly more. Which brings me to: The Poll Yes, a great episode needs more than one of these aspects. I thought about putting in an "all of the above" option, before realising that would be stupid. This is - or will hopefully be - a discussion. Why put one right answer in the poll? Oh no - what I'm asking you is, which is the single most important part of a great episode? What, in your opinion, is the one aspect that an episode absolutely categorically needs in order to be great? What I'd really like us all to do is back up our opinions with examples from particularly good episodes (I'll do it later). (If you can think of something else that make a great episode, tell us in your answer and I might add it to the poll.) |
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| Author: | Fritz [ August 30th, 2007, 8:53 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What makes a great episode? |
I guess when it comes down to it, I lean more toward the humor and/or character sides of this question. Both in the official product and in fan fics, I can more easily forgive weak plots and a slow pace when there's a bunch of good zingers and character insight. A more "exciting" (action packed and plot driven) story where the characters are little more than robots blasting ghosts is less likely to keep my interest. Not to say action and plot are unimportant. I try hard to make sure stories aren't just people standing around trading wise cracks; one way of looking at it is needing a plot and action to hang all the jokes and characterization around: they're the engine that drive all the humor and insight. That's why, in my own writing, I try to stay away from "pure" character pieces. Oh, I definitely do them, but I feel guilty about them. I feel like there's got to be some ghost or wizard with an evil agenda at work somewhere most of the time. As for which of the two is more important...I dunno. I have trouble seperating them--the best humor comes from the interaction of the characters. If there's no humor, it's probably because your characters aren't very interesting. They're virtually robots. If there's no characterization, your characters are probably cliche-ridden stereotypes to have any pretext of humor at all. |
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| Author: | ghostdiva [ August 30th, 2007, 6:19 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What makes a great episode? |
I would have to say character as far as the episodes are conserned, if I don't know what is going on with the busters, it seems pointless to have any of the other, I can watch action in lots of other things, the same with humor, plot...well, its a cartoon. ghostdiva |
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| Author: | EGBFan [ August 31st, 2007, 6:43 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What makes a great episode? |
Another voter in my poll! That feels like a... moderate weight off my shoulders. So we have a clear front runner with character. I picked it because (what I consider) all of the best EGB episodes are character driven. There's nothing quite like a personal journey to make an episode compelling, like Garrett's in "The True Face of a Monster" and Kylie's in "Grundelesque"; a little insight into family relationships, like Roland's in - oh - "Grundelesque" and Eduardo's in "Rage". As for RGB, "The Thing in Mrs. Faversham's Attic" has popped into my head, so I'll mention it. As we all know, it's a great character episode for Peter. |
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| Author: | Michele [ December 12th, 2007, 2:23 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What makes a great episode? |
All are important for a great episode but definitely character development is the most important. |
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| Author: | janinefan [ December 13th, 2007, 2:28 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What makes a great episode? |
Character and plot IMO. Great characters and plotting provide the humor and adventure. |
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| Author: | Miss Janine [ March 17th, 2008, 6:02 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What makes a great episode? |
Here's another vote for character, as some of my favorite episodes were character-driven. There may have been a ghost involved, but it was all about the team. And a lot of my favorite fanfics are character-driven, too. |
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