A Study of How Popular Tv Shows Bring Out The Themes of Reality, Drama and Science Fiction

Television shows have different themes for a reason, to appeal to a certain group of people. When a teenager comes home from school, all they want to do is sit down, relax, and watch television. Television shows can be categorized into many different themes. Action and violence appeals to the male crowd while romance appeals to the female crowd. However, comedy appeals to both male and female audiences. The show, Dance Moms, is a reality show made to appeal to reality show lovers. Cartoons like Rugrats are made for childrens’ entertainment. Popular Television shows can be classified according to their different themes; drama, reality, and science fiction.

People are drawn to drama. Whether it’s on television, online, or right in front of them, it always attracts us. Pretty Little Liars is all about drama. The show airs on ABC Family every Tuesday night during the season. It is based on a famous book series but the show is a little different from the books. It starts out with showing five girls having a slumber party at one of the girls’ house. They fall asleep and when they wake up, one of the girls, Ally, is missing. The girls go looking for Ally and can’t seem to find her so they call the police. Later on, she is pronounced dead and while this is going on, the four girls are getting threatening texts from someone named “A.” This person has already killed people who know what really happened to Ally. Two years later, Ally turns out to be alive and comes back to Rosewood, which is the town that she and the others live in. This television show has so much drama that it is a favorite among millions of teenagers and young adults.

Another popular television show is The Voice. This show is a reality, contest show with a twist. Opposed to American Idol, the judges are turned away from the contestant. While the person is singing, the judge can decide whether or not they want the contestant on their team. If they like what they hear, they can press their button causing them to spin around and face the singer. The contestant can choose which judge they want to have as their coach. Four people make up the coaches panel this year. Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, and Pharrell Williams are the coaches. Certain people like this show because it brings a twist to television. The contestant isn’t being chosen on their looks or stage presence but on their actual voice. Also, a comedic presence fills the show. The coaches argue and say snide comments to each other in order to get the contestant on their team. Blake and Adam are always saying something funny and are the main reason I watch the show. The sense of competition in a show makes people want to watch it even more.

A different type of theme people like in a television show is science fiction. Some shows with this theme are Doctor Who, Once Upon a Time, Revolution, etc. All these shows have one thing in common and that is science fiction. Some people want to see something different in a show, something that is impossible to happen in the real world. One show that is like that is Revolution. This television series is about how the whole world loses power and a militia is formed. The people have to adjust to no longer relying on electricity. A new government is formed and it is called Monroe’s Militia. This government is in no way merciful. They kill anyone who disobeys them and anyone who gets in their way of finding “the light switch.” Eventually the lights get turned back on and there is electricity for a little while until the government takes advantage of it. The woman responsible for the lights going out is Rachel. Her and her friend, Aaron, try to shut down the program that gets turned on to avoid bombs hitting a city. They’re seconds too late and thousands of people are killed. This sort of theme in a television show leaves us wanting more. Constant violence and mystery engulfs the show. Miles Matheson used to be in charge of the militia alongside his best friend, Monroe. When Miles leaves the militia, he is constantly on the run from the government with his niece, Charlie, and her mom, Rachel along with their friends. The science fiction part comes into play when a program called “nano” arises and tries to take over human emotions and their ability to think for themselves. The program saved Aaron, it’s creator, from dying. The program believes that it owes Aaron for creating them. The nano’s are always watching him and listening to Aaron’s thoughts. If he is in distress, they help him. Although this sounds like a good thing, it turns out to be disastrous. Aaron yells at the nano, telling it that he wants them to go away. The program returns later with a vengeance on humans. It has the ability to give off electricity which, in the wrong hands, can be fatal. Aaron and Rachel try to destroy the program but it is too powerful. Science fiction gives us a look into what the world would be like if we had a worldwide blackout happen to us.

Thousands of television shows come on each day , but these three specific themes are my personal favorite. Science fiction, reality, and drama makes an excellent show. Science fiction has that extra spark that I love. It includes out of this world material that is virtually impossible to happen. However, drama is also a great crowd pleaser. If I were to turn on my television and had the choice of Switched at Birth or The Big Bang Theory to watch, I would choose Switched at Birth because it’s a drama show packed with excitement. Television shows with a specific theme can make or break the show. It depends on the person watching the show, whether or not they like it. Does the person like comedy, action, drama, etc? Television shows can have more than one theme, also. It could have comedy, drama, and reality all on one show. Either way, people like certain TV shows for many different reasons. Themes make television shows special.