Analysing a Children's Drama

Using The Sarah Jane Adventures to analyse a children's drama
Series 3 - The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith
Part 1 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00nlx9r/The_Sarah_Jane_Adventures_Series_3_The_Wedding_of_Sarah_Jane_Smith_Part_1/
Part 2 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00nlxhc/The_Sarah_Jane_Adventures_Series_3_The_Wedding_of_Sarah_Jane_Smith_Part_2/



#conventions
In this episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures you see a lot of things which you'd expect to see because it is in a Sci-Fi type genre. Certain things that aren't true in real life are used in the program such as the alien creature which escapes the box. There are other things such as the characters being trapped in a "time trap". You also see technology which is beyond our world.

Also, because this is a children's drama, there are the "good people", such as Sarah Jane, Luke, Clyde, Rani, The Doctor, and the "bad people", such as the "Trickster". We also get the impression of "evil adults" in this episode, because the three children/teenager characters suspect that Peter (Sarah Jane's fiancee) is up to some kind of trick. The TV program is also quite bright and sunny to appear less scary to children. You also expect to see them go on an adventure, this time they have to get out of a "time trap" and put everything back to normal.

Other examples of children's drama include: Tracy Beaker, MI High, Grange Hill, The Queens Nose. In these programs, you expect to see good people and bad people. Most of the time, the main characters are children based around school so that the children viewers can relate too. The main characters are given an adventure/task they have to complete. Most of the time, the children can either do something extraordinary or do something without consequences. Children's drama story lines are quite simple to understand, otherwise most children may not follow what is happening, loose interest and change the channel. There can be a moral of the story to teach children something that they may not take in if someone told them directly, children may also see their favourite character do something and they will imitate it. "Bad jokes" is also another key thing, as children easily understand it and they will find it funny. Production company's don't always give a children's drama a high budget, as they don't need to use as big of effects in adults television programs.

#technical aspects
The first thing we see as the episode begins is a quick preview of major events that have happened before, this put's in our mind that we are not following tales of any ordinary people, but people that have a different lifestyles to the audience. There are a lot of quick cuts to exaggerate on the idea of things always being hectic. We already see a lot of strange characters in the preview which goes back on the idea of them having an abnormal lifestyle.

After the previews, the opening title appears which is closely similar to the style of the show that it had come off from (Doctor Who). We have a time warp style movement with a lot of letters and numbers set out in a grid like pattern at different angles, this is typically used to show mystery and finding clues. The opening title is short as the main target audience is children/young teenagers who will loose interest easily if it drags on too much. In the title "The Sarah Jane Adventures" the words "The" and "Adventures" is written in a typewriter style font, giving the hint of maybe a report or something similar, which Sarah Jane is. The name "Sarah Jane" in the title is almost in the style of free hand, which gives off the impression that it's rough, something done in a rush. We can see from this already that it's an on the go lifestyle. The rest of the titles are in the same typewriter font style as the "The" and "Adventures" as to fit in with the style/theme of the opening sequence.

After the opening title, we are greeted with the main character (Sarah Jane), we have some calming music and smooth shots to suggest everything is calm and there's nothing to worry about. We are given the impression that they are a normal family. The camera main tracks Sarah Jane to show that she is the main part of the story. As soon as Sarah Jane is out of the shot, the camera angles change, it stops following one person and the music get's slightly more dramatic. With a lot of shallow depth of field and smooth shots, it's fairly similar to a cinematic movie.There is a good transition in between one of the scenes where someone walks past and it smoothly changes into a dolly shot. This is a good effect that eases you into into the next scene.

In moments that seem funny the music is upbeat and bouncy. At other times when the moment is tense the music slows down. When Sarah Jane shows a lot more emotion than usual, there is slow music with maybe a violin playing the music (usually played to show romance).

#narrative
The story of the episode:
In this episode, Sarah Jane meets a boyfriend (Peter), who she starts meeting up with a lot. Luke (Sarah Jane's adopted son), Clyde and Rani (Luke's friends) sense something is wrong. When Sarah Jane and Peter decide to get married soon after they got together, Luke, Clyde and Rani know something is wrong. At the wedding, an alien creatures (called the "Trickster") puts Sarah Jane, Peter, Luke, Clyde and Rani in a "time trap" (which means they are stuck in time of a 1 second loop, but can move about and talk) Sarah Jane and Peter are in a different time to Luke, Clyde and Rani. An character that Sarah Jane has known for a long time that other characters have heard about gets introduced at the very end of the second part, his name is The Doctor. The characters have worked out that if Sarah Jane gets married, she will be too distracted to save the world. In the end, she gets convinced not to get married, the "Trickster" materialises, and they get put back to normal.

The Sarah Jane Adventures is in an anachronic narrative. This is noticeable by seeing Sarah Jane and Peter in the same place as Luke, Clyde, Rani and The Doctor, but they are being shown there at a different time. This happens when they are taken out of time by the "Trickster". With the anachronic narrative, we see two different perspectives, one of them is Sarah Jane and Peter's, the other is from Luke, Clyde, Rani and The Doctor.

Using Tzvetan Todorov's theory of Equilibrium and Disequilibrium, we can work out the 5 steps in this 2-part episode:

1. Sarah Jane and Clyde are at home.
2. Sarah Jane is going out a lot more on her own than usual. Sarah Jane also has a boyfriend. Sarah Jane gets married to this new boyfriend (Peter) even though she hasn't been with him for that long. Sarah Jane shuts down "Mr Smith" (her super-intelligent computer).
3. The "Trickster" take them out of time and put all the main characters in a "time trap".
4. They try and get out of the "time trap". Sarah Jane does not to get married.
5. Sarah Jane is single again, she also restores "Mr Smith".

Using Vladimir Propp's theory of narrative, this is what I think each character takes the role of:

Sarah-Jane - Victim Hero

Peter - False Villain, Donor

Luke - Seeker Hero

Clyde - Seeker Hero

Rani - Seeker Hero

The Doctor - Donor

The "Trickster" - Villain

#codesofpractice
To be able to publish shows, networks such as the BBC need to go by a code of conduct. If they don't follow this code, the network will end up shutting down.

These things include:

• Working hours.
• Restrictions to what is shown.
• Health and safety.
• Permissions.

To go into more depth, the BBC have editorial guidelines which they go by, they have posted this online so the public can view how much thought they put into what they show.

The BBC's editorial guidelines is split into 24 sections:

1. The BBC's Editorial Values
2. Using The Guidelines
3. Accuracy
4. Impartiality
5. Harm and Offence
6. Fairness, Contributors and Consent
7. Privacy
8. Reporting Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour
9. Children and Young People as Contributors
10. Politics, Public Policy and Polls
11. War, Terror and Emergencies
12. Religion
13. Re-Use and Reversioning
14. Editorial Integrity and Independence from External Interests
15. Conflicts of Interest
16. External Relationships and Funding
17. Interacting with our Audiences
18. The Law
19. Accountability
20. Appendix 1: The OFCOM Broadcasting Code
21. Appendix 2: Code of Conduct for Competition and Votes
22. Appendix 3: Statement of Policy on Alternative Finance
23. Appendix 4: Framework for Funding Prizes and Awards
24. Appendix 5: Guidelines for BBC Commercial Services on Editorial Integrity and Independence from External Interests

To describe in detail each part of every section would be lengthy and unnecessary, so I will point out relevant key points. Starting with section 5, which has been put in place to make sure no harm or offence occurs.

The watershed has been introduced to set basic scheduling rules for when children might be watching. Section 5.2.3 states to follow the 9pm watershed rule and anything inappropriate for children should be appropriately scheduled, also 5.3.1 states programs broadcasted between 5.30am-9pm must be suitable for children. To make sure children aren't watching what they shouldn't be, section 5.4.3 states to provide clear information about content of pre-watershed programs. But children aren't the only audience, 5.4.6 states TV scheduling needs to balance protection of children with rights of all viewers.

Certain things like bad language must be editorially justified and appropriately signposted to insure it meets audience expectations (5.2.6). Section 5.3.2 states that really bad language must be referred to and approved by relevant output controller. This is so children do not copy the bad language.

Violence can be imitatible by children, that is why section 5.4.30 is put in place to not show violence which is imitatible by children in a manner which is harmful or dangerous pre-watershed.

There is also the fact of sex and nudity, 5.4.36 states discussion and portrayal of sexual behaviour or sexual intercourse must be editorially justified in programmes broadcast pre-watershed.

Alcohol, drugs and other illegal behaviour is also another concern, children can be easily influenced by these things, that is why section 5.4.40 says to not show encouraging illegal behaviour when children could be in the audience. 5.4.41 states that the use of illegal drugs, abuse of drugs, smoking, solvent abuse and misuse of alcohol in content made primarily for children must not be featured.

Section 9 defines the rules for anything to do with children, parts of the section specifically mention about certain things in more depth, such as section 9.2.1 states that children should be protected from physical and emotional welfare during broadcast. Section 9.2.2 states not to cause unnecessary anxiety or distress by involvement.

When children are involved of the making of a program, they need to be protected. Section 9.3.4 helps cover the fact by stating if a child may be at risk, the situation must be referred promptly to the divisional manager with responsibility for the Child Protection Policy. Children should always have parental consent, as section 9.4.14 states that parental consent is required for children to be involved in the output of the BBC.

All children, regardless of age, disability, gender, racial or ethnic origin, religious belief and sexual identity have a right to be protected as mentioned in section 9.4.3.

These are just a small amount of all the guidelines, but the main key points to do with children.

(Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/guidelines/)

#legal
When producing TV programmes, there are a lot of legal issues that the company must consider so that they do not receive a lawsuit. Health and safety is a big issue that the BBC must consider, as a lot of people are involved in the making of the content. There are main topics, which include:

• Fire and Emergency Evacuation
• Fire Prevention
• Accidents
• Manual Handling
• Work Equipment and Electrical Equipment
• First Aid
• Working with Computers
• Housekeeping
• Noise
• Hazardous Substances
• Driving at Work
• Personal Safety
• Information, Instruction and Training

Accidents are the main concern in workplaces, because if employees are put in a dangerous position something bad could go wrong. In an unfortunate chance of this happening, it would look bad for the company or they could even be sued.

(Source: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/foi/classes/policies_procedures/health_safety_guidelines_bbc_staff.pdf)

According to Directgov
"The youngest age your child can work part-time is 13 years old, with the exemption of children involved in:

• Television
• Theatre
• Modelling
• Similar Activities"

There are also some other restrictions, such as only being able work from 7am-7pm. This is to protect children's health and safety.

(Source: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/ParentsRights/DG_4002945)