When drama equals stupid

Do you find yourself resisting the urge to scream at characters on your favorite TV dramas? They seem like reasonably sane and intelligent people, but something comes up to make you question that assumption. They do something stupid.

For instance:

· The hero and heroine are about to escape the Bad Guys and finally find peace. But even though they are facing a hard deadline and time is of the essence, they stop to make speeches or to kiss passionately to make sure the other character (and the audience) appreciates how happy they are to be together at this moment. And then the Bad Guys arrive on the scene.

· Speaking of kissing, a pair who should NOT be kissing because their relationship is a secret, stop to make out in a place where there is substantial risk they will be seen. And the vantage point of the camera suggests someone is watching.

· After escaping from a dangerous place where they were previously trapped or imprisoned, they go back to that place for a last look around and to congratulate themselves before leaving forever, even though they risk getting caught and trapped again. As, of course they are.

This is the stuff of dramatic manipulation of the audience. Producers WANT you to scream at the characters, “Don’t do that, you idiot!” They want you to get wrapped up in the story because you know that you are so much smarter than the characters. You know how you would handle the problems they face, so you keep watching to see if the characters finally listen…