Still on my TV series analyzing high, I realized over the weekend something that applies to my research and academic writing. Possibly personal growth as well, but I think that might be best as another post.

More specifically, I’ve been watching a lot of police drama-type shows that deal specifically with the homicide unit. It seems to be all the craze. But, despite this similar theme, I watch the shows I watch for different reasons, either for the characters or for the story, but they’re never balanced–I watch a show either more for the characters or more for the story.

Let me list out the shows I’m currently watching (or watching out for if they happen to be inbetween seasons) that fall within this theme:

• NCIS
• Lost Girl
• Rizzoli & Isles
• Alcatraz

All four shows feature characters that are homicide detectives. NCIS is practically all about homicide with the main cast playing the various parts of agents/detectives, M.E.s, and lab techs. Lost Girl has two detective characters (Hale and Dyson), but has developed farther away from needing those characters specifically for investigations and more for taking advantage of their position and resources. Rizzoli & Isles is much like NCIS but without the lab tech character. Alcatraz is practically pure detective work, although we are introduced to an M.E. a few episodes in.

It occurred to me, after listening to a few R&I podcasts and letting my subconscious churn through irrelevant bits of data, that I watch these shows for different reasons. One of the girls on the podcast mentioned that she realized she needed to watch Rizzoli & Isles not for the story, but for the characters and after that, the show became immensely more enjoyable. I almost feel like hitting myself over the head for not thinking about this earlier, but my subconscious has been pairing away at this problem until it deemed it was ready to present this observation to my conscious mind.

I watch NCIS, Lost Girl, and Rizzoli & Isles mainly for the characters. NCIS, Rizzoli & Isles, and Alcatraz (not Lost Girl) have a fairly formulaic layout (murder, find murderer, apprehend murderer) but how the episode plays out is where the writers’ creativity shines through. NCIS, Lost Girl, and Rizzoli & Isles (not Alcatraz) place more focus on the interaction between the characters and use the story as the glue that holds the characters together and more importantly, brings out the interactions between the characters.

NCIS: I started watching when my sister practically forced me to sit down and watch it with her. I wasn’t into crime dramas at the time, but it wasn’t torture either. For example, the close relationship between Abby and Gibbs is something that doesn’t get old. Abby’s unique personality as a lab tech (not to mention being able to get away with dressing the way she does in a federal lab) and showing her capabilities shines through in the episodes. Ziva’s inability to properly use American-English idioms is a character quirk that’s always amusing and balances her expertise in the field which also shines through in events that occur in the episode. I can keep going, but if you were to ask me to analyze a single episode for its story, I wouldn’t be able to without losing interest.

Lost Girl: This show I was originally interested in because of the portrayal of a succubus through a live actor (research material for another project). Her story was interesting, but as they continue to butcher Season 2’s larger story (too many fillers, really), I watch mainly because of Kenzi. I like Kenzi. She is fun, quirky, and witty. I can’t imagine writing her lines because whoever manages to write Kenzi does it so well. To a much larger degree, there is a larger gap between character and plot in Lost Girl than NCIS – NCIS is closer to being more evenly balanced for me, but Lost Girl is much more skewed towards the characters. Oh, and Doccubus. Can’t forget about that. (Zoie Palmer and Anna Silk are both excellent actors and despite the silly quality of some episodes, they take what they’ve got and run with it.)

Rizzoli & Isles: I have to admit it was the subtext between the two main characters that prompted me to give this series a shot and later prompted me to order the first season on DVD which is something I normally don’t do (I don’t have any of the NCIS DVDs [yet] and I’ve been following that show for a couple of years). All within a month. That should be a big sign in itself. I read somewhere that this series was a lightly written show and wasn’t meant to be heavy (although 2×04 with the kidnapping was very heavy). I watch because of the interactions between the characters. The witty banter between Det. Rizzoli and Dr. Isles, the mother-daughter relationship between Det. Rizzoli and Mother Rizzoli, the fatherly/sempai-like relationship between Det. Rizzoli and Sgt. Korzak, the tense and unstable relationship between Dr. Isles and Paddy Doyle, it goes on and on. The show is just fun to watch for the characters, not necessarily the story which tends to be inconsistent at times.

And that leaves Alcatraz. At first, I was wondering why I wasn’t enjoying Alcatraz but I still felt compelled to watch. I realized that it wasn’t the characters I was so much interested in, but the story itself. The characters took a backseat to the plot and I’m left wondering what will happen next. I’m less interested in what happens next in the other three series (although Lost Girl did have that appeal at first). Once I realized that, it was sort of the puzzle pieces falling together and my life makes a little more sense.

Over the weekend, I skimmed over this WSJ article on creativity. Basically, there are two ways in which creativity emerges, through the subconscious (relaxing, hot shower, thinking of something else) or logical processes (deep concentration, continual work processes). As I’ve shown above, it was through the subconscious that I realized I watch these TV series for different reasons. I’m also reminded of my 2nd year of college where I realized solutions to my coding homework when I was in the shower.

I also subconsciously made the connection between watching the shows for different reasons and how I am approaching my research. Originally I started off with a focus on video games, but I believe I’m more interested in the more abstract concept of play. I’m still interested in video games, but it’s less the sole topic and more the medium through which play is expressed. So, now I need to focus on writing more towards play and using video games as a tool to explain play. It’s still a balancing act of making sure the two elements harmonize, but much like my experience with watching TV series, it’s possible to write something that focuses more on play and less on video games and vice-versa.

Who said watching TV wasn’t productive? Well, except I still need to get this paper done and unfortunately I’m the writer.