For use with own analysis of Series 3 Episode 1

1. Series 3 Episode 1

3. Genre
A1. To what extent are your chosen texts typical
of their genre?

4. Conventions of Television Crime Drama
The genre of television crime drama is
extremely large. There are many
different examples of the genre with
many different styles, formats and sub-
genres. Not all conventions will apply to
all texts. This is merely a list of typical
characteristics of crime dramas. It is
unlikely that any one text will exhibit
them all but many of them will be
present in many examples of the genre.
A Touch of Frost
The Wire
Miss Marple
Midsummer Murders
Dexter
Luther
Cracker
Lewis
Monk
Diagnosis Murder
Ironside
Columbo
Kojak
CSI
Scott and Bailey
Poirot
Boardwalk Empire
The Sopranos
Sherlock
Life on Mars
Ashes to Ashes
Starsky and Hutch

5. Characters
The lead character will often be a detective or some sort of police
investigator. They will usually be a white male - 40 years old plus.
The lead character will have some sort of major personality defect
or flaw such as a failed marriage, alcoholism, gambling addiction
etc, sometimes there may be a physical one as well eg Ironside is
confined to a wheelchair whilst Columbo has a glass eye..
There will often be a sidekick character - a younger and more
inexperienced individual. This is sometimes a woman though
women are usually in scientific advisor roles. If there is a woman
there will usually be some sort of sexual tension between the two.
There will often be a group of support characters or 'gang' who
help the lead character in their investigation.
There will often be a superior officer or 'police chief' who the lead
character must report to and will often be in trouble with.

6. Format: Episodic but usually with stand alone episodes.
Iconography
Police cars, blue flashing lights, crime scenes, police tape (do not cross),
murders, dark lighting, guns and weapons. Flashlights in dark places.
Sound
Serious and dramatic non-diegetic music. Often this is very sombre and
brooding during dark moments and fast-paced and bombastic as action
sequences occur.
Settings
Interview rooms, urban settings, police stations, crime scenes, forensics
labs, morgues, the killer's lair - often dark, ominous and threatening.

7. Genre
Signifiers – Look specifically for markers in your texts which
demand your analysis: what are the messages and how are they
being communicated? Signifiers do not have to be visual, there
could be an overall message or theory which is communicated
through a text e.g. a political view or a sub-cultural motif.
Explore the signifiers in your text (Try for 5).
Conventions – What are the generic elements of your text?
Consider conventional characters, narratives, cinematography –
how does your text represent this genre? Does it support dominant
ideologies or challenge them? (200-250 words)
Iconography – How does your text create memorable imagery or
symbols? How important are specific icons within your text? Again,
is your text supporting dominant ideologies or challenging them?
(100-150 words)

8. Luther: Series 3, episode 1
Conventions Conformed to:
The show is named after the protagonist.
Luther is a detective with personal problems - he has a failed marriage and is emotionally
unstable, perhaps even suicidal.
He has a younger, more inexperienced sidekick who looks up to him.
He has a group of allies who help him.
What other conventions does this crime drama conform to? Think about the examples
stated above.
Conventions Subverted:
John Luther is not a white man though he is in all other ways a fairly conventional crime
drama protagonist.
Are there any other ways that you think Luther subverts or challenges the generic
conventions?

9. Sample response

10. There’s nothing particularly original about a police drama
built around a lead character who gives his name to the show.
But this isn’t Morse, or Bergerac. Luther, the show, is more a
psychological thriller than a cop show, there’s far more
emphasis on outwitting people than on chasing them in cars
and shooting them.
Luther the character is a Chief Inspector in a serious crime
team, he’s an extremely good investigator, using intelligence
to keep a step ahead of the criminals. Unfortunately he’s not
exactly what you’d describe as entirely on the up-and-up. He’s
one of those characters with a ‘strong sense of justice’ which
is slightly troublesome for a police officer, because sometimes
his methods for finding information and evidence won’t
exactly hold up in court.

11. The relationship with his estranged wife is the best developed of the
series, possibly even the only relationship that makes any sense.
Although there are excellent reasons why they are no longer together,
they have a long history and both remember that their relationship
used to be good. Even when she is angry with him, she understands
him and is firm in her beliefs of what he would and wouldn’t do.
Likewise through it all, he wants her to be safe and happy, and he can
understand and accept that those two conditions may not be possible
with him.
To counterpoint that complicated but generally positive relationship is
the altogether less healthy connection that develops between Luther
and a murderer that he couldn’t catch. Luther seems to respect her
ability to elude prosecution and gradually uses her more and more to
gain insight from a mind just as sharp as his, but wired an entirely
different way. How and why this relationship develops is as much a
mystery to Luther as it is the audience

12. BBC’s police drama, ‘Luther’ is a strongly typical of the police drama
series. Set around the life of police detective John Luther, the series
follows many of the conventions used within this genre, reminiscent of
similar texts such as ‘Cracker’ and ‘Silent Witness’. Firstly, the series
adheres to the crime series genre by using the familiar narrative of the
police force catching the criminal. Throughout the series, new
criminals are introduced only to be brought down by Luther and his
team, creating peace, equilibrium, taking Todrov’s theory into account.
Interestingly Propp's idea of the hero character, here clearly defined as
John Luther himself, is portrayed by black actor Idris Elba, subverting
the stereotype that the hero must be a white male. However, the hero
soon begins to display stereotypes and conventions visual to the
television crime series, as we discover that John Luther is a troubled
man, has anger issues and recently split up with his wife.

13. This trait, the troubled cop, is heavily used throughout the series,
drawing similarities to other crime dramas, such as Cracker, where the
hero Fitz, played by Robbie Coltrane, has problems with alcohol and
gambling.
The good cop, bad cop stereotype is played upon in the form of good
policeman Justin Ripley, playing off Luther’s bad cop temper. Most
characters speak with working class accents, DCI Rose Telser utilising a
slightly dodgy cockney twang, which is a convention of most crime
dramas, adding a gritty, realistic tone shying away from unnatural
Received Pronunciation. Finally, the series lead setting, the police
station, connotes to the audience that they are watching a police drama
and not a romantic comedy, providing sufficient realism whilst enabling
the writers to fill in any holes simply by pointing to a chart in the
meeting room.

14. Narrative

15. Narrative and Theme
The narrative will usually be centered around a detective trying to
solve a crime - often a murder. There will be an investigation taking
place which involves clues and red herrings. The killer's identity will
often be revealed at the end of the episode.
There will often be chase scenes present. There may also be an
interrogation scene. There will usually be a teaser or 'hook'
sequence at the start which shows the crime being committed or
maybe the body being discovered. Its purpose is to draw the
viewer into the narrative.
The theme of justice and good vs evil will be prevalent in the
narrative.

16. Narrative
Structure – Linear/non-linear narratives, flash-backs, flash-
forwards, tales told in reverse or in non-sequential episodes. Is
the meaning tied down with a narrator leading the audience
through? Also consider hyper-reality, dream sequences, enigma
codes, etc. Write 100-150 words on the narrative structure of
your texts.
Conventions – What are the conventions of narrative in your
text? Is your text doing something new? Consider post-
modernism and how your text fits with that. (200 words)
Is there evidence of inter-textuality? (200 words)
How engaged and aware does the audience have to be? Does
the age of the audience have a bearing on this? (200 words)
Key Codes – What are the key codes of your texts’ narratives? Is
there any narrative theory you can research? Consider Barthes,
Todorov, Propp and Levi-Strauss.

17. Representation

18. Explore how typical Luther is representative of TV Crime Drama?
• Typical genre codes & conventions
• What is represented?
• What meanings are derived from these codes?
• How typical?

19. Luther
• Does Luther target an active or passive audience?
• Identify how Luther is encoded to gratify the
passive audience
• Justify one point/technique/convention that
would force Luther audiences to decode the text
actively in order to gain gratification
• Explain how Luther has been encoded to gratify
both a passive and active audience
• Why does the use of a score appeal to a more
passive audience

20. Alice Morgan
Alice Morgan went to Oxford University aged 13, a celebrated child
genius. She completed her PhD in astrophysics at the age of 18.
She met Luther after the murder of both of her parents, whom she
was suspected but never proven to have killed.
In Luther, she found a worthy foe and a great friend. Before, Alice
had seen human existence as insignificant compared to the
universe, with its vast galaxies and black holes.
But when her philosophy came into direct conflict with Luther’s
belief system, she discovered what it is to care for someone else.
Still volatile at times, cold and emotional at others, she is Luther’s
greatest ally, and greatest temptation.

21. DSU Martin Schenk’s universally feared steel-trap
mind and intuition have been transferred from
Complaints to the Serious and Serial Unit, where he
heads a successful and formidable team.
Schenk always dreamed of such a unit but never
pursued his ambition for the sake of his wife’s peace
of mind. After she passed away he finally accepted his
calling.
Remaining always suspicious, always pragmatic, he
plays the game. Simultaneously his loyalty to his team
and to Luther is unwavering.
Though Luther’s unorthodox methods and disregard
for personal safety continue to challenge Schenk, he
knows his team is stronger with Luther back in the
fold.

22. DS Justin Ripley
Ripley’s dogged loyalty to Luther has made him the constant
in Luther’s life – he is Luther’s colleague, partner and
greatest friend.
Ripley’s high regard for Luther is unwavering; confident that
Luther’s intent is to be on the side of the angels. However,
his regard is polluted by the knowledge that working for the
angels can bring you too close to the devil. Under pressure
from Stark and Erin Gray, Ripley is forced to confront the
truth behind Luther’s secrets. Ripley starts to wonder if he
can keep on turning a blind eye to Luther’s methods or will
he be forced to challenge Luther’s decisions. Has he been in
Luther’s shadow for too long?

23. Representation
People – age/gender/race/ethnicity. Write about how your texts
represent people –(200-250 words.)
Places- regional identity/ cultural customs/ stereotypes. Write
about how your text represents places – 200-250 words.
Events/issues – Corruption, riots, protests, sexism, racism, drug
culture, immigration, the Royals, Europe, the Arab Spring,
sports, political scandals, public events.

24. Analyse Series 3 Episode 1
How have the representations been mediated.
Consider all the micro-elements.