The document discusses questions to consider when analyzing representation in TV drama, such as what type of realism is portrayed, which groups are represented and how, which groups are not represented and why, whether any stereotypical characters are present, and if the drama presents a dominant worldview or multiple perspectives. It gives an example of how the absence of a gay detective's partner being portrayed as incidentally rather than central to the plot could represent a lack of normalized representation of gay people in television drama overall.

1. To explore representation in TV Drama you should ask yourself: What kind of realism is being attempted by the programme? Who is being represented in the drama (Who is present), and how? Who is not being represented in the drama (Who is absent?), and why? Can we identify any characters that are stereotypical representations? Is there a dominant view of the world represented in the drama, or are there several different views to choose from? What different responses might audience members make to these representations?

2. Who is not represented? The following example may help to explain the point about absence more clearly. Imagine watching a TV police drama with a detective as a central character. At the end of a busy working day he goes home for his evening meal and instead of a long suffering wife taking his dinner out of the oven he is met by his gay partner. The situation is incidental though, because the drama is not about ‘gay issues’. Does this happen very often? We can say that there is a great deal of representation of gay people in television these days, but hardly ever as incidental: it is usually central to the plot. So, gay people in a ‘normalised’, background sense are largely absent from TV drama.