Fiction
Soap still sells, says study
Fiction is still the king.
That‘s the verdict of a French study that indicates that of the 1117 new shows launched between September 2001 and May 2002 in eight key television markets, over 40 per cent belonged to the popular genre of fiction.
According to data released by French audience measurement and survey company Mediametrie, Eurodata TV and IMCA, the eight countries covered (UK, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, the US and Spain) had 13 per cent of all new shows in the reality soap and game show genre. While the broadcast rate of new reality TV programmes remained at the same level as the previous season, the distribution by country remained uneven.
 UK‘s Pop Idol was one of the few winners in the reality genre |
The survey has been done by New On The Air (NOTA), an offspring of Eurodata TV and IMCA and is a system for continually detecting and monitoring the launch of new fiction, entertainment and factual television programmes. In Germany, none of the six new reality shows launched this
season appear on the list of 15 best new shows of the year, while ZDF‘s Die Affaire Semmeling turned in the new blockbuster soap of the season. In the US too, the big losers in the autumn stir were the new reality TV programmes like Love Cruise, Lost and No Boundaries. CBS‘ Big Brother and Fox‘s American Idol however continued their duel for the top spot in the States, even as fiction remained the dominant genre accounting for 76.1 per cent of new programmes. ABC‘s Dinotopia stayed at the top of the heap among fiction shows.
 Spain‘s Yo Soy Betty La Fea was one of the big winners |
Spain too is fond of its soaps. The Columbian soap opera Yo Soy Betty La Fea was the best show on Antena 3 for the period, while Operacion Triunfo on TVE1 and the third season of Gran Hermano on Tele5 were trumps this year.
UK experimented with the largest number of new factual programmes (48.3 per cent) including BBC‘s Blue Planet and Walking with Beasts and reality type historical re-enactments like The Edwardian Country House and The Trench. ITV was instrumental in raising the number of soaps on radio networks to nine with the launch of Night and Day. UK however showed a high degree of tolerance for the reality genre making a success of shows like Pop Idol, Soapstars, Fat Club and the third season of Big Brother.
 Fact more popular than fiction – BBC‘s Blue Planet held its own against soaps |
Making a qualitative analysis of the kind of heroes portrayed in the shows, NOTA observes that whether it be a hero, anti hero, lawyer, police officer or neighbour, it is the human element that comes through most shows.
MUMBAI: On Christmas morning, whilst most of Mumbai slept off festive cheer, Satyam Tripathi’s heart gave out. 25 December proved cruelly ironic for a man who’d spent his career crafting drama—this time, there would be no second take. He was only 57.
Tripathi was a scriptwriter’s scriptwriter. Within India’s chaotic television industry, where writers are treated rather like spare parts, he’d carved out something rare: respect. For years, he sat on the executive committee of the Screen Writers Association, helping transform along with other leaders, what was once a talking shop into an organisation with teeth. When writers’ rights were little more than punchlines, Tripathi helped pen a different ending.
His credits read like a greatest hits of Indian telly: Hitler Didi, 12/24 Karol Bagh, Ek Mutthi Aasman, Parvarrish Kuchh Khattee Kuchh Meethi. Millions laughed, cried and switched channels to his work. He also championed the association’s Screen Writing Awards, ensuring that good writing didn’t go unnoticed in an industry obsessed with ratings and revenue.
Those who knew him speak of an affable soul, generous with time and advice. In a cut-throat business, Tripathi was that rarest of creatures: genuinely helpful.
His remains were cremated the same evening in the presence of industry associates and friends. The credits rolled quickly. But his final script—a better deal for India’s writers—continues to play out. That’s the sort of ending he’d have appreciated.
(Scriptwriters, producers and friends will be getting together to honour Satyam Kumud Tripathi’s memory and to hold a prayer meeting on 29 December. The location: Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gurudwara, 4 Bungalows, Andheri West, Mumbai. The time: between 3:30 PM and 5:00 PM.)
