W E ST E RN T V, E H ?
Quality, Quantity and Creative Questions for the CRTC BY D IA N E WILD
I
f Jean-Pierre Blais were a televi-
Wire, one of the best TV shows of all
odds rule: “the relationship be-
tions. Blais proposes making more
sion writer instead of the chair-
time, or are we talking high-rated
tween the number of hits and the
adaptations of Canadian literary
man of the Canadian Radio-
NCIS that appears on few “best” lists?
total number of works produced in
hits, because you can never go
television and Telecommunications
However you define it, it seems
a given time period is positive, lin-
wrong with a literary adaptation,
Commission (CRTC), every show he
evident that quality TV is a by-prod-
ear, stochastic, and stable.”
apparently. Should we break it to
wrote would be gold. Apparently.
uct of the mass production of TV.
The people with the best ideas
Since it’s not evident to Blais, for one,
have the most ideas... as well as
that garners huge ratings is a Best
science can provide the evidence.
some of the worst ideas. Deadwood
Laid Plans that doesn’t? Another Talk
Earlier this year Blais summarized the findings of the Talk TV
him that for every Book of Negroes
hearing in an “Age of Abundance”—
Writer Jonah Lehrer—whose in-
and John From Cincinnati came from
TV pilot project is to prioritize high-
his more charitable description
terests lie in the areas of psychol-
the same brain. Pablo Picasso cre-
budget dramas—high enough to
of today’s “peak TV,” FX CEO John
ogy, neuroscience and the rela-
ated more than 20,000 works of art.
exceed Downton Abbey and Borgen’s
Landgraf’s epithet for what he sees
tionship between science and the
Hollywood’s Golden Age was also
budgets.
as a content bubble where “this is
humanities—pointed to a recent
one of the most prolific periods for
As Canada’s broadcasters merge,
simply too much television.”
experiment published in Frontiers in
studios, who created a lot of dross
we have a smaller quantity of
Psychology: “Quantity yields quality
along with the gold.
broadcasters buying shows and
Blais is nothing if not optimistic though. He thinks he has found a
when it comes to creativity.”
The CRTC’s Blais points to suc-
way to make less, better. From his
therefore a smaller quantity of shows. As CBC cuts their season or-
The people with the best ideas have the most ideas...
speech to the Canadian Club of Ottawa as released to the media: “We want creators and distributors to choose quality over quantity. Such an approach creates a virtuous cycle where the industry invests to create better programs, which in turn bring more value into the sys-
ders we have a smaller quantity of episodes of each show. Never mind that the Canadian content quotas currently in existence already allow Global to have no scripted Canadian shows for half the year. How can our regulator think quantity is even a factor in our industry?
tem, which in turn generates more
The psychologists and neurosci-
cessful international dramas such
Lehrer sums up the research on
money to re-invest in content made
entists involved gave their subjects
as Australia’s The Code, the UK’s
creativity like this: “high levels of
by Canadians. More importantly,
a graphic and told them to write
Downton Abbey and Denmark’s Bor-
creative output are often a prereq-
it creates an environment where
down as many things as they could
gen and The Killing as proof that bril-
uisite for creative success. Put an-
Canadians want to watch content
that the drawing suggested to them,
liant content could happen here. He
other way, throwing shit at the wall
made by our creators—not because
with the answers scored for their
doesn’t mention the terrible shows
is how you figure out what sticks.
it is forced upon them, but because
creativity. The
gave
those countries produce because,
More shit, more sticks.”
it’s good. Indeed, because it is great.”
each subject intelligence and per-
being terrible, they haven’t made
There’s a strange arrogance to
Isn’t that cute? It’s like it never
sonality tests and measured their
their way to Canada. He does men-
the Talk TV conclusions: Blais seems
occurred to him that you don’t get
cortex and, after all their sciencing,
tion, but doesn’t connect dots, that
to think Canadian TV can beat the
quality without quantity. That if you
they concluded that the quantity of
Canadian shows such as Slings and
quality odds that plague every other
look at the most successful televi-
ideas was related to the creativity
Arrows, Rookie Blue and Murdoch Mys-
creative endeavour. He’s wrong. n
sion industry in the world, an aver-
of the ideas—those who came up
teries are mentioned worldwide as
age of about 65 percent of new shows
with the most ideas also had better
quality shows.
are cancelled in their first year.
ideas.
researchers
Diane Wild is the founder of the TV,
Just as the quality problem as
eh? website (www.tv-eh.com), cov-
Plus, how do you measure qual-
Earlier, psychologist Dean Keith
identified by Blais misses the mark,
ering news, reviews and interviews
ity? Are we talking low-rated The
Simonton had proposed the equal
so too do the CRTC’s Talk TV solu-
about Canadian television shows.
REEL WEST WINTER 2015/16
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