2015 | 21 | Themenheft

Browsing 2015 | 21 | Themenheft by Subject "Fernsehserie"

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  • Journal Issue
  • Article
    A Stream of Medial Consciousness. Transmedia Storytelling in Contemporary German Quality Television
    Nesselhauf, Jonas; Schleich, Markus (2015) , S. 50-62
    Transmedial phenomena are omnipresent in what is often dubbed ›quality television‹. Shows like BREAKING BAD (2008–2013) or GAME OF THRONES (2011– ) do not only rely on storytelling within the show itself but also offer their viewers a variety of possibilities to delve into the universe of the franchise. Mobile apps, minisodes, or interactive websites guarantee a deeper involvement of fans and personalize the viewing experience. These shows also add narrative complexity on a horizontal level, which many see as a recent criterion for ›quality television‹. Whereas ›good‹ television seems to be exclusively located in the US, where premium cable operators like HBO, Showtime, and AMC use new media to transgress the borders of the television screen, the developments in Germany are often criticized for a lack of innovative strategies. There is at least one German show to challenge this perspective: ZEIT DER HELDEN (2013). Regardless of the involved media, the show features a complex narrative and ambivalent protagonists. Even though the setting promises a suburban everyday-life melodrama, the show explores the cracks that offer a look beneath the surface. The website www.zeitderhelden.de offers a scavenger hunt into the protagonists’ past. In order to grasp the depth of the characters fully and to understand the complexity of the story arc, the viewer has to actively interact with the franchise and to enter a digital universe that in itself is just as dazzling as the shows’ characters.
  • Article
    »We welcome you to your HEROES community. Remember, everything is connected«. A Case Study in Transmedia Storytelling
    Ganzert, Anne (2015) , S. 34-49
    Second screen strategies are quite common in today’s television industry. Television viewers are used to hashtag suggestions appearing on their screens while watching their shows; networks commonly use second screen options and apps to enhance the audience’s engagement with programming. NBC’s HEROES (2006–2010) was »arguably, the largest and most complex transmedia network […] conceived« (RUPPEL 2012: 224) at the time; the series tested many strategies of media convergence in distributing elements of its fictional world through multiple media platforms. This article focuses on the show’s strategies enticing viewers to engage with its websites, print media extensions, accompanying games, and tie-over webisodes. There have been studies focusing on the series’ branding (cf. GIANNINI 2014) or on the links connecting HEROES’ different elements (cf. RUPPEL 2012: 61), yet there is a tangible lack of attention to what Jason Mittell has termed »forensic fandom« (MITTELL 2015: n.pag.). This article examines the narrative gaps and story arc stops created by the fantasy series. The following discusses how these gaps allowed some viewers to evolve from their assumed passiveness in the general audience to instead become part of the fast growing fan base. Depending on varying levels of involvement, this fandom generated a number of HEROES ›experts‹, creating a tiered hierarchy. Those experts sought to answer questions about mystified symbols, underdeveloped characters, open-ended storylines and potential references provided by the series. This article argues that the NBC strategy ensured the growth of a willing fandom and growing expert base without relying on overt prompts.