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TV crime’s Dramatic Clock

So you want to write yourself an episode of procedural crime? Take note of this tried and true format.

mentalist321So you want to write yourself an episode of procedural crime? Or maybe you just want to get to know the tricks writers use a little better.

Then get familiar with what’s also recognised as TV crime’s “Dramatic Clock” -a dependable structure in the crime genre that is built around hooks, teases, red herrings and pay-offs. Once you get to know it, you’ll see this embedded into numerous crime shows.

Most one hour dramas are comprised of 44 minutes plus commercial breaks, 41 if you cut out the opening and closing credits.

Here is a very standard breakdown of how crime is frequently based…

DURATION / CONTENT
2 min: A murder is committed or discovered.  It’s all about impact -nothing like opening with a bang. Who is the victim? How did we get here?

1 min: Opening Titles.

9 min: Set-Up. The Mystery unfolds. Reveal the identity of the main players: the victim, key suspects, red herrings. Challenges for the heroes are evident.

First commercial break.

11 min: Detection. Interpretation of evidence. What have we learned? Where does this lead us? The pursuit continues. End segment with a brick wall or major error for the crimebusters. Now what…..?

Second commercial break.

7 min: Change of Direction. A new course is charted to overcome the hurdle.

Third commercial break.

5 min: Re-Evaluation. Heroes refer back to initial clues, measured alongside what has been learned thus far. What did they miss? End with a moment of inspiration.

Fourth commercial break.

5 min: Resolution.  The clues pay-off. End segment with a clear audience suspect.

Fifth commercial break.

2 min: Revelation. Justice is served. Heroes are validated. A lesson is learned.

1.30 min: Closing Titles.

While this is a format that varies according to a show’s tone, even House follows a path similar, with the patient as victim and disease as the villain. Instead of cops saving the day, we merely cheer for the docs.

12 Responses

  1. When a show differs from this formula Australian and American audiences seem to switch off. I would like to compare the Canadian Series “Da Vinci’s Inquest” with it’s ongoing stories – sometimes season to season, with any of the CSIs with their solved before episode end approach.
    Science Fiction, with its story arcs – Babylon 5 stands out a particular leader in this – tend not to fit this formula. Maybe that’s why they are not so popular here.

  2. House is the same episode every episode.

    There’s a mystery disease killing this man/woman/child.
    We had better administer this drug/procedure/technique.
    Stop! That’s making things worse.
    Uh-oh, we need to brainstorm before time runs out.
    Time’s up… we have/don’t have the solution.
    Thankfully House knew the answer all along. Phew!
    Patient cured.
    The end.

  3. TV crime shows have practically been following this formula since episodic televison began.

    I’ve been watching “Hawaii Five-O” lately and with a few exceptions follow this same formula but with at least another 4 or 5 minutes added on as they had less ads back in the 70s.

  4. spot on, all tv shows work to a formula, its what makes for exciting tv everytime we watch it. Couldn;t be more pleased than i was with Six Feet Under.

  5. Thats pretty much exactly what most drama shows are. Thats what makes Lost so much better than all the other boring predictable shows.

  6. Don’t you love it how people get interviewed by the detectives, yet continue to go about business as usual? The detectives follow them around like nagging children while the suspects/witnesses just can’t stop working for something so unimportant as helping the judicial system.

  7. Love the formula.

    When viewers watch a police/crime show, they expect this style of storytelling. It’s familiar, and comfortable, but there is also space to give them a few shocks and twists along the way.

    A writer needs to follow the formula and give viewers what they want, but they also need to create such great storylines and characters, the viewers don’t notice the formula.

  8. No surprises there. “Cold Case” would have to be one of the most formula shows around. The people they interview will never reveal everything they know right away and will have to be re-interviewed once or twice more before telling the truth. They always have some weak excuse for not being honest up-front. Boring!

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