 Have you ever read a series of books where the main character and her friend's/relationships never seem to change? How does that make you feel? I know how it makes me feel...bored!
I won't use books, but instead murder mystery TV series since I go on marathons where I watch them back to back for as long as it takes to finish the series. By the time I am done, I usually have a pretty good idea what I like or don't like about the series. A series I feel shows a really BAD example of character arcs and growth of the characters involved is the "Father Brown" series. Have you ever noticed no matter who the chief investigator is, he always has an intense dislike for the good Father no matter how many times he needs saving by the dear Father? Yes, there may be a glimmer of growth where EVENTUALLY the investigator may go so far as ask for help, but even after receiving it, still goes back to threatening the good Father. Seriously, the characters are so stereotypical it feels more like Abbott and Costello than a series of investigations into murder! You would think by the end of the third season and a zillion episodes, the poor dumb cop would have smartened up even just a little! The writers are so fixated on keeping the antagonism going, that even when FINALLY a copper does start to like the good father, THEY JUST BRING IN AN EVEN MORE IGNORANT AND DUMMER COP to start the whole bloody process all over again! I started to predict when the formula had finished its course and the new one was due to come in play again! Really sad. Now a series which has WONDERFUL character development or Arcs is in the Midsomer Murder series. Of course, it is hard to believe such a small place could be dropping victims like flies but perhaps it is more true to real life than anyone wants to think. Whatever the case, not only is there growth for the inspector, but also for his wife, daughter, her future husband and all the young ones the first inspector takes under his wing, and then the next Barnaby inspector who again grows with the series! These writers are not afraid to move on and make changes. Changes that seem natural and real. A great series for finding entertainment in the lives of the characters and not just the murders they investigate making the series so much more real and engaging. And a series that truly shows how the personalities of the main character and his side kick can really add to the storyline, with the complexities and development of their relationship, is the Grantchester series. The young father and the chief investigator come from totally different perspectives however over the course of the series you can see how they rub off on each other. Both in good and bad ways. On the other hand, the minister's female friend the sub-line of the romantic interest is just way too depressing and sad to aid the story (after all, what female wants to be reminded over and over of love that cannot be followed due to strict Victorian values!?!?! All because the main character is too stupid in the beginning to follow his heart and the female too impatient to wait? So you have to watch their torment show after show?!?!) Forget it! Total turn off! Their development is really not that great at all since they stay stuck in the same scenario for so long. Boring and tormented to the point of being distracting. It is a murder mystery series and not a long lost love story! Takes up far too much of the show for my liking. Too much like a soap opera! Which brings me to the next point, I think you can OVERDO the whole interpersonal story line in a series. Sometimes it just gets OLD! Look at that old show Moonlighting. SERIOUSLY! How long does it take for two people to make up their minds! It became almost comical in it's entirety! Just get on with it! I am not saying characters and sub characters have to evolve at super human speed but I am saying sometimes it isn't just the characters that have to show growth, but also those they deal with. In that old self help book "Dance of Anger", that was one of the main points I found very valid. It takes two to Tango. If you want to change and the other doesn't, they they will try to keep you from changing. Only if you are resolved can change happen. In stories that are series, or TV shows, that dance has to exist to be believable. If the protagonist changes, so must those she deals with daily! It only makes sense! If you want to look a real character development both on the written page and in the TV series, you have to include Agatha Christie. Her books continue to sell and likely always will ( and the one episode of Doctor Who - The Unicorn and the Wasp episode so delightfully pointed out!). In her books, there is always a development of the protagonist including Hercule Poirot. If there was not, then that wonderful cast actor David Suchet would never have been able to continue the changes to his character throughout the series right down to the droop of the famous moustache! www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-24817590 Poirot is the only fictional character to date to be given an obituary in The New York Times, following the publication of Curtain. It appeared on the front page of the paper on 6 August 1975.[71]
In this, my first book of the series for me, I have made sure there is growth for my main character Martha and a little for the sub characters in each book . They will show more growth over all as the series progresses. I didn't give all the same rate of growth and made sure that I had characters to play opposite the main character that create a foil-an opposite to help enhance and bring forth the character's traits while at the same time developing the personality traits of the sub characters which I already have plans for. Life is not perfect or predictable and I don't want this to be the case with my characters either!
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June 2024
AuthorArtist, Buddhist, Educator, Traveller, Cabinet Maker, kayaker, etc and now writer! |
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