MovieChat Forums > Lou Grant (1977) Discussion > Repeating Plot Formula

Repeating Plot Formula

posted 16 years ago by minicinema
1 reply | jump to latest

I've been re-watching "Lou Grant" on American Life Network for the past year and while I still love the show, it's incredible how often they repeat the same plot formula. Nearly every episode has an "A plot" focusing on Billie or Rossi investigating a controversial story, with Lou's help. Then there's the "B plot" in which one of the minor characters (Charlie, Mrs. Pynchon, Donovan, the Animal, or Adam) was directly or indirectly being affected by the same issue.

The reason was obvious - the writers could give us both a hard-hitting, objective view of the issue, AND they could also give us a more subjective, emotional take on the same topic. Rossi could be out getting facts about mental health issues affecting Vietnam veterans, and then we can see the Animal dealing with his flashbacks from the war.

Unfortunately, this led to serious credibility issues in what was supposed to be a realistic show. I mean, how much drama could really be going on in these peoples lives? How objective could the Trib be if its staff members were personally involved in so many of the stories it was covering? It also sometimes forced the characters into acting in ways that were completely inconsistent with their established personas - like the episode where level-headed Donavan is in a weird state of denial about his mother's terminal illness.

[–] schappe1 16 years ago

...was to depart from linear story telling to a cross-sectional concept where the real story was the daily lives of the professionals depicted. The main plot suffered and simply became a devise to expose the character of the participants. It started on Lou Grant and continued to Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, etc. Law & Order bucked this trend and returned us to linear storytelling, following a case through the legal system. Most shows are linear now. It creates more clarity but is actually less realistic because the cops and lawyers involved would be working on several cases at once, not just the one we see, and have personal problems as well.

Another advantage of having multiple plot lines is that if the show needs to be trimmed, you can more easily cut down a sub plot than the main story. You don't have to come up with a precisely 50 minute story. You can do a 45 minute story with 5 minutes of sub-plot. If the story would really be better at 46 minutes, you cut out a minute of sub-plot that no one will miss.