Everybody Loves a Good Love Story

Romance is my favorite thing to read and watch. With all the wonderful storylines in Gilmore Girls, Luke and Lorelei’s love story was always at the core of the show. Everyone knew they belonged together, long before they knew it themselves, and the final scene of the final episode was the perfect ending for the series. Lorelei and Rory sitting in the diner, Luke making breakfast for them, everything as it should be. No fairy tale endings, no one riding off into the sunset, but it was the happily ever after that fans had been anticipating.

Two and a half weeks and counting till the fall premiere of Men in Trees, and already I’m looking forward to what those writers have in store for us. In her August blog, Jenny Bicks, the show’s creator said, “You will get some delicious Jack and Marin this season, I promise.” Yum.

But as much as we’re rooting for Jack and Marin’s happily ever after, we know we won’t get it. Not yet. Because just like Gilmore Girls or our favorite romance novel, HEA also means THE END. I’m looking forward to many seasons of Men in Trees, so I think Jack and Marin will have a lot of issues to work through before we close the door on their story.

Even people who may not be devoted fans of romance still love a good love story and the promise of happily ever after. It humanizes a story. Seriously, who watches The Office and doesn’t root for Jim and Pam? Last season ended with Jim returning to Scranton to make a date with Pam, and for one or two glorious moments we thought Karen had ridden into the sunset, solo. Cut to commercials. Then we discovered that Ryan got the job in New York, which means Karen will be back. Hm. Is the office big enough for Pam and Karen? I’m not expecting HEA, but for sure there’ll be conflict! Can’t wait till Thursday!

Talk to you tomorrow,

Lee

Those Seemingly Insignificant People

I adore secondary characters. In books, films and television, they play such an important role. So what’s the trick to creating successful secondary characters? I think it’s knowing how to push the envelope, but not push it too far.

Many readers have told me they love Aunt Margaret in my first book, The Man for Maggie. The interesting thing to me is that Aunt Margaret doesn’t really exist. She’s either a ghost or she’s Maggie’s conscience, and no one, not even me, has been able to figure out which. I do know there was no conscious effort on my part to create Aunt Margaret but when she appeared, she was essential to the story.

So how do we write significant secondary characters? Again, I look to the people who do it so well—scriptwriters.

In Gilmore Girls, Lorelei and Rory are sympathetic characters we can relate to. Luke is as steady as they come. Rory’s friend Lane is the girl next door. Then we have Paris, Kirk, Babette. Oh my. Sally Struthers as Babette. Wasn’t she wonderful? Many of the secondary characters in this show were delightfully over the top and that worked because they fit the story and made it richer.

Look at Men in Trees. Honestly, I can’t say enough wonderful things about this show’s outstanding writing. Of course we relate to Marin and Jack as the main characters, yet the cast of secondary characters is extensive and brilliantly woven into Marin’s and Jack’s story arcs. Patrick and his family mosaic. NYC editor Jane and Elmo plow guy Sam. The bar patrons. The hairdresser. The minister. The pregnant ex-girlfriend. The way-too-attractive guy who shows up to renovate Marin’s house. The show wouldn’t be complete and Jack and Marin’s story wouldn’t be nearly as interesting and without all those endearingly offbeat people.

One of my favorite secondary characters of all time is Dr. Larry Fleinhardt on NUMB3RS. Brilliant physicist. Homeless and living in his car. Astronaut. Not your average resume, to be sure!

So what have I learned? Secondary characters are integral to a story. To be effective, they should be as three-dimensional as the story’s hero and heroine. They can’t be mentioned in passing. They can’t be glossed over. They should be fleshed out and they can even have a story arc of their own, no matter how small that arc might be.

Secondary characters can be much quirkier than our heroes and heroines because the oddball provides such an excellent foil, making the main character appear normal by comparison :)

An easy thing to write? Maybe, maybe not, but do stay tuned. I’ll explore this some more throughout this TV season.

Meanwhile, I’d love to know who your favorite secondary characters are, and why.

Till tomorrow,
Lee

At Home on TV

The list of my favorite shows in the sidebar might seem a tad eclectic—dramas and comedies for adults and young adults, and settings ranging from small towns to big cities or, in some cases, stories set primarily in a single building. I’m not saying these are the best shows on TV. They’re simply the ones that have a struck a chord for me.

Different as they may seem, I see lots of similarities. Gilmore Girls (even though it’s been cancelled, it’s still a favorite), Men in Trees and October Road are set in small town America. To me, those communities are like secondary characters in their respective stories. But communities don’t have to be towns and cities. In The Office and Grey’s Anatomy, communities exist within the walls of a building. The Office’s boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell) has almost as much affection for the building as he has for his staff. Seattle Grace is practically home for the surgeon and interns of Grey’s Anatomy. In Degrassi: TNG, the community is a high school and, for the first time last season, a university.

Home and family are important factors in most of these shows. The contrast between Lorelei’s home and her parents’ home was a major story element in Gilmore Girls, and Rory eventually leaving home became a major part of the show. In Men in Trees, Marin Frist leaves her home in New York and finds a new one in the unlikely town of Elmo, Alaska. October Road is about a character returning home after a long absence and having to come to terms with what has changed and what has stayed the same. The relationship between two very different brothers and their father is an important element of NUMB3RS and for me it’s one of the things that sets it apart from most other crime shows on television. Their family home is a retreat from the chaotic, albeit predictable according to Charlie, world around them.

Brothers and Sisters is all about family. I didn’t watch it during the regular season last year, but I caught the summer reruns. At first I thought it might be too political for my taste, but that’s overshadowed by each family member’s individual story arc and the adult children’s relationships with their, um, slightly neurotic mother, Nora Walker (Sally Field).

I’m still debating which new shows I’ll watch this year. I saw the first episode of Gossip Girl and will definitely check out a few more before I make up my mind about that one. Since The Practice is a spinoff from Grey’s Anatomy, I’ll give that one a chance, too.

Any recommendations?

Back tomorrow.

Lee