DETAILED PROPOSAL

1. Topic Area

TV Drama

2. Proposed title, question, hypothesis

What makes Spooks so successful?

3. Teacher approval granted, in principal?

Yes

4. Principle texts (if text based study)

Spooks Drama series 6

5. Reason for choice

I enjoy watching spooks myself and think that I would find it interesting to find out why so many people enjoy watchuing spooks. I also think that I will be able to discover information which I did not already know, therefore I will be learning throughout my research project, which will keep me interested and enthusiastic

6. Academic context for this study (similar research, relevant theory, named theorists)

Jim Sangstar

7. Institutional context for this study (industry focus, other texts for comparison, named practitioners, relevant theory, issues, questions)

Looking at the BBC as the industry which is the broadcaster of the drama. I will also look at viewer statistics which will be provided by the industry. I will also look at The Bill, an ITV drama, to see how different crime dramas have different audiences, and what makes one more successful than another

8. Identify the audience context for this study (audience profile, access to audience, potential sample)

I will be looking at including both male and female into my study from around the age of 16 to about 65. So I will have a large audeince profile, as I believe that spooks has a large target audience and appeals to a vast number of people, possibly making it so successful. I hope my research, however, will help me to discover the reasons why such diverse age groups and genders find the drama appealing. I will be able to use family and friends and also many friends in school to gain research into my project

9. How will the 4 key concepts be relevant to your study (audience, institution, forms and conventions, representation)?

I will look at the reasons why the audience feel that Spooks is so successful and what attracts them to watching the programme. This can be carried out by interviews and questionnaires. I will look at the statitics provided by the industry on the viewer ratings of Spooks and the way in which the BBC may contribute to the success of Spooks. I could also look at the type of scheduling strategies that the BBC has used in order to make Spooks more attractive to watch. Content Analysis will allow me to look at the forms and conventions of Spoks, and possibly even compare it to other crime dramas. I will also be able to look at the representation which is found in spooks and link this to the ways in which the audience recieve this representation

10 . Potential research sources (secondary): secondary academic books and websites, secondary industry books and websites, secondary popular criticism. Please identify specific examples you have come across

www.bbc.co.uk/drama/spooks, http://spooks.johnsto.co.uk/forums/, Spooks Confidential: The Official Guide, Spooks: Behind The Scenes, http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/09_september/27/spooks.shtml

11. Potential research sources (primary): audience reception research, your own content/textual analysis etc

Questionnaires, interviews, statistic analysis, content analysis of the drama

12. Modifications agreed with your lead teacher

TBC

13. Potential limits/obstacles/problems?

That there may not be very many secondary research material avaliable to me, as it is a fairly new drama

14. Teacher concerns

TBC

15. Teacher approval

TBC