Omniscient Narration as a Popular Device { 0 }
Kind of sounds like the title of a college class or something doesn’t it? Well, what I’m talking about here is this: The number of TV shows with voiceover narration has risen in recent years. There was Sex in the City and Pushing Daisies, and My Name is Earl, and now there’s Grey’s, Scrubs, Desperate Housewives, and Gossip Girl, just to name a few. Some work well. Some don’t. Regardless, the voiceover is a great way to connect to the audience, hitting themes and driving home a key message in sometimes not-so-subtle ways.
Dexter is currently my top pick if prime time shows that incorporate the use of voiceover. It uses narration to tell us the lead character’s – Dexter’s – thoughts. I think that works really well because you get inside Dexter’s head, and that’s part of the point of the series. It’s a device that’s clearly worked in literature forever, so why not TV? But I’ll save that discussion for when I teach a college class.
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