Procedural (genre)

A Procedural is a cross-genre type of literature, film, or television program involving a sequence of technical detail. A documentary film may be written in a procedural style to heighten narrative interest.

Types

Television

Fiction

In television, "procedural" specifically refers to a genre of programs in which a problem is introduced, investigated and solved all within the same episode. These shows tend to be hour-long dramas, and are often (though not always) police or crime related.

The general formula for a police procedural involves the commission or discovery of a crime at the beginning of the episode, the ensuing investigation, and the arrest or conviction of a perpetrator at the end of the episode. The best known examples of this genre are the Law & Order and franchises. "House" is an example of a non-crime-related procedural.

* Procedural dramas are generally very popular in syndication because the lack of long-term storylines makes it easier for viewers to tune in for just one episode without feeling lost.
* Procedurals are sometimes criticized for their lack of character development, with little attention being paid to the lives of the recurring characters outside of their jobs.

Non-Fiction

* Non-fiction science procedurals such as the PBS "Secrets of the Dead" series or Court TV's "Forensic Files" take a viewer step-by-step through an investigation, much like a fictional procedural. [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/]

Literature

* Police procedural: the best known variety, a large sub-genre of mystery fiction. Lawrence Treat's 1945 novel "V as in Victim" is cited as perhaps the first "true" police procedural. [http://www.mysteryguide.com/hist-police.html]
* Military procedural: a term used by Publishers Weekly in 1989 [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0671676687] referring to Ralph Peters' novel "Red Army"
* War procedural: an example is the film "The Dam Busters", 1955, which was called a war procedural by Richard Gilliam in the "All Movie Guide". [http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B000H1RFSM]
** Tom Clancy's novels are sometimes called war procedurals or political procedurals.
* Science procedural: Science fiction novels or stories may have sequences of scientific procedure. An example would be "Timescape", written by the scientist and author Gregory Benford.

See also

* Hard science fiction