When I think about the most thrilling television experiences I've ever had I think about Breaking Bad,
I think of Avatar The Last Airbender and I think of a South Korean reality TV game show.
This is all from a show called The Genius
You probably haven't heard about it
which is why I'm only going to spoil one episode of the show.
The second episode of the first season and don't worry in my opinion
it is the least amazing of the bunch while still exemplifying how the story of The Genius is told. The show is
virtually unknown outside of South Korea and actually the only reason English speakers even know about it is because
Someone with the username: Bumdiddlyumpshiz emphasis a word
I never thought I'd say on this channel, painstakingly subtitled all four seasons in English. To whoever they are: I am
eternally grateful since the show is phenomenal and was an absolute phenomenon in South Korea.
The amazing thing is that they start releasing articles
this channel is about writing!
So why am I talking about an unscripted show? Well to the extent that an unscripted story can demonstrate good
storytelling The Genius is remarkably well told which is to say that it is remarkably well edited.
all of the search rankings and the front page of Never
but which would be new to someone accustomed to American TV. Things like exclamation
points popping up on screen. Your mileage with all of that will vary. I think it's pretty charming
but what I really want to talk about are these structural edits: how the editors present information and in what order?
So why am I talking about an unscripted show? Well to the extent that an unscripted story can demonstrate good
So here's the premise for the show: like Survivor or Big Brother, the show follows a group of people playing a game and each week
a contestant is eliminated until the final contestant wins the prize. But instead of voting people out
people are eliminated by playing what essentially amount to
points popping up on screen. Your mileage with all of that will vary. I think it's pretty charming
complex board games. First, everyone plays in the main match. Whoever wins gets immunity for themselves and a friend. Whoever loses
goes to the Deathmatch
but they also get to pick their opponent from the people who are not immune.
It creates a lot of unique strategy, but that's not why we're here.
We're here to see how the story of people betraying and backstabbing each other is portrayed. The key word
there is people since this is how every episode of The Genius starts.
complex board games. First, everyone plays in the main match. Whoever wins gets immunity for themselves and a friend. Whoever loses
goes to the Deathmatch
but they also get to pick their opponent from the people who are not immune.
It creates a lot of unique strategy, but that's not why we're here.
We're here to see how the story of people betraying and backstabbing each other is portrayed. The key word
there is people since this is how every episode of The Genius starts.
For example, teacher Cha talks a lot.
Oh! No-one's here.
The contestants will filter into the main set and share some friendly banter.
Usually the people who come in first will plot to work together secretly that day adding a layer of tension to the story.
Opening on banter that is often completely unrelated to the game is a pretty bold choice for how to use airtime
but the show wants us to know the contestants on a
personal level. Instead of just knowing what their place in the game is. The producer of the show
also made a show called Great Escape, which is about a group of guys trying to solve an absurdly elaborate escape room.
But it opens with them going to dinner first and getting to know each other and it takes 20 minutes before the escape room stuff
Actually starts in both cases
it's clear that the producers really want the characters themselves to hook you in not just the situations. During the opening someone will eventually
talk about how crazy whatever happened in the last episode was and then the editors use that opportunity to splice in a short recap of
that episode.
The one giving out all the orders
is Gura oppa.
I have an image to maintain! Don't worry
But how could all of us be thinking so alike?
This is great because the recaps are woven organically into the narrative so that you're always paying attention to them.
Most reality TV shows open with a big "previously on" section.
Previously on Big Brother Canada, Previously on Survivor...
And for the viewer that remembers what happened in the previous episode, these sections are dead air.
You start to lose interest in them.
The Genius does also have an introductory
segment that recaps the rules and who has been eliminated thus far but they save the recaps of the actual story
for the casual opening and they also break them up into a few smaller chunks so that they don't lose your attention.
Eventually a contestant will say something funny or
tensions will rise in the group and the editors will use this to build the intensity up before cutting into the opening credits.
"Nothing you say will absolve you
and confessionswill get you nowhere.
I want to do my best.
It's such a fun way to kick off each episode.
After the opening things cool off a bit and the host explains the rules of the game and
Yeah, the host is a guy wearing bandages on his face. This is the weirdest show I've ever recommended on this channel.
There are a lot of rules in the main matches
But thankfully they're all explained with really helpful animations. at this point the episode proper starts and it mostly consists of people forming alliances
And discussing the rules of the game to try and figure out if they can get a guaranteed win.
You might have noticed that all of the shots so far are group shots.
We haven't seen a straight to the camera interview yet, which is typically a hallmark of reality TV editing. "The clock is ticking down to eviction and I have to figure out the best way to use this information to
hopefully save my life in this game." These confessional type interviews are a bit of an editing crutch
they're very useful when trying to get across a piece of information about the story, but they're also
unnatural. They're happening after the fact and are often very rehearsed. On The Genius
there are very few interviews with the cast and when they happen they take place on the set with the rest of the contestants
Nearby which sometimes produces some interesting situations
We can't trust Kungran either.
What?
Am I wrong?
That's the problem! I really...
Why are you saying that?
Why can't you trust? Tell me honestly.
But doing it this way means we're always staying in the heat of the game
It feels like we're watching a show not just a reality show. Oh and this clip might give you the wrong impression
there are barely any arguments on this show. At some point
the story will reach a peak, a character will be freaking out about losing the game or they'll be way overconfident about their position.
Which is when the editors will cut to an ominous
flash-forward
Something crazy just happened!
I was tricked!
Love these bits for a few reasons. First,
they provide an opportunity to break up the tone of the show, which is usually very upbeat with something that feels really sinister.
They're also great because they're more than just teasers to lure viewers back in before cutting to a commercial. The flash forwards
here are all motivated by the story and often times
They're pretty funny since they undercut whatever was just happening in the main story.
So Poong told me shoud take it quick.
I didn't take it! What should I do?
Don't listen to what Poong says.
Don't listen to him.
Poong!
What's going on?
I need the cure! Give me the cure!
So with both flash-forwards and flashbacks,
The Genius is very loose with how it depicts time
and the best example of that is always the highlight of the episode the rewind.
The genius is a great example of how to tell a story with multiple
protagonists. Instead of showing us everything all the time the show will closely follow one character or a group of characters that are working together
for the duration of an episode.
We'll still see what other characters are up to but for the most part we're seeing the game through our
protagonists eyes
We're understanding the strategy at their level and this is all a big way to set us up for the big
twist. In the episode we're looking at we're following a group of characters who think they've got the game figured out but then when the
results are revealed
we learned that everything was actually being
manipulated by a
different player and we've barely seen him this episode. Actually, the editors convinced us that he's been sitting around doing nothing this whole time. The
moment comes totally out of left field. So to explain it
We dive into an extended flashback showing the game from his perspective
so we understand what he did to win and why the
protagonists are now screwed. These big twists create a ton of
excitement for the rest of the episode as we watch to see if the characters we've been following can pull themselves out of this
nosedive or if they're just truly doomed!
it's in these twists that the show takes what could have been a pretty dry story and makes it
ridiculously exciting by controlling the amount of information the audience has. If told chronologically this story wouldn't really have
twists since we'd know everyone's plans. By following the character who gets duped in some way we get to experience that surprise
right along with them and that's basically it. Once the main match is over,
players are selected for the death match and one person is eliminated
that's a whole episode of The Genius! Except I've neglected to mention one thing which is this show has
style! Another huge part of the show are its montages. Now having montages isn't unique at all
but what is unique is setting them to the soundtracks of Ocean's 11 12 and 13.
Good fighting!
Thanks to the wonders of South Korean copyright law TV producers use basically whatever they want to in their shows and
as a result the genius features music from
Sherlock, Dexter, Kill Bill, Mission Impossible, The Fast and the Furious, The Grand Budapest Hotel,
Inception and more and practically every big emotional moment in the show is set to Moby's Extreme Ways,
which you might recognize from the ending of every single Jason Bourne movie.
But most importantly the show uses pretty much every song from the oceans trilogy.
so nothing is more fun than when a character puts a plan into action and we get a montage of
Everyone doing their part set to this
So yes, I'm telling you that there are 48 plus hours of television out there
that's a complete ripoff of Steven Soderbergh style editing and I loved every minute of it!
It's a game show
But it feels like a series of heist movies. On paper, watching a bunch of people basically play board games
designed to torment them for an hour might not sound like everyone's idea of entertainment
but if you make it through the first episode, I'm pretty sure you'll be hooked!
There's a ton of reasons why this show is so fun.
The games aren't inventive and the cast is hilarious
But it's the editing that enhances what could have been boring material into something extraordinary. By
organically weaving in recaps into the opening, keeping the focus on the game rather than relying on narration, using ominous
flash-forwards to create both mystery and humor and controlling the amount of information
the audience has the editors of The Genius producing experience. You can't get anywhere else.
If you want to give it a watch, I've put links in the description of this video for where you can find it.
The Genius ran for just four seasons from
2013 to 2015. The producer decided to end it there feeling that four seasons was just the right amount and
I sort of agree with him. As much as I'm dying for more episodes of this show or an American version, when you watch these four
seasons you will feel like you have been told a complete story. Within its genre, The Genius is a good stor. that is
exceptionally well told!
I know a lot of you are interested in writing fiction
but there's probably also a bunch of you that want to write creative non-fiction, as well.
How do you tell a true story in a compelling way? That's what The Genius has managed to do with reality TV.
But if you want to do the same thing in the written word then check out Susan Orlean's class on Skillshare
The class is called Creative Non-fiction: Write Truth with Style and takes you through the process of finding a story,
researching it and writing it. And she knows what she's talking about since she's been a staff writer for The New Yorker for more than 25 years.
Her class is one of over 25,000 classes you'll find on Skillshare about writing, film-making and more!
I want to thank Skillshare for sponsoring this weird episode, and if you want to give Skillshare a try
then click on the link in the description of this video to get 2 months free including access to all their classes.
Thanks for watching everyone. A big thank-you to all my patrons for supporting this channel!
I owe them an episode on The Witcher and if all goes well it will be next. Keep writing everyone!