TV Drama Texts for Analysis

Heartbeat

This show is set in the 1960s and revolves around the work of a group of Police Officers in the fictional town of Ashfordly in the North Riding of Yorkshire, their "patch" also includes the village of Aidensfield, a fictionalised version of the real-life village of Goathland in the North York Moors. The show at the opening primarily focussed on a single policeman who had moved to the area with his wife, as the programme continued the show became an Ensemble Drama.

Although Heartbeat was often criticised for seeing the 1960s through 'rose-tinted spectacles', in reality it has tended to avoid the usual "swinging" clichés. It was said that if there was a cultural revolution going on, then it wasn't going on in Aidensfield and Ashfordly (Not a true representation of what was happening around most of the country at the time).

Textual Analysis

The fairly rural setting of a small town and village in North Yorkshire would immediately tell most people that it would be close knit community group being part of the police in such a small place. As with the picture everyone knows their neighbour and each other in small towns in villages as can be seen with the civilian looking people being upset with the policeman on the floor being injured.

The uniforms that the policeman wear are clearly similar to that of a show such as Dixon of Dock Green, this is based in the sixties so it would fit the same simple uniform style. One slight difference in the clothing here is that one of the officers can be seen in more of a jacket therefore it could mean that he is one of the known bike 'bobbys'. The environment around the situation that is occurring here shows a farming area with the barn in the background and the old stone house to the right in the still.

Another thing to notice with the close community is that the way the people are comforting each other, not just stood looking over the injured person, women hugging, the policeman with the hand on the shoulder of the civilian man and the policeman who is embracing most probably a very close friend of his. 

What can be seen from this image is that from the expression the policeman has is that he seems proud to do what he does and he loves his motorbike which is a key for being motorbike policeman. The jacket that goes over the uniform shows the slight differences that come with his role due to being dressed differently. With the background you know the community he works is a small one in the rural hills because of the sheer amount of clear land and little architecture being in place, plus the police department size would be considerably smaller compared to somewhere like the metropolitan police.