Generic Signifiers - The Bridge

Recurring Situations -

Murder and attempted murder/ Terrorist plot/ Countdown to destruction/ Examining CCTV footage Police car chase/ Photofit/ Timely rescue

Car search/ Clear the building / Confronting the suspect.

Detective stands alone.

Elements of the Narrative -

Investigative narrative

Clear disruption of equilibrium (Todorov)

Closure of some narrative strands with some resolution

Surreal elements (Martin’s vision of Jens)

Driven by binary opposites e.g. cops v criminals, personal v professional

Style -

Chiaroscuro lighting – effect of duality or bars (imprisonment). Low key.

Closed frames - entrapment

Desaturated/grey/khaki colour palette – bleak

Soundtrack – eerie, echoing.

Windows and reflections – themes of appearance v reality

Iconography -

Police uniforms, cars, flashing lights and sirens 

Technology- PCs/mobile phones/ evidence bags 

Clues (e.g. lapel pin)/ handcuffs/ poison / gun / alibis – dates, times/jargon

Settings -

Iconic bridge/incident room/police station (s)/ hospital/prison/IV room

Snow/bleak landscape/leafless trees

Laboratory

Themes -

Family – domestic v professional

Power of the past

Justice v vengeance

Moral dilemmas

Reflection of contemporary issues – eco-terrorism

Appearance v reality

Stock Characters -

Plain clothes detectives

Unlikely partnership

Anti-social detective (female)

Boss(es)