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10 | In television, the story is broken into parts or acts, which helps define the dramatic structure of the episode. In layperson's terms, the act breaks are where the commercials go. |
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12 | While dramatically speaking it is true that stories can be said to have [[ThreeActStructure three acts]] -- essentially a beginning, middle, and end -- hour long television scripts actually tend to have ''four'' acts, with the divisions coming literally at the commercial breaks - roughly the quarter-hour, half-hour, and three-quarters-hour marks. This will usually be noted right in the shooting script this way, in contrast to the theatre convention of using {{Intermission}}s. A four-act hour-long drama script can also include TheTeaser, TheTag, or both. |
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14 | In Act 1, characters and general mood are established. Towards the end of Act 1, the [[TheAntagonist source of antagonism]] is introduced and the main plot point unveiled. To use the Series/{{Buffy|TheVampireSlayer}} episode "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E10Hush}} Hush]]" as an example, we meet the Gentlemen and they steal everyone's voices as Act 1 ends. |
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16 | Act 2 involves the characters striving to overcome the problem that lies before them, generally starting off at a low point, working towards a seeming victory/high point halfway through, and then falling as Act 2 approaches an end. The end of Act 2 is the lowest point of the story, where the main characters are threatened with imminent doom. In "Hush", this is the bulk of the show, when no one can speak. |
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18 | To clarify the point above, Act 2 itself generally has two halves separated by a peak, with the first half RisingAction towards a seeming victory, and the second half falling action towards a seeming defeat. If one splits Act 2 in half this way with, say, a commercial break, then Act 2 becomes Acts 2 and 3, and Act 3 becomes Act 4. |
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20 | The last act is the shortest act, and wraps everything up when the hero(es) manage to pull off a victory at the very end in a final battle. Buffy manages to defeat the Gentlemen in a final pitched battle and everyone's voices are restored. |
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22 | These often involve < CommercialBreakCliffhanger, SecondChapterCliffhanger with several PlotThreads still unresolved, AdBreakDoubleTake, or QuipToBlack. |
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