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ny different theories and ideas into what realism is, this means that we cannot talk about realism as having one definition because there is no one realism. Therefore we can only refer to these theories as ‘realisms' because there is no one way of describing what is it. Ellis goes on to say how he believes that realism can often be over complicated as the word is used to describe a range of “artist construction and of audience expectation”. In his realism chapter he also talks about how it is not just a realistic portrayal of character and events that makes a television programme realistic. He says that the programme also needs “surface accuracy” and to confirm the perceptions of what an audience expects to happen within a television programme that you would be expecting from preconceived ideas and common sense. It also needs to explain itself fully to the audience to fill in the gaps of what they do not out from these preconceptions made from previous viewing. However, these aspects to programme making are not enough on their own. For example, when thinking about “surface accuracy” media producers will also need to be thinking about all features that make up this one area, such as characters costumes, settings and props. In his book Ellis talks about realism as being a way of trying to depict things as they either are or as they were. He goes on to dispute this by saying that “the demand that a representation should explain itself adequately to the audience cuts right across the desire that it should show things ‘as they were'” (1992, pg.16). By this I think that he is saying that an adequate representation may not necessarily show events as they were. This is because programme makers are sometimes more absorbed in making sure that a programme is entertaining to its audience than that it is a completely accurate representation. According to Ellis there are 4 ways in which realism can be used and shown. However, because of how society constantly changes and develops these descriptions will also be in need of changing so that they are more appropriate to today's society. Programme makers are also trying to break the conventions of realism and try out new techniques and methods to create a new sense of reality and how we recognise it.

The other books that I looked in for research said very similar things about how there can be no one explanation for what realism is. In the book ‘Picture of Reality' they talk about how knowledge is socially constructed and say that “for realism, no formal criteria can be adequate to the task of characterising scientific explanations” (Lovell, 1980, pg.17). Later on in this book they go on to talk about how people try to find patterns in realism when there really isn't any to find.

I have also been doing some research on this topic in the book ‘Television Drama - realism, modernism and British culture'. In this book John Caughie talks about what he calls ‘serious drama', which is what he refers to as a ‘scare quote' by which he means that he uses this term just to make people realise that studying television drama is not just as simple as watching ER. By this term he means that we should look at dramas in a more cultural way and although it is a series drama, he means that it is series in ways other than just its content. He says “…'legitimate' cultural territory within television from other areas which are legitimated by the official discourse of cultural approval” (Caughie, 2