Genre is a way of classifying and then categorising a particular text, they are made up of their own codes and conventions for example narrative, characters and themes which standardise the way in which a story is told. In T.V and Film these are often subverted to produce hybrid genres or to give a social realist aesthetic. This is explicitly obvious within the Crime genre. Although the genre progresses in a linear fashion, it often relishes upon nostalgia and gritty realism to attract the audience.

Vladimir Propp’s narrative theory of, order - disorder – re-establishment of order: is standard within the crime genre. It enables channels to fulfil their Public service Broadcasting (PSB) remit whilst not committing to commoditisation, therefore maintaining the realistic aesthetic which the genre relies upon. Appealing to a wider audience and creating universal appeal. The narrative seen allows the audience to view the programme within the boundaries of space and time, whilst maintaining a neutral point of view. The hybridisation between an open and closed narrative allows for an ensemble cast.

The use of an ensemble cast/recurring list of characters allows the programme to maintain a set structure, some characters appear in all episodes such as Nick Stokes in CSI, allowing the audience to gather ‘evidence’ on the characters and depict their lifestyles. The focus of the audience is maintained on a main character either from episode to episode or series to series. Understanding the main character is key to the crime genre as it helps the audience to understand the programmes and themes. Characters often reflect the characteristics or expectations of the audience and develop with time.

Themes are when narrative is split between story, plot and discourse. In CSI series 10 the focus is gathering forensic evidence, for this reason the cast is almost always seen in the workplace/lab. Whereas in Life on Mars the theme is ascertaining the main characters disposition and his home-life is just as important as his work-life. Although crimes in both appear to be similar the main difference is the back-story and seen or unseen relationships. For this reason they use an ensemble cast.

Within the crime genre there is always a focus on gathering clues, in modern crime this is viewed as a chase as evidence deteriorates. This has overrun the typical convention of the car chase although this is still used to provide nostalgia the resemblance between the two is symbolic of fast changing crime. This is a form of iconography in CSI where there is a chase to gather and process evidence to solve the crime and restore order, and in Life on Mars where there is a chase to physically catch the criminal. The iconic image of the police which remains constant throughout the genre is one of evidence gathering, uniform, fast cars, hard work, and the criminal underclass all feature in the crime genre. This is obvious in Life on Mars even if subverted although these signs of the genre are a pastiche of themselves.

Although the crime genre is influenced by similar iconography found in Boys from the Black Stuff, providing an element of British social/gritty realism. This carries over to the crime genre as a whole, even American crime has been affected by the phenomenon although called Noir it stems from the realism of its British counterpart. We see this in CSI where effects such as low key lighting, over exposure and filtering create an element of realism all designed to relate to the audience in the form of personal identity and surveillance according to the uses and gratifications theory.

The settings of crime are similar in the opening scenes of Life on Mars we see the nostalgic image of derelict factories and brown-field sites creating an ambience of gritty realism. Whereas, in CSI we see the dirty, damp, dark backstreets and alleyways provoking an essence of danger in both locations. In doing so we again allow for realism or noir in the form of personal identity as the audience envisage these locations as the place of crime. Although this moves to surveillance as the audience inspect the techniques used by the police in the form of extrapolating evidence and identifying suspects.

The crime genre relies upon the development of post-modernism and the image of crime and the police. The nostalgic element vs the modern style of crime means that crime sells.

Overall the reason texts are typical to the crime genre is because genre is a method of commercial and critical categorisation that changes with time according to producers, and critically the audiences’ needs and expectations. The true reason the genre is similar is the fact that media is commercial, and needs to sell this creates a re-using of techniques proven to appeal to a wide audience creating nostalgia. This emphasis on media as a product means texts are often intertextual and this isn’t limited to one text. The crime genre is a brickolage and contains layers of re-used or slightly subverted material. It now appears that to sell a text you must standardise it and form it to a specific model, creating similar shows. Making texts typical means they appeal to a large consumer audience and therefore networks or channels.