Understanding great characters- Part 2

Miami Vice Season one disk one

By Act 2 the premise has been established Crockett and Tubbs' have found out that both of them are not drug players but are in fact cops.  Although Tubbs' has a trick or too in store  for the Miami Vice cops.  Both though have a mission of revenge and at the end of Act 3 must decide if they want to remain on the right side of the law.

How did the writer do this?

As the bonus material on disk one states, cop shows have been around since the dawn of television.  Car 54, Barney Miller, up to today’s C.S.I.

Miami Vice used music, and sparse dialog to make their characters appear bigger than life.  Think Peter Gabriel’s Big Time, although in the pilot it was Phil Collin’s In the Air Tonight that made Act three the greatest moment in television that year.

So how do you construct a character besides the usual approach?

You could read my book on character.

http://www.amazon.com/Darrell-J-Banks/e/B00I33S10C

Or follow this two-step process.

1. Does your character fit your story?

2. Does your character change by Act 2; is the change complete by Act 3?