In the introduction to Passionate Views: Film, Cognition and Emotion, Carl Plantinga and Greg M. Smith remind us that one of the primary reasons why people go to the cinema is to ‘feel something’ (1999a: 1). Indeed, in an advertisement for FilmFour the voice-over reiterates this notion by promising us that we, as viewers, will ‘be moved’ by moments in the films they have chosen. A movie's ability to move audiences emotionally is crucial to their success, and yet, as Plantinga and Smith point out, it is one of the least explored topics within film studies (1999a: 1). This claim is even more apt for television studies, where a programme's ability to ‘move’ audiences is not critically valued or discussed.

And yet, as Mellor suggests, people often go to the cinema or watch television in order to experience a ‘journey’, one that provides an emotional and intellectual engagement with the story that unfolds. This emotional ‘journey’ is not just what makes a film or television programme successful but it is also, I shall argue, what makes them ‘good’.