论国产剧续作叙事的形式及其势能问题--以中国叙事传统为视角

The narrative forms and potential energy of domestic drama sequels:From the perspective of Chinese narrative tradition

对某一故事进行特定的叙事延续,无论古今、无论中外,更无论在哪种叙事形式中,都是一种常见且重要的现象。为热播作品筹拍续集,对电视剧来说屡见不鲜。电视剧的续作,是指在某一完成作品的基础上进行的接续创作,在人物、情节、时空等要素上具有一定的连续性。从叙事角度看,续作类剧集区别于其他剧集的特质就在于它的“续”,若无此“续”,它便与普通作品无异。续作类剧集的情节发展中,时刻存在着一股由“前作”剧集创造的叙事势能。以中国叙事传统为视角来看,国产电视剧的续作实践并未超越“续书”的艺术思维范畴,其续作方向也无外乎三类:后传、前史和外篇。在演绎后续故事、探索起源故事、续衍平行故事的过程中,续作剧集只有对前作叙事之势有所延续,才能保证自身情节合理顺畅地发展。“后传类”剧集无论如何续写,它对于前作的势能延续总体都是符合自然叙事规律的,具有一定的自然化特征;“前史类”剧集多是借由同源人物、同源时空,或凭托前作营造情节导向,创造逆向化的势能延续;“外篇类”剧集主要是在并行原则下构建属于自己的进程,形成内向化的势能延续。当然,除“前势”“潜势”外,续作必须还要创造新的叙事动力,对叙事进程再行推动。

The continuation of a specific narrative in a story,regardless of time and place,is a common and important phenomenon.The production of sequels for popular works is also commonplace for TV series.The sequels of TV series refer to the continuation of a completed work,with certain continuity in characters,plots,time and space.From a narrative point of view,what distinguishes the sequel series from other series is its continuation,without which they would be no different from ordinary works.In the plot development of sequel series,there is always a narrative potential created by the previous episodes.From the perspective of Chinese narrative tradition,the practice of sequels in domestic TV series has not surpassed the artistic thinking category of sequel,and its sequel direction is also limited to three categories:post-series,pre-series,and side stories.In the progress of interpreting subsequent stories,exploring origin stories and developing parallel stories,the sequel series must continue the narrative potential of the previous work to ensure the reasonable and smooth development of their own plot.No matter how it is written,the“post-series”generally conform to the natural narrative rules and have certain naturalization characteristics in terms of the continuation of the potential of the previous work.The“pre-series”mostly rely on the same characters,time and space,or rely on the previous work to create plot direction and reverse potential continuity.The“side stories”mainly construct their own process under the principle of parallelism,forming an inward-looking potential continuity.Of course,in addition to“pre-potential”and“latent potential”,sequels must also create new narrative dynamics to further promote the narrative process.