Kay Richardson is Reader in Communication Studies, School of Politics and Communication Studies University of Liverpool.

• 1.: Introduction


• 2.: Previous Research


• 3.: What Is TV Dialogue Like?


• 4.: What TV Screenwriters Know About Dialogue.


• 5.: What Audiences Know About Dialogue.


• 6.: Dialogue As Social Interaction.


• 7.: Dialogue, Character and Social Cognition


• 8.: Dialogue and Dramatic Meaning: Life on Mars


• 9.: House and snark


• 10.: Conclusion


• Bibliography


• Appendix: List of television shows referred to

When we watch and listen to actors speaking lines that have been written by someone else-a common experience if we watch any television at all-the illusion of "people talking" is strong. These characters are people like us, but they are also different, products of a dramatic imagination, and the talk they exchange is not quite like ours.