Most of what you'll see here was stolen from The Writer's Journey, by Christopher Vogler. Some of the material in this essay was stolen from Building Better Plots, by Robert Kernen, which contains much of the same information with a less mythological bent. (For those of you who care about such things, there's a fairly complete bibliography of the things I read while creating this essay at the end.)

I feel I should pause here, at the beginning, to remind you that everything I say could be wrong. Also, a lot of it's just hogwash and you could write a thousand stories and never give any thought to any of this stuff. Basically, I'm just taking advantage of the fact that I have space on the net to bore people with opinions on things. If I were you, I'd go somewhere else and read a story right about now.

Archetype, (noun) An original model on which similar things are patterned. (syn., mold, model, standard, example, ideal)

Jung also used the term to refer to "a universal and recurring image, pattern, or motif representing a typical human experience." It is this that gives archetypes their power--the ability to evoke themes that a vast majority of people can relate to.

Archetypes. Specifically, mythological archetypes. Standard characters that other characters resemble. Models that other characters can be compared to. (That's about as simply as I can put it.)

Myths and stories from our past have been used, interpreted, and reinterpreted for hundreds of years to create new stories. Through this process, a number of "archetypes" have been created. Think of these as stock or standard characters, familiar faces that the reader recognizes. The hero, the wicked witch, the sidekick, the femme fatale. All of these and others are instantly recognizable when we run across them in stories. These are archetype characters.

These archetypes fulfill certain dramatic functions within a story structure and help the audience to identify the players as they appear.

A story can be interpreted in the form of a Quest. There is "movement" in the story, something that the Hero wants to win, achieve, find, or defeat. This can be something internal or external, but the action of the story is the Hero moving or journeying toward that goal.

In fact, the best stories have both a physical challenge for the Hero, and an internal challenge as well. The Hero may want to find the Ark of the Covenant and, at the same time, he needs to be able to forgive himself for his past mistakes and learn to admit love. This dual challenge gives the story depth. The "action" of the physical challenge is the excitement for the reader. The internal problem the Hero has demonstrates his flawed nature, his humanity, and this is what leads the reader to care about him personally.

Note that in an episodic television show, the archetype roles can be applied to individual episodes and to the entire canon of the show overall, and that roles will likely change depending upon which episode is being examined. It is likely that a character who is a Trickster in one episode might be a Mentor in another and even, as the program develops, might become a Threshold Guardian in one episode. This is true of movies and written stories as well. An archetype isn't a role that's cast in stone. Vogler suggests that we consider the archetype a "mask" that characters can put on or change as the story requires different roles.

The role of the Hero is familiar to us all. The word means, "to protect and to serve." Someone willing to sacrifice his own needs on behalf of others. The story, the Hero's Quest is "the search for identity and wholeness." Above and beyond the physical challenges the Hero faces, he must also come to terms with himself, he must change and grow. The audience identifies with the Hero though this process. He's responsible for most of the action in a story, he takes the risks and reaps the rewards (which he probably shares with others).

The Mentor figure is also familiar. Sometimes called, "The Wise Old Man/Woman," or the "Shaman." This is a positive figure who aids or trains the hero. The Mentor gives advice, gifts that will help the Hero on his journey, motivates, and sometimes acts as the Hero's conscience.

There are also Threshold Guardians. Characters whose function is to provide obstacles the Hero must overcome as he struggles to defeat them and strengthen himself for the ultimate battle with the "Shadow" or main villain. Threshold Guardians are stepping stones. As the Hero battles and defeats each of them (or recruits them as allies, as sometimes happens), the Hero becomes stronger, moves toward the end of his Quest.

The Shadow is the threat - the primary obstacle to the Hero's successful completion of his Quest, and should be strong enough to provide a worthy opponent. The Shadow can be the darker side of the Hero that he is trying to suppress. (An obvious example would be the "Evil Duncan" that emerges when MacLeod takes the Dark Quickening in Highlander. The best Heroes, and the best Quests incorporate both internal and external Shadows.)

Something to remember when creating your Shadow is that, to the villain, he is the Hero and it is the Hero who is the enemy/Shadow. We are all the Heroes of our own stories and history is written by the winners. Keeping this in mind will help you create more rounded, more challenging villains.

A necessary archetype is the Herald--the harbinger of change who delivers the "Call to Action" or challenge to the Hero. The Herald can be a minor character, a significant ally of the Hero's, or even an agent of the Shadow. The Call can be an event instead of a message delivered by a person. The way the Call is delivered, and the Hero's reaction to it, can tell the reader a great deal about the story and about the Hero. (Typically, the Hero refuses the Call in some manner characteristic of his internal weakness or doubts before he is persuaded to accept it, thus setting the scene for his struggles with his own nature later.)

The Trickster embodies the energy of mischief and the desire for change. Tricksters cut big egos down to size and, most importantly, provide comic relief that eases tension and brings the Hero (and the audience) down to earth. They also work to make fun of/highlight hypocrisy. Still, the Trickster's loyalty and motives can be in doubt. Is the Trickster an ally? An agent of the Shadow? Or an independent agent working to some private agenda? This character is so dedicated to laughing at the "status quo" and mocking everything around him that his true motives can remain in doubt.

The Shapeshifter can be "fickle, two-faced, or bewilderingly changeable" and functions to bring doubt and suspense to a story. If you find yourself wondering if a character is going to betray the Hero, if the character is an ally or an enemy, that character is probably a Shapeshifter. (The Shapeshifter-Trickster is a common combination.) Think of the femme fatale of famous noir films. Those characters were almost always Shapeshifters. (In mythology, think of Zeus changing into a beam or light or some other animate or inanimate object to pursue a maiden. In those contexts, Zeus is acting as a Shapeshifter.) Shapeshifting can be signaled by a character changing appearance, behavior, or by lying.

None of these are mutually exclusive characteristics. Also, a character can serve more than one function, and his or her primary function can change as the story progresses.

Here's how I've chosen to apply some of these concepts to a handful of television series:

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Please note that most of the concepts in this essay were stolen from other books. Also note that none of these are hard-and-firm rules, not even the ones about story structure. In the end, it is for the author to determine what the needs of her (or his) particular story are and to add or withhold elements based on those needs.

The Writer's Journey, Christopher Vogler

Conflict, Action & Suspense, William Noble (Elements of Fiction Writing series)

Mythical Trickster Figures, William Hyner & William Doty, eds.

Classical Mythology, Mark Morford and Robert Lenardon

The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell

Man and his Symbols, Carl Jung, ed.

Living Myths, J. Bierlein

The Manual of Mythology, Alexander Murray

Encyclopedia of Myths and Legends, Stuart Gordon

The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell

Elements of Mystery Fiction, William G. Tappley

Building Better Plots, Robert Kernen

Archetypes in World Literature, http://archetype.webjump.com

At some point, I should sit down and outline a variety of television shows from the past 20-30 years, compile a brief description of the social climate they were popular/unpopular in (and probably a reference to the primary demographic they were aimed at), then plug the archetypes and myths into the equation. Just to make sure I'm not missing anything obvious.

Or, I could go get a job.