Now that we have our two leading characters (Jack, the anti-hero and the ‘quirky’ woman) confirmed in our formula to create a TV show, we need to work on the programmes set-up, and one detail springs to mind – the voice-over. A huge number of current US shows seem to favour the inclusion of a narrator, with the technique able to serve a number of purposes.

You want insight into a complicated and hard-to-relate-to character? I give you Dexter Morgan (Dexter). You’ve got a number of plot strands and need them to be neatly brought together? How’s about Mohinder Suresh (Heroes) or Mary Alice Young (Desperate Housewives)? And what of the more conventional sitcoms that invite us to root for our silly hero, like JD (Scrubs) or Earl Hickey (My Name is Earl)?

A narrator’s contributions can add structure while providing valuable characterisation. Sadly, the method is dangerously close to becoming stale and contrived - such is its ubiquitous nature on TV. Do we really need it in Grey’s Anatomy or Men in Trees? Probably not.

For those programmes that have managed to avoid using a narrator – well done, and for those that persevere with one – please make sure it is really needed, and maybe experiment with it (ala Desperate Housewives replacing Mary Alice with the also deceased Rex van de Camp for one episode.)

But one last teaser: where has this dependence on voice-overs come from? A few years back they were scant. I blame Sex and the City (though I hope it forgives me!)