To study the development and the aesthetic concept in the creation of Thai television drama-script. It is a qualitative research conducted by utilizing historical research in examining the documentary information of over 50 television dramatists since 1965-2010. It also includes the in-depth interview of the 25 television script writers in 5 periods: the Pioneering period, the Television Series period, the Extending period, the Prosperity period and the Globalization period. Furthermore, the participant observation in the creation process of television drama is also applied. The research has found that the development and the aesthetic concept in creating television drama script in Thai television result from the context of communications technology. The television drama-script in the Pioneering Period is the anthology, usually performed in a studio with live broadcast and prompted script for the actors. The drama-scripts are newly invented in drama genre by novel and stage play writers. Afterwards in Television Series Period, the 16-millimetre film is used, and the script is dubbed, the drama TV-broadcasted in series format. The scripts are also newly invented in social drama, horror and folk tale series genre by the directors. The television drama in Extending Period is in serial format, videotaped in the studio with the script memorized by the actors/ actresses. The script is freshly created in drama genre with the professors in university/ educational institution as major writers. The Prosperity period’s television drama is videotaped out of the studio. It is made in several serial episodes by adapting mostly from fiction. The genre is comedy. The majority of script writers are university graduates. The television drama in the Globalization period is still videotaped but with the utilization of computer graphic in the production process. Most of the scripts are long serial. The scripts are both adapted and invented in drama and action genres. The script writers in this period work in group and come from different backgrounds. It can be seen that the respective progresses of filming technology come along with the change of periods. However, the themes of television drama script still revolve around the drama genres that accentuate on love and familial relationship as main themes. This reflects the Thai people’s behavior in that they prefer “enjoying” watching television drama--which is the cultural reproduction--to “comprehending” the story.
