Through strong dramatic plots, characters, and music, melodrama has created an engaging and well-developed form of theater. But melodrama is not limited to just one category. Like other forms of theatrical art, melodrama can be broken down into Victorian melodrama and modern melodrama. As the name suggests, Victorian melodrama was performed during the Victorian era (1837-1901), while modern melodrama is still performed today. Both equally exaggerated and emphasizing the conflict between good and evil, these two forms of melodrama shaped the theatrical stage and expanded the complexity of character development and plot. When theatergoers hear the word “melodrama,” visions of mustachioed villains tying a helpless damsel in distress to the train tracks are conjured up. Considered corny, cheesy, soap opera-like, these stereotypes misrepresent what the heart of melodrama is. Traditionally, melodrama is written in a two-dimensional world, with a hero who is always "good" and a villain who is always "bad." Without any ambiguity, it is clear who these main characters are by their actions, their dress, their presentation and their music. The plot of the play is strongly developed with exciting, intense and often emotional conflicts. Of course, there are several theatrical scenes leading up to the climax of the melodrama where good triumphs over evil, evil is punished, and a moral lesson is instilled. This, the basis of melodrama, laid the foundation for the development of identifiable characters and strong, engaging plots in any form of theater today. A more defined and refined version of melodrama, Victorian melodrama is somewhat more specific and complex in its development and definition of its characters. Featuring six basic characters, there are the Hero, the Villain, the Heroine, the Sidekick, the Elderly Parent, and the Parent's Servant. Typically, the plots of Victorian melodrama focus on the theme of love and the conflicting murder mystery, set to an overly dramatic musical score. The courageous, but not very brilliant, hero is deceived by the devious villain, who is madly in love with the heroine. Yet in every melodrama, good triumphs over evil in a climatic situation and the hero and heroine live happily ever after, with the villain locked away. Unlike melodrama and Victorian melodrama, modern melodrama is an embodiment of both forms. Although the music has been removed, this updated version stays true to its theatrical roots. In sitcoms and movies, melodrama is still presented through stereotypical characters and exaggerated conflicts, reactions, and emotions..