Welcome to the first edition of Meet The Writers with me Leevil. 
My first guest is a writer from Gloucestershire and is best known to us as Seefacts. Some of us have been intrigued by the mystery behind the man that never posts in the critique forum, some of us just don't care.
It's a really cracker of an interview and a great way to kick start this off.
Hello Seefacts or is it Tom? Thank you for joining me in the first ever edition of Meet the Writers. How are you doing?
Hi, Leevil, thanks for asking me to get involved. And yes - it IS Tom. Though you seem unsure, was 'Tom' a guess? It was a good guess either way.
How am I? Good start. I'm doing very well. Things are chugging along nicely, I've had a nice stir fry for tea, so that was good.
Waiting on a few people to get back to me about various things, which is always a bind but I've got one eye on a new project which is very exciting.
That was quite a dull answer to start with. I'm no Robin Williams!
I wish it was a guess, but no, it was a faint memory sailing around my brain. I'm glad you're well. You recently had some of your sketches filmed, how did that feel? And how the hell did you manage that?! No offence.
It felt amazing. I was sat in the theatre as the show was getting ready and I caught a glimpse of footage on a VT monitor and it was a still of what was clearly one of my sketches - and I was just sat there smiling, like a total wally. To the left of me was Andy Harries, one of the most important and influential men in telly and I'm just sat grinning. Obviously I should have been playing it cool, in my jumper and chords, but it was probably the most exciting day of my life. Okay, I've only had three other exciting days - and two of those were seeing Morrissey live, but it was still pretty special.
One of the sketches was VT, the other two were done live (it was a runner, a set of three although one got dropped from the final edit). Seeing my stuff get done live and getting laughs was just immense. Obviously I made sure I laughed really loudly and tried to start a round of applause. At one point I started a Mexican wave . . . Okay, that bit's a lie.
I also manage to squeeze in a mate's name into the sketch. Thinking up names in sketches is always a case whoever's on telly when you're writing or the last person you spoke to. That was quite cool too.
I can't remember what changes were made, so it'll be interesting to compare my script to what went out. But hearing my words out loud - and more importantly just how I'd imagined it - was quite surreal.
How did it come about? Well, my sitcom pilot (currently STILL at TV Centre) had created a bit of heat with the producer who happened to be doing a sketch show pilot as his next gig. On a whim he asked if I wrote sketches. I didn't. I told him I did. But seriously I actually didn't. I think sketch comedy, for the most part, is in a real mess and it's too easy to knock out bland material and obvious visual gags. A lot of sketch shows I really dislike because they're just so easy and uninspired. I'd never bothered with writing sketches, I always concentrated on sitcom. Big Train was a big influence on me when writing - in terms of everything was one off hits (or in groups of three) no character stuff. I was told by someone at the company my sketches went down well for that reason. Less characters, more punchy jokes - get a laugh and get out type thing. Don't know if that's indicative of where sketch comedy is going, who knows?
So I told the producer I'd give it a go, and quite quickly came out with about 8 or 9 I was really happy with. He told me they were great and he'd put them forward to rehearsal, and it went from there. Simply put - if the material is good, it gets used. And with it being a pilot I knew competition was hot for it, so to get stuff in the show was a real confidence boost.
The whole thing showed how lucky I had to be to get a break. It's also quite frightening how lucky you have to be. Knowing the right people and 'right place right time' type thing.
That sounds great and aspiring for any other writers yet to get to that stage. But did it open any other doors?
Er, well it got me a meeting with an agent but that didn't quite go as well as it could have done. And I like to think if I put in emails that I've had work on the telly, someone might be more inclined to look at my stuff.
Also another sitcom pilot is being looked at by the production company that did the sketch show pilot. They know who I am and know my work, so there's an avenue there. Also I've got an in at a major company's development guy. So it opened doors to mean when they opened, people were behind them and they weren't looking to slam it in my face or ring the old bill.
I'm also hoping if the sketch pilot gets to a series at any point, I'll have a chance of getting material on it because they know my name.
It's fair to say that a few sketches on the telly doesn't mean I'm going to get rung up by Ricky Gervais or Simon Pegg. I may be on the ladder, but it's only the first rung. There's a long way to go.
I'm not quitting my day job just yet, and I haven't stopped getting in touch with producers asking them to read my work. I'm still in the same position, just a foot further up the scary ladder of comedy.
I was going to ask how do you feel the industry acts towards newcomers? But you seemed to have answered there, anything you'd like to add?
I've had mixed reactions really. Like most.
Some people, if they like the stuff, really want to help you out. Not just with the current project, but getting an agent, getting you work. That's pretty cool if you can get that. People taking time out to help some unknown person. The problem is not just finding someone who likes your work, but someone willing to get that extra yard to bring you in, say hi, and get things rolling. Too many times i had lots of nice things said about me, and the suggestion of a meeting but they've not taken it any further. Maybe there's no incentive for producers - who are mostly freelance - to get involved with unknowns. They have to go where the work is - and money - so it's a risk for them to try and start off a project with a writer who's got no credits, or company backing. I just got lucky!
Others show no interest at all. I've had quite snappy and ignorant responses that made me really quite angry in the past, as if these people have forgotten how the industry works and how bloody hard it is to get on the inside.
People on the whole are very nice, lot of producers will read your work and take time to email. I've had producer/script editors get back within a few days. I think if the script is good, they'll make the effort.
It's interesting because I was chatting to someone at a company and they were not only surprised I got any work without an agent, but also assumed I was a mate of the producer - they thought 'Well, why else is he involved in this project? He MUST be a mate of someone!' I think that's very indicative of the industry - the 'it's who you know'! The person was shocked that I was able to do it off my own back.
That's interesting, a mixture of luck, contacts and persistence is the key? So, why do all this, what got you into comedy writing? And when did you realise you could write comedy?
(I'm getting into this now!)
I've made a life out of larking about and getting laughs from people. Any time I'm in a large group - school for example - I'd just dish out one-liners. I was basically the school smart-arse.
Even before then I'd be doing creative stuff like making my own comic. Me and my best mate at the time wrote an episode of Red Dwarf. Well, started to. This was just after series 6 ended so we're talking 1993 when I was about 9. That was my first foray into comedy writing I guess. Funnily enough, it never got made! Though I'm sure it was funnier than most of red Dwarf 8.
Red Dwarf was the first grown up sitcom I liked and it had a massive effect on me. Grant Naylor influenced me beyond belief and I thinking being allowed to stay up and watch this set me off in terms of writing. I remember thinking that those guys were funniest in the world. But then I thought 'Well, it's not the actors who are funny - it's the writers!'. So at the age of 8 or 9 I was aware of sitcom writers and what they did.
Any creative writing I used to love as a kid, and then I filmed my own thing with toys - Adam & Joe style. It was shit, obviously but I remember laying out the script correctly and everything, basing it on my Red Dwarf scripts book. Though I don't remember Grant & Naylor colour coding everything on the page . . .
Then when I was about 14 I started to do sitcoms. Shit ones. Friends or Red Dwarf rip-offs, then later Spaced. The usual derivative rubbish. But I loved doing it. And I thought I was great at it too (I wasn't) I wrote 5 episodes of a sitcom and thought I thought that that was that - my career was going to start. Then I just stuffed them in a draw and forgot about them.
In writing that thought, I wrote a joke that I thought was brilliant. Looking back, it was quite good, but in writing that one gag I remember thinking 'I can do this. I know I can write for telly'. Sat on my bed aged about 15 (taking a break from all the masturbating obviously) and having this epiphany. it was then I decided that writing was my career choice. Admittedly I was STILL churning out shit, but I had my heart set on it.
I kept on writing and writing, (all shit mind, but it was that honing and practising dialogue that got me where I am now. Nowhere . . . But I had to write all the shit out my system!) and it wasn't until about 3 years ago that I finally wrote something I was proud of.
I could write comedy (in my head at least) since I was a kid. But I was 19 before I really thought that I could truly mix it with the big boys . . . Can't believe I just used that phrase . . .
Also, I hate having a proper job.
Again, you've managed to pretty much answer my next question but I'll ask it anyway in case there's anything you'd like to add. Who are your comedy heroes and how do they influence your comedy?
Well, as I said, first heroes were Grant and Naylor. Geniuses. So clever and so sharp.
Later came Linehan and Matthews. My second pilot (which is also being looked at) is very Linehan influenced. Really big, really silly and visual. The man's a genius. He can write a visual gag like no other writer. Mathews is great too, as the underrated Hippies proved.
I grew up watching Friends too and although it's uncool to even mention it now, at it's best there's none finer. Series 2,3 and 4 in particular is some of the best sitcom writing in history. It revolutionised US comedy and some of the writing and performances are nothing short of sublime. The quick fire gag-gag-gag had a profound effect on me and that (along with the Linehan influence) are essentially the two sides to my comedy coin. The pilot at the BBC is very quick and US-like. Which is very frowned upon by a lot of internet comedy fans . . . Not on the BSG, but elsewhere. It seems any sitcom with jokes in it - and lots of them - is considered broad, and stupid. That's totally not true. It frustrates me when Friends gets slated by comedy snobs and Chris Morris fans and the like. "Oh, it's all 'OH MY GOD!" and hugging. Yes, that may well be a part of it - and I'll be the first to concede that at it's worst it's trite and cringeworthy - but at it's very best it's so sharp, so quick and has some unreal performances. The structure is something which rubbed off on me too, which is vital.
Seinfeld is another big influence, especially the belief that a sitcom doesn't have to have a happy ending or the female lead doesn't have to be all nice - she can be as big an arse as the rest of them!
Simpsons - but who doesn't say that? Shit now, but at it's best unbeatable.
Essentially my two pilots are Friends v Seinfeld and Father Ted v Simpsons. Whether they'll be as good remains to be seen obviously (by which I mean 'no!') but in terms of style that's what I tried to achieve.
I also think, of late, something like Peep Show is creeping into my conciousness - simply the use of human relationships and foibles of real people that I'd like to explore. The universal truths of friendships and relationships that Bain & Armstrong cover so well. I've been very influenced by that, simply because I want to use comedy to cover real life things that happen between people. Well, men and women really.
I'm with you on everything you said there, we share really do share the same opinions, it's quite spooky, anyway back to you. Can you tell us more about your pilots, I understand you don't want to give too much away, but do you think they have any other qualities that will make them original and hopefully successful?
Well, I aimed for funny and likeable. I think those two things are what make a comedy very big and successful. That's not to say I don't love the darker, smaller stuff - 15 Storey High and the like - but my personal writing is style is to aim for accessible, and consistently funny.
I want to make a sitcom that's popular and liked by as many people as possible. Again, it's frowned upon to say that in some ways. But I want a show to run for 5 or 6 series (which is why I applaud Peep Show)
In terms of originality I think the TV industry is crying out for likeable shows. We've got Not Going Out and The IT Crowd but we need more. America can do it, so why can't we?
Both pilots are ensemble pieces because they're more fun to write, and I always think any sitcom with a 'star' you probably need a big name with it.
That was a rather short answer this time! That suggests I have NO originality whatsoever!
I'm sure that's not true (That's my Parky style ass kissing). Anyway, your answer leads me perfectly onto my next question. What are your views on the current state of TV comedy in the UK, again, you've almost answered it but do you have anything else you'd like to add?
Excellent Parky impression. Perhaps if you mumble incoherently too, it'll be perfect!
Comedy today . . . Well, it's a mixed bag at best.
Peep Show is the finest comedy of the last five years, but in terms of sitcom there's not much else! The Inbetweeners has been brilliant - despite having 'shit' potentially written all over it. e4, it's about kids (see the ghastly Skins) and it's modern. But it's been a revelation in my view. Funny and likeable - the two vital things. If it doesn't get a second series on prime time Channel 4 then something is very wrong!
The IT Crowd is also great, but that's about it! Skin is bloody awful. I can't stress it enough. No teens are like the ones portrayed on there. They might wish they are but no one that age is so self-assured, confident and getting laid all the time. It sums up everything that's wrong with telly aimed at the under 25s.
The BBC have been producing very little of late. My Family, if it were a horse, would have been shot years ago and their insistence of chasing demographics on BBC3 means they produce nothing but puerile and unimaginative drivel.
It remains to be seen if the shift to more audience stuff works out.
America isn't doing much for me either - baring in mind in the late 90s they had Frasier, Friends, Seinfeld and The Simpsons running at the same time. That's four of the greatest show of all time on the schedules - pretty frightening in terms of quality. But at the moment, with The Simpsons limping on, only King of Queen does anything for me - and that's finished!! Scrubs leaves me cold - it's too self aware and whacky.
I actually don't watch telly that much anymore to be honest!
Peep Show, The Inbetweeners, Match of the Day, Football Focus are the only things I don't miss really. Quite sad when you think back to when BBC2 had the comedy night where they had three or four brilliant shows in a row.
Have I Got News For You is no longer unmissable thanks to the Deayton sacking, and the over reliance on cheap gags.
Most sketch shows are moribund and uninspired too.
The BBC need to knuckle down and produce a mainstream, team written, 12 episode a series sitcom and it CAN be done if they do it right. They need a star who can carry it (See Lee Mack) and a policy of banning any writer who got their break on Alas Smith and Jones in 1991.
Moving away from comedy the likes BBC3 and e4, and MTV produce some of the worst TV shows I've ever seen. Again, believing that all people under 25 are pissed up, witless, brainless students who want to watch more pissed up, witless, brainless students on telly. It's quite insulting.
Well, I can not agree more. Is there a future for "real" comedy on television, I mean really successful comedy (like back in the good old days?) Or are we doomed with the hit hunters that are only looking for a new merchandise line? Is there hope for us fans? And do you see any future talent on these very boards?
I'm sure they'll always be comedy on the telly. I'm staunchly against all this 'mobisodes' rubbish, and snippets on the net. I don't think people really WANT it, do they? It's just what people THINK young people want.
Sitcoms are still being made, and lots of pilots have gone out recently so it's still all happening it's just a shame there's this belief that everything has to be mobile phone based! Phones are for calling people, and that's it!
I still think a good sitcom can go out and get 6 million viewers - the BBC just have to make it.
Okay, we'll never get a 25 million Xmas special but there's still viewers to be drawn in.
I just wish TV producers would give young people more credit. There's this belief that if it's not available on a mobile first, or that if it's doesn't have a load of Hoosiers tracks plastered all over it, no one's interested. That just isn't true.
Internet comedy isn't helping. Most net comedy - especially YouTube is total gash. The fact that ANYONE can make shows now devalues the whole thing. In the same way if ANYONE could go to the moon, it'd no longer have the excitement value. These shows that take internet videos and put them on the telly are the worst kind of entertainment. It's on the net because it's not very good or sustainable. Don't put it on my telly.
Obviously cost isn't helping - everything has to be cheap now, and despite the licence fee going up, and the Beeb's staff jumping ship, they still try and cut costs by producing garbage like Lenny Henry.TV. Sigh . . .
As for future writers. There's a few here who I like - I only judge on sitcom stuff to be honest - and your good self have written some good stuff (albeit you're a lazy sod! You don't get THAT on Parky). Again, your work is likeable and pacey. I've read M Lewis' stuff, and he's very funny too. And Tim Walker is another.
There's people on here who'll make it, I've no doubt. The opportunities ARE there, you just have to find them have a bit of luck.
I also just hope this turn-of-the-millennium craze of catering for idiots dies down, and the television producers start to concentrate on making things for the right reasons - because they're funny. The word 'demographic' should be banned, and they should face facts that the lowest common denominator they're aiming at probably don't even watch the telly!
With more channels available, maybe the smaller channels could act as a testing ground - like Radio 4 used to be many years ago. Instead, though, they tend to keep BBC3 for comedies with no jokes and lots of knob gags.
Oh please, I'm blushing. But you've made some very interesting points and I'm sure given some new writers hope with your stories of experience and success. It’s been a real pleasure, even though it took us three hours!! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Any last words?
It's been a pleasure!
Er, not much else to say - look out for my website when it goes live soon, that's quite exciting and I'll keep everyone posted about any exciting developments regarding the pilots!
I look forward to seeing you interview another BSGer!
Goon night!
Thank you for joining me Seefacts, good luck with your pilots and any other future projects.
Join me next week when my guests will be Jamie Cullum, Dame Judy Dench and Phil Collins… sorry, I slipped into Parky mode again.
Thanks to Winterlight for some additional questions.
Good work the both of you.
