Office Sitcoms Page 3

Quote: Perry Nium @ July 2 2008, 6:15 PM BST

I feel I may have touched a raw nerve with my reservations about office comedies. Obviously it's not as if you have to completely rule out an office situation, but I'm only speaking from experience. I had an office-based sitcom idea and two producers on the same day turned it down. One said it was too like The Office, (even though it was an audience comedy) and the other said she's got a pile of office-based scripts in the back room about a foot thick.

That's just my experience though. All I'm saying is, be aware, and make it as different to Gervais's as you possibly can, because basically it's highly unlikely you're going to top it.

View original

Completely respect your opinion and view on this, and agree that producers sometimes do label things too easily. The bastards.

Quote: ContainsNuts @ July 3 2008, 5:45 PM BST

Completely respect your opinion and view on this, and agree that producers sometimes do label things too easily. The bastards.

View original

They definitely do. The sitcom of mine that is about to go into development/commissioning is set in a hotel... NEVER WRITE A SITCOM SET IN A HOTEL AFTER FAWLTY!!!... Hence, in order to not offer the any potential commissioner the option of rejecting it on that basis, my producers have made sure that we now have a draft of the script that has no similarites to the Fawlty set-up (other than hopefully some good laughs).

It's fine to re-visit a set-up that has been used before, but I agree that one shouldn't do something that's similar to something recent. And if you do re-visit a previously successful set-up then do make sure that your characters and the style of the show is very distinctively different.

Quote: Tim Walker @ July 6 2008, 6:19 PM BST

They definitely do. The sitcom of mine that is about to go into development/commissioning is set in a hotel... NEVER WRITE A SITCOM SET IN A HOTEL AFTER FAWLTY!!!... Hence, in order to not offer the any potential commissioner the option of rejecting it on that basis, my producers have made sure that we now have a draft of the script that has no similarites to the Fawlty set-up (other than hopefully some good laughs).

It's fine to re-visit a set-up that has been used before, but I agree that one shouldn't do something that's similar to something recent. And if you do re-visit a previously successful set-up then do make sure that your characters and the style of the show is very distinctively different.

View original

I've got plans for a hotel sitcom too.

Quote: Badge @ July 3 2008, 1:03 AM BST

write it well and sell it cleverly and it doesn't matter what the damn setting is

View original

Spot on.

In general, the setting is only a foil to the writing and it's the latter which counts.

Quote: Jolanta Zofia Nowak @ July 6 2008, 7:32 PM BST

Spot on.

In general, the setting is only a foil to the writing and it's the latter which counts.

View original

In an ideal world.

Quote: Jolanta Zofia Nowak @ July 6 2008, 7:32 PM BST

Spot on.

In general, the setting is only a foil to the writing and it's the latter which counts.

View original

Agree. And if only we didn't have certain producers around taking decisions...

Quote: Timbo @ July 6 2008, 7:34 PM BST

In an ideal world.

View original

Well for sure I would agree that the script selection 'process' must be one of the blacker arts around.

You do wonder what we've all missed thanks to the laziness/personal hang-ups/intelligence shortfall etc of various producers and commissioning companies.

Unfortunately the arts are an imperfect world and, just as there are many unrecognised, superb novelists, painters and actors out there, scriptwriters of all genres have to go through the same grinder.

From my viewpoint as a consumer, what irks me isn't so much that good stuff gets missed but that talentless BAD stuff is paraded before us so frequently.

Quote: Jolanta Zofia Nowak @ July 6 2008, 7:44 PM BST

From my viewpoint as a consumer, what irks me isn't so much that good stuff gets missed but that talentless BAD stuff is paraded before us so frequently.

View original

That's because an awful lot of effort is spent in comedy TV-land finding something that is "original", "different" or "ground-breaking"... whether it's genuinely funny is sometimes a second-thought.

Quote: Jolanta Zofia Nowak @ July 6 2008, 7:44 PM BST

From my viewpoint as a consumer, what irks me isn't so much that good stuff gets missed but that talentless BAD stuff is paraded before us so frequently.

View original

I was reading an interview in the Sunday Express (my mum's copy, before anyone comments) with the cast of New Tricks. They were berating the BBC for claiming that there was only a small talent pool of writers to draw on, while failing providing opportunities for up and coming talent.

Another interesting point they made was that the rot set in when producers and directors started to be regarded more highly than writers.

Quote: Timbo @ July 6 2008, 7:49 PM BST

I was reading an interview in the Sunday Express (my mum's copy, before anyone comments) with the cast of New Tricks. They were berating the BBC for claiming that there was only a small talent pool of writers to draw on, while failing providing opportunities for up and coming talent.

View original

I'll do something for Amanda Redman.

Quote: Timbo @ July 6 2008, 7:49 PM BST

I was reading an interview in the Sunday Express (my mum's copy, before anyone comments) with the cast of New Tricks. They were berating the BBC for claiming that there was only a small talent pool of writers to draw on, while failing providing opportunities for up and coming talent.

Another interesting point they made was that the rot set in when producers and directors started to be regarded more highly than writers.

View original

Ah, there's the rub. That would take us back to the 80s, then...

Quote: Timbo @ July 6 2008, 7:49 PM BST

Another interesting point they made was that the rot set in when producers and directors started to be regarded more highly than writers.

View original

So where would the producers and directors be without a writer? Up each others arses?

Quote: David Chapman @ July 6 2008, 7:51 PM BST

I'll do something for Amanda Redman.

View original

When are you going to be in the re-make of 'On The Buses', Dave?

Quote: Tim Walker @ July 6 2008, 7:52 PM BST

When are you going to be in the re-make of 'On The Buses', Dave?

View original

Honestly - I've got something in mind for her. I'll show it to her when I join her acting school.

http://www.artiststheatreschool.com/

Quote: David Chapman @ July 6 2008, 7:55 PM BST

Honestly - I've got something in mind for her. I'll show it to her when I join her acting school.

View original

Are you hoping she's going to teach you the "method"?