Script hijacked Page 4

Marc Blake hangs around these very forums. I've never read his books or gone to his writing courses, but most people on here recommend them.

Regarding this dramatic ending, can't it be lifted from the sitcom, placed in a word doc entitled "future projects" and used for something else sometime?
After all, you said it's your best work and you're not ONLY going to write this sitcom, are you?

In regards to your original question, an established writer could get away with a long, closing scene with hardly any laughs, such as, for example, Delboy's poignant speech to his newborn baby in Only Fools And Horses.

But, as a new writer, different rules are applied. That's life.

Of course, saying that, it COULD work, as long as it's sharply written.

*********EDIT***********

Blimey! A page and a half of new posts were posted on this thread while I wrote this, leaving my words a little out of context now.

Blackadder Goes Forth's final episode was meant to be a poignant end to a series. That ending wouldn't have worked on any other episode. Also, the laughs kept coming until the very last few seconds where they went over the top. There was still banter and gags in the trenches between Blackadder and Baldrick right up to the point where they went over.

What you have to remember is a sitcom is created for only one thing: to make us laugh. Comedy drama is another beast entirely. The basic form in non-serial sitcom to follow is 1) Chase your character up a tree. 2) Throw rocks at him. 3) Get him down again. It's important to return things to the status quo at the end of your episode, otherwise the audience feels lost and unsatisfied.

However if it's a comedy drama serial you're writing, then that's another thing entirely.

Serious sitcoms are unbareably pompous in my humble opinion. Kind of like reading a cookery book as a joke book, it's not what it's there for.
One foot in the Grave was just a bit daft when they did that whole will Victor's wife kill his killer.

And spot on with the note on Blackadder Goes 4th Lee.

Comedy can be serious, it doesn't have to stop being comedy.

Think they may have also felt obliged to remind us that war isn't funny.
Later episodes of M*A*S*H started getting pretty serious too.

And was brilliantly piss taken on Futurama, with that robot surgeon who could switch between maudlin and funny.

Comedy can be perfectly serious and relevant. Check out Spitting Image or Bill Hicks. Bill Hicks never said "stop the comedy this is serious," nor for that matter did Richard Pryor even though both covered heavy material and are often quoted seriously.

If you can't do serious issues with comedy, then really don't try.

Quote: Lee Henman @ May 15 2009, 10:35 AM BST

1) Chase your character up a tree. 2) Throw rocks at him.

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I've heard this a lot over the years and what a load of bollocks. Have you ever tried picking up a rock let alone throwing one at someone in a tree. The likelihood is it wouldnt go very far and maybe might even land on your own head. Pebbles I can go with, stones sure, but rocks.... come on! Who writes these rules?

Quote: Marc P @ May 15 2009, 11:27 AM BST

I've heard this a lot over the years and what a load of bollocks. Have you ever tried picking up a rock let alone throwing one at someone in a tree. The likelihood is it wouldnt go very far and maybe might even land on your own head. Pebbles I can go with, stones sure, but rocks.... come on! Who writes these rules?

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Don't think they mean rocks as in huge great boulders.
May be an example of us adopting the American language, the Americans are great at bastardizing the English language. For them rocks are anything from a pebble to boulder.
Bless em

Quote: hey_nonny @ May 15 2009, 11:50 AM BST

Don't think they mean rocks as in huge great boulders.
May be an example of us adopting the American language, the Americans are great at bastardizing the English language. For them rocks are anything from a pebble to boulder.
Bless em

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Ah I see.

Just out of interest why don't you try and put some jokes into the serious pages. The best laughs come as a result of emotional release. That emotion can be built through drama or emotional jeopardy very nicely. Sometimes what you see as a problem in your script is actually a great opportunity. Drama is all about story telling, the best sitcoms always tell a great story too. This is partly why One Foot in the Grave is usually seen as a better example of the genre than Lab Rats say.

I agree with Lee and Marc about it being possible to insert humour into emotional/dramatic scenes. Soap used to do it very effectively. What I would say though is that by the time Soap started doing that sort of thing (ie the sad stuff), the audience were heavily invested in the characters and their situations (as Lee said re Blackadder). I'd think for a first episode (I'm assuming that's what it is) you'd have to be careful. With all the background you've gone into on your characters (good idea, btw), you may know them inside out, but the audience is unlikely to feel as invested after a mere twenty minutes or so, no matter how good the writing. Just my opinion – difficult to comment really without seeing the script.

Quote: clueless @ May 15 2009, 1:01 PM BST

With all the background you've gone into on your characters (good idea, btw), you may know them inside out, but the audience is unlikely to feel as invested after a mere twenty minutes or so

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Very good point clueless, didn't consider this.

Quote: Marc P @ May 15 2009, 11:27 AM BST

Who writes these rules?

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Paul Mayhew Archer once told me and some other writers this at Broadcasting House. Don't know if he originated it, though. Especially as he looked way to spindly to even lift a rock, let alone throw it.

Quote: hey_nonny @ May 15 2009, 1:59 PM BST

Very good point clueless, didn't consider this.

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They should know your characters as soon as we meet them.

Quote: Marc P @ May 15 2009, 2:37 PM BST

They should know your characters as soon as we meet them.

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Which is why so many sitcoms have broadly drawn cliched characters rather fully rounded three dimensional ones. "Oh look, here's the sarcastic/slutty/idiotic one..."

Quote: chipolata @ May 15 2009, 2:42 PM BST

Which is why so many sitcoms have broadly drawn cliched characters rather fully rounded three dimensional ones. "Oh look, here's the sarcastic/slutty/idiotic one..."

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Yeah but that's just bad writing. What I mean is that within the mechanics of your drama - you show their character rather than have them simply articulate it in the way you mean. We get to choose the exact moment we meet our characters after all - so it makes sense to organise that meeting and have them doing something that delineates them in the best way possible. Common sense really. And if it is a sitcom rather than a drama - make it funny too.

Quote: Marc P @ May 15 2009, 2:48 PM BST

Yeah but that's just bad writing.

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Yeah, sorry, I don't really put much thought into my posts.