So is it just going to be about how 'funny' Koreans are? Where are you hoping this would be broadcast?
Sitcom setting... Page 2
Genuinely Shogun... I would think of something else to write about. Extrapolate the heart, the dynamics if you will of your idea, and transpose them into a setting that will be universally recognisable to a British audience. Otherwise as DD suggested write it as a film or a book.
Quote: Dolly Dagger @ March 11 2010, 9:56 AM GMTI would suggest writing it as a film instead of a sitcom.
What is your reasoning for this? I did think about this but would struggle to fit everything I want to into 90 odd minutes.
Quote: Dolly Dagger @ March 11 2010, 10:07 AM GMTSo is it just going to be about how 'funny' Koreans are? Where are you hoping this would be broadcast?
No, it's mainly about the relationships of the characters. The Korean thing is just a funny aside and I thought it would stand out from other sitcoms. The main bulk of my ideas could be set anywhere where people in their early to mid 20s hang out. Originally I was going to set it in the 2nd year of Univeristy and the main character has moved away from his first uni to get away from his ex girlfriend. I just thought the Korea thing is something totally different, but thought there would be issues with it, hence why I am seeking advice on here before going ahead with anything soild.
Quote: Marc P @ March 11 2010, 10:08 AM GMTGenuinely Shogun... I would think of something else to write about. Extrapolate the heart, the dynamics if you will of your idea, and transpose them into a setting that will be universally recognisable to a British audience. Otherwise as DD suggested write it as a film or a book.
Would setting it in the 2nd year of univeristy work? It's pretty much the same story, just not in Korea and without that added factor.
Quote: Trabs @ March 11 2010, 9:39 AM GMTI reckon shooting it in South Korea would be a massive barrier that most production companies in the UK would not be able to get over. logistically messy and more expensive than shooting a sitcom shot in a studio in the UK. If you do write it, I would suggest writing it in such a way that it could all be shot in a studio in the UK. It would be easy to film a lot of generic outside shots in South Korea that could be thrown in in-between scenes.
Thanks for this. I had the same concerns.
Quote: Shogun1984 @ March 11 2010, 10:03 AM GMTI will portray Koreans in officialdom in a light based on my own experience. This would be rude, arrogant, money grabbing, unreasonable and treating their employees badly. Quite frankly, I experienced a lot of racism out there. In my experience the stereotype is very true.
Can't imagine the South Korean Culture and Tourism Ministry rolling out the red carpet for a foreign production house making a series that shows Korean officials to be the pricks they are. In cases like this in movies, the producers just choose another Asian country and pretend it's the one where the action is meant to be set. For example, The Killing Fields was set in Cambodia but filmed in Thailand. The Year of Living Dangerously was set in Indonesia but filmed in the Philippines.
As for sitcoms, MASH was set in Korea but filmed in California.
[quote name="Shogun1984" post="594376" date="March 11 2010, 10:19 AM GMT"
Would setting it in the 2nd year of univeristy work? It's pretty much the same story, just not in Korea and without that added factor.[/quote]
Yes it would but I would advise against university based sitcoms as they are amongst the highest submitted ideas and we have had a few on recently. Think of something different -Vet School - I don't know - or something else that helps position the dynamics of it. 
Yeah, that's what I gathered about university based sitcoms which is why I changed to South Korea. I'll have a think and see what 'happy medium' idea I can come up with. Thanks for all the feedback, guys!
Could be some mileage in a sitcom about Westerners teaching English in an Asian country. Some are professional, some are woefully incompetent and have no knowledge of English grammar, some are drug-addicted/alcoholic losers who would never get a teaching job in the West, some screw their students (boys and/or girls), and some are alcoholic Europeans who can barely speak English but the fact they are white is their passport to a teaching job. Good English schools in Asia try to avoid hiring unqualified losers, but when political and economic instability strike, the professional teachers may pack up and go, leaving the schools willing to hire any white face that gets off the next plane (or staggers in from the bars, needing to pay their rent and bar tab).
Quote: Kenneth @ March 11 2010, 11:04 AM GMTCould be some mileage in a sitcom about Westerners teaching English in an Asian country. Some are professional, some are woefully incompetent and have no knowledge of English grammar, some are drug-addicted/alcoholic losers who would never get a teaching job in the West, some screw their students (boys and/or girls), and some are alcoholic Europeans who can barely speak English but the fact they are white is their passport to a teaching job. Good English schools in Asia try to avoid hiring unqualified losers, but when political and economic instability strike, the professional teachers may pack up and go, leaving the schools willing to hire any white face that gets off the next plane (or staggers in from the bars, needing to pay their rent and bar tab).
You've hit the nail on the head as to why I would like to base the sitcom around foreign teachers in South Korea. So much potential material. If I write it to be mainly indoors, would there be issues in getting a large number of extras of Asian (ideally Korean) descent? There would be quite a few classroom scenes so children would be required. Don't know if you have any knowledge on this subject, but just thought I might as well ask...
No one is going to make it like that Shogun. Honestly. Trust me. No one.
Quote: Marc P @ March 11 2010, 11:42 AM GMTNo one is going to make it like that Shogun. Honestly. Trust me. No one.
Okay, thanks. This is exactly why I signed up here. The worst thing anyone could do is write something that has no chance of being made. Back to square one!
Good man.
I pitched a sitcom idea to the North Korean government based on the relationship of their leader and his mother Kath. they dismissed it for being decadent western trash symptomatic of the capitalist system that needed stronger defined character voices. As such, Kath & Kim Jong Il never got off the ground.
Been having a little think, how about this...
Setting the script in a teacher training college within the UK. This sort of marries my university and teaching ideas together, and is different from just being based in univeristy in general. Also, it is still within the realms of the 'write what you know' category. A decent place to start?
I feel like Partridge at that meeting with Tony Ayres. Monkey tennis?
Quote: Shogun1984 @ March 11 2010, 12:30 PM GMTBeen having a little think, how about this...
Setting the script in a teacher training college within the UK. This sort of marries my university and teaching ideas together, and is different from just being based in univeristy in general. Also, it is still within the realms of the 'write what you know' category. A decent place to start?
I feel like Partridge at that meeting with Tony Ayres. Monkey tennis?
Sure, why not? It's all about your characters and the situations you put them in anyway.
Quote: Shogun1984 @ March 11 2010, 12:30 PM GMTSetting the script in a teacher training college within the UK. This sort of marries my university and teaching ideas together, and is different from just being based in univeristy in general. Also, it is still within the realms of the 'write what you know' category. A decent place to start?
As long as you have Charlotte from The Inbetweeners in it, I'd watch it.