Quote: Hennell @ July 20 2010, 11:02 PM BSTDid we all loose enthusiasm at the end then?
Yes. I sent nothing this week. Just couldn't be arsed.
Newsjack - Series 3 Page 40
Quote: chipolata @ July 21 2010, 1:38 PM BSTYes. I sent nothing this week. Just couldn't be arsed.
Me and co., couldn't be arsed last week. This week we somehow managed to knock out 5 shameful vox pops.
Quote: StephenM @ July 21 2010, 12:50 PM BSTI'm a cricket fan and still had to Google what was newsworthy about his book.
Agreed. I bust a gut trying to come up with something. They've got blood on their hands.
For shame!
Do you think they are looking for brilliance?
Stuff like The Now Show doesn't get written by people who produce 2 minutes of 'comedy gold' when the muse strikes, it's written by people who can produce 15 minutes of 'quite good' when Steve Punt clicks his fingers.
They don't read our voxpops, they weigh them!
Do they weigh them on a comedy speak-your-weight machine, which goes "get off fatty!" when Eamonn Holmes weighs himself?
Ha. I did an Eamonn Holmes gag for it this week.
Quote: Jinky @ July 21 2010, 2:45 PM BSTStuff like The Now Show doesn't get written by people who produce 2 minutes of 'comedy gold' when the muse strikes, it's written by people who can produce 15 minutes of 'quite good' when Steve Punt clicks his fingers.
A lot of us here could do that. I know I could. F**k all chance they'll let us though.
Cynicism aside, does anyone know of anyone who got stuff broadcast for NJ which served as a launching pad for greater things?
Quote: Failed Comedy Writer @ July 21 2010, 8:12 PM BSTCynicism aside, does anyone know of anyone who got stuff broadcast for NJ which served as a launching pad for greater things?
I don't know about 'greater' but the threads for the earlier series of Newsjack give the impression that it's possible to get 'preferred writer status' if they like you. This seems to mean that your material gets read first and you've got a day or two longer to submit.
Perhaps that's the launch-pad to greater things. But with the BBC broadcasting around 10-12 hours of radio comedy each week, I'd imagine learning to play poker would be an easier way of aiming for fame and fortune than writing toothless quips about Eric Pickles.
People always talk about 'success' as being a combination of talent, hard work and luck. They don't tend to mention that you need at least one of those in doses that would kill a normal person.
You could try f**king him.
But then you'd just end up in a Pickle.
Quote: Failed Comedy Writer @ July 21 2010, 8:12 PM BSTA lot of us here could do that. I know I could. F**k all chance they'll let us though.
I would genuinely love to see the bluffs called of some of the people who say 'I could write the whole show, no problem', when the truth is if they genuinely said 'Ok, there's a blank piece of paper. Off you go. The whole show by the end of the day, please', they'd be shitting themselves within five minutes.
Quote: RJ @ July 22 2010, 12:47 AM BSTI would genuinely love to see the bluffs called of some of the people who say 'I could write the whole show, no problem', when the truth is if they genuinely said 'Ok, there's a blank piece of paper. Off you go. The whole show by the end of the day, please', they'd be shitting themselves within five minutes.
You're probably right there.
However, it would be a challenge. No-one said it's easy. But it can be done if they allow you into the hallowed room with like-minded people to bounce ideas about.
Point being, that's not going to happen.
(Edited for accidental double post. So insightful I had to say it twice.)
Quote: RJ @ July 22 2010, 12:47 AM BSTI would genuinely love to see the bluffs called of some of the people who say 'I could write the whole show, no problem', when the truth is if they genuinely said 'Ok, there's a blank piece of paper. Off you go. The whole show by the end of the day, please', they'd be shitting themselves within five minutes.
I also want to see me falling on my face when asked to write the whole show (though I could take or leave the actual shitting), because then at least it would happen. It is more to do with not being able to pay people for that amount of work, I feel, rather than the lack of quality of such of exercise-not me in particular of course, but the writers in general.
Failed Comedy Writer, I think you miss the point, you won't have people to bounce off if you've got the piece of paper and are asked to write the whole show.
Quote: RJ @ July 22 2010, 12:47 AM BSTI would genuinely love to see the bluffs called of some of the people who say 'I could write the whole show, no problem'
I could certainly produce 30 minutes worth of material in a day. The problem would be with the audience who, I'd guess, would be laughing at the start but rioting by the end as they heard the same type of joke told in 14 different styles.
I wouldn't fancy having to produce a whole show by myself but I'd love to be part of a team who had to do it. Sure it might be more miss than hit but I'd enjoy it even if others didn't!
That is something you do lose in the Newsjack setting, the chance to bounce ideas around, taking them in different directions. And getting a few other people's thoughts to build on a sketch and help add a new twist to it.
Or would I just get bitter if someone's joke got a bigger laugh than mine and end up counting every episode to see who got the most lines in?
Quote: Tim Azure @ July 22 2010, 8:25 AM BSTFailed Comedy Writer, I think you miss the point, you won't have people to bounce off if you've got the piece of paper and are asked to write the whole show.
Nope Tim - I'm not missing the point, as it was my point in the first place. I'll try and be clearer:
I'm not suggesting a single person could shit out half an hour of topical comedy gold. The previous quote illustrated Steve Punt clicking his fingers to rally his minions (plural) and my gripe (on this occasion - I'm full of them)is that it's difficult to get appointed to that team.
The point is that it's not lack of ability. It's lack of opportunity.
Scrolling back further comes to my question as to whether writing for NJ could ever be a foot up the ladder. I fully agree with the sentiment that getting a pisspoor pun onto NJ is not in the same league as being a full fledged in-house writer and that success with the former shouldn't be overestimated.
Then we got hijacked into this bluff-calling debate, which I'm more than up for should anyone here ever find themselves working as a BBC Producer with half an hour of airtime to fill before next thursday. You know where to find me.
Besides, Steve Punt wouldn't be such a diva. I'm met him a few times - he's quite a nice bloke.