jacparov
Monday 6th December 2010 9:36pm
Southport
1,446 posts
Quote: JPM1 @ December 6 2010, 9:05 PM GMT
Ok, back now... sorry.
Yes, I feel your frustration. It does seem like we're going around in circles a bit. It's been difficult getting folks over the "it's subjective" obstacle but I think we're close!
On the subject of producers and the involvement of other non-writers.
I feel strongly that, though they do a different job, they are part of the work of forming the piece and are therefore "wrighters," if not writers.
I am beginning to see why this is a contentious issue on a forum full of writers... 
The truth is though, that while a writer does most of the work there are other cooks in the kitchen.
But - we digress! On to the expert construction of a manuscript.... You suggest that if you enjoy reading them and have an emotional reaction you would distinguish them from Amateur. I'd challenge you, in the nicest way possible, to be more specific about what makes it "enjoyable" to read.
What about things like well-woven A,B, and C stories, characters making unexpected choices, or smart use of setting and time.... sure these make it enjoyable but can one script's expertise be greater than another's? How do we measure it?
Could we say that the more threads a show weaves together the better? (I'm sarcastic, of course, but - for a rhetorical reason.)
Yes others help, but they help produce the final broadcast show, which is of course a visual medium. But only the writer 'writes' and only their work(i.e. the script) can be written - well or otherwise. Personally I feel you cannot critic the show and the script with the same criteria.
To answer the question: what makes it "enjoyable" to read? is a very difficult one and frankly I may not be up to the task, you really need to speak to a literally critic I believe. In terms of sitcoms, I enjoy so many - here I'm talking about books of scripts that I've read. I suppose it comes down to these things: A world I can believe in, characters I want to spend time with, surprizing situations/events, and a surprizing use of language (dialogue/jokes etc).
NB:- you're going to ask me why I want to spend time with certain characters and not others and why I believe in some worlds and not others now aren't you! ;-)
How do we measure these things? Why is Basil Fawlty an enduring comic character? What was it about last of the summer wine that helped it endure for so long? If I (or anybody else) knew the answer to these questions we'd all be making our own sitcoms!
Could we say that the more threads a show weaves together the better? :- No, because complication or sophistication(sp?) are not ends in themselves, but means to something else.(in my point of view).
