Cheers guys, sounds like it might be a goer? 
Cottaging Page 3
Quote: Griff @ March 20 2011, 6:04 PM GMT24: The Sitcom has strong possibilities.
The excellent Chuck sort of does that.
Quote: chipolata @ March 20 2011, 9:27 PM GMTThe excellent Chuck sort of does that.
Though that's not a half hour sitcom, more a comedy drama thingy.
Quote: Matthew Stott @ March 20 2011, 9:29 PM GMTThough that's not a half hour sitcom, more a comedy drama thingy.
Peter Pedant's back. 
This could end up being the longest Cotta thread of all time.
Quote: Steve Sunshine @ March 20 2011, 9:45 PM GMTThis could end up being the longest Cotta thread of all time.
I'll mention Ken Dodd in a minute and get it closed.
Quote: Steve Sunshine @ March 20 2011, 9:45 PM GMTThis could end up being the longest Cotta thread of all time.
I can't deny the inspiration. 
Quote: chipolata @ March 20 2011, 5:48 PM GMTYou've piqued my interest, Marc. Has an unexploded bomb ever featured in a sitcom episode before? I can't think of any examples off the top of my head.
The Young Ones: 'Bomb'
Def.
Quote: Deferenz @ March 21 2011, 1:02 AM GMTThe Young Ones: 'Bomb'
Def.
Was that the one with Alexi Sayle?
In my opinion, I think this Idea is worth holding on to and should be developed further. The premise works perfectly and there are plenty of parallels between wartime deprivation, sacrifice and topical NHS spending cuts to tie the whole thing together. I do appreciate this is specific to this episode only, however.
The characters are well informed through dialogue, which also delivers just about all of the exposition the audience needs to understand the background and storyline.
I think this needs to be performed to gauge the true potential of the piece, but what should be encouraging is there is something for each player to work with and a cast should be keen to work with any one of these characters.
I do think it needs, and deserves, further work because the series premise and potential is certainly there. The pathos gives real depth to the characters involved and is always a good comedic tool that can fully engage an audience. Here, the pathos is well introduced but I think you need a powerful kick to the audience's guts as you come out of this pathos with a real cracker of a line.
Perhaps it might be better to have a little more distance between DA and allow the script to truly stand alone. If the wartime theme is for one episode only then it might be better to reference it to other aspects of the series synopsis (though I may be wrong)
It's definitely not bland and the humour is rightly derived from the situation and the characters - and not a string of gags that, let's face it, panders to the less erudite.
My favourite character was George. I could see in him a good degree of mischief and I loved the 'Sah!' lines you gave him.
Hi evertsen thank you for your detailed and considered response, and thanks for the kind words of encouragement. Yes the wartime theme is just for one episode. I did have another episode read out which I recorded and sort of turned it into a radio piece, obviously it wasn't written that way and no audience - but it works sort of.
Also where I live they do have a big forties weekend and the whole town is full of people dressed for the part - and the old railway station where they filmed some of Dads Army is here too. So the nods to DA are deliberate but it's only a very tangential thing. You can see some of the weekend here if you've a mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP7cLjTXrmg
I am going to try and film some proper stuff this year.
Thanks again much appreciated!
Marc
On the bomb-sitcom front, wasn't Basil Fawlty inspired by a guy who threw Eric Idle's briefcase out in the street because he thought it contained a bomb?
I thought it was inspired by the manager of a hotel they stayed at while filming. Maybe an amalgam?
http://www.englishriviera.co.uk/site/about-the-area/fawlty-towers
Quote: Marc P @ March 21 2011, 12:05 PM GMTMaybe an amalgam?
Next time I'm in Birmingham, Marc. 