BBC Drama academy Page 15

Quote: Tim Walker @ May 1 2011, 1:04 AM BST

A contemporary drama with the overall narrative sprawling over a long episode arc, with complex and interesting characters involved in an engaging story that kept me guessing as to how it will be eventually resolved.

Mainly great characters, the more complex the better - but without supernatural powers or the need to solve crime or the need to save the entire world in order to make them interesting. Something that might make me think a bit would be good. Human stories, not escapist fantasies. The BBC, in particular, seem to believe that everyone thesedays must love sci-fi. Not everyone does. Some of us really hate it.

(So I've basically described The Sopranos or Mad Men or Six Feet Under or Traffik or GBH or...)

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But each of those you described had a 'gimmick'. Yet what you claim you want, is something effectively 'gimmickless'. I suppose I understand the need to better disguise our gimmicks. Doctor Who is hardly subtle...

Quote: Vader @ May 1 2011, 1:06 AM BST

Don't worry, I was just misquoting zooo for mischief making purposes. You can pretend she really said that though.

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I see your mischief and raise you 4chan

Quote: Tim Walker @ May 1 2011, 1:08 AM BST

Er, your post about Sherlock Holmes?

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Out of sheer laziness, I haven't read back, but tone and feel I see as relating to an almost...well..unseen aesthetic. When you read a book you remember how you felt when you read it. Well, the closest any filmed adaptation of the Holmes stories ever came to emulating that 'tone' and 'feeling' for me was the latest BBC one. The rest have felt like they were designed to be slow, and methodical, which the books aren't at all!

Quote: Matthew Stott @ May 1 2011, 1:14 AM BST

Have you dipped your toe into drama writing Tim, or have you stuck to comedy?

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The feature screenplay I'm currently touting about is a (very) black comedy-drama, but I haven't as yet written a script for an original TV drama. I have a few ideas - one in particular I very much want to write - but people only really want to see sitcom scripts from me at the moment, so it's very much on the back burner. I'm seen as a comedy writer (if anything!) and I just feel that I should keep on plugging away for now with a genre I possibly stand a chance of breaking through with, rather than to try the more scatter-gun approach.

As always, I wish I had more free time to be able to work on a few projects at once, but there simply isn't in my job.

Quote: Sophie Petzal @ May 1 2011, 1:21 AM BST

But each of those you described had a 'gimmick'. Yet what you claim you want, is something effectively 'gimmickless'. I suppose I understand the need to better disguise our gimmicks. Doctor Who is hardly subtle...

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They had conceits, they had a premise, as do all shows. "Gimmick" is your word, not mine. Gimmick is also very much a producer's word, not a writer's.

Quote: Tim Walker @ May 1 2011, 1:21 AM BST

The feature screenplay I'm currently touting about is a (very) black comedy-drama, but I haven't as yet written a script for an original TV drama. I have a few ideas - one in particular I very much want to write - but people only really want to see sitcom scripts from me at the moment, so it's very much on the back burner. I'm seen as a comedy writer (if anything!) and I just feel that I should keep on plugging away for now with a genre I possibly stand a chance of breaking through with, rather than to try the more scatter-gun approach.

As always, I wish I had more free time to be able to work on a few projects at once, but there simply isn't in my job.

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I've just had a comedy drama thing go out, the first none sitcom/sketch thing I've tried, so that's interesting. I expected my agent to politely put it to one side. I'm having a go at a horror thing at the moment, just to see if I can do it. Thankfully, I have a rubbish job which affords me plenty of time! And a terrible future when I ultimately fail as a writer.

Quote: Tim Walker @ May 1 2011, 1:26 AM BST

They had conceits, they had a premise, as do all shows. "Gimmick" is your word, not mine. Gimmick is also very much a producer's word, not a writer's.

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I've met many professional writers who use that term in describing work (granted, not in a very positive light), but that is neither here nor there as it is not one I readily use. So I'm not going to defend it. But there's no need to be pedantic, I was merely trying to be transparent.

Is this conceit, however, no different to using terminology such as 'sci-fi' etc? What I was asking you, is whether or not these are the same thing? Both are used to define an idea (or limit it, depending on your view).

Quote: zooo @ May 1 2011, 12:56 AM BST

Look, we allow Sooty to do that fake quoting thing, because, let's face it, without that he'd post little else.
But there are limits!!!

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Come to think of it, I think you're scared of Sophie...

Quote: Vader @ May 1 2011, 1:36 AM BST

Come to think of it, I think you're scared of Sophie...

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Why? I'm 'little' Sophie! The 'inexperienced' one who needs to learn 'respect'! Nothing to be scared of!

Well...apart from scabies.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ May 1 2011, 1:29 AM BST

I've just had a comedy drama thing go out, the first none sitcom/sketch thing I've tried, so that's interesting. I expected my agent to politely put it to one side. I'm having a go at a horror thing at the moment, just to see if I can do it. Thankfully, I have a rubbish job which affords me plenty of time! And a terrible future when I ultimately fail as a writer.

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Seems like a quite large percentage of comedy writers also really love horror. I'm no huge fan, but I certainly appreciate horror more than sci-fi or fantasy. One thing I found difficult in writing non-comedy scenes after so many sitcom scripts was to get over the guilt of completing a scene without any intended laugh moments in it. Quite disconcerting at first. Almost as though the scene must be rubbish because "where's the comedy?". And writing very emotional moments also felt weird, I felt far more embarrassed about thinking of people reading them.

Half of me thinks writing drama is easier because you've no pressure to be funny. The other half feels that at least as a comedy writer I can use the funny to distract from the contrivance of some sitcom scenes.

Good luck with the script, Matthew. All in all, things seem to progressing well with your writing. Well done, you deserve it.

Quote: Tim Walker @ May 1 2011, 1:37 AM BST

Good luck with the script, Matthew. All in all, things seem to progressing well with your writing. Well done, you deserve it.

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Well that's very nice of you, thanks, but it's not as though I've even had a line appear on TV yet!

Quote: Sophie Petzal @ May 1 2011, 1:33 AM BST

But there's no need to be pedantic, I was merely trying to be transparent.

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Sorry, but you claimed I was looking for a show that was "effectively gimmickless", when I hadn't used the word gimmick in any way, not even in a pejorative sense. You can't put words in other's mouths then call them pedantic when they disown them.

Quote: Tim Walker @ May 1 2011, 1:42 AM BST

Sorry, but you claimed I was looking for a show that was "gimmickless", when I hadn't used the word gimmick in any way, not even in a pejorative sense. You can't put words in other's mouths then call them pedantic when they disown them.

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Pedantic in the sense you were subverting my meaning when I had merely re-worded you as a way of clarifying my point. The only reason you took issue with the point was because of my word choice, not the context within which it was used. That was all that what I was claiming was pedantic. If I had known beforehand that you took issue with the word 'gimmick', I would not have used it as a means of making the comment 'clearer'. Innocent mistake.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ May 1 2011, 1:41 AM BST

Well that's very nice of you, thanks, but it's not as though I've even had a line appear on TV yet!

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But you will soon.

Quote: Sophie Petzal @ May 1 2011, 1:37 AM BST

Why? I'm 'little' Sophie! The 'inexperienced' one who needs to learn 'respect'! Nothing to be scared of!

Well...apart from scabies.

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I don't remember referring to you as inexperienced! Anyway, maybe zooo's all those things, only more so. I reckon you'd batter her and you think so too.

Quote: Sophie Petzal @ May 1 2011, 1:43 AM BST

Innocent mistake.

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This seems to be rather a recurring theme. When anyone makes any critical comment about something you've posted, you accuse them of being mendacious and personal. When anyone defends themselves in response to your criticism, you accuse them of being over-sensitive, or having misinterpreted your comments. A little humility would suit you.

Quote: Tim Walker @ May 1 2011, 1:46 AM BST

But you will soon.

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You're going ahead with your plan to kidnap the Queen and recite his lines to the media then?

Quote: Tim Walker @ May 1 2011, 1:54 AM BST

This seems to be rather a recurring theme. When anyone makes any critical comment about something you've posted, you accuse them of being mendacious and personal. When anyone defends themselves in response to your criticism, you accuse them of being over-sensitive, or having misinterpreted your comments. A little humility would suit you.

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Sure, when people make personal comments of course I'm going to take issue.

Similarly, when people react negatively to something as simple as a disagreement in opinion, then that is over-sensitive.

I only reacted negatively to a personal comment made which then spiraled which was unfortunate.

What probably happened was you may have agreed with the personal comment, and then I disagreed with your agreement, and you took that to mean I took issue with 'disagreement'...

Round and round the garden...

Quote: Tim Walker @ May 1 2011, 1:54 AM BST

This seems to be rather a recurring theme. When anyone makes any critical comment about something you've posted, you accuse them of being mendacious and personal. When anyone defends themselves in response to your criticism, you accuse them of being over-sensitive, or having misinterpreted your comments. A little humility would suit you.

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I've seen you make horrifically presumptuous comments, and rash remarks, and incendiary comments. Splinters and logs.

I don't mind it, people can do what they like. I just hope you realise that while you're making assumptions and claims about me, that you aren't exactly an impartial.

Quote: Vader @ May 1 2011, 1:51 AM BST

I don't remember referring to you as inexperienced! Anyway, maybe zooo's all those things, only more so. I reckon you'd batter her and you think so too.

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Definitely. I have my crochet kit at the ready and everything!