Lee Henman
Friday 26th April 2013 4:27pm [Edited]
5,183 posts
Quote: Tokyo Nambu @ April 26 2013, 4:03 PM BST
Why not take a chance on a new writer, who might be good, or a newish writer, whose last project was OK, when the alternative is a tied and stale script from a writer whose last three projects failed completely, both critically and commercially?
They do occasionally take chances. But if you had a million quid (which is roughly how much it costs to make a six-episode studio sitcom), and you were forced to bet that cash on a horserace, would you go for the odds-on favourite or the promising but unproven 10-1 contender?
I'm not saying that's how it should be, but how it often is, ESPECIALLY on the flagship BBC1 channel. It's under enormous national scrutiny, and huge public expectations to make every comedy as loved and revered as the likes of Only Fools And Horses. It's hardly surprising then that nerves run high when making BBC1 comedy, and producers are naturally-attracted to writers with past form. Elton has produced amazing comedy in the past. Yes he's had a few failures but then so have other huge names in comedy. Sitcom history is absolutely littered with the corpses of stinkeroos, a lot of them from highly-regarded writers and performers.
I think it's f**king disgraceful how Elton has been assassinated in the press like this. It's just a sitcom after all. It's funny isn't it, how when a new TV drama falls flat, nobody gives a shit. But if a sitcom fails, suddenly the writer is the most pathetic excuse for a human being that ever drew breath.
Plus there's only been one episode. Give it a chance.