Quote: Matthew Stott @ February 18 2013, 11:34 AM GMTTo prove conclusively that lack of success is not down to us, it's the clueless Business Man, in his suit and tie, keeping us out-!
Word!
Getting a sitcom commissioned is hard work. Page 3
Where's Mr. Bucktrout in all this?
Probably sending a slightly re-worded version of "Heaven's Gate" to United Artists.
Quote: Marc P @ February 18 2013, 11:33 AM GMTWhy would anybody ever want to spell their name differently but have it sound the same????
Dunno, Mark
I think the fundamental misunderstanding here is that producers are looking for scripts... when in fact they are looking for writers. If you were looking for a plumber you wouldn't hire one who turned up with pictures of pipes someone else had installed in 2006.
Also I suspect that the script that was commissioned and the script that was broadcast may not have been entirely the same!
Quote: sootyj @ February 15 2013, 8:14 AM GMTI rewrote the bible changing all the characters name to Jeff
I sent it to the Vatican
And they won't make me pope
Antisemites
Quote: David Salisbury @ February 20 2013, 12:17 PM GMTI think the fundamental misunderstanding here is that producers are looking for scripts... when in fact they are looking for writers.
Not so sure about that.
Most producers are putting together a portfolio of programming ideas they can sell - they like to go into meetings with Commissioning Editors and funding groups with a selection of projects that look like they might be goers.
Yes, the quality of the writing is important - they've got to work with you for years, possibly.
And, additionally, if they find a writer they particularly like, they might go to them for re-writes or 'ideas' that need writing - their 'pet' writer.
But what they're mainly after is product - stuff they've not seen before that suits the current market.
The Writers Room is pretty unique in that it's after writers not programming.
And agents too - they will often look to the long game if they think your skills are marketable.
How can you divorce the writer from the writing? They're one and the same, surely...
If you're good enough, even a script that doesn't make it can land you a job as a writer.
The simple truth of it all is, if you're good enough and persistent enough, eventually you should land a job writing SOMETHING. Getting a whole sitcom of your own, if you're not already a household name, requires a lot of luck though. Even some of the most successful sitcoms from the last 20 years were refused more than once before they got commissioned.
On a professional front, I deal with a lot of people's writing, though not scripts but rather academic and/or legal texts. In all honesty, quite a lot of it is very poorly written. Many believe they can write when, in fairness, they're average at best. There's no shame in being average but it's not really going to get you anywhere and worse than that, it's really, really hard know if you are.
How about thinking more along the line of film comedy scripts?
TV series seem a bit "all or nothing" (although maybe that is changing with so many channels available now - BBC3 etc.), whereas film seems a bit more 'open' and requiring less of a full-on commitment.
Of course, it's necessary to avoid scripts where costs will be necessarily high (sci-fi, foreign locations etc.).
A friend of mine worked as a script reader for a production company and told me she was sometimes sent "reworked" versions of popular sitcom scripts. She got several versions of the "Friends" pilot with the names changed. Company policy was to send a standard rejection letter, rather than open a can of worms by accusing the sender of being a plagiarist or just a nutcase.
Quote: Aaah @ February 20 2013, 8:21 PM GMTMany believe they can write when, in fairness, they're average at best. There's no shame in being average but it's not really going to get you anywhere and worse than that, it's really, really hard know if you are.
The only way to gauge whether or not you're any good is by reading, a lot. I believe you have to understand if something is good, and more importantly why it is/isn't good. Then you have a marker to judge your own content by.
Quote: MrBucktrout @ February 14 2013, 6:45 PM GMTAfter several knockbacks and rejection letters more or less saying the same thing I decided to conduct an experiment.
I chose a sitcom from 2006 that had been commissioned and produced by the BBC but only lasted one series I then copied episode 1 and wrote a script practically word for word including 'actions', the only thing I did was change the characters names and name of the show.
I sent the script to the production company who produced the original series and was told by them that the script was not something they would look to invest in as the characters were one dimensional and the plot didn't seem strong enough to sustain a series.
What do you have to do to get a commission...
Even if that's exactly what happened, (which I slightly doubt) you've proved pretty much nothing. Companies make shows that work, they make shows that don't work, they have staff that come and go with different tastes etc. And that's just one problem you're up against.
The thread title is "Getting a sitcom commissioned is hard work". Yes it is. It really, really is. The odds are stacked way against you. Firstly you need to be able to write funny. Plus you need to be able to write story and character, and have an idea for a show that can potentially run into many series. Then you have to get your stuff read, then you have to be lucky enough for it to be read by somebody who likes your script more than the mountain of other scripts he's read that week. Then you have meetings and notes and rewrites and more notes and more rewrites.
Then if you're extremely lucky and they don't go off the idea for whatever reason, your show might even go into proper development. Then you have more meetings and more notes and you realise that the show isn't yours anymore, it's now a team effort. And if you're lucky enough to get with a producer who really "gets" your comedy and doesn't screw it up for you, you just might end up with a script that's worth pitching to the channels. All of this takes months and months of (usually unpaid) work, unless you're lucky enough to get some sort of option or script fee. And right at the very end of the process your script might end up in front of a commissioner, who can say "Nah, don't like it / nah, we're doing something similar / nah, we're after studio / nah, we're after single cam / nah, we want something like Miranda / nah, it's too much like Miranda / etc etc etc.
Of course there is the very small chance that you keep rolling the dice and eventually you'll roll a six enough times in a row to get your show on telly. And that's very much the way I see it. If you have a good script, the chances of getting it on telly are akin to rolling a six several times in a row. Which sounds daunting, and it is, but what is also true is that science tells us that it's entirely possible to roll a six several times in a row, IF you do it for long enough.
So yes, getting a sitcom commissioned is hard work. It's exhausting. But people do get their sitcoms commissioned. It happens, and that's really the one piece of flotsam that we all cling to in a vast ocean of failure. That and the fact that writing comedy is actually pretty fun.
Quote: Lazzard @ February 20 2013, 12:28 PM GMTNot so sure about that.
Most producers are putting together a portfolio of programming ideas they can sell - they like to go into meetings with Commissioning Editors and funding groups with a selection of projects that look like they might be goers.
Yes, the quality of the writing is important - they've got to work with you for years, possibly.
And, additionally, if they find a writer they particularly like, they might go to them for re-writes or 'ideas' that need writing - their 'pet' writer.
But what they're mainly after is product - stuff they've not seen before that suits the current market.The Writers Room is pretty unique in that it's after writers not programming.
And agents too - they will often look to the long game if they think your skills are marketable.
OK, so as usual I exagerated slightly. 
But I think that, when talking about escaping from the slush pile, my point stands. They want to discover writers they can work with. It's a business deal at the end of the day. And the script they have in their hand will change a lot before it gets a chance to be made.
Once they trust you and you have a working relationship then they want you to produce content they can pitch to channels. So I do agree with you. (And with me. And with everyone. Aren't I nice.)
It's still like finding a plumber. Step 1 - find someone who is a competent plumber who you think will be OK to work with. Step 2 - worry about which shower you want and how you want them to install it.
(ASIDE: I hope that somewhere out there in the World Wide Web someone is at theis very moment explaining that "Being a plumber, is a lot like a comedy writer...)
Quote: David Salisbury @ February 21 2013, 12:28 PM GMT
It's still like finding a plumber. Step 1 - find someone who is a competent plumber who you think will be OK to work with. Step 2 - worry about which shower you want and how you want them to install it.
Do you need a plumber?
Quote: Lee Henman @ February 21 2013, 11:46 AM GMTOf course there is the very small chance that you keep rolling the dice and eventually you'll roll a six enough times in a row to get your show on telly. And that's very much the way I see it.
Me too. If you keep doing good work and it keeps being taken along the process, hopefully eventually the stars will align and you'll get something on TV. Then it will be slated, no one will watch and it'll be pulled off the air after one lousy series.