Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe
- TV factual
- BBC Four
- 2006 - 2009
- 28 episodes (5 series)
TV critic and comedy writer Charlie Brooker takes a caustic look at television programmes and reveals the inner workings of the industry.
Episode menu
Series 5 - Writing Special
Broadcast details
- Date
- Tuesday 2nd December 2008
- Time
- 10:30pm
- Channel
- BBC Four
- Length
- 50 minutes
Cast & crew
| Charlie Brooker | Host / Presenter |
| Paul Abbott | Self |
| Jesse Armstrong | Self |
| Sam Bain | Self |
| Russell T Davies | Self |
| Tony Jordan | Self |
| Graham Linehan | Self |
| Charlie Brooker | Writer |
| Al Campbell | Director |
| Nick Vaughan Smith | Series Producer |
| Kufena Coulter | Producer |
| Charlie Brooker | Executive Producer |
| Annabel Jones | Executive Producer |
| Damon Tai | Editor |
| Iain Mitchell | Editor |
Press
Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe took time off from spewing cheery vitriol across the television schedules to interview writers about the craft of writing.
These were clearly writers that Brooker admired, so his interview technique was disconcertingly sympathetic. The end result was a masterclass from such luminaries as Russell T Davies, Paul Abbott, Tony Jordan and Graham Linehan. All of whom spoke wittily and winningly about the combination of prevarication, panic and perspiration that produces a television script.
Ironically, the most pertinent point of a fascinating 50 minutes was made by a writer who wasn't even present. Abbott quoted Jimmy McGovern on the ever prickly problem of presenting exposition in dialogue: 'I would rather be confused for ten minutes than bored for five seconds.'
Harry Venning, The Stage, 8th December 2008