David Isaac interview
In 2008 we talked to writer David Isaac about the pilot episode of this sitcom (which was known as 'Admin' at that stage)...
Hi David, thanks for talking to us. Admin, the new sitcom you've written, is based in a law firm - we understand you used to be a solicitor?
That's right. I always hated being a solicitor but never really had the initiative to find something else to do. I found it incredibly boring but also immensely stressful at the same time; because of the boredom I made lots of mistakes, which in turn made it ever more stressful. It did inspire me to write comedy though... I wrote my first ever sketch while I was listening to a four day trial on VAT! Although I didn't like being a solicitor, if I had never worked in a law firm I would never have written Admin.
So, after you wrote your first sketch, what happened then?
I started keeping a little book with me just to write down any funny ideas that occurred to me while I was at work. After a while, I had a pile of these books so I decided to write the ideas into sketches purely for my own amusement. Then I had a big pile of sketches.
A friend suggested that I should turn the sketches into a sitcom. So I did. It was about a lawyer with weird clients and it wasn't very good. There were twelve episodes though. It took me months to get it all down and at the time I was convinced that it was a work of genius. Sadly the production companies I sent it to didn't agree with me. Although Brian Dooley at Talkback said it was funny and suggested I actually learn how to write a sitcom. So I signed up to do a part-time MA Scriptwriting for TV and Radio at Salford University. That was all about 8 years ago, and since then I've just kept writing and sending stuff off. There were many, many rejections but eventually somebody liked something enough to develop it.
How long did it take you to write Admin?
I find the writing process fairly quick once I can visualise the characters. I wrote the first draft of Admin in a few days. I usually write about 10 pages a day, so a sitcom episode will be written in 3 days. Although that is only a first draft and there will need to be lots of re-writes after that. Admin changed massively over time. The first draft was more about the older characters, and it was changed to focus more on the younger characters to fit the BBC3 demographic.
What's it like to see something that you've written make it all the way to TV, and not only that but feature talented actors like Peep Show star Neil Fitzmaurice?
It's great. When you write something you always hope that ultimately it will get made but you never really expect it to. At least I don't. So to get to this stage is amazing for me. It was wonderful to work with Neil. He is a really nice bloke. I was a bit star struck at first but he is so down to earth that you can't help but just sit and chat with him. I enjoyed working with all the cast really. I'd quite like to live with them in a big house somewhere. In fact if we get a series then I might do that. They wouldn't be prisoners as such but certainly I would have control over their daily lives.
As you mentioned above, you used to be supervising solicitor... is the character of Mike based on you?
Yes. Mike is me! He is supposed to supervise the whole office, including Gloria and her admin team but he's not really very good at his job. The problem is that he can't bring himself to discipline anyone. He just wants an easy life and sort of hopes that things will work out.
Neil Fitzmaurice really brought Mike to life though. It was Kenton Allen (creative head at the BBC) who spotted that the Mike character felt a bit flat in the script. He had been written that way initially, as he just reacted to the madness going on around him. So we discussed it with Neil who then came up with this idea of Mike as a man on the edge, who is always about to explode with rage. I think it works and Neil's performance as a stressed out Mike in some scenes is just great.
What about the other characters and the situations seen in the pilot... were any of these also based on your real-life experiences?
Not really. Some of the ideas are things which actually happen in law firms - e.g. people applying for promotions, but the characters and events are completely imaginary.
Should Admin be commissioned for a full series, have you got an idea of what the subsequent episodes might be about?
The storylines have been planned out over the series and there are first drafts of the scripts but they will change substantially if we get a series.
Now you've made it, what tips would you give to people looking to follow in your footsteps David?
You have to be in it for the long term and make a commitment to be a writer. If you wanted to be a lawyer, doctor, accountant etc you have to study for about 6 years or so. I think the same is true with comedy. I wrote my first sitcom episode in 1999 and got my first break in 2006 so it took 7 years of continuous writing and an MA to start me off.
You need to want to write. So you can force yourself to sit down after work every day and write comedy.
You also need to be resilient, because 7 years of rejection can get you down. I'm still regularly getting knock backs and criticism and it still upsets me but you have to learn to deal with it.
You need the ability to learn too. Firstly you have to learn to write a sitcom. Understand the structure, characters, plots etc. Then you need to learn about the industry. What people are looking for; who is going to make your stuff; how do you make contacts?
You need to prepared to compromise. All down the line, people will give you advice on your writing. You need to be able to learn to rewrite scripts to the satisfaction of producers. Follow up every lead, learn from the rejections, read other scripts that have been made.
Most importantly though, you need to keep writing. It may take 7 years but eventually somebody will like something that you send them.
Sounds good advice to us David! Best of luck with the pilot, and thanks again for talking to us. Just to finish off, a final question we ask everyone we interview: What are your own personal favourite comedies?
Alan Partridge, The Mighty Boosh and The Office are the ones that I go back to time and again.