The Sitcom Skirmish

No more news about us but Psychoville is back

noreply@blogger.com (Fi) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:39:00 +0000

Mwahahahaha! I love Psychoville. In case you missed the first series, Psychoville is a dark comedy thriller mystery about larger than life characters who each receive a mysterious letter.

The series was penned by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton (creators of The League of Gentlemen) and features an excellent cast that includes the likes of Dawn French, plus Shearsmith and Pemberton themselves.

You can see the first set of character stills from the second series on the BBC Comedy Blog. The second series starts on 5 May.

Happy Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Fi) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 14:59:00 +0000

It's come around again. Paul and the children have been spoiling me with breakfast in bed and chocolates (not at the same time - that could get messy) and it got us to thinking about sitcom mums. There have been so many great female maternal roles over the years. We thought we'd share one of our favourites with you.

Abfab - The Last Shout

Happy St David's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Fi) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 11:02:00 +0000

Déjà vu

noreply@blogger.com (Fi) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 09:53:00 +0000

We've been here before, haven't we? Our second TV script has now been returned by the BBC. We didn't make the grade.

So with two TV scripts looking for a home, we have a couple of options:

re-edit, re-vamp, whatever you like to call it - shine up the polish on our scripts,
and find another route into the world of TV.

We don't have to necessarily do one and then the other. We can start to investigate production companies, agents or even competitions that could fix our foot in that proverbial door while we improve our scripts and the series outlines.

As the second script is a science fiction storyline, we recently approached SyFy to ask if they accepted unsolicited scripts. Unfortunately they do not but said that they'd be happy to have a look once the series had been filmed.

So we return to limbo but we're not defeated, just resting (and polishing).

Dead end?

noreply@blogger.com (Fi) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:16:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Or rather is it a cul-de-sac with a carefully hidden ginnel leading to a beautiful play park or busy high street? At this point, we're really not sure.

With one script returned 'no thankfully' by the BBC and the other still with them, we're looking for our next skirmish. We still have faith in the first script and believe that there's an audience for it. Investigation into other production companies seems to bring up the same obstacle each time - "we do not accept unsolicited scripts". In essence, you need to already be a TV scriptwriter, published novelist, successful journalist or have an agent for your script to be looked at. Investigation into agents seems to bring a similar message for the most part.

Image via Wikipedia

Only two agents appear to be interested in reading TV scripts from completely new writers which begs the cynical question, 'why'? What is the difference between them and the others?

What we are lacking here is someone to talk to who can advise us on the best or at least possible avenues to take. We may have to knock on a few doors.

Is no news necessarily good news?

noreply@blogger.com (Fi) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:55:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Our second script is still with the BBC. In fact, it seems to have been with them longer than the first one was but that could just be because of the Christmas break slowing things down. Or of course it could just seem that way, wishful thinking coming into play as it does.

So we are crossing fingers and other spare appendages as we get on with the new year routine and as soon as we hear anything we'll let you know.

Now, time to take down those Christmas decorations and finish off the Advocaat.

One more day to go..

noreply@blogger.com (Fi) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 16:45:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

until the new year begins. 2010 has been a year to remember for us - new home, new life, new way of writing. Let's hope that 2011 is even better.

Happy new year. May all your dreams (well, the good ones) come true. Cheers!

Festive wishes from the Sitcom Skirmish

noreply@blogger.com (Fi) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 11:03:00 +0000

There's less than twenty four hours to go until Christmas Day. Our journey has only just begun but we're looking forward to sharing more of it with you in the new year. Until then, we'd like to wish you the best of festive holidays and a little Christmas entertainment.

Are You Being Served 'Naughty Santa'

(Please note that we are not connected with the supplier of this clip which came from You Tube.)

Thanks, But No Thanks

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 21:27:00 +0000

The BBC in their finite wisdom have decided that they and our first pilot script are not destined to be. We, being optimistic by nature, see this not so much as a rejection as a passer by on the street not wanting to become instant best friends. We see this not as an ending but merely as another step along the path.

We intend therefore to move onto the next viable inroad into the world of production and shall keep doing so until an accord is reached.

For those that are interested, the returned manuscript came with a letter to say that the first ten pages were reviewed and that they do not wish to continue further. At this stage they do not offer any feedback but hope that the experience doesn't stop you from submitting further material for review. Without any feedback and a belief that what we have created is of a commendable standard we can only presume that the style and/or subject matter is not what they are currently looking for.

We still have the second script with the Beeb, one can only guess if that will receive a similar response.

News From The BBC

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 11:57:00 +0000

Our second postcard, almost identical to the first, has landed on our doorsteps.

Our new and exciting Scifi pilot is now officially in the hands of the movers and the shakers.

So it's back to our feverish finger crossing (which does make it trickier to type).

So far, we have proven that their auto-postcard sending machine works. Although severely tempted to send them in something random, say a teabag, just to see if that would work I shall resist. (I'd love to read the critique on that!) That aside, let's hope it is more interesting news in the next piece of correspondence from them.

As you know, I'm not great at the waiting game, so I am taking a break from pilot writing and am playing with game writing in Macromedia Flash instead. I will post a link if it amounts to anything half playable. If it turns ugly, I shall return to write a hybrid script I've thought of. Not to reveal too much it's a cross between Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica and Glee. Fun.

Until next time, be good.

Remember remember...

noreply@blogger.com (Fi) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 11:33:00 +0000

Image by Niccolò Caranti via Flickr

...the fifth of November,
Gundpowder, treason and plot.

I always want to add a 'boom boom' on to the end of that. Can you tell that I come from the Basil Brush generation (the original one)? So we have two scripts at the BBC and ideas for more. We could keep right on writing but I think it's time we had a little distraction here at the Sitcom Skirmish. To that end, tonight we shall be visiting a local castle for a firework display and bonfire. I wanted to write that we shall be taking our children but it's fair to say that they'll really be dragging us along.

So however you celebrate the day, have a wonderful time and stay safe. Happy Bonfire Night!

Is this normal?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 10:51:00 +0000

What is the point of hindsight? Honestly?

On our first pilot, the moment it hit the post-office's counter we thought of about a dozen improvements that simply did not occur to us beforehand. Is hindsight supposed to give us an insight into not repeating our mistakes? No. It didn't work. Exactly the same thing has happened with our second delve into sitcom script writing.

In later episodes (wishful thinking at this stage, I know) we want character X to do something to object B, but that would only make sense if object B appeared in scene 2 of the pilot! Infuriating to say the least. (Paul counts to ten slowly in his head.)

Anyway, what is done is done.

I suppose the underlying questions is; what type of sitcoms would you like to see on TV? What style tickled your teenage funny bones? What would you like to see 're-envisioned', 'rebooted' or 're-imagined' or whatever the current phrase is for resurrecting the good-ole-days?

We look forward to hearing any comments. Laters.

Explosion!

noreply@blogger.com (Fi) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:06:00 +0000

That's what it feels like anyway. I'll explain.

The sci fi pilot script is finished. Hurrah! The covering letter is written. Woo hoo! Now for the series development outline...

We already had quite a large number of storylines we wanted to use as future episodes so we put them down and found that we actually had a lot to play with there. Some ideas would fill an entire episode. Others would snuggle into an episode alongside a companion storyline.

We also had a storyline that is hinted at in the pilot which we wanted to spread throughout the first series (am I being overly optimistic here talking about a 'series' when we haven't yet submitted the pilot to anyone?) and it was a good storyline, if rather vague. So we started talking it over. What could this mean? Why would this happen? What were the ramifications for the world in which our pilot is set?

Talk, talk, discuss, discuss, boom! The world and concept behind our series took off into outer space and beyond. What had started as a sizeable semi detached with a lovely view had now been extended into a castle with a moat, and wheels, and possibly an interdimensional drive, with cherries on top.

After a couple of evenings of hyperventilating over red wine, we finished the outline. It and the accompanying documents are currently sat on our dining room table. One last read through and we will send our script off into space and wait to hear of it's triumph or demise.

The Hands On The Clock Go Round And Round

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:11:00 +0000

Image by Brooks Elliott via Flickr

'Yipee! Success! We've been accepted! They start filming in the new year!' are all things I'd like to be writing bolstered by the foundations of truth. Sadly, this is only a rehearsal.

If this were a computer program you would be watching a spinning hourglass, buzzy bee, rotating circle or whatever icon set you've settled for.

Whilst the wait is on, we've been hammering the final touches to our SciFi pilot, our second foray into the script writing world. The trouble we're finding is trying not to put too many ideas into the first sitting. We have so many ideas of where to take the plot it is proving a challenge to put enough in to keep it interesting but not too much to make it a jumbled mess. We've decided to try and plant some seeds early on in the hope of hooking viewer's interest from the outset.

Once again, whilst writing this new script it spawned off even more ideas for other potential pilots! Will this ever end? Or will we be forever caught in the trap of writing hour long scripts that are ever read by three or four people! Noooooo!

Keeping going keeping going

noreply@blogger.com (Fi) — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 18:28:00 +0000

So the sitcom pilot is with the BBC, maybe for the next four months until we receive a decision. Paul has completed his sci fi TV drama pilot and I'm currently editing that before we put it to bed for a week. Once that is over, I have a new script to write for Murdering The Text.

What will I do with myself then? Ok, that's kind of a redundant question as my life is so filled with an abundance of time devouring tasks. Where's a passing tardis when you need a few extra hours?

The likelihood is that I'll find another storyline to turn into a TV script.

A postcard from the BBC

noreply@blogger.com (Fi) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:06:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Not quite as colourful or suggestive of holiday time as the one on the right but a hundred times more welcome is the postcard that arrived on our doorstep on Friday from the BBC Writersroom.

It may only be acknowledgement of receipt of our script but it's a vivid landmark on our journey as sitcom writers.

Having read through the guidelines to submitting unsolicited scripts to the BBC many many times, we know that we now have to wait and see if our first ten pages will hook the Writersroom into reading the entire script. As it says on the postcard, this can take a while ("you should hear from us within four months").

In the meantime, we're working on the next script, Paul's sci fi drama and getting on with being human beings.

I've got the TV bug

noreply@blogger.com (Fi) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 10:45:00 +0000

No, I'm not talking about a new kind of flu. What I mean is my newly found enthusiasm, nay, obsession with writing for TV.

It started with a murder mystery play written for my business which turned out to be a popular choice with my customers. My husband and co-writer came up with the idea this summer of taking the scenario and characters and turning them into a TV sitcom. Brilliant! We wrote the first draft, put it in a drawer, blogged about it, then wrote the next draft, and finally polished off the final draft. It was sent to the BBC about a week ago.

In the meantime, my husband began writing a sci fi TV drama (see, it's not just me that's been infected) and although I'm currently editing it for him, my mind has started casting around for story ideas I've filed away that could be turned into TV scripts.

I think my obsession has come from the difference between writing for the stage and the screen. Whereas with writing for the stage, a certain level of detachment is required because once the bones of the script have been handed over to the theatre company involved, it is for the actors and director to flesh those bones out into a full blown body of characters. When writing for television, however, along with the basic script is the task of leading the eye of the viewer to see what the characters see and experience what the characters feel - a street sign, terror, a TV show. I find that richness of portrayal the real hook.

What about you? What's your hook?

It Was Bound To Happen

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:52:00 +0000

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We've done it! We've wrestled and wrangled, cajoled and calluded, judged and juggled, messed-about and mused and finally both agree that the pilot and all related materials are fit to send off. It has a covering letter, the pilot script itself and a summary of plots for the rest of season one. Research has told us that the BBC prefer the script to be loosely bound using a bulldog clip or similar. So if you were thinking of using a curly-wurly spine with transparent covers then I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Being allergic to waiting, the following few weeks will no doubt prove to be torturous. At least I can return to my Plan B script (providing we don't lose all electricity to the house again), which is about halfway written.

That said, I'm proud that we've got to this stage. It is the first step for us becoming experienced (not necessarily successful) sitcom script writers. Now we are at the mercy of fate, fortune and faith in whoever's desk it lands on.

Watch this space.

In the dark

noreply@blogger.com (Fi) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:20:00 +0000

As you know, we've been working on the outline for our sitcom, trying to decide how our story will develop from the pilot script. We had plenty of ideas but we needed something to tie them all together, something which annoyingly evaded us.

An unexpected event came to the rescue last night. We had a power cut. It started just before tea time (good excuse for a family takeaway) and continued into the evening as darkness began to creep in. With no television or computers to distract us, and the intimacy of candlelight tying us to the settee, we began to talk.

There's something about face to face conversation, without a keyboard or computer screen playing gooseberry, that allows for an honest and creative exchange of ideas. What had started as a relatively unlinked set of episodes turned into an adventure that built on the story with each step and presented a new struggle with a previously unseen enemy.

Our outline isn't complete but it now has a new impetus and construct that pleases us both. If we can get it finished this week, we'll be able to post it all off to the BBC very soon.

When Black-holes Collide

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:34:00 +0000

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As Fiona worked her magic on buffing up the shine on the first pilot I found that I had, although fleeting, time on my hands. This, as the universe is well aware of, is as unstable an event as throwing a black hole into another black hole followed very closely by a super-nova. Ok, maybe not quite that dramatic. Let's just settle on, ' It's better for everyone (and everything that can be dismantled) when I have something to do'.

To cut a short story long, I've started on another pilot script. The first one, whilst being wonderfully written, witty, sharp and entrancing is what I would class as a mainstream product, reaching out to several generations, working on several different levels. The new pilot is definitely more in league with my own particular passion, Sci-Fi.

It was an idea I had been kicking around for a couple of months and as I had so much fun writing the first pilot, Script A, I was intrigued as to how this would compare. Imaginatively we'll call it Script B.

Dealing with two different genres is very interesting. With Script A, most of the movement is within the dialogue, character interaction and the pull all that has on the unsuspecting audience. The Sci-Fi script however allowed me to play with environments, concepts and illusions, as well as guiding the characters around fantastical minefields. If I had to choose which type I prefer it would be a tough call. Although Script B appeals to more of a niche market, I found the environmental freedom liberating. However the mental challenges of Script A, of getting characters from point A to B without revealing point C until the last minute, is certainly stimulating.

I was wondering if anybody else had any thoughts/findings on this?

Lining up the Plot

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 12:52:00 +0000

Our covering letter is finished and now we have an outline to put together to explain how we see the sitcom developing from the pilot.

In some ways, this should be easy because we have ideas aplenty for future episodes. However, we need to make sure that each idea can pad out to a full, half hour show. We also need to decide what order they come in. And do we leave the final episode finishing on a cliffhanger, or do we leave things open for Series Two? Can we do both?

We want to develop our characters in some ways throughout the time covered by the series but we also want to include a couple of story arcs too.

Are we being realistic in our thinking? Are we attempting to cram too much into a series of half hour episodes? And why am I beginning to sound like an American sitcom? (Answers on a postcard...)

Polishing it off

noreply@blogger.com (Fi) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:44:00 +0000

Image by funkypancake via Flickr

No, I'm not talking about cake (although I do love a nice slice of Battenburg now and then). I'm actually talking about our pilot. It's finished, or rather, it's the best we can make it. Fingers crossed that the BBC think that our best is acceptable and ripe for development.

The next stage is to put together the covering letter to go with the pilot script and an outline of how we see the sitcom developing.

According to the BBC Writersroom guidelines, our covering letter should state,

who we are
a brief description of the sitcom
our writing experience.

That is what I'll be concentrating on today. Wish me luck.

Divide and conquer?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 11:38:00 +0000

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Now, Fi's last post raised some interesting questions.

Reading between the lines, the BBC is sending out a clear message saying that they don't want half baked ideas in sloppy written scripts, which I can fully sympathize with. After all nobody likes to have their time wasted.

However, taking the literal word, it implies that your entire premise hangs on a thread. You may have the bestest, brilliantist, fabulocistic setting and characters, but if your pilot is catching the BBC reader on an off day, then the whole lot is discarded, never to be returned to, ever. That seems a little callous to me.

So does this mean that it's going to be better to write two or three episodes, then submit the best one? Or is it better to write more than one unrelated pilots and hope that one of them is taken up? Questions, questions, too many questions.

One would hope that there are allowances and that minor faults may be overlooked. Otherwise it seems that you have to be an experienced script writer before you can become an experienced script writer. Paradoxical, and most frustrating.

I guess we'll find out in the coming weeks.

So this leads on to the next question, one that Fiona raised so eloquently: Is our script ready?

I personally feel that it's 99% there. There are a couple of lines of dialogue that need a little more zing, the rest of it is good to go.

We need to do something soon - I'm running out of nails to bite!

The best of the best of the best of the...

noreply@blogger.com (Fi) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:56:00 +0000

After a couple more sessions of rewriting our pilot, we had what we felt was a script good enough to send off so the next port of call was to have a look at the BBC Writersroom for information on how to submit an unsolicited script.

There's a lot of useful information on there but this one gem keeps stopping me short, "We want to see the best possible draft you can achieve...". It stands out to me because as a writer, I often fall into the trap of not knowing when to stop editing my work. And of course the doubts start to seep in. Is it the best we can achieve? Is it really? Would some additional tweaking improve what we already have?

Another piece of information on the BBC site that reinforces this doubt is this under 'What we don't accept',

"Resubmissions of work previously rejected, even after rewrites - make sure you make your script as good as you possibly can before sending it to us".

We're only going to get one chance to impress the BBC with this script so do we send the script as it is, or return and do our best to hone it to within an inch of its life?

I foresee an opened bottle of red wine and plenty of heated discussion tonight.

Baked: freshly or half?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:02:00 +0000

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We did it. For better or for worse - we resurrected our pilot script.

And do you know what? It's not three bad. Sure there were bits that need tweaking. It certainly needs a good dollop of direction adding but overall it holds its own and is nearly ready to have its umbilical cords cut and catapulted into the ether.

At this stage we are unsure as to whether it is, given our newbie status, a good decision to seek an agent or not. The other route seems to be a more promising path: approach the big channels directly. Either way, we have decided to concentrate on finalising the script over the next couple of days before worrying about such things.

The things that both Fiona and I are absolutely sure about include the fact that the concept is rock solid and is chock full of potential. It has drama, likeable characters, despicable adversaries, twists, turns and a plot that can run a marathon.

More soon.