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10 on TV Drama series

10 Ways Being A Freelance Writer Prepares Me For A Screenwriting Career

I love this post from Pinar cos it’s SO TRUE – I started off back in the day as a freelance writer and it has paid DIVIDENDS for my writing career. If you’re feeling the burn from the day job and want to make your writing PAY, then make sure you pay close attention!     So you want to be a successful, well-paid screenwriter. Me too. But it’s damn hard work, and the road to success is filled with rejection, tears and swear words. After all, competition is insane, and studios are buying fewer screenplays than they used to.… Read More »10 Ways Being A Freelance Writer Prepares Me For A Screenwriting Career

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Sitcom: Friends Vs Seinfeld by Eleanor Ball

You know TV programmes used for whimsical padding? Those you watch without scheduling, and when you’re exhausted; like Deal or No Deal or Family Guy, the TV equivalents of toast and jam? Those type of programmes take up a significant portion of my life (oh what a busy girl), so I was one of the loudest mourners as repeats of Friends ended last week. I was hammering tearfully on its already well-pummelled gravestone. Friends has to be the ultimate whimsical padding. For most it doesn’t result in any great frenzy of emotion; it doesn’t abuse the tear ducts or evacuate… Read More »Sitcom: Friends Vs Seinfeld by Eleanor Ball

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Guest Post: The Story Engine 2010, Pt 1 by Helen Bang

The mighty Helen Bang has been off to The Story Engine again — here’s part 1 of her notes from this year. State of the Nation Panel: Malcolm Wright, ITV, Michael Chaplin, writer, Barbara McKissock, producer The recession has affected television drama – advertising revenue is down and the BBC have had to cut because of the contribution required to the digital switchover. Much less is being commissioned and there have been cutbacks in development. Treatments are being commissioned, but whereas previously they moved rapidly to script, this is no longer the case. Michael related how he had a 6… Read More »Guest Post: The Story Engine 2010, Pt 1 by Helen Bang

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NEWSFLASH: Loglines Are Not Taglines. Here’s Why

Loglines Versus Taglines Loglines Are Not Taglines!! Cannot. Stress. This. Enough. Every week I see scores of pitches sent to my inbox, to my ears or via script listing sites. Yet every week I see loglines and taglines being mixed up!!! In the course of this post, I will breakdown which is why  you need to STOP mixing them up, ASAP. This Is A Tagline A tagline is the strapline you see on a movie poster or DVD box. Here are some: “He lived the American Dream… With a vengeance.” (Scarface) “An epic of miniature proportions” (A Bug’s Life) “EARTH –… Read More »NEWSFLASH: Loglines Are Not Taglines. Here’s Why

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Guest Post: The TV Forum at The Script Factory by Hilary Wright

Two days at the Soho Theatre in Dean Street for The Script Factory’s take on TV drama. Mornings featured lectures by Rob Ritchie: four-act structure, handling multiple storylines, writing to immovable deadlines, dialogue vs. pictures, rules and conventions of British TV drama formats… and that was just the first morning. As ever with Script Factory courses, participants receive a helpful binder of notes covering the content in great detail. I’ve heard some Script Factory presenters simply read these notes out, which is dull, but Ritchie was far more adept, rounding out the printed content with explanation, anecdote and reminder, deftly… Read More »Guest Post: The TV Forum at The Script Factory by Hilary Wright

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10 On TV Drama: UK versus US

SPOILERS: CSI & WAKING THE DEAD Many thanks to the one person a week average who has emailed me over the last couple of months, telling me that my “10 on TV Drama” series has only 9 articles. I had noticed, ta: it was all part of a deliberate plan. Honest. Basically I wanted to see how the latest series of CSI and Waking The Dead would pan out before concluding this series in the hope that it would help me decide, once and for all, how I feel about the state of UK drama versus the US model. It’s… Read More »10 On TV Drama: UK versus US

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10 On TV Drama: Mark Greig, Ashes To Ashes Vs. Life On Mars

It’s no surprise that the sequel/spin off to the celebrated Life On Mars has caused quite a stir: it was kind of inevitable that Ashes To Ashes would be considered not quite as good by critics. All manner of negatives have been chucked its way: it lacks the ambiguity of LoM. It takes inspiration from stuff like Dempsey And Makepeace instead of The Sweeney. Even Gene Hunt has been accused of being more like a “horrible dirty old man” than in the original where he was apparently infinitely cooler. This hasn’t stopped ATA being a big hit of course: myself,… Read More »10 On TV Drama: Mark Greig, Ashes To Ashes Vs. Life On Mars

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10 On TV Drama: 3 of The Best – Science Fiction

DISCLAIMER: I’ve no idea if “Science Fiction” is still allowed as a term around here or even if it’s applied to the shows I’ve listed below. If not, shake your heads in incredulous wonder at my lack of skillz man. I thank you. Oh: ans the usual SPOILER ALERT applies, natch. This will come as a shock to you. Are you sitting down? I like Science Fiction. Okay, SF. Futuristic stuff. Whatever it’s called these days. I don’t know loads about it, I haven’t even watched ALL of the series around and I’ve never laid eyes on Battlestar Galactica because… Read More »10 On TV Drama: 3 of The Best – Science Fiction

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10 on TV Drama: ITV’s New Drama

UPDATE: Friend of the blog Marc Pye wrote tonight’s episode I’ve just this minute found out, so watch it my friends!!!!!!! English Dave makes the very good point that ITV *might* just be the new BBC: the likes of Echo Beach etc marks a new era for the channel under the leadership of “Micky Grade” as ED likes to call him and I for one am well up for it. Man. Whilst many writers and would-be writers might say they “wouldn’t lower themselves” to write for the likes of Echo Beach, Moving Wallpaper, The Royal Today et al, the fact… Read More »10 on TV Drama: ITV’s New Drama

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10 On TV Drama: Soap, Flourescent TV

I love Soap Opera – oops, sorry: I mean “continuing drama”, foolish of me. Soap Opera is naturally a poor title, since it implies this kind of drama is melodramatic and somewhat, well, soapy which connotes the notion (to me at least) that whilst it might *seem* ordinary on the outside, if ingested it causes an unpleasant taste in the mouth and potential stomach upsets. Okay, that is not working at all. Let’s try again. I like Soap Opera because of this: That’s right, the scraps. Or fights, fisticuffs, rucks, rowdiness or whatever else you’d care to call them. A… Read More »10 On TV Drama: Soap, Flourescent TV

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10 On TV Drama: Sacrificing Fact For Drama

SPOILERS PRESENT History presents us Scribes with many stories that we can exploit, but it also presents us with a dilemma: just how true should a true story be? I’ve already discussed this notion from a philosophical standpoint here on the blog, but when it comes to historical drama on the telly, we’ve been shown, countless times, that it’s story and not fact we should stick to. Period drama is big business as far as TV Drama goes and post-90s in particular prodcos and institutions like The Beeb have been striking out beyond the “safe”, tried-and-tested adaptations of authors like… Read More »10 On TV Drama: Sacrificing Fact For Drama

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10 On TV Drama #4: Cops N’ Docs, Pt 2 – Dashing Docs and Naughty Nurses

SPOILERS PRESENT AS ALWAYS Carrying on with our “Cops N’ Docs” theme, I am going to investigate a long-running medical drama that I have watched from the start: Holby City. What makes it work, what brings the audiences back, week on, week out? Let’s take a look… HOLBY CITY (1999 – PRESENT) LOGLINE: The everyday lives, professional and personal, of the doctors, nurses and patients who find themselves, for various reasons, in the wards of the frenetic cardiac unit of Holby City General Hospital. Casualty began back in the eighties and whilst I have also watched this from the start,… Read More »10 On TV Drama #4: Cops N’ Docs, Pt 2 – Dashing Docs and Naughty Nurses

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