Pilot commission for college writer
Well, hello there, and sorry not to have been around since August. I've been waiting to have something to say rather than just dropping in for a ramble, but now there are a few things of note.
The best news is that a script we developed during the first year of the college has been commissioned for a pilot by BBC3, a tribute to the talent of its writer, John Warburton, and very pleasing indeed to us. It is currently called The Inn Mates, and is being made in the new year by my colleagues in Comedy North, which makes sense since John lives in Manchester. I will be joining Jon Mountague from Comedy North as executive producer.
As things develop in terms of director and cast I'll return to it here, but to have got from an early draft to a pilot commission has been an interesting process and illustrative of the way development works.
When I first encountered the script, then called Sunday Lunchers, it involved a cast of, I think, 22. So my first note to John, after saying how much I liked the script, was to suggest that a cast of that magnitude was completely impractical, both in terms of finance and logistics.
The show was designed to take place in real time over Sunday lunch in a pub carvery, with some major characters as the focus but a number of vignettes as we dipped in and out of conversations. While all the vignettes were funny, they proved a bit of a distraction from the main story and the main people, so we embarked on a process of pruning as we worked towards the college showcase in March.
In the end there was a cast of twelve, which felt like enough to do justice to the setting, but also not too many to get in the way of a main story and three sub-plots, and for the showcase 15-minute extract there were ten characters, which made for a busy quarter of an hour.
The showcase performance went down very well, so it seemed a good idea to put the show into the commissioning process as a potential pilot for BBC3, since that is currently the channel which offers most pilot opportunities.
However, aiming the show at a particular channel meant that channel requirements had to be taken into account, so while older characters stayed, the central characters needed to be reimagined as younger. If this had meant doing violence to the script, then we wouldn't have undertaken it - fiddling with something just to get it on risks destroying its soul, and this is certainly a show with soul.
John did that work, but in conversation with the channel there was a debate around whether the show should be a single-location piece - a la The Smoking Room, or whether it might benefit from seeing the characters in their lives outside the pub. There was a preference for the latter, which in turn meant revisiting the script to explore how it might work.
Not surprisingly, John was a bit boggled. It seemed as if the basis of the show he had created was being destroyed, and that massive rewrites would be needed. But once the dust settled, getting out and about made sense in terms of seeing characters in action rather than hearing them talk about action, and also because it was perfectly feasible to move a scene from the pub elsewhere without changing a word.
So we submitted the revised script, it was put into the commissioning mix, and last week we heard that we were being asked to make a pilot.
As I say, I'll report on the process as it continues, but there are a couple of things to learn from the story so far. One is that it's pointless to write more than one script of a potential series, since a producer and broadcaster can make radical suggestions. Another is that notes and requests can throw what a show is about into focus. This was devised as a large bunch of people in a pub every Sunday lunchtime, whose lives did not greatly intersect. It is now about a smaller bunch of people who use the same pub, and their connection in the pub and outside it.
Warburton news aside, we're in the middle of a two-day workshop this week, where we've been reading aloud and talking about the scripts which will be showcased next March. We're having a session with Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, discussing their lives and times and how their careers managed to overcome an early script rejection from me. And we will be going to meet the head of radio entertainment, Jane Berthoud, to talk about radio needs and opportunities.
I'll write more about the workshop shortly, and also about exciting developments in Belfast when I return from a visit there at the end of the month.
Meanwhile, I have recently discovered (decades late) the Parker series of noir novels by Richard Stark. In an introduction to one of them, John Banville says that part of Stark's method is 'what can go wrong will go wrong'. This is good for crime fiction, but also for comedy, I think.
Back soon.
© MMX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~44~RS~)
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That's good news for John Warburton. Thanks for this blog, Micheal. It illustrates how much hard work, thick skin and tenacity goes into producing a pilot episode.
I have a question: I reached the final 30 last year and now know how to improve my script. If I rewrite it, can I submit it next year (if there is an Academy, of course) or would I ned to create a new piece?
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"Would I NED?" What I'd NEED to do is proofread before posting.
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@notStoppard
I don't know about next year yet, but there'd be nothing to stop you submitting the same script if there is a scheme and it follows the same pattern.
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Seconding Micheal's recommendation of the Parker novels - they're excellent.
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Congrats on the College of Comedy commission, Michael... but 22 characters in the first draft? I'm assuming Warburton was asleep during the "Recommended Number of Characters In A Sitcom" Module? ;)
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@Aspie
Nice to hear from you! All we need is Mrs M and the party will be complete.
It was actually as a result of working on John Warburton's script that I introduced the module this year.
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'All we need is Mrs M and the party will be complete.'
You rang, My Lord?
Echoing Aspie's congratulations on the College of Comedy commission, Micheal - it sounds intriguing and a very steep learning curve for writer John W. But now that you've been asked to make the pilot does that mean The Inn Mates is a step closer to being commissioned for a full series, or do you have to wait to see what the feedback is from the pilot before the suits decide its fate?
And where is Mr P? Not a sound from him since I unwisely asked if he lived anywhere near Midsomer....
Mrs M
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@Mrs M
Hello! I'm glad you're still around. I'm sure MisterP will manage a message from his rural fastness at some point, particularly if there is a joke opportunity attached.
A pilot is a positive step on the way to a series. People don't like to invest a lot of money if they don't feel there are future possibilities, but there are no guarantees. Making a pilot allows you to look at what you've got, whether something needs to change, whether the cast works ...and also obviously to gather opinions from the channel and from commissioning and from the audience, via research.
Conventional sitcom wisdom is that you need to make a series to know what the show is, but a pilot is a very helpful step towards that.
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Let's just hope it's not a Pontious Pilot and the BBC washes it's hands of it.
Well done Micheal you forced me to write the above!
For some reason I couldn't log in and it took me a while to work out how.
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@MisterP
You've just made Mrs M happy! I think they've made some general blog changes, but sorry for the difficulty. It was worth it for a trademark MisterP joke.
@All
Here's a bit of a report on the workshop days last week which I much enjoyed, not least seeing everyone again. We had a good session with Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, whose best advice was to look for whatever writing work you can get while waiting for your first original commission. It might be work on a show or with people that aren't immediately to your taste, but everything helps to gain experience, learn more about craft,discover what makes people laugh (or not), earn some money and build up a CV, which will in turn help to attract an agent, who will then promote your work of genius.
We also visited Henry Wood House, where radio entertainment is based, and spent an hour with the department head, Jane Berthoud, who said that radio was an excellent place for writers to start their careers, and also a recognised starter home for shows which move across to television, from Miranda Hart (Radio 2 to BBC2) back through Mitchell and Webb, Little Britain and many others.
Jane said something as important in the television context as it is for radio, and that was - if you want to write for a medium, study it. Listen to the radio, watch television, don't just have an idea you think is brilliant and send it off. If it's too like another idea, no one will want it. If it's too out there, it's unlikely to be wanted. Look at the market.
Different channels have different requirements and personalities, and work should be tailored to that, rather than writing out of your head and hoping it might fit.
The main purpose of the two days was to read aloud the six writers' work in progress, which is in various stages of completion. This is not because of idleness - they're a notably diligent bunch - but in a couple of cases because of testing ideas or stories which led up blind alleys.
One of the things I've learned over the years is that in every series there is one which script which doesn't work, and massive amounts of effort can be expended on trying to make it work, whereas the best solution is to bin it and have another idea, which is what we're doing.
Sitting at the centre of a group of writers without massive experience in narrative comedy for broadcast is rewarding and fun, and also calls on all of my skills, which is good for keeping me on my toes. The most reassuring thing is that everyone is really funny, because one of the skills I don't posses is the ability to create a funny bone where none exists. I can help improve jokes, help structure jokes, point out where a page of script needs more jokes - but that's as far as I can go.
The other thing the writers share is that they all have very disparate and original voices, so switching from thinking about a male stripper with a damaged penis to a Star Wars wedding to a woman who hates robins makes the college anything but dull.
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That all sounds really exciting, congrats to the writer.
I was so glad to read that older characters have remained in the script.
I can't wait to see the pilot
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@Mister P,
I share your pain re logging in - I thought it was just yours truly. The other day it took me so long to log in that Jose was able to walk the dog round the block five times. Anyway, enough of my domestic problems - have you won the Golden Dagger yet?
@Micheal,
Interesting to read that, because of the demographic of BBC3, there seemed to be pressure to re-invent some of the central characters and make them much younger. I can understand a writer needing to change and tinker with dialogue and storyline but it must have been particularly difficult for John W to have to make major changes to his characters because they were, ahem, too old.
Any idea when the pilot might hit the screen?
Mrs M
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Mrs M, what really bugs me is that there are so many millions of oldies that watch TV as opposed to youngsters that are out and partying.
But I guess there's a young team deciding what is aired and what is not.
I get bored out of my mind each evening when there is absolutely nothing on for my age.
Then again we are too old to pay a license now
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@MrsM
There is a good range of ages in the show,and John hasn't had to do any major surgery. More cosmetic nips and tucks. It's very much the same show it has always been, but it would be a bit mad not to take account of the personality of the channel that wants to pilot it. I should imagine it would be broadcast in late spring, but since we haven't made it yet, talking about transmission is a bit premature.
@Damejuggles
It's a fact that BBC3 is aimed at younger viewers, but there are three other channels offering a broad range of programmes. Surely there must be something to tickle your fancy?
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@MrsM. Is this a dagger I see before me? .... Alas not. :)
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@Mister P
Talking of daggers, I stumbled across one of your tomes in my local (bookshop) the other day in the DIY section. Is this an omen, do you think?
@Micheal
Three nil. He he he.....
Mrs M
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@MrsM Well the books are largely autobiographical. :) I hope you bought it!
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@Mrs M
Yes, I could hear Jose chuckling. Sadly, Chelsea were better than us. We'll see what the children do tonight against the grown-up Man City.
@Mr P
What a fascinating life you lead!
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@MichealJ That's Sheringham for you! :)
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### @Damejuggles
It's a fact that BBC3 is aimed at younger viewers, but there are three other channels offering a broad range of programmes. Surely there must be something to tickle your fancy?####
'fraid not, we're down to listening to Christmas songs on the music channels, mind you, I'd never get fed up of Slade
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