Screenwipe

Charlie Brooker did a series on BBC4 called screenwipe where he looked at TV. One episode from series three he talked to various different writers. It’s given me some good tips on how to do my script better and how to go about writing it. Graham Linehan is one of my favorite comedy writers. He is responsible for such things like Father Ted and Big Train. He is interviewed on the program and listening to him it sound like he approaches writing in the same way that I do.

 

After watching this, I came to the conclusion that there is no one way to write something, everyone has there own way of doing things. Lot of what these writers say contradicts what the other says. In Briton, sitcom writers tend to write in ether pairs, or on there own. In America, someone will come up with an idea and then a team of writers will be hired to write for the show. That’s one of the reasons American sitcoms go on for maybe 10 series and maybe have 20 episodes in each series, or season as the Americans call them, while British sitcoms might only have 2 or 3 series with 6 episodes in each. I much prefer British ones, they aren’t as in your face, and they are much more subtle. Also, as they have the same writers for the whole series, they have more of a consistent tone.