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TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 INTRO DUCTION 2 FROM JOHN WELLS, 6 Executive Producer ER, The West Wing CHAPTER ONE: WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT TV DRAMA SERIES? 11 Three Qualities of Episodic TV Series 12 Episodic Characterization 12 The "Long Narrative" 14 Anthologies 14 Series with closure 14 Serials 15 Collaboration 17 Five Myths About Television 18 Myth 1: TV is Small Movies 18 Myth 2: TV is Cheap 23 Myth 3: You Can't Do That on TV 24 Myth 4: All TV Series are the Same 26 Myth 5: Television is a Wasteland 26 The Rules of Series TV 28 * An hour show has to fit an hour. 28 * Series deadlines are for real. 29 * Drama series have a 4-Act structure. 31 * Each series fits a franchise. 33 GUEST SPEAKER: DAVID MILCH 41 Executive Producer Deadwood, NYPD Blue CHAPTER TWO: 49 HOW SHOWS GET ON TV AND THE TV SEASON Chart: Traditional Two-Year Development and Production 50 Year One 53 April: Create Your Proposal 53 (1) Write a TV Format 54 (2) Write a Pilot 59 (3) Write a "Backdoor Pilot" 60 (4) Create a Presentation Reel 60 (5) Attach a "Package" 62 May: The Production Company 63 June: The Studio 67 July and August: The Network 69 Chart: New Series Development at One Network 72 September to November: The Pilot Script 74 December and January: The Green-light 78 February to April: Pilot Season 79 May: Pick-Ups 80 * Full season 82 * Short order 82 * Midseason 83 * Backup scripts 83 Year Two 84 June: Staffing 84 July and August: Write Like Crazy 86 Chart: Sample Character Arcs for a Season 89 September and October: The Debut 91 November through March: Completing the Season 93 April: Hiatus 95 An Alternate Universe 95 GUEST SPEAKER: JOHN SACRET YOUNG 97 Writer/producer The West Wing, Creator, China Beach CHAPTER THREE: 109 HOW A CLASSIC SCRIPT IS CRAFTED The Dramatic Beat 110 A, B, C Stories 111 Chart: Basic Four-Act Grid 113 The 2-Page Scene 114 Using the Grid 115 Teasers 117 About these Excerpts 119 Excerpt from NYPD Blue, "Simone Says" [16 script pages] Analysis 122 Opening Scenes 122 Scene 1 126 Scene 2 127 Scene 3 127 Scene 4 127 Scene 5 128 Scene 6 129 The Second Excerpt 131 Excerpt from NYPD Blue, "Hearts and Souls" [17 script pages] Analysis 132 Cold Opening 132 Act One 134 What You Should Do Next 136 GUEST SPEAKER: STEVEN BOCHCO 137 Executive Producer NYPD Blue, Blind Justice, Hill Street Blues, Murder One, and many other shows CHAPTER FOUR: 155 WRITING YOUR OWN EPISODE "Hearing Voices" (essay) 155 Finding your stories 158 Breaking your stories 162 (1) Credibility 162 (2) Rooting interest 162 The Grid 166 Chart: Basic Four-Act Grid 167 The Outline 168 How to write your outline 170 Outline Sample 173 Alternate outline form 176 Fragment of ER outline 179 Sonny's List 180 Your First Draft 181 Sample script format [2 script pages] 186 Trouble-shooting If you're running long 188 If you're running short 189 At the end of it all... 189 Your Second Draft 190 Your Polish 193 What's next? 194 GUEST SPEAKER: GEORGIA JEFFRIES 195 Sup. Producer China Beach, writer-producer Cagney & Lacey CHAPTER FIVE: 201 IT'S WHO YOU KNOW: WORKING ON STAFF The Staff from Hell 205 Mistake 1: Don't separate from the staff. 206 Mistake 2: Don't mix personal and work issues. 207 Mistake 3: Don't have other plans. 208 Mistake 4: Don't work at home instead. 209 Mistake 5: Don't be precious about your script. 210 Mistake 6: Don't "dis" the culture of the staff. 212 Mistake 7: Don't work on a series wrong for you. 213 The Good Staff 214 A Slice of Life 215 The Staff Ladder 219 1. Freelance Writer 220 2. Staff Writer 224 3. Story Editor / Executive Story Editor 226 4. Producer 228 5. Supervising Producer 229 6. Creative Consultant 230 7. Executive Producer / Show-Runner 231 GUEST SPEAKER: ELLIOT WEBB 233 Agent, Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann Agency CHAPTER SIX: HOW TO BREAK IN 237 The rules: Write what you love. 241 Don't spec the series you plan to pitch. 242 Ask the right questions about a series. 243 Have the right tools. 246 Have representation. 246 Be in Los Angeles. 252 The secret of success 253 GUEST SPEAKER: JOHN FURIA 256 Former President, Writers Guild of America CHAPTER SEVEN: 261 LIFE AFTER FILM SCHOOL: CAUTIONARY TALES AND SUCCESS STORIES The Class of '97 261 Three Years Later 270 Seven Years after Graduating 276 GUEST SPEAKER: ALLISON DOLLAR 289 Co-President Interactive Television Association CONCLUSION 296 APPENDIX 1: 300 RESOURCES FOR YOU APPENDIX 2: 302 PERMISSIONS APPENDIX 3: 304 SOURCES GLOSSARY 306 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 319
Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication:
Television authorship.
Television serials -- Authorship.