Too much f**king perspective.

Quote: Frantically @ July 27 2010, 9:24 PM BST

I don't get some of the (admittedly extremely polite) bitterness aimed the Sitcommission and the Sitcom Trials.

My view is they owe you f*ck all. They're presenting an opportunity - take it or leave it - to try and have your work seen by people in the business.

You can get all pissy about the shortcomings of the opportunity and how much work it'd be and how it'd be better if it was organised by you, but at the end of the day you're not offering the opportunity - Simon, Declan and Kev are.

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Calm down calm down! (as a comedy writer once wrote). I don't get any sense of bitterness here. Defend something to the hilt by all means but work out if it's being attacked first!

As far as I see it a few people are pondering whether the format of the second incarnation of the Sitcom Mission might be a better or worse use of their time than working on stuff to be pitched through other avenues. That doesn't seem disresepectful or inappropriate to me. Everyone has to work out what's best for them.

Well, we worked it all out anyway.

...and calm down yourself.

Quote: Frantically @ July 28 2010, 7:16 AM BST

Well, we worked it all out anyway.

...and calm down yourself.

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?

Quote: chipolata @ July 27 2010, 11:19 PM BST

She shacked up with a millionaire thriller writer... we really must go for a drink sometime!

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What will happen with the three episodes? Will they get performed, or are they only used to select the eight show ideas that will be showcased?

Hi Dolly

We'll still be putting one 15 minute episode on, it just means that we'll have more material to choose from.

Authors who can only come up with the goods once aren't the people we want to be showcasing. Agents wouldn't, and production companies wouldn't either. The author may have written something brilliant, but unless they can write something good/great consistently (after a number of rewrites, obviously), it doesn't make sense for us to showcase them.

Hope that helps.

Cheers, Declan

Ah, I see. Cheers.

Quote: Frantically @ July 27 2010, 9:24 PM BST

*Apologies to Mr Azure for the unforgivable use of the double-question-mark. ;-)

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Double question marks are all right, but five just seems silly.

(unless silliness is meant, of course)

Hi, I am a very experienced BBC trained Comedy Producer/Director. I run a Online
One to one email mail/skype comedy script mentoring course. My aim is to help writers get there script and pitch in the best possible shape for them to send into the Indies & Broadcasters. Email me. See my profile and look me up on IMDB Roy Gould

Speaking from a position of almost total ignorance and inexperience...the three episodes thing seems like a good idea.If it wasn't difficult or challenging it would hardly be worth doing for anybody.
I am at the stage now that, probably, all have you have been a long time ago.I entered last year,tried to learn from my feedback and rewrite now onto the books and learn a bit more and try new ideas with all my new 'knowledge'.
Of course it's totally fair enough if people think it's better for them to pursue other avenues to increase their chances of success but,speaking personally (but there may be others like me) I don't know what the other 'avenues' are or how to go about finding them so this is wonderful for the likes of me.
I have,at least,I think learned one thing from from the books and others that know much much more than me and that is that the best way for us to improve our writing is by writing...therefore,I would say,everyone that does enter will benefit regardless of getting through the first stage or not.

Let's not forget that Simon and Declan are running a business specialising in sitcom workshops, including one called What's Wrong With My Sitcom? And one of the first rules of business is create demand for your product, so it actually makes good financial sense for them to artificially create the need for yet more sitcom scripts, if only for their own competition.

It's the Writersroom I feel sorry for in all this.

Don't knock the Writersroom, I got my first break with them. And - shock, horror - actually got paid actual money to write another script of a sitcom, as opposed to...whatever it is these guys are offering.

No, I'm not knocking the Writersroom. Just noting that they must get a tsunami of sitcoms sent to them after the Mission/Trials each year, and now they're going to get even more this time round.