Probably not this thread BB. Let's see if I can respond and stay on topic...
The 2011 Sitcommission looks like a shining star in the comedy firmament. Unlike the comedy gala nonsense that's on at the moment!
Bunch of overpaid comedy hacks! Am I right folks?? Hey?? Am I right?? Where you from? Seattle?? Hey - my home town!
No. Sorry, just went off on a Leslie Nielsen riff.
I've had too much red wine and without even asking I know you have too BB ;-)
True, but on red wine I usually find things much funnier. 
I do too occasionally. But then I remember I like a lot of it.
Quote: Declan @ June 9 2011, 10:27 PM BSTThe new form of Sitcom Mission took off on Monday, with varying degrees of success.... I can't tell you who won, because we didn't have a voting system.
So the voting takes place at the shows on the 4th and the 11th, when 4 sitcoms per night are staged, and it's entirely done by a panel of expert judges, am I right? It sounds like a good arrangement, and I think it makes sense to reserve comment and review until those shows, so as not to prejudice the judgements that'll be made on those crucial nights.
The only downside is that it makes these early shows more like previews than the big night, which might explain the smaller audiences. Luckily, with Hat Trick picking up the tab, it's possible to go through these stages, which can only be a good thing.
Keep it up guys, I'm looking forward to hearing details when we can read them.
Kev F
Just to clear a few things up:
There isn't any voting this year. After the 7.30 show on the 11th, Simon, Declan and Hat Trick's Development Officer Claire Broughton will decide which five are going through to the Grand Final. We'll leave it up to you to decide if Simon and Declan amount to 'industry expert judges', but Claire definitely is.
Hat Trick are very generously putting up the fabulous prize of a £5000 half-hour commission for the winner, as well as a meeting with their writer's agency and all the press and PR for the shows.
Every 1's A Critic take any profit from box office after paying for the hire of the theatre.
It seems quite quiet on here, considering performances are now in full flow.
I don't know what the format of the shows was last year but personally I find it a bit frustrating that I have to travel to London 4 times over 4 weeks if I want to see all 8 finalists.
The other items on the programme make it an interesting evening but all eight in one evening would have been feasible and made it easier to compare and contrast, as well as a lot cheaper including train fares (but also would have brought in less ticket sales income of course). It wasn't clear from the theatre website initially why it goes on for so many weeks and what is on each week. The facebook events are more informative.
Also, I got the impression from somewhere that the 5pm shows were for industry professionals only so that may explain why they are not well attended, as they are not being promoted to the public.
Considering so many people submitted for this, I am surprised the shows are not selling out. It amazes me how so many people seem to lose interest in these things if they are not amongst the selected few. However, many who submitted may be unaware that the shows are now on. I think I only found out because I had joined the facebook group. I am surprised we haven't been mailed details of the shows via the same newsletter system (mailchimp?) that was set up to inform us all of the shortlist initially.
Not trying to miss the point, but you can see all the finalists over just 2 weeks: July 4th and July 11th, which feature 4 of the 8 finalists each.
I have a feeling that as in the past the fate of each sitcom has depended on audience voting, the writers of each will have gone out of their way to load the audience with as many partisan friends as possible. This year's system is a much fairer and more professional one, but does present more of a marketing challenge!
I do recommend the shows if you can make them, I've seen both so far and am learning a lot about both what does and what doesn't translate from the page. And while I understand the people asking for the shows to be filmed, firstly that's honestly not going to do them justice, and secondly the competition rules state that the writers retain copyright of their entries, so it's not as straightforward as you might assume.
Surely it would be straightforward enough to include in the rules the proviso, that all entrants agree to have their productions filmed and broadcast over the internet. I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't agree to all that free publicity. Or at the very least have the option to opt in or out of their work being broadcast
Quote: Krusty @ June 15 2011, 8:23 AM BSTOr at the very least have the option to opt in or out of their work being broadcast
You can, it's called not submitting...
Quote: andyblacksheep @ June 15 2011, 7:42 AM BSTAnd while I understand the people asking for the shows to be filmed, firstly that's honestly not going to do them justice, and secondly the competition rules state that the writers retain copyright of their entries, so it's not as straightforward as you might assume.
Hi Andy, I beg to disagree with the filming etc. the 'piece' should come across just as well on film as it/they should be like a studio/audience type sitcom.
If only I lived in London, I could have, with permission, have filmed them
.
Would you have filmed them with three or five cameras though BB??
Maybe a case for audio?
@Krusty: "Surely it would be straightforward enough to include in the rules the proviso, that all entrants agree to have their productions filmed and broadcast over the internet."
It would be, but they didn't. If you want to suggest what they might do next time, that's fine.
The thing is, those scripts have a definite commercial value. They are already being read by a major production company as part of the competition, and will be seen by many more if they reach the final. They don't need the publicity at this point. They certainly don't need the industry people who will attend the final being biased by seeing a low-quality copy of a black box, work-in-progress staging. And the same argument holds after the competition - win or lose, I'd prefer it if the first contact an industry professional had with my script was under my quality control, not the arbitary whim of the internet.
You don't want the shows online because it will be good publicity for the scripts. You want them online because you want to see them. I can understand that, but I don't think it's sufficient reason.
Quote: andyblacksheep @ June 15 2011, 9:13 AM BST@Krusty: "Surely it would be straightforward enough to include in the rules the proviso, that all entrants agree to have their productions filmed and broadcast over the internet."
It would be, but they didn't. If you want to suggest what they might do next time, that's fine.
The thing is, those scripts have a definite commercial value. They are already being read by a major production company as part of the competition, and will be seen by many more if they reach the final. They don't need the publicity at this point. They certainly don't need the industry people who will attend the final being biased by seeing a low-quality copy of a black box, work-in-progress staging. And the same argument holds after the competition - win or lose, I'd prefer it if the first contact an industry professional had with my script was under my quality control, not the arbitary whim of the internet.
You don't want the shows online because it will be good publicity for the scripts. You want them online because you want to see them. I can understand that, but I don't think it's sufficient reason.
And this.
Quote: bushbaby @ June 15 2011, 9:07 AM BSTthe 'piece' should come across just as well on film as it/they should be like a studio/audience type sitcom.
Yes, and as we know all studio/audience type sitcoms are filmed in a black box theatre space, with a week's rehearsal, on one home-movie standard digital camera with an in-built microphone, balanced on a fixed stand at the back of the audience.
Seriously?
Many productions use one camera. They could have been filmed when fully rehearsed and not before the audience.
@MarcP, you first do the production at full length, then waist up then close up, then edit ......been there, done that, got the T-shirt, know all about continuity 
And I wasn't thinking in terms of YouTube/online; more to put on DVDs to sell