I asked similar a few weeks ago.

Quote: Kev F @ September 6 2012, 9:03 PM BST

As usual, when left to me, things are either vague or all to play for, whichever way you look at it. If you've seen The Sitcom Trials at the Camden Head (see a video clip of the Eurovision Sitcom Contest here) you'll know it's a small space so we can fully stage scripts without needing a microphone to be heard, or we can do the script in radio-style, script in hand, encouraging the viewers to treat it as they would treat a radio recording.

And as always the rule is make it funny and we'll find a way. Already we have on board three of the directors who delivered the Eurovision Sitcom Contest at really short notice, only this time they'll have a much longer run in. So, if your script would be best treated as a radio sitcom, they'll do it that way. If fully-staged is the way and is feasible, then that'll happen.

If you want sound effects, we'll see what can be done. Check out the Bristol Sitcom Trials, Vince is the King of the sound effects. And if your script is full of stage directions which are so impossible to write into the dialogue or get round with sound effects, then by all means the cast might end up reading the stage directions (I'm not a fan of it, but the Manchester team pull it off with style).

Write the script, make it funny, we'll do the rest if it merits it. As I said at the top, think radio. Remember, the BBC buys sitcoms for radio and you could realistically get something read and made for the radio. The Sitcom Trials Sci Fi Special might help.

Kev F

View original

Yeah, what Trinder said. (Thanks for that, saved me the bother of repeating myself). But you were right to ask. It's all about creating funny stuff, so the rules are there for the guidance of the wise and the obedience of fools. Though do obey them if you can, obviously.

Another top tip everyone, when you're uploading your scripts, don't bother clicking the button which notifies the rest of the egroup that a script has been uploaded. It just means people getting sent the same message over and over. And with 17 scripts currently entered, I'm expecting a deluge in the next three days.

If you want, why not start reading and reviewing the scripts that are already up there? You can't vote yet, not until they're all up and the deadline's passed. But you could break the back of the script reading and get a head start on the process.

Remember, we're asking you to Read, Review & Vote on as many scripts as you can (and I'd certainly think we could all manage those first 17 entries). If you can, please post a Twitter length review for each script (to prove you've read it and to benefit the writers) and give it a Yes, Maybe or No vote as to whether it should be showcased in The Sitcom Trials.

The Sci Fi Sitcom Trials Files - here be scripts.

Only just noticed this: 'The deadline for uploading scripts is midnight Sat Nov 4th.'

A sci-fi date - I like it! :-)

Quote: Alan O'Brien @ November 3 2012, 3:07 PM GMT

Only just noticed this: 'The deadline for uploading scripts is midnight Sat Nov 4th.'

A sci-fi date - I like it! :-)

View original

In space no-one can hear you go d'oh!

Looks like we've all got a timey-wimey extension on our script entries. Start reading and preparing to vote everyone. As of 4.45 Saturday there are 26 entries in the file.

I'm fine tuning mine now - I expect others are as well so may be many more scripts by midnight

First ever sitcom trial entry uploaded - S.U. There's a lot of entries, I expect a few more too before the deadline

So, the scripts are in* for the Sci Fi Sitcom Trials and it's time to read, review, and vote on them all.

"The scripts are in?*" you cry? "Then why is there a suspicious asterisk beside the phrase 'the scripts are in'* every time you mention it?"

Well spotted. There's an asterisk beside the phrase "the scripts are in*" because someone, mentioning no names, made a cock-up when he, or she, announced the deadline for the script entries. I, or rather he, announced the deadline as midnight Saturday 4th November. I know.

So, though I clearly intended the deadline to be Saturday 3rd November, I wrote what I wrote and we have to stick with it. So I realise there may be more scripts still to come in. But for the time being there are 31 entries in the Files, and I urge you all to begin the process of reading, reviewing and voting on them. Here are the 31 entries that came in by the intended / stroke / phoney deadline:

51 Roswell Rd - David Tellett
A Womb With A View - Andrew Blair
Alice & The Genie - Neil Tollfree
Aliens - Jim Spiers
Apocalypse - Pollard & Blair
Apocalypse Cake Sale - Vic Gore
Area 47a - David Hawke
Burrax - anon
Chaos = Noel Mulcahy
Chimps - Eoin Carney
Clarice - Jonathan Kirby
Country Rock - Neil Tollfree
Dome Sweet Dome - Tom Pinnock
Event Horizon Crescent - Jeremy Limb
Face-Time - Brian Teles
Great Space - Robin Wiggs
Hey Human Get Out Of My Wife - Elliot Loon
King Chicken & The Ning Nings - Kev Page
Men In Brown - Andrew Tucker
Not From Round Here - anon
Our Mutual Friend - Alan O'Brien
SU - Thomas Smith
Space Vets - Jonathan Clark
Stanburg - Pollard & Blair
Starship Impossible - Myles McLeod
The Crew - Kieron Moore
The Princess of Darkness Wants A Tan - Oliver Ley
The Time Travels of Dr Choo - anon
Them & Us - Adrian Maitra
Time Travel Tours - Carter John
Where No MAN Has Gone Before - Robin Brown

And my award for best titles go to Hey Human Get Out Of My Wife and King Chicken & The Ning Nings. Let's hope the scripts are as good as their titles. I look forward to reading these, and to seeing what else comes in by tonight's "as announced" deadline.

Happy reading everyone.

Kev F Sutherland
Producer
The Sitcom Trials

Sci Fi Sitcom Trials script entries: http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/SitsVac/files/Sitcom%20Trials%20SF%20Special%202012/

How to vote: http://sitcomtrials.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/how-do-i-vote-in-sitcom-trials.html

Right, the midnight deadline is well and truly passed now, whichever version of Nov 4th you were looking at, and the unexpected deluge only brought in a small handful of last minute scripts. We now have 36 in total.

Though the author of BFF 3000 Sitcom Trials.trelby (mckeebop) will have to have another go at uploading. Cos I don't know what format ".trelby" is, but my Mac has never heard of it and neither have I.

Could you upload it as a .doc or .pdf? Otherwise it might not get many votes.

Seriously, anybody else come across a .trelby before?

I have read all but 6 scripts so far, and big praise all round for the standard of scripts and imagination on show this time round. I'll get through the last few tomorrow, but I don't want to be the first to upload my votes. I shall, however, be proud to boast I'm the first to have read every single one, cos I bet I will be.

Kev F

Google says Trelby is a free open source screenwriting program that also exports to PDF. www.trelby.org
Might even download it and have a looksee

Here are my votes - please remember these are just my opinions so please don't take offence. I couldn't open the Trelby file so I will vote on that when and if it is re-uploaded. PS do I get a prize for voting first?

51 Roswell Road
Nice characters. I like the story, but felt they should be more jokes. Also it didn't have a cliffhanger. Maybe

A womb with a view
It was hard to tell the characters apart and it didn't tickle my funny bone. No

Alice and the Genie
Good characterization and some good lines, but not sure about the story. Even so Yes

Aliens
It takes a while to get into the action and the jokes didn't land with me. No

Apocalypse
The premise of unemployed graduates seems apt, but it was hard to distinguish between the characters. No

Apocalyptic Cake Sale
We didn't find out who they were until page 4 and not much action. No

Area 47
I like the characters, but didn't do it for me. No

Bunk
I thought the opening advert was too long and could have received the same result in half the time. Also the Umbongo joke may be lost on younger audiences. No

Burrax
Some good lines, but overall I felt it wasn't strong enough. No

Chaos
I like the premise of this script, but not sure the script lives up to it. But I would be interested to see more of this. Maybe

Chimp
There were some good lines, but felt it was missing an ending. Maybe

Clarice
You could see the ending coming from the first line and I found several of the lines too vague to make sense. No

Country Rock
I liked the characters, but felt they over shadowed the story. I would like to see those characters in a different situation. Even so Yes

Dome Street Dome
Didn't tickle me and the exposition was chunky. No

Event Horizon Crescent
Hard to distinguish between characters and I know it's supposed to be tongue in cheek, but it's not my kind of humour. No

Face Time
Good opening joke. It was difficult to tell the characters apart, although I got the impression the characters were intended to be similar. Some good jokes, and some not so good jokes - I cringed at the masturbating/period stuff - not because of the subject matter but because they're retro (sorry). Maybe

Great Space
Some good lines, but seems to take a while for the action to happen. The end of Act 1 didn't leave me wanting more. No

Hey Human Get Out Of My Wife
Liked the idea, but there was a lot of back and fourth dialogue that didn't really move the story forward. No

King Chicken and The Ning Nings
I was not keen on the audience stuff and the exposition joke was over explained. The end of act 1 didn't entice me No

Men In Brown
Some good lines, although I don't like the Miss Derns gimmick of - no wait that is what I meant. It takes a while to pin down what's actually happening, even though it is hinted at I think it should be made clear sooner. Maybe

Not From Round Here
I like the opening, but maybe a stronger reason for the man tipping the cow is needed. Other than that it was hard to see who the main character was. I assume it was Graham but he was the least developed. No

Novas FM
Characters are too similar - I tried the trick of reading just the dialogue and couldn't distinguish between the two. And the action seems slow. No

Our Mutual Friend
Didn't think it started well with half a page of he's gay/he's not bit. Not my kind of humour throughout. No

SU
This one is mine so you can guess where my votes going. Yes

Sky Level
I liked the premise. The "horrible anus" joke went right over my head. As far as action goes nothing much happens. No

Space Cowgirl
The cliffhanger didn't do it for me and the back and fourth dialogue didn't move things along. No

Space Vets
There's a lot of directions in the script which makes it difficult to read and get the full impact of the dialogue. Other than that I liked the premise, but the execution didn't do it for me. No

Stanburg
I know this sounds silly considering it's a sci fi script but it didn't seem believable. I can't see the link between book shop and exorcisms - unless it's a supernatural bookstore? The script didn't do it for me. No

Starship Impossible
I liked this from the start. Some good lines and I liked the ""I know and you know" attitude of the narrator. Yes

The Crew
Think this would benefit from the introduction of a narrator who could take the burden of exposition and then the captains long monologues could be cut. As is. No

The Princess of Darkness
I think maybe they are too many characters. It could benefit from the parents being killed before we join them and we find out by the princess telling someone about the murders. Some good lines, but a bit crowded and slow right now. No

The Time Travels of Dr Choo
It's very short, not sure it would fit in with the other scripts on the performance night. Also it didn't tickle me. No

Them and Us
A lot of characters, but some good lines. Maybe

Time Travel Tours
Good premise, but not a lot of action. But it did have some good lines so Maybe

Where No Man Has Gone Before
A lot of characters/extras, not sure how it would be staged at the trials. Besides that it didn't really do it for me. No

Curses, beaten to the punch. But well done for getting that first set of votes in. I, too, have finished reading reviewing and voting on all 36 scripts. I won't post my votes yet, because some people place undue importance on my opinion as producer so I'll wait till more have gone up. I will tell you my total scores though. I've given 5 Yesses, 10 Maybes, 17 Nos, 2 abstentions because I may be involved in their development, and one I couldn't read (when I click on BFF 3000 I get a screen with "File Not Found"). I am now agonising over the fact that this adds up to 35 and not the 36 that it should. While I'm adding them up again, you all have fun with your reading.

Remember you don't have to read all the scripts and you have until Nov 17th to get your votes in. Early votes will really help us start planning the show, by the way.

Kev F

Sci Fi Sitcom Trials script entries: http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/SitsVac/files/Sitcom%20Trials%20SF%20Special%202012/

How to vote: http://sitcomtrials.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/how-do-i-vote-in-sitcom-trials.html

Okay, news to this sort of thing and also my first time I've reviewed anything for the Sitcom Trials. Hopefully I've done it right. So, here goes...

51 ROSWELL ROAD. Not a great deal of jokes, not much of a cliffhanger either. Needed a greater sense of urgency. NO.

A WOMB WITH A VIEW TO A KILL. Good title but that was it I'm afraid. Not funny at all. NO

ALICE & THE GENIE. Couple of funny moments but a bit too derivative for my liking. NO.

ALIENS. Slow moving, unfunny jokes. Sorry. NO.

APOCALYPSE. Much of a muchness, characters seemed rather forgetable. NO

APOCALYPTIC CAKE SALE. Hardly anything happened, script seemed padded out. NO.

AREA 47. Amusing characters, but the story was abit flat. NO.

BUNK. Another padded-out script. Another reviewer mentioned the opening advert was too long, I agree - was still amused by it though. But, ultimately NO.

BURRAX The Bringer of Desserts: Funny dialogue. Script could've done with some more rewriting. But not bad at all. YES.

CHAOS 2. Good idea but this is a rather wasted script. So much more could've been done with it. NO.

CHIMP. Sort of fell away at the end. Made me feel slightly disappointed. Before that it was quite good though. MAYBE.

CLARICE 12. Obvious and not at all funny. NO

COUNTRY ROCK. Story wasn't particularly interesting. Amusing characters though. But for me story is king. So...NO.

DOME, STREET DOME. Sorry, this was not at all funny. Badly written as well. NO

EVENT HORIZON CRESCENT. Another script that was a mishmash of forgettable characters. NO

FACE-TIME. This made me laugh. Good characters and an original premise. I like that it didn't go overboard with the sci-fi angle. YES.

GREAT SPACE. Sort of petered out - but before that I really liked it. Couple of good gags. YES.

HEY HUMAN GET OUT OF MY WIFE! Story didn't go anywhere for me. NO

KING CHICKEN & THE NING NINGS. Hilarious title, sadly that was all. I was glad when it was over. NO.

MEN IN BROWN. Quite liked this actually. YES.

NOT FROM AROUND HERE. A couple of decent jokes, but the story lacked focus. The writer needed to give us more of a reason to care about the characters. NO

NOVAS FM. Didn't really go anywhere. I'm seeing a pattern of sitcoms here where instead of story we get characters enjoying amusing banter. This doesn't make the audience interested in the script. NO

OUR MUTUAL FRIEND. Decent entry, a few good jokes, some not so good. MAYBE.

S.U. A bit dull, and slightly derivative. NO.

SKY-LEVEL. A few good gags but that wasn't enough to sustain my interest. NO

SPACE COWGIRL. Another slow mover that had too much banter. NO

SPACE VETS. Good idea, some decent gags. Could do with more work, but it's a MAYBE.

STANBURG. This was a right mess. None of it made any sense. I just got confused. NO.

STARSHIP IMPOSSIBLE. This was rather good. But again the premise was rather derivative. Bust despite that I'll give it a MAYBE.

THE CREW. Highly derivative. Yet another comedic Star Trek clone. NO

THE PRINCESS OF DARKNESS WANTS A TAN. Slow moving but a decent story and it did have a few good one-liners. MAYBE

THE TIME TRAVELS OF DR CHOO. Thankfully it didn't go on very long as it wasn';t funny. Fun title though. NO

THEN AND US. Some genuinely funny dialogue, a couple of superfluous characters though. But well structured. I really don't how I should rate this. Okay, I'll give it a YES

TIME TRAVEL TOURS. I've seen this story before in a movie. And just like that film this didn't work either. NO.

WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE.
Pretty unoriginal. NO.

Well, that's my views. Feel free to ignore. PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!

John G

As a way of enhancing the experience, does anyone recommend any particular music/playlist I should listen to while reading their script? Mine's gotta be (in the Cliffhanger scene) 'Starman' by Bowie

Quote: Alan O'Brien @ November 5 2012, 11:38 AM GMT

As a way of enhancing the experience, does anyone recommend any particular music/playlist I should listen to while reading their script? Mine's gotta be (in the Cliffhanger scene) 'Starman' by Bowie

View original

I found the theme tunes popping into my head from the sitcoms that some of the scripts reminded me of as I read them. These included Futurama, Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, and Bewitched. If that helps.

Halloween Bristol - 5 videos. Count em, Dracula.

From the recent Halloween Sitcom Trials in Bristol, Vince and the team are proud to present not one, not two, not three, not four, but five full videos of the sitcoms in contention. Check em out.

Far from the tiny snippets I've uploaded from previous shows (for fear you couldn't stand any more), Vince with the assistance of Matt Gillett and Kev Page have put all five competing sitcoms up in their entirety. They are:

The Brides Of Pete-Enstein

Here Comes The Science Part

The Princess Of Darkness Wants A Tan

Mid Afternoon of the Dead

Three In Tow

Do please enjoy, and share. And while you're feeling so involved, please vote in the Sci Fi Sitcom Trials. Cheers.