Sitcom Geeks
A podcast series for those interested in the mechanics of situation comedy. James Cary and Dave Cohen discuss the art of sitcom writing for TV and Radio.
Episode 140 - Galton, Simpson and Pixar Returns
Published: 21st May 2020. Length: 65 mins. Size: 89.6mb
Last minute tips for ensuring you send your best work to the BBC Galton & Simpson bursary competition, news of more contests and fabulous prizes (Prizes!), and learn from the best as Dave and James dissect Pixar's comedy rules 12-22.
Previous episodes
Episode 139 - Housebound Guest
7th May 2020. 57 minutes.
Dave and James talk to multi-talented writer-producer-director-editor Justin Sbresni (The Worst Week Of My Life, The Robinsons) about the new lockdown sitcom Housebound and plenty more besides, including hot tips...
Episode 138 - Pull Apart, Simplify, Do Better Next Time
23rd April 2020. 58 minutes.
Pixar are the most successful movie makers of the last 50 years. This week Dave and James examine the first 11 of their 22 rules of storytelling, judging how they...
Episode 137 - A Winning Writer Speaks
9th April 2020. 55 minutes.
Dave and James chat with Australian writer Peter C Hayward, writer of Night Crew, the winner of our first BCG Pro/Sitcom Geeks Sitcom Script Challenge. Featuring giant toasters, Finnemore fandom,...
Episode 136 - Chortle Book Festival
26th March 2020. 62 minutes.
Dave and James talk to John O'Farrell and Brenda Gilhooly at the Chortle Book Festival about all things writing, including coming up with the right idea at the right time.
Episode 135 - Make Your Script Stand Out
12th March 2020. 47 minutes.
With the BBC comedy writing window all set to open on 16th March, Dave and James find out from Writersroom Comedy overseers Simon Nelson and Amanda Farley how to dazzle...
Episode 134 - Sitcom Scripts Q&A
27th February 2020. 46 minutes.
James and Dave answer your sitcom script-based questions about turning your idea into a sitcom, making sure your idea hasn't been done (it has), what makes a studio sitcom script,...
Episode 133 - Where Did We Go Right?
13th February 2020. 50 minutes.
Dave and James dig deep into the 15 scripts on the longlist of the BCG Pro Sitcom Geeks Script Challenge and explain what works, and how you can all move...
Episode 132 - Story Is Character
30th January 2020. 49 minutes.
James and Dave talk more about the scripts from the BCG Pro competition, with some more thoughts on getting the story going, how story is character (saving you a fortune...
Episode 131 - Writing Comedy Is Hard!
23rd January 2020. 48 minutes.
While you were eating and sleeping your way through the holidays Dave and James were reading your script entries to the BCG Pro Sitcom Geeks Script Challenge - all 65...
Episode 130 - Milton Jones
9th January 2020. 54 minutes.
'My act is like putting a cartoon in someone's head.' Dave and James enjoy a fascinating session in the company of one of the country's top comedians, ahead of his...
Episode 129 - Old And New
26th December 2019. 48 minutes.
Four comedy writers walk into a bar. Ahead of the comedy writers' Christmas Party, Dave chats with NFTS comedy graduate Sara Gibbs, improv superstar Pippa Evans and writing legend Paul...
Episode 128 - What's The Difference?
12th December 2019. 51 minutes.
This episode Dave and James ask what's the difference between character and characters, story and stories, stand-up and acting? (Spoiler - it's not 8 quid). Also not to be missed...
Episode 127 - How To Plot Your Sitcom
28th November 2019. 52 minutes.
Dave and James revisit the dos and don'ts of plotting, adding sparkle to your stories, with added jeopardy for comedy drama fans.
Episode 126 - Honing Your First Ten Pages
14th November 2019. 53 minutes.
Here's plenty of valuable last-minute tips from James and Dave before you send your script out to a producer or competition. And don't worry if you miss the Sitcom Geeks...
Episode 125 - Creating Comedy Characters
31st October 2019. 43 minutes.
With the November 17 deadline approaching for the Sitcom Script Challenge, Dave and James talk about extracting maximum mileage from your characters. Spoiler alert: they don't have to be likeable.
Episode 124 - What's Your Sit?
17th October 2019. 40 minutes.
It's half of our name but we don't talk often enough about the situation. Dave and James talk to producer David Tyler (Cabin Pressure, Dinnerladies, Milton Jones and loads more)...
Episode 123 - Building A Writing Career
3rd October 2019. 37 minutes.
Dave and James look at the recent Emmy successes for British shows Fleabag and Succession, and talk about what makes a successful career, and why overnight success can be years...
Episode 122 - Cole Moreton: My Life with The Krays & Jeffrey Archer
19th September 2019. 45 minutes.
James talks to Cole Moreton, multi-tasking multi-talented writer/author/journalist about books, the Krays, and writing tips from Jeffrey Archer. Dave chimes in helpfully with a list of rock stars called Colin.
Episode 121 - Rules of Sitcom
5th September 2019. 35 minutes.
Back to school as Dave and James update the complete guide for writing the best sitcom script. Plus news of an exciting new competition for all aspiring sitcom writers.
Episode 120 - What We Did On Our Holidays
22nd August 2019. 44 minutes.
James wrote a script, Dave read eight novels thanks to not having WiFi and now they're ready to guide you through the start of a new term and a new...
Contact Us
Email questions to sitcomgeeks@gmail.com
Biographies
James Cary is a comedy writer for BBC TV and Radio. His latest series is Bluestone 42 for BBC Three, which he co-created and wrote with Richard Hurst. He met Richard working on Series 1 & 2 of BBC's award-winning sitcom, Miranda. James has also written episodes of My Hero and My Family for BBC One. His radio credits include three series of Hut 33, four series of Think the Unthinkable, and sketch show, Concrete Cow. He has also written four series of Another Case Of Milton Jones with, er, Milton Jones for BBC Radio 4. sitcomgeek.blogspot.co.uk @sitcomgeek
Dave Cohen, a Perrier nominee in a previous century, was a founder member of the Comedy Store Players. In recent years he has become more known as a comedy writer, having written for Have I Got News For You and Not Going Out, and as a comic songwriter, co-creating the Radio 4 hit 15 Minute Musical and writing loads of songs for the hit BBC Childrens' Show Horrible Histories and ITV's Newzoids. His book How to be Averagely Successful at Comedy was published in 2013. davecohen.org.uk @cohendave
Theme music: Jane Watkins