Thanks for ruining my job prospects...
Just Kidding. You know I love you.
However, with 2/3 of the industry shut down, and Paramount now on it's 3rd series of layoffs, lots of people are losing their jobs. And, since people are LOSING their jobs, there's not a lot of jobs to go around. Writer's Assistant jobs are going to WRITERS who were laid off, Production Coordinator jobs are going to UPMs who were laid off, and so on down the line.
So, for those of you moving to the gold coast, I'll summarize what a Temp Agent told me today: "This town died in December". Now, that's quite an oversimplification, and there are still jobs, and there will always be jobs, at least in TV.
But, people are MUCH pickier now than they were pre-strike. Someone told me that they are looking for resumes and interviews from TEMPS! you know, the guys who come in and screw everything up...well now they want to interview the temps before the hire him. My question would be, shouldn't you be trying to fix this problem and don't do you have something better to do than to interview temps? I guess not, since there are no films going on.
And the big issue is, people with much more experience than you were laid off, and they need jobs. Since they can't find another job at their level, they are settling on jobs below their level. And THEY are competing with YOU. So, good luck with all that. Before you make the trip, make sure you can roll calls, take notes, do budgets, write coverage, and do all the other assistant type duties. I was told that I may be a hard sell because:
a) I can't roll calls and
b) I have ambition.
Yes, that's right. Apparently, according to a different temp agent, people want to you know you'll be there forever, and that you can't or don't want to do anything but be an assistant for the rest of your life.
If this is true, it paints a very bleak picture of breaking into an already difficult industry to break into. So, please, for my sake, stop trying to do better by yourself, and do better by me...
Just kidding. Solitary.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
For those of you...
...who would rather have a more traditional example as to the structure of a screenplay, or any story. Here.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Push your main characters off the road...
be a bully.
Imagine for a moment, you and your protagonist are walking down a road, let's call the road your screenplay. As you walk down the path, you give him one good nudge to get him startled. This pushes him off the path and takes him a minute to recover. You feel bad, so for the rest of the path you may want to nudge him/her, make him trip a little, maybe laugh at him, but because you are such good friends you don't want to cause serious bodily harm to your protagonist, until the END of the path, when you give him one more push to get him to the end.
This is how most people write screenplays. Yes, their main characters go through some issues, and they have some laughs, or cries along the way. But they are never truly challenged in a meaningful way, and they do not have high conflict throughout the script. For the most part, a protagonist is challenged with a MAIN CONFLICT, through an inciting incident.
It is not enough to have a main conflict that a character strives for throughout the movie. A script must also have lots of hiccups along the way. Not just hiccups, life changing events from which the characters must recover. This will lead, undoubtedly, to the next life changing event that will mold the characters more. However, in each event, the character find strength, and more importantly the audience latches on for more time, the suspense builds, and the hero is humanized.
Since I just read a column about Die Hard, I'll use that as an example. In Die Hard, the main conflict was stopping the terrorists and rescuing the hostages. The inciting incident happened when the terrorists took over. This is the SHOVE your character gets off the path. John McClain must NOW save his wife, rescue the hostages, and stop the terrorists.
But, what if he spent the whole movie pursuant to that goal, without any other conflict building? What if his entire plan was to stop the terrorists at the top of the building, and he faced hardly any conflict until the last ten pages. He made a bomb, or stole a gun, or some little things, but his STAKES were not high enough to cause him to be in imminent danger? Crappy movie, right? Who would watch it?
To go back to my analogy, which will now make sense, Jeb Stuart constantly PUSHED John off the path. Whenever he was back on the path, he was shoved harder, and harder, and harder, until finally, at the end, he was victorious...until Die Hard 2: Die Harder.
Now, aside from being fun to be a bully, and it being exciting to put people in weird and almost inescapable situations, causing conflict is how we define character. If it had been easy for McClain to succeed, we would learn nothing about him. If we pushed him and he stopped, we would know him as a quitter. However, by giving him increasingly more difficult tasks and seeing that he not only doesn't quit, but he also doesn't die AND, to top it off, he wins in the end, tells a lot about him as a person and as a character.
CHARACTERS are not defined by success, they are defined by the ability to fail, brush themselves off, and try again.
So, BE a BULLY. Push your characters off that path as often as possible. This isn't just action movies, but all movies. ROMCOMS, SLAPSTICKS, etc. They all have the same thing in common. A heroic character that is pushed to his limits, and somehow succeeds through seemingly impossible odds. Part of the FUN of a screenplay is to push your characters to the limits. If Bob is successful, make him homeless, how does he fight back to succeed? Through a hairbrained scheme that doesn't make any sense, of from a series of trials and errors which make him stronger for the ride. Because, after all, when you get to the end of the path, and your character hasn't given up, doesn't the victory seem all the sweeter?
Imagine for a moment, you and your protagonist are walking down a road, let's call the road your screenplay. As you walk down the path, you give him one good nudge to get him startled. This pushes him off the path and takes him a minute to recover. You feel bad, so for the rest of the path you may want to nudge him/her, make him trip a little, maybe laugh at him, but because you are such good friends you don't want to cause serious bodily harm to your protagonist, until the END of the path, when you give him one more push to get him to the end.
This is how most people write screenplays. Yes, their main characters go through some issues, and they have some laughs, or cries along the way. But they are never truly challenged in a meaningful way, and they do not have high conflict throughout the script. For the most part, a protagonist is challenged with a MAIN CONFLICT, through an inciting incident.
It is not enough to have a main conflict that a character strives for throughout the movie. A script must also have lots of hiccups along the way. Not just hiccups, life changing events from which the characters must recover. This will lead, undoubtedly, to the next life changing event that will mold the characters more. However, in each event, the character find strength, and more importantly the audience latches on for more time, the suspense builds, and the hero is humanized.
Since I just read a column about Die Hard, I'll use that as an example. In Die Hard, the main conflict was stopping the terrorists and rescuing the hostages. The inciting incident happened when the terrorists took over. This is the SHOVE your character gets off the path. John McClain must NOW save his wife, rescue the hostages, and stop the terrorists.
But, what if he spent the whole movie pursuant to that goal, without any other conflict building? What if his entire plan was to stop the terrorists at the top of the building, and he faced hardly any conflict until the last ten pages. He made a bomb, or stole a gun, or some little things, but his STAKES were not high enough to cause him to be in imminent danger? Crappy movie, right? Who would watch it?
To go back to my analogy, which will now make sense, Jeb Stuart constantly PUSHED John off the path. Whenever he was back on the path, he was shoved harder, and harder, and harder, until finally, at the end, he was victorious...until Die Hard 2: Die Harder.
Now, aside from being fun to be a bully, and it being exciting to put people in weird and almost inescapable situations, causing conflict is how we define character. If it had been easy for McClain to succeed, we would learn nothing about him. If we pushed him and he stopped, we would know him as a quitter. However, by giving him increasingly more difficult tasks and seeing that he not only doesn't quit, but he also doesn't die AND, to top it off, he wins in the end, tells a lot about him as a person and as a character.
CHARACTERS are not defined by success, they are defined by the ability to fail, brush themselves off, and try again.
So, BE a BULLY. Push your characters off that path as often as possible. This isn't just action movies, but all movies. ROMCOMS, SLAPSTICKS, etc. They all have the same thing in common. A heroic character that is pushed to his limits, and somehow succeeds through seemingly impossible odds. Part of the FUN of a screenplay is to push your characters to the limits. If Bob is successful, make him homeless, how does he fight back to succeed? Through a hairbrained scheme that doesn't make any sense, of from a series of trials and errors which make him stronger for the ride. Because, after all, when you get to the end of the path, and your character hasn't given up, doesn't the victory seem all the sweeter?
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Become a reader...
***NOTICE: I am not advocating companies USING free labor, instead of PAID labor. I am not condoning WORKING for FREE. I do not advocate union companies hiring scabs, or skirting the law. I do NOT advocate or condone ANY Company who would try to hire FREE workers instead of PAID workers. In this post I am SPECIFICALLY talking about INTERNSHIP possibilities, where the goal of the work is to LEARN and EVOLVE. This
post is specifically designed to help people to BREAK INTO the industry if they do not have the requisite skills to do so, and to HONE their writing ability.***
No, I don't mean to actually read books, which is a given. I mean try to land an internship READING SCRIPTS. I will now explain why this is ONE WAY, an effective way, to help improve your writing.
These are some of the easiest internships to perform from outside Los Angeles/New York. Literary managers, agents, production companies, etc all need people to read scripts. They are desperate because they are deluged with scripts daily. On the flip side, because you're not intimately involved in the day-to-day, it's not an internship that will most likely lead to somewhere. With the introduction of the internet, scripts can be delivered over e-mail, depending on the company.
However, it can be done in spare time, and for those who want to be writers but may not have a critical eye, it's a great way to understand who the first line of defense is, how they operate, as well as establish what else is out there. Also, because it is a reader position, it is POSSIBLE to do outside of LA or NY, if you find the right agencies. Also, those of you who love to read, which should be everyone, have a read and an outlet for that love that will help further your career.
Usually, a company will not require you to finish your coverage in an 8 hour shift, but by a certain date, possibly handing you a script or 2 on Monday expecting them by Friday. Whether you are 65 and retired, 35 and working 80 hours a week, or 22 and just out of college, you should be able to find the energy to do this coverage. This is NOT a development internship, which is usually in the office. This is SPECIFICALLY doing reading for a company.
Internships are usually flexible on hours, and even how long you can commit. If you want to only do a "semester" which is 3 months, you can. It's not a long term commitment. So, you will most likely do 3 months, maybe 10-20 covers, have a better understanding, get your experience, and get out. And since it's not an office job, though you may have to pick scripts up, you can do it wherever, whenever. Trust me, they will not trust you with their RUSH or high priority covers. And if they do, RUN from that company.
In addition, most of these internships are relatively easy to accomplish, as most people won't trust you with many scripts, as they don't know how well you will cover the script. Most internship won't ask you to read more than 2-3 scripts a week. some may require more, but some require less too.
In return you will learn an invaluable skill of reading scripts critically AND writing summaries for scripts. This skill is imperative for your own writing, as a good summary can mean a company will read your script.
Now, you may disagree with me, and I'm sure there are going to be a couple comments telling me its not as easy as it looks to land one of these. However, I remember when I was first starting out companies were desperate for anyone to read scripts that understood coverage and the basics of plot.
I should tell you that MOST companies will ask you to send in a sample coverage, possibly even a sample PASS, CONSIDER, and RECOMMEND. So, if you don't have any...you really should. You can go to places like www.scriptcoverage.com for samples on how to write coverage. Then, take a script and get to writing. What companies are looking for is:
-Do you understand story?
-Do you make educated decisions as to the script?
-Can you speak in the language of the script?
-Can you accurately summarize the script to give a flavor of the story?
Because this is an internship, its job should be to teach as well, which makes this a great place for someone to start who may not FULLY grasp these but has a moderate to good understanding. And they are light on stress because if you do lousy coverage, your script will be covered by a professional, but if it's covered well, you will become invaluable.
so, let's skip ahead and answer your next question, this is a writing and production blog, WHY get an internship reading? How will this help MY writing?
First, because most success people this business, whether it's a writer, producer, director, or actor, know how to cover scripts. They may not know the correct format, but everyone who is successful can dissect a movies flaws, at least in broad terms. So, knowing how to talk about movies is incredibly important.
Also, as a writer, it's the easiest way to understand how much crap there is out there, and how much readers HATE reading bad scripts. Once you read 10-15 bad ones, you'll understand that a reader has to read this many a WEEK, and write extensive coverage on it, including a synopsis of a usually flimsy and convoluted storyline. They're whole job is reading terrible scripts...hopefully a decent or good on slips in every 50 or so. You will see what you need to do to get a script to a place where readers will not pass on it.
And, most importantly, when you start an internship you get a READER'S RUBRIC. This tells you what is a recommend, a consider, and a pass. OR if you have a grading system, what is a 0-5. AND, then you can transfer that to your own writing. See, when you actually KNOW what a company wants to see, you can go back to your script and say HEY, this is how I make this script better. One of the better rubric's I've ever gotten even showed the page breakdown of generally where they expect things to happen, and in what order. The READER'S RUBRIC is gold for a writer, esp. a new writer.
I should mention, under California Law in order to take an internship, you must be enrolled in a class. You can enroll in a class at UCLA extension which will allow you to get credit. However, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, do not enroll until AFTER you get the internship. While most companies in LA are strict about interns, some will not make you enroll for a class, Usually the smaller companies...but also some VERY SHADY ones, so make sure you are careful. I always recommend companies that work legitimately under the law, but I'm sure there are many companies that are legitimate that may not require credit, which is a savings of a few hundred dollars.
So, how do you find companies that need readers? Basically, EVERYONE. Now, most have readers, or want more experienced readers, or don't want to deal with interns, but if you call enough places you will have a shot. You can also try craigslist, or mandy, or any of the other jobsites. Trust me, if a company is small enough, esp. if they just turned out a hit or released a film theatrically...they need readers. Scripts are coming in faster than they can read them. And, they can't beat the cost...free.
It may not be the PERFECT way to become a professional writer, but if you can READ, and you can LEARN how to give good comments. It can do nothing but help you. You'll be able to see why 130 pages is bad, why thematic changes are bad, and why all of the things you've heard but never understood is bad.
Now, let the deluge of comments about how this post is terrible and wrong begin...now.
post is specifically designed to help people to BREAK INTO the industry if they do not have the requisite skills to do so, and to HONE their writing ability.***
No, I don't mean to actually read books, which is a given. I mean try to land an internship READING SCRIPTS. I will now explain why this is ONE WAY, an effective way, to help improve your writing.
These are some of the easiest internships to perform from outside Los Angeles/New York. Literary managers, agents, production companies, etc all need people to read scripts. They are desperate because they are deluged with scripts daily. On the flip side, because you're not intimately involved in the day-to-day, it's not an internship that will most likely lead to somewhere. With the introduction of the internet, scripts can be delivered over e-mail, depending on the company.
However, it can be done in spare time, and for those who want to be writers but may not have a critical eye, it's a great way to understand who the first line of defense is, how they operate, as well as establish what else is out there. Also, because it is a reader position, it is POSSIBLE to do outside of LA or NY, if you find the right agencies. Also, those of you who love to read, which should be everyone, have a read and an outlet for that love that will help further your career.
Usually, a company will not require you to finish your coverage in an 8 hour shift, but by a certain date, possibly handing you a script or 2 on Monday expecting them by Friday. Whether you are 65 and retired, 35 and working 80 hours a week, or 22 and just out of college, you should be able to find the energy to do this coverage. This is NOT a development internship, which is usually in the office. This is SPECIFICALLY doing reading for a company.
Internships are usually flexible on hours, and even how long you can commit. If you want to only do a "semester" which is 3 months, you can. It's not a long term commitment. So, you will most likely do 3 months, maybe 10-20 covers, have a better understanding, get your experience, and get out. And since it's not an office job, though you may have to pick scripts up, you can do it wherever, whenever. Trust me, they will not trust you with their RUSH or high priority covers. And if they do, RUN from that company.
In addition, most of these internships are relatively easy to accomplish, as most people won't trust you with many scripts, as they don't know how well you will cover the script. Most internship won't ask you to read more than 2-3 scripts a week. some may require more, but some require less too.
In return you will learn an invaluable skill of reading scripts critically AND writing summaries for scripts. This skill is imperative for your own writing, as a good summary can mean a company will read your script.
Now, you may disagree with me, and I'm sure there are going to be a couple comments telling me its not as easy as it looks to land one of these. However, I remember when I was first starting out companies were desperate for anyone to read scripts that understood coverage and the basics of plot.
I should tell you that MOST companies will ask you to send in a sample coverage, possibly even a sample PASS, CONSIDER, and RECOMMEND. So, if you don't have any...you really should. You can go to places like www.scriptcoverage.com for samples on how to write coverage. Then, take a script and get to writing. What companies are looking for is:
-Do you understand story?
-Do you make educated decisions as to the script?
-Can you speak in the language of the script?
-Can you accurately summarize the script to give a flavor of the story?
Because this is an internship, its job should be to teach as well, which makes this a great place for someone to start who may not FULLY grasp these but has a moderate to good understanding. And they are light on stress because if you do lousy coverage, your script will be covered by a professional, but if it's covered well, you will become invaluable.
so, let's skip ahead and answer your next question, this is a writing and production blog, WHY get an internship reading? How will this help MY writing?
First, because most success people this business, whether it's a writer, producer, director, or actor, know how to cover scripts. They may not know the correct format, but everyone who is successful can dissect a movies flaws, at least in broad terms. So, knowing how to talk about movies is incredibly important.
Also, as a writer, it's the easiest way to understand how much crap there is out there, and how much readers HATE reading bad scripts. Once you read 10-15 bad ones, you'll understand that a reader has to read this many a WEEK, and write extensive coverage on it, including a synopsis of a usually flimsy and convoluted storyline. They're whole job is reading terrible scripts...hopefully a decent or good on slips in every 50 or so. You will see what you need to do to get a script to a place where readers will not pass on it.
And, most importantly, when you start an internship you get a READER'S RUBRIC. This tells you what is a recommend, a consider, and a pass. OR if you have a grading system, what is a 0-5. AND, then you can transfer that to your own writing. See, when you actually KNOW what a company wants to see, you can go back to your script and say HEY, this is how I make this script better. One of the better rubric's I've ever gotten even showed the page breakdown of generally where they expect things to happen, and in what order. The READER'S RUBRIC is gold for a writer, esp. a new writer.
I should mention, under California Law in order to take an internship, you must be enrolled in a class. You can enroll in a class at UCLA extension which will allow you to get credit. However, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, do not enroll until AFTER you get the internship. While most companies in LA are strict about interns, some will not make you enroll for a class, Usually the smaller companies...but also some VERY SHADY ones, so make sure you are careful. I always recommend companies that work legitimately under the law, but I'm sure there are many companies that are legitimate that may not require credit, which is a savings of a few hundred dollars.
So, how do you find companies that need readers? Basically, EVERYONE. Now, most have readers, or want more experienced readers, or don't want to deal with interns, but if you call enough places you will have a shot. You can also try craigslist, or mandy, or any of the other jobsites. Trust me, if a company is small enough, esp. if they just turned out a hit or released a film theatrically...they need readers. Scripts are coming in faster than they can read them. And, they can't beat the cost...free.
It may not be the PERFECT way to become a professional writer, but if you can READ, and you can LEARN how to give good comments. It can do nothing but help you. You'll be able to see why 130 pages is bad, why thematic changes are bad, and why all of the things you've heard but never understood is bad.
Now, let the deluge of comments about how this post is terrible and wrong begin...now.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
CORRECTION: NETWORK, STUDIO, PRODUCTION COMPANIES POST
There is a slight correction to my previous post about the difference between Networks, Studios, and Production companies.
In the post, I stated ABC's Studio is Disney Studios. However, an astute reader pointed out that ABC's Studio is actually ABC Studios, formerly Touchstone Television.
THANK YOU. I am always striving for perfection, but once again fall short.
In the post, I stated ABC's Studio is Disney Studios. However, an astute reader pointed out that ABC's Studio is actually ABC Studios, formerly Touchstone Television.
THANK YOU. I am always striving for perfection, but once again fall short.
Has the whole world gone mad?
So, I read a lot, A LOT of blogs, trades, read reviews, etc, and I've seen a disturbing trend of people liking terrible shows, specifically one terrible, wretched abomination of a show. So, I'm here to set the record straight on a terrible show that should NEVER get a good review. I should mention that I have watched 6 episodes of this show, and each has been worse than the previous one. I really wanted it to be good.
IN PLAIN SIGHT
Watching the finale showed me just how terrible this show really is. It is not slam, it is not bang, it is not sexy.
Let me take you back. The show is about the witness protection program, and revolves around MARY, a witness protection agent, her partner MARSHALL, and her dysfunctional family.
The finale revolves around Mary's sister who has just been caught with a suitcase full of meth, and Mary, who was taken captive and almost killed. As the finale begins, Mary has been rescued, and her sister is on the hook for selling and distributing meth. Marshall has to figure out how to get her off the hook, before the real drug dealer goes free. Pretty cool scenario right?
Then, why do they spend 3/4 of the show discussing how Mary's father has been writing her for 20 years (oh, i should mention that her father is a bank robber who has been on the run for 20 years, and in that time hasn't contacted anyone but Mary). Seriously, there is a drug dealing kingpin out there, and Mary is at home putzing around, and we hardly ever get to see the actual crime. I think possibly we saw the crime investigation for 4-5 scenes in the entire finale. And, the resolution is incredibly unsatisfying. It's almost worth watching, just to see how bad it is.
I can't decide which is the bigger crime, the writing or the acting. This is a line from the pilot, a voiceover line: "Which is why I was driving my misogynistic nightmare across the desert". YUCK! And it just gets lousier.
On the other hand, the acting is terrible too. In one scene in the finale, Mary's on again off again boyfriend shows up, "drunk" to Mary's house, saying that he never sees her, and opining that she has not called him in two weeks. However, the actor can not play drunk. Instead, he looks and sounds sleepy. Just terrible. And lets not mention this is an incredibly unnecessary scene seeing as there is a CRIME INVESTIGATION going on that holds the fate of Mary AND her family in the balance.
I think my biggest problem with this show is that the idea is so interesting, the franchise is so cool, and the story could be something special, but instead it's bland, boring, and forces action that is inherent in the story.
But, this show is about how to make things well, and not about my personal opinion, so let's discuss just for a second what the storytelling elements that do and don't work.
#1-The Premise-- Excellent. I would easily strongly recommend this premise for a show. I love it.
#2-The Structure--Shmeh. While the franchise is good, people in witness protection and the U.S. Marshalls that protect them, the "family issues" are just completely unnecessary. There is not enough "slam, bang" to quote the commercial. There are not enough twists and turns. Instead, the characters do a lot of barreling towards a single goal, but Mary's family interrupts and she if forced to deal with THEIR issues. It works in Burn Notice, but not in this show. The best characters fail, or at least get turned around. BORING.
#3-Characters--Weak. While the characters have the potential to be excellent and complex, they turn out to be flat, uninteresting, and contrived. They don't make believable choices and their journeys are not rich. They never seem to learn anything, and they are definitely NOT richer for the journey.
#4-Dialog--Adomination. It's impossible to understand how this got past the classy, fun, and intelligent executives at USA...they have tons of good shows, and they let THIS on the air. It's wooden, boring, and many times out of character for the people saying it. The major issue is that it's just bland and unoriginal.
As you can see, there is little good about the show outside of it's premise and franchise. I hope they bring this show back, but fire the show-runner and re-tool the writing staff, because I do think this show could be really cool if the writers were better.
The show seems to have gotten past the network completely on the merit of the premise, and attachments, a classic high-concept, pitchable show with poor execution.
I do applaud USA Networks for putting the entire season on the air. On Network TV this show probably would have been pulled in 3 episodes, but leaving it on allowed the show to find its audience. So, kudos USA.
There is one good thing about this show...it's not Mary McCormick's fat lip, or the fact that the scripts are written by a 6 year old. No, it's that if this piece of junk show can get on TV, we all have a chance of getting a show on TV.
So please, please, please, STOP writing good reviews about this turd of a show.
IN PLAIN SIGHT
Watching the finale showed me just how terrible this show really is. It is not slam, it is not bang, it is not sexy.
Let me take you back. The show is about the witness protection program, and revolves around MARY, a witness protection agent, her partner MARSHALL, and her dysfunctional family.
The finale revolves around Mary's sister who has just been caught with a suitcase full of meth, and Mary, who was taken captive and almost killed. As the finale begins, Mary has been rescued, and her sister is on the hook for selling and distributing meth. Marshall has to figure out how to get her off the hook, before the real drug dealer goes free. Pretty cool scenario right?
Then, why do they spend 3/4 of the show discussing how Mary's father has been writing her for 20 years (oh, i should mention that her father is a bank robber who has been on the run for 20 years, and in that time hasn't contacted anyone but Mary). Seriously, there is a drug dealing kingpin out there, and Mary is at home putzing around, and we hardly ever get to see the actual crime. I think possibly we saw the crime investigation for 4-5 scenes in the entire finale. And, the resolution is incredibly unsatisfying. It's almost worth watching, just to see how bad it is.
I can't decide which is the bigger crime, the writing or the acting. This is a line from the pilot, a voiceover line: "Which is why I was driving my misogynistic nightmare across the desert". YUCK! And it just gets lousier.
On the other hand, the acting is terrible too. In one scene in the finale, Mary's on again off again boyfriend shows up, "drunk" to Mary's house, saying that he never sees her, and opining that she has not called him in two weeks. However, the actor can not play drunk. Instead, he looks and sounds sleepy. Just terrible. And lets not mention this is an incredibly unnecessary scene seeing as there is a CRIME INVESTIGATION going on that holds the fate of Mary AND her family in the balance.
I think my biggest problem with this show is that the idea is so interesting, the franchise is so cool, and the story could be something special, but instead it's bland, boring, and forces action that is inherent in the story.
But, this show is about how to make things well, and not about my personal opinion, so let's discuss just for a second what the storytelling elements that do and don't work.
#1-The Premise-- Excellent. I would easily strongly recommend this premise for a show. I love it.
#2-The Structure--Shmeh. While the franchise is good, people in witness protection and the U.S. Marshalls that protect them, the "family issues" are just completely unnecessary. There is not enough "slam, bang" to quote the commercial. There are not enough twists and turns. Instead, the characters do a lot of barreling towards a single goal, but Mary's family interrupts and she if forced to deal with THEIR issues. It works in Burn Notice, but not in this show. The best characters fail, or at least get turned around. BORING.
#3-Characters--Weak. While the characters have the potential to be excellent and complex, they turn out to be flat, uninteresting, and contrived. They don't make believable choices and their journeys are not rich. They never seem to learn anything, and they are definitely NOT richer for the journey.
#4-Dialog--Adomination. It's impossible to understand how this got past the classy, fun, and intelligent executives at USA...they have tons of good shows, and they let THIS on the air. It's wooden, boring, and many times out of character for the people saying it. The major issue is that it's just bland and unoriginal.
As you can see, there is little good about the show outside of it's premise and franchise. I hope they bring this show back, but fire the show-runner and re-tool the writing staff, because I do think this show could be really cool if the writers were better.
The show seems to have gotten past the network completely on the merit of the premise, and attachments, a classic high-concept, pitchable show with poor execution.
I do applaud USA Networks for putting the entire season on the air. On Network TV this show probably would have been pulled in 3 episodes, but leaving it on allowed the show to find its audience. So, kudos USA.
There is one good thing about this show...it's not Mary McCormick's fat lip, or the fact that the scripts are written by a 6 year old. No, it's that if this piece of junk show can get on TV, we all have a chance of getting a show on TV.
So please, please, please, STOP writing good reviews about this turd of a show.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
