Television Writing - The Ground Rules for Series,Serials and Sitcoms - Linda Aronson.pdf

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Television Writing
The Ground Rules
of
Series, Serials and Sitcom
Linda Aronson
O
Australian Film Television and Radio School 2000
First published in 2000
Australian Film Television and Radio School
PO Box 126, North Ryde NSW 1670, Australia
This book is copyright. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced
or copied in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or by any information storage and retrieval systenl, without prior pern~ission
in writing from the publisher. The
Australian Copyright Act
1968
(the Act) allows a
maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be
photocopied by an educational institution for its educational purposes provided that
that educational institution (or the body that administers it) has given a remuneration
notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.
For details of the CAL licence for educational institutions contact:
Copyright Agency Limited
Level 19, 157 Liverpool Street, Sydney NSW 2000
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Email: info@copyright.com.au
Cataloguing-ill-Publicatioll
entry
Aronson, Linda, 1950-
Television Writing, The Ground Rules of Series, Serials and Sitcom
Bibliography.
Includes index.
ISBN 1876351
10
1.
1.
Television authorship.
2.
Creative writing.
I.
Australian Film, Television and Radio School. 11. Title.
111. Title: Television writing: the ground rules of series, serials and sitcom
Printed in Australia by Southwood Press Pty Ltd
Cover design: Liz Seymour
Contents
Preface
Figure
1
Family types in the sitcom
Figure
2
Normal structure of episodic drama
1.
How television series
and serials are created
What the networks want
Components of a series
Hour-long drama series
Writing to screentime
Buttons and tags
Drama serials
2.
Sitcom
Comic conflict and comic perspective
Structure
Subplot and main plot
Comic premise
Types of families
in
sitcom
Seachange
3.
Writing an episode
Getting the job
Preparing for the audition
4.
Devising a series, serial
or sitcom from scratch
What show are we in?
Producer's involvement
What is hot about the idea?
The series template
The pilot
S.
Issues for producers
The
head writer
Research resources
Establishing the world
of
the series
Working with the writers: producer's checklist
6.
Advice from the experts
Roger Simpson, writer/produccr,
Simpson Le Mesurier Productions
John Edwards, drama producer, Southern Star
A
case study of
Breakers:
a strip serial
Sue Masters and Luke Devenish,
ABC Drama Department, Melbourne
Biographies
Index
Preface
The restrictions and practices governing the creation of television drama
series, serials and sitcom are a surprise to industry newcomers and a constant
challenge to veterans. This book explains the ground rules and how to do
your best within them. It is designed to be of help to a wide range of people,
from new writers to screen producers thinking of moving into television
drama
or
sitcom for the first time, and experienced insiders on the lookout
for new ways to stay fresh and produce good scripts. It is not a book about
the craft of writing, neither is it a book about the business issues of television
production, although it touches on both. It is about understa~lding system
the
and using new approaches to create better writing.
The book starts by describing in general terms how series, serials and
sitcoms are devised and what rules govern their structure. It goes on to provide
suggestions as to how the individual writer can write a good episode, featuring
ways to cope with burn-out and'plotting fatigue' (as they hit both individuals
and whole teams of writers). It then looks at devising a series or serial from
scratch, introducing the concept of the 'series template' to help create the
pilot and storylines from the first season and onwards for the life of the
series. This is followed by a chapter specifically for producers on script
department issues. The book ends with advice from industry experts on best
practice and the pitfalls in the creative development and day-to-day running
of television series and serials.
For letting me interview them and include in this book their expert
opinions on best practice in script development and the everyday running
of television drama writing,
I
thank my colleagues Luke Devenish (ABC TV),
John Edwards (Southern Star Productions), Sue Masters (ABC TV); Tony
Morphett; Roger Simpson (BeyondISimpson Le Mesurier); Caroline Stanton
(Southern Star Productions); and Jimmy Thomson (Fox TV Australia). For
reading and commenting on the manuscript,
I
thank Paul Thompson and
Ken Methold. At AFTRS, for all their work and dedication in the face of a
frantic deadline, I thank my publisher Meredith Quinn, my editor Jo Jarrah,
and
my
designer Maggie Cooper.
Linda Aronson
May
2000

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