New Doctor Who trailer for 2011 series: shiny!

Cutting Room: dream sequence from Doctors - Get Smart

Scenes and sequences get cut from scripts for all manner of reasons. Length and timing are the most frequent culprits, but context can be another. My recent episode of Doctors, Get Smart, happened along after several other eps had used fantasy scenes. As a result, my opening dream sequence got cut between the 4th and 5th script drafts.

These things happen. I'd always been aware the sequence was not essential to the plot, it was more a case of having some fun with the character of Jack. The bad dream did set up his stressed state of mind, and also established the boyfriend/girlfriend relationship of Harry and Jen by showing them together as early as possible.

The solution? Keep the establishing shot opener, but change the knocking of Jack's mobile ringing. Delete scenes two and three altogether. The fourth scene became two scenes, with Karen ringing from reception at the Campus surgery and Jack answering from his bed at uni halls of residence. But that wasn't the whole fix.

Losing the dream sequence meant lovers Harry and Jen wouldn't be seen together until the second half of the ep, which just seemed odd. So a swift rewrite ensured Jen made an appearance with Harry early doors, establishing their relationship. Anyway, here's the dream sequence that got cut after my 4th draft. Make of it what you will...

EP207/SC1. EXT. LETHERBRIDGE UNI. HALL OF RESIDENCE. DAY. 13:50

DREAM SEQUENCE BEGINS:

[SOUND OF KNOCKING]

CUT TO:


EP207/SC2. INT. LETHERBRIDGE UNI. HALL OF RESIDENCE. JACK’S ROOM. DAY. 13:51

JACK, KAREN

DREAM SEQUENCE CONTINUES:

[JACK ASLEEP, SURROUNDED BY TEXTBOOKS]

KAREN (OOV):
Jack, you in there? Jack!

[JACK JERKS AWAKE.

HE OPENS THE DOOR. KAREN BUSTLES IN]

JACK:
Mom? What are you doing here?

KAREN:
Couldn’t get any answer from your mobile.

JACK:
Been up all night studying.

KAREN:
I just popped over to wish you luck for today’s exam.

JACK:
Today?

[HE TURNS TO A LARGE CALENDAR ON THE WALL.

‘EXAM – 11 AM’ IS WRITTEN IN BIG RED LETTERS BESIDE FRIDAY, MARCH 18.

JACK LOOKS AT HIS WRIST WATCH. IT’S 13:52]

JACK:
No, no, no. This can’t be happening.

[JACK BOLTS. KAREN CALLS AFTER HIM]

KAREN:
Best of luck, love!

CUT TO:


EP207/SC3. EXT. LETHERBRIDGE UNI. LIBRARY. DAY. 14:05

JACK, HARRY, JEN

NSE UNDERGRADS

DREAM SEQUENCE CONTINUES:

[JACK HURRIES TOWARD THE LIBRARY AS NSE UNDERGRADS SPILL FROM THE BUILDING.

LOCKED IN A KISS TO ONE SIDE ARE NICE BUT DIM HARRY WELLS (20) AND SAVVY, SELF-ASSURED JEN OLDHAM (19)]

JACK:
Harry! Jen!

JEN:
Where’ve you been?

HARRY:
Mate, you’ve missed the exam.

JACK:
You’re kidding me.

[NSE UNDERGRADS GATHER ROUND, GESTURING AT JACK, SNIGGERING]

JACK:
What are you lot looking at?

HARRY:
I think it’s your trousers.

JACK:
What about them?

JEN:
You’re not wearing any.

[JACK LOOKS DOWN. HORROR FILLS HIS FACE.

HARRY FIGHTS THE URGE TO LAUGH, BUT JEN CAN’T STOP HERSELF.

NSE UNDERGRADS ALL JOIN IN. WITHIN A FEW MOMENTS EVERYONE’S LAUGHING.

NAKED FROM THE WAIST DOWN, HUMILIATED JACK COVERS HIS GROIN]

KAREN (OOV):
Jack? Jack!

JACK:
Mom?

[JACK TURNS ROUND TO LOOK, AND--)

END DREAM SEQUENCE.

CUT TO:


EP207/SC4. INT. LETHERBRIDGE UNI. HALL OF RESIDENCE. JACK’S ROOM. DAY. 13:51

JACK, KAREN

[JACK JERKS AWAKE.

HE OPENS THE DOOR. KAREN BUSTLES IN]

JACK:
What are you doing here?

KAREN:
Popped over to wish you luck for today’s exam.

[JACK SCRAMBLES TO CHECK HIS CALENDAR. ‘EXAM – 10 AM’ IS WRITTEN BESIDE MARCH 21.]

JACK:
You’re early. My next one’s not until Monday.

KAREN:
Just as well, judging by the state of this place.

[SHE HOLDS UP A DODGY PAIR OF BOXERS]

KAREN:
Few less nights out with your mates, you wouldn’t be struggling now.

JACK:
Remind me, how many qualifications did you leave school with?

KAREN:
Don’t you have a go at me, Jack Hollins. If you want to know who’s responsible for your problems, try looking in the mirror.

[KAREN SHOVES THE BOXERS AT JACK]

KAREN:
(LEAVING) And next time you want some laundry done? Do it yourself.

JACK:
Mom, I didn’t mean that, I’m-- (DOOR SLAMS SHUT) --sorry.

[OUT ON JACK’S REMORSE]

CUT TO:

Genius: the existential angst of the long-distance writer

Some scamp is cutting the punchline panel from old Peanuts cartoons and posting the three panels that remain online at 3eanuts. The results are heart-breaking strips of utter existential angst and agony. The example above is actually still funny in my humble opinion, but it's also a moment writers will recognise all too well...

Genius Art: new posters for Hitchcock classics

Stunning new posters for four classic Hitchcock films, by Laz Marquez.

Beating up coldplay

Oranges and Sunshine, written by Rona Munro

Writer Rona Munro is a class act, as anyone who's ever worked with or heard her speak about the craft will know. She's also the writer of Oranges and Sunshine, a new film which opens in British cinemas on Friday April 1st, starring Emily Watson and Hugo Weaving. Here's the trailer for what looks a typically heartfelt story by this writer.

Doctor Who: Stop me if you've heard this one before, but...

Kiwi Icons: The Untouchable Topp Twins

Tracey Thorn answers six questions for Vicious Imagery

I've been a fan of Tracey Thorn's music since hearing her in three different guises on the Cherry Red sampler Pillows and Prayers nearly 30 years ago [yikes]. You might know her as half of Everything But The Girl [they had a huge hit with Missing in the 90s], or the voice of Massive Attack's hit Protection, or other musical endeavours.

Last week Strange Feeling Records offered bloggers the chance to ask Tracey Thorn six questions. Those who asked the best questions and had a blog that she liked would get six answers back. Happily, my half dozen moments of interrogation earned a selection of authentic Tracey Thorn answers, reproduced below.

Q: Several songs on your recent album 'Love and Its Opposite' tell a story - why do you favour this approach?

TT: I think I've always written that way, I'm quite a prosaic writer. I'm not a heavy user of imagery, or metaphor, and my songs can be quite literal. I like to just tell a story and let listeners do some interpreting for themselves.

Q: Which song do you wish you'd written?

God Only Knows by Brian Wilson. Or I Don't Want To Hear It Any More, by Randy Newman.

Q: Some songwriters have words, phrases or images that crop up repeatedly [fire in early U2, for instance] - any words, phrases or images you try to avoid?

Not consciously, though as I've said, I think in general I avoid being over-descriptive, and I would certainly shy away from anything that seemed melodramatic, or heavy-handed. I prefer to suggest things rather than spell out every single emotion that I think the listener ought to be feeling.

Q: How did you get from teen angst artist to dance music diva?

I think I took the angst with me! My "dance music diva" songs often have pretty angsty lyrics (Missing, Damage, Protection etc). But really those aspects of what I've done are all part of what has been quite a long story. It's bound to have some variety along the way, some changes of style and tone. I wouldn't have survived otherwise.

Q: What's your worst vice as a songwriter or performer?

I often think I'm being very obvious when in fact what I'm doing seems to strike people as being very subtle, often too subtle for my own good. I could do with being more overt some of the time, I think. And shyness is my greatest stumbling block as a performer.

Q: What's your best virtue as a person?

I'm quite soft-hearted and I make very good banana cake.

You can preview all the tracks on Love And Its Opposite here. The album's among my recent favourites, particularly songs like Long White Dress and Singles Bar. I just wish Thorn or EBTG would go on tour, as I've never seen them play live. Onwards!

Genius: Movie titles used in movie dialogue

Via Robin Kelly's wonderful Writing for Performance.

Utter F**king Genius: Vader & I [Waithnail Wars] - NSFW

My 3rd Doctors episode is on BBC1 today, 1.45pm

My third TV drama airs on BBC1 at 1.45pm today, called Doctors: Get Smart. Here's the official plot synopsis: Under pressure and with deadlines looming, Jack faces temptation and an ethical dilemma when he discovers a friend's new secret to success. Rob has to face Driver on his last day in CID, while Simon has an eventful first night on call.

DOCTORS: Get Smart, starring:
Jack Hollins • Nicolas Woodman
Dr Simon Bond • David Sturzaker
Rob Hollins • Chris Walker
Harry Wells • Ben Ryan Davies
Dr Zara Carmichael • Elisabeth Dermot Walsh
Karen Hollins • Jan Pearson
DCI Driver • Elizabeth Rider
Mitch Dawson • Richard Lawrence
Jaza Gibson • Natalie Kemp
Mikey Wilcox • Patrick Knowles
Jen Oldham • Susan Wokoma
Professor Oldham • Geff Francis

Producer: Phil Hunter
Writer: David Bishop
Director: Matt Carter
Series Producer: Mike Hobson
Series Producer: Peter Eryl Lloyd

Fri 18 Mar 2011 - 13:45, BBC One
Fri 18 Mar 2011 - 16:00, BBC HD

Genius: A Brief History of Title Design

Write Foot Forward, Nina & things - but not in that order

Spent the weekend in That Fancy London, doing some research and networking [or, as it's also known, seeing some old friends]. Took along the scene by scene for a new calling card script project I'm developing. Wasn't sure if I'd have a chance to look at it, but happily found time to give it some proper attention - with pleasing results.

I spent several weeks on this project last summer, but had to set it aside in favour of paying jobs with pressing deadlines. The combination of writing my third Doctors ep [on BBC1 this Friday], five scripts for Nina and the Neurons [now all officially signed off] and the computer game Fate of the World consumed the last six months.

Now, finally, I'm getting back to my long-gestating calling card script project. Being away from it for six months was frustrating, but useful, giving me fresh perspective on what wasn't working. Took me several hours, lots of coffee and contemplation, but I now possess a functioning scene by scene from which to start a first draft script.

This is, of course, terrifying. An unwritten script is perfect in your head, but the moment it touches paper or forms pixels the flaws emerge. That's first drafts for you. But without a first draft - no matter how imperfect - you can't rewrite. And that's where the shine emerges, turning your rough diamond into something more polished.

So I expect that will be consuming a lot of my writing time for the next six weeks. In an ideal world, the polished version proves good enough to submit as my writing sample for the BBC Writers' Academy. I didn't apply the last two years, but am committed to giving it a go this year. I've certainly progressed since 2008, when I last applied.

Three years ago I had one radio play, a short film screenplay prize and a successful trial script for Doctors to recommend me, along with two dodgy calling card scripts. Now I've got three eps of Doctors, five eps of Nina and the Neurons for CBeebies, another radio play, an agent representing me and an awful lot more experience.

But all the credits in the world won't get you considered for the Writers' Academy unless your original script wows the readers. Then all the other factors come into play. So that's why I need a crackerjack calling card script. Get that right and my chances of all least reaching the selection workshops improve. We shall see.

In the meantime, I'm one of ten writers selected for Write Foot Forward. This is a six-week course run by noted TV drama development executive Jo Calam, designed to help professional writers achieve a more satisfying career. No idea how many applied, but I'm very happy to make the cut. It starts with a conference call tomorrow night.

Not much else to report, aside from that most delightful of arrivals - an unexpected royalties cheque which turns up while I was in London. Titan Books has taken over the list of Reynolds & Hearn, meaning they're now my publishers for The Complete Inspector Morse. The royalties were for the 2009 edition. Expect a 2011 this autumn. Onwards!

A little light relief as the apocalypse draws nearer...

Strangely hypnotic: Vun Bun Vun Bun Vun Bun Vun Bun

Rebecca Black asks for one bun in a comedy German accent. Most odd.

Ferris Bueller as Indie Dramedy: The Mumblecore Years

Is this the most insane, bonkers bad comic ever?

Read it and weep, creeps.

Oh. My. God. You mean I used to have hair?

Here's part of a 1992 yoof magazine show, with a feature on comics. Hard to believe this is what TV used to be like. Bleurgh. Even more frightening, I make a fleeting cameo appearance talking about comics. You can see me around 3.40. Shockingly, I have hair. Jings!

Genius: The President's Speech [a.k.a. Fixing George W]

If Jesus is a Rochdale Girl, where does Judas come from?

Bit fuzzy this vid, but still a lovely song.

Genius: MP rocks the House with his air guitar heroics

Via @TheWordMagazine and @matt_cochr

Stealing booze and down long hungry kisses...

Lippy Kids - an early favourite off the new Elbow album. Enjoy.

Genius: awkward silences in classic Star Trek

Via @DamonLindelof and @andydiggle and Daily What.

Preview: my 3rd Doctors episode is on Friday March 18th

Friday March 18th this year is Red Nose Day, when people across Britain performing all sorts of silly stunts to raise money for the charity Comic Relief. It's also the day my third episode of the TV drama series Doctors is broadcast by the BBC [1.45pm on BBC1, then repeated in glorious high definition on BBCHD at 4pm that same afternoon].

The new Radio Times has made the episode, called Get Smart, its daytime choice for that Friday and even given it a special boxout plug. [Alas, the good old days when the RT bothered to mention the writer of individual episodes got lost in a redesign, but Doctors writers aren't bitter about that. No, not at all.]

Yesterday I received an advance copy of Get Smart on DVD. It's an odd moment, sitting down to watch something you slaved over the script for five or six months ago. I was able to visit the filming on my first two eps, but schedule clashes made that impossible, so I had no idea what the finished version would look like this time.

I'm happy to say the cast and crew have done me proud. Doctors is filmed almost entirely on location, and especially so for Get Smart. That means the crew can move walls to suit themselves, they have to be inventive and find interesting angles that will help tell the story no matter how tight or cramped the location might be.

Personally, I think they've done an amazing job on Get Smart. Having been on location with previous eps and seen the speed with which this production has to work, it's remarkable what Doctors achieves 230 times a year. Wish I could buy them all a pint of their favoured beverage as thanks, but Doctors doesn't pay writers that much.

I'll save my thoughts about the story until after it's been broadcast. There's plenty of process stories to tell, but they won't mean much until you've seen the story. Plus I don't want to spoil the ep for anyone who does plan to watch the broadcast [or, more likely, catch up with it after via the wonders of iPlayer]. In the meantime: onwards!

The Impossible Dream: John Cleese versus the Muppets

This video is not for the faint-hearted or vertigo sufferers

Laurel and Hardy and Santana: dance, boys, dance

Death, Hitchcock style

Via Scott Myers' Go Into The Story.

That window staring, brain storming, idea forming stage

Pretty much spent January and February writing non-stop. Think I had one and a half days off writing in the whole of those two months. When I discovered both my major deadlines had been met, I found myself at something of a loose end. Going from so much pressure to no pressure at all is kind of deflating. But I'm getting back on the horse, so to speak.

Right now I'm at that staring out a window and musing stage on several projects. That means a lot of brain storming, chin scratching and idle wondering, often with very little to show for it on paper or in pixels at the end of a day. After so many weeks going hammer and tongs to hit deadlines, bumbling about feels wrong - but it's crucial.

For example, I'm developing a new series pitch for CBeebies at the moment. It's an idea I've had kicking round since the CBeebies Lab last summer. Back then it was a name, a concept, a tagline - but not much more. Now I'm putting some flesh on this flimsy skeletons, figuring out what my show's really about, finding the heart of it.

My former Lighthouse TV writing tutor Phil Palmer argues that a great series has four things going for it: brains [intelligent writing]; heart [emotional depth]; poetry [distinctive wordsmithery]; and legs [potential to run and run]. I tend to agree with him, so I use a simple A-Z method for testing whether a new series idea has legs.

It's easy enough. I write the letters of the alphabet down one side of a sheet of paper. Then I devise with 26 episode titles, one for each letter, usually involving some appalling puns. [Examples from my current project include Nutty Professional, Yellow Tragic Orchestra, and Inane Clown Posse. I love excruciating puns to bits.]

Once I had enough episode titles, I use these as springboards to devise crude loglines for a plot that roughly [often, very roughly] fits the title. That helps me explore different aspects of my core cast and road-test my series concept. Is it robust enough to generate at least 26 stories? [26 eps tends to be the bare minimum for CBeebies.]

All of this takes time. There's no point rushing through the stages, you're far better to let such things bubble along at their own rate. If I get stuck, I switch focus to another project and let my subconscious do some heavy lifting in my absence. Even the simple act of sleeping on a knotty problem will often provide a great solution.

So today I will mostly be staring out a window, scratching my chin and contemplating how to turn Inane Clown Posse and Yellow Tragic Orchestra into exciting story ideas for children aged 4-6. Writing can be a strange, oddball kind of job sometimes. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Suits me to the ground, I have to admit. Onwards!

BAFTA Rocliffe new writing forum is coming to Edinburgh

The BAFTA Rocliffe new writing forum is coming to Edinburgh in June, as part of this year's film festival. It’s an opportunity for emerging writers to get their scripts performed by actors in an environment of constructive analysis, and receive feedback from peers and professionals. It’s a unique networking and pitching opportunity as well.

The Edinburgh event is happening on June 16th - but the deadline for submissions is March 25th. Entries should be sent to Alex Cook, BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LN. [Get your application form here.] You submit ten pages of a longer script - film or TV, no radio or theatre allowed. Better if it's character-based rather than massive visuals.

At submission stage the script extracts are read by a panel of established industry producers, script developers, directors, literary agents, actors, all looking for new talent. If your script is selected, it will be performed by professional actors to an audience of industry professionals at the festival - a fantastic way to get noticed!

I've no doubt the Rocliffe events in London get swamped with applications, so you've got better odds of being selected for the Edinburgh event. I'd be applying for the Edinburgh event myself, except I'm going to be in New Zealand at the time. There's loads more information about Rocliffe here, so get your entries in now. Good luck!

Genius: fanmade video for The Motorcade Sped On

Julian Lynch: A Day at the Racetrack