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06/26/2006: It's Vistalicious!


I did a little checking with my agenting team (yeah, they sometimes form teams), to find out the hottest, latest, up-to-datest info on what specs they're seeing in the drama world. They agree with me that there is very little in the way of specable drama shows right now. House seems to be the most popular one-hour spec of the moment, they tell me. With some action also happening with Nip/Tuck and The Shield. Nip/Tuck? Still? Really? Huh. They're a little skeptical about Grey's, due to the serialized nature. It's hard to keep it current. (Frankly, I worry about that less than they do.)

So what do they recommend after you've written your House? They suggest writing a play, a screenplay or a spec pilot to demonstrate your skills. Certainly not a terrible idea.

(An aside: Following up the spec pilot idea, I had a kind of a neat thought yesterday. Part of the problem with a spec pilot is that the reader doesn't get to see how well you do at capturing someone else's characters and tone. So what about a spec pilot that takes off on a well-known movie? You know, as if you'd been hired to write the tv-series version of X-Men or Platoon or whatever? Personally, I think this could be a very interesting project.)

Anyway, this blog -- this humble blog -- is going to continue primarily to be about writing spec episodes of existing shows. I still believe this is considered the currency of the town by so many people -- and by the ABC Writing Fellowship -- that it can't be discounted.

But I'm also going to start throwing in a little advice on spec pilot writing as we go along. Not all the time, but here and there. I'm not qualified to speak to writing features or plays, but I've written a few pilot scripts now, and they present some unique challenges that are totally different than anything I've talked about. So hang on, because suddenly we get to talk about conceptualizing a whole show, creating major characters and setting a tone... And even naming the series! Fun!

New vistas!

Lunch: that cannellini bean salad I sometimes make. I'm starting to be a little bored by it. We need new vistas in all areas of life.