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05/01/2007: The Incompetence of Others Makes You Comparatively Better!


I talked this morning with someone who has been reading stacks of half-hour spec scripts in anticipation of hiring a staff. So I used the opportunity to find out what's going on out there.

The answer? Well, it's bad news for show-runners, but very good news for you, gentle readers. This show-runner is reading, of course, dozens of "The Office" specs. None of which -- none of which! -- have any emotional pay-off.

Gasp! (Not a sarcastic gasp. An actual gasp.)

This is the thing I keep saying about having to be better than the average episode of a show. We all know that the very best episodes of The Office are more than simply piles of jokes. Remember, in the episode that Joss directed, when we were expecting Jim to show up at Pam's art show, but it was Michael instead and he loved her art? Remember the "Booze Cruise" episode where Jim confessed his feelings for Pam to Michael? Those moments of connection, of vulnerability, of hurt, of unexpected nobility... those are the reasons to even sit down and try to tackle a spec "The Office." If you're not driving toward a moment like that, you need to start over.

And the fact that specs from professional writers are floating around out there without those moments? That means that there is room for you, gentle readers, room for your excellent specs to catch the eyes of agents, or those people who read for contests, or whomever. Fill the gap.

Lunch: cheddar cheese. And one of those "doughnut cupcakes" from Big Sugar Bakery.