A random entry from the journal I kept for the firt two years of Film School.
Date: 01.24.98
Time: 12:22 am (01.25.98)
Location: Apartment
Movies Watched: Fallen Angels *** 1/2 Dir Kar Wei Wong-As usual, Wong delivers one of the most visual stunning movies. The story is trademark Wong. Two stories, one about a hitman and his partner, the other the story of a mute ex-con trying to make it. The characters cross each others path only on the very periphery.
TV Watched:
Books Read:
Breakfast: coffee,
Lunch: grape nuts, coke, gold fish
Dinner: shrimp chow mein, egg roll, fried rice, wonton soup
Places Gone: Dodge, Film Forum, Hell, The Belmont
Entry: Woke a little after 11:00 am and got ready. Went to school and started editing/ Had to re-digitize so I read DARK TOWER book two. Worked on it for a couple of hours until Tom showed up. Sarah and Sarah were with him. The said they were going to see FALLEN ANGELS at the Film Forum. While Tom shows his sister and her friend around I looked up the show times on the web. They decided to go to the 4:40 PM SHOW. I Thought about it for a few minutes and decided to go with them.
Needless to say, this was the start of a long and fruitless day. The subway at 116 th was shut down so we had to catch the bus and ride it to 96 th. We caught the subway and headed downtown. It was already 4:00 pm when we boarded the subway. We got to the Film Forum a little after 4:20 pm and bought our tickets. We got one for Stuart even though we weren't sure if he would make it. The only seats left in the theater were on the front row. Stuart showed just before the movie began.
After the movie we walked to a little Chinese/Cuban restaurant on eighth that Stuart knew of. After dinner we walked to the meat-packing district and went to a bar called HELL. We were basically the only people there since it was just before 8:00 pm. Tom made some phone calls to Manuel, Jessica Wing, and Todd. Jessica and Manuel both showed. We sat around drinking and talking as the bar around us filled to beyond capacity. Stuart actually knows the owner. Jessica left an hour after she got there to meet a friend to go dancing. She tried to convince Tom to come. Stuart also had to leave to meet a friend at THE ROXY. Tom, Sarah, Sarah, Manuel, and Stuart were all waiting outside for me as I waited next to the bar trying to get my credit card back.
It took about ten minutes, but I finally joined them outside. Tom wanted us to go with Manuel to The Belmont. Stuart had worn a sued jacket so he and I switched and I let him wear my yellow all weather. Stuart started walking to THE ROXY and the rest of us crammed into a cab. Normally cabs aren't allowed to take five people at a time, but we had just extricated his cab from a pothole so he returned the favor.
It was raining and snowing as we stood on the sidewalk waiting to get into the club. We were getting wet so Tom, myself, Sarah, and Sarah decided to leave. We were about twenty feet down the sidewalk when Manuel called after us. We returned and got into the club. I had run completely out of cash. Tom bought me a beer with Sarah's money and we stood around drinking in this “hip” crowded space. At one point we saw Keanu Reeves with his head shaved walking about like any lone male in a bar would.
We left the bar about forty minutes later and caught cabs uptown to the film school party. It was a little after midnight when we arrived. I ended up staying until a little after three when the guy whose apartment we were using closed the party down. I was drunk to say the least and walked home weaving like a drunk. Got home and got ready for bed as best I could. There was a message on my machine. Stuart had left the keys to his apartment in the jacket he had allowed Sarah to borrow. I passed out on the bed and slept.
BRAIN TWEETS
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Breaking Eureka
This is probably only of interest to me, but John Rogers, one of the driving forces behind the Global Frequency pilot lays it out on his blog. He was hired in as a freelance writer on Eureka before they even shot the first episode beyond the pilot. It's pretty standard if you want to know how a drama show is broken, more specifically a Sci-Fi one, especially if a freelance writer is involved.
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
He Tells Me
Lying down there, stiff and cold,
He tells me stories new and old.
He tells me things he shouldn’t know,
He tells me as his muscles show.
He tells me through his rotting face,
He tells me of a special place.
He tells me how to get in there,
He tells me why and how and where.
He tells me of the things I’ll find.
He tells me how to kill and bind,
The things that ate his hopes and dreams.
The things from which all darkness streams.
The things that live down in the earth.
The things that writhe and still give birth.
The things that smell of retched death.
The things that give off rotted breath.
The things that used to be like me,
The things that I will soon set free.
[© 2006 Greg Bunch]
He tells me stories new and old.
He tells me things he shouldn’t know,
He tells me as his muscles show.
He tells me through his rotting face,
He tells me of a special place.
He tells me how to get in there,
He tells me why and how and where.
He tells me of the things I’ll find.
He tells me how to kill and bind,
The things that ate his hopes and dreams.
The things from which all darkness streams.
The things that live down in the earth.
The things that writhe and still give birth.
The things that smell of retched death.
The things that give off rotted breath.
The things that used to be like me,
The things that I will soon set free.
[© 2006 Greg Bunch]
The Hole
The hole is dark, the hole is deep,
The hole is where the Angels sleep,
The Angels from a distant place,
The Angels from the darkest space,
The Angels who will lead us to,
The places that we never knew,
The places where the Evil lies,
The Evil with a thousand eyes.
The Evil that will bring us to,
The truth that we are evil too.
[© 2006 Greg Bunch]
The hole is where the Angels sleep,
The Angels from a distant place,
The Angels from the darkest space,
The Angels who will lead us to,
The places that we never knew,
The places where the Evil lies,
The Evil with a thousand eyes.
The Evil that will bring us to,
The truth that we are evil too.
[© 2006 Greg Bunch]
Within This House
Within this house, upon this hill,
Within its rooms where walls are still,
Within the walls the things are breeding,
Within themselves the cells are seeding,
Sowing something new and dark,
Sowing something bleak and stark,
Sowing something full of bile,
Sowing something black and vile.
Something that will soon appear,
Something that will feed on fear,
Something that will spread like lies
Something that will bring the flies,
The flies will lay their eggs on you,
Your body rigid, fearful, blue.
[© 2006 Greg Bunch]
Within its rooms where walls are still,
Within the walls the things are breeding,
Within themselves the cells are seeding,
Sowing something new and dark,
Sowing something bleak and stark,
Sowing something full of bile,
Sowing something black and vile.
Something that will soon appear,
Something that will feed on fear,
Something that will spread like lies
Something that will bring the flies,
The flies will lay their eggs on you,
Your body rigid, fearful, blue.
[© 2006 Greg Bunch]
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Below Something Rages
Beneath the stars, beneath the sky,
Below the buildings watchful eye,
Beneath the lamps, beneath the streets,
Below the ground, where something sleeps.
Beneath the tunnels, beneath the trains,
Below the sewage pipes and drains,
Beneath the water, beneath the rocks,
Below a thousand ages, Knocks
Something trapped within a cage.
Imprisoned here before this age.
Something made of timeless stuff.
Something breathing deep and rough.
Something full of ageless rage.
Breaks again, against its cage,
Breaks against the smooth hewn walls,
Against the runes and magic scrawls,
Against the spells and bloody curses
Against these very stone etched verses.
Against the walls that sprung from fear,
Against the wall, where cracks appear.
[© 2006 Greg Bunch]
Below the buildings watchful eye,
Beneath the lamps, beneath the streets,
Below the ground, where something sleeps.
Beneath the tunnels, beneath the trains,
Below the sewage pipes and drains,
Beneath the water, beneath the rocks,
Below a thousand ages, Knocks
Something trapped within a cage.
Imprisoned here before this age.
Something made of timeless stuff.
Something breathing deep and rough.
Something full of ageless rage.
Breaks again, against its cage,
Breaks against the smooth hewn walls,
Against the runes and magic scrawls,
Against the spells and bloody curses
Against these very stone etched verses.
Against the walls that sprung from fear,
Against the wall, where cracks appear.
[© 2006 Greg Bunch]
Falls Past
In looking toward the coming fall, for which I will have no delight here in LA, I proffer a moment from 2001, or there abouts, written while house sitting for my parents. It is from before the planes, so it must have been from the month of August.
ACORNS AWAY or SQUIRRELS EMPLOY GRAVITY IN AN EFFORT TO DETER READING
I like to read on the deck. The wind blows lightly across your face as the sun warms you. The light reflecting off the pages of the book is just right when viewed through a nice pair of sunglasses. So, since I’ve arrived here in Tennessee, that is exactly what I’ve done. I even positioned one of the nice cushioned outdoor chairs into just the right spot. In doing so, however, I made one crucial mistake. For above my chair protruding over the roof of the house was a very large limb of a very large Oak tree. Now as most people know, Oak trees have acorns. Who loves acorns? Squirrels of course. What is the rate of acceleration of an object in free fall? 9.8 ms2. Or at least that’s what I remember it to be. I got a “D” in Physics in High School. It is one thing to be Isaac Newton and have an apple fall on your head, which inspires your deduction of gravity, and it is quite another to be trying to read while you are rained upon by half eaten acorns dropped by voracious carefree squirrels.
You would think that with winter coming they would deftly cleave from each seed all the nutrients it can provide. But alas no, they simply tear it open take a few bites and launch it downward. Sometimes their simple scurrying alone can unleash a deluge of carpeting assault. I stand, or sit actually, my ground as all around me echo the TINKS, CLINKS, CLANKS, and THUMPS of acorns as the ricochet off the wood decking or the glass topped table to my side. I hold firmly to my book, endeavoring to connect each word in its appropriate order and make meaning of its underlying truth, while listening in an effort to avoid being thunked in the head. The one good thing that has come from this is that I now have a keen ear for acorn acceleration. If they hit the roof first, I can predict whether I need to duck or not by the sound they make ramping down the overhang. Even with this newfound skill, if this keeps up I’ll have to unleash my secret weapon.
As I have mentioned in previous musings, my cat Pascal enjoys being outside. He also, like most cats, enjoys killing small rodents. While I am against killing for pleasure, I do appreciate the way the squirrels react once I have unleashed my furry response to their incessant onslaught. To accurately capture the sound that squirrels make when alarmed by the approach of a predator, one would have to use the word “bark”. This is uttered by the lookout, whose job it is to, well, lookout; this is usually accomplished by turning upside down on the tree, so as to keep an eye on the enemy, and unleashing a series of staccato barks. Once this is accomplished all other squirrels in the vicinity head for the nearest tree. Once everyone is accounted for they all follow suit and begin barking. I have to wonder if this does not give a small rush of power to my cat. I know it would to me if I was to walk down the street and have everyone around me run to their roofs and begin barking down at me “Go away, we are afraid of you.” I have to assume my cat feels similarly. The cat firmly positioned on the deck in repose, still within any given squirrel’s sight line, I can return to my book. After a few pages the incessant barking of five or six squirrels becomes merely background white noise which is easily tuned out.
Now some of you might say that I simply could have moved my chair and avoided all this in the first place. To you I say “Are you not willing to fight for what is rightly yours? Are you not willing to prevail in the face of free falling partially eaten acorns?” It is my belief that you are and would indeed do so. Illiteracy in this country shall not be governed by greedy cheek stuffing rats, who wish only to take as much as they can to survive the winters of their lives. I shall not be daunted by this rodent campaign to dumb down America. So, here I sit having weathered the most vicious attacks. There are still a few errant sniper situations on occasion, but the greater threat has now passed. The furry little buggers now scavenge the ground in an effort to finish what they have started, but here I sit, book in hand, occasionally dodging to the left or right as need be, engaged in the activity I find most gratifying, reading.
TING…CLANG…THWACK.
“HEY…WATCH IT YOU LITTLE FREAK! I’M TRYING TO READ HERE!”
I miss Tennessee, I miss the fall and most specifically the squirrels.
[© 2001 Greg Bunch]
ACORNS AWAY or SQUIRRELS EMPLOY GRAVITY IN AN EFFORT TO DETER READING
I like to read on the deck. The wind blows lightly across your face as the sun warms you. The light reflecting off the pages of the book is just right when viewed through a nice pair of sunglasses. So, since I’ve arrived here in Tennessee, that is exactly what I’ve done. I even positioned one of the nice cushioned outdoor chairs into just the right spot. In doing so, however, I made one crucial mistake. For above my chair protruding over the roof of the house was a very large limb of a very large Oak tree. Now as most people know, Oak trees have acorns. Who loves acorns? Squirrels of course. What is the rate of acceleration of an object in free fall? 9.8 ms2. Or at least that’s what I remember it to be. I got a “D” in Physics in High School. It is one thing to be Isaac Newton and have an apple fall on your head, which inspires your deduction of gravity, and it is quite another to be trying to read while you are rained upon by half eaten acorns dropped by voracious carefree squirrels.
You would think that with winter coming they would deftly cleave from each seed all the nutrients it can provide. But alas no, they simply tear it open take a few bites and launch it downward. Sometimes their simple scurrying alone can unleash a deluge of carpeting assault. I stand, or sit actually, my ground as all around me echo the TINKS, CLINKS, CLANKS, and THUMPS of acorns as the ricochet off the wood decking or the glass topped table to my side. I hold firmly to my book, endeavoring to connect each word in its appropriate order and make meaning of its underlying truth, while listening in an effort to avoid being thunked in the head. The one good thing that has come from this is that I now have a keen ear for acorn acceleration. If they hit the roof first, I can predict whether I need to duck or not by the sound they make ramping down the overhang. Even with this newfound skill, if this keeps up I’ll have to unleash my secret weapon.
As I have mentioned in previous musings, my cat Pascal enjoys being outside. He also, like most cats, enjoys killing small rodents. While I am against killing for pleasure, I do appreciate the way the squirrels react once I have unleashed my furry response to their incessant onslaught. To accurately capture the sound that squirrels make when alarmed by the approach of a predator, one would have to use the word “bark”. This is uttered by the lookout, whose job it is to, well, lookout; this is usually accomplished by turning upside down on the tree, so as to keep an eye on the enemy, and unleashing a series of staccato barks. Once this is accomplished all other squirrels in the vicinity head for the nearest tree. Once everyone is accounted for they all follow suit and begin barking. I have to wonder if this does not give a small rush of power to my cat. I know it would to me if I was to walk down the street and have everyone around me run to their roofs and begin barking down at me “Go away, we are afraid of you.” I have to assume my cat feels similarly. The cat firmly positioned on the deck in repose, still within any given squirrel’s sight line, I can return to my book. After a few pages the incessant barking of five or six squirrels becomes merely background white noise which is easily tuned out.
Now some of you might say that I simply could have moved my chair and avoided all this in the first place. To you I say “Are you not willing to fight for what is rightly yours? Are you not willing to prevail in the face of free falling partially eaten acorns?” It is my belief that you are and would indeed do so. Illiteracy in this country shall not be governed by greedy cheek stuffing rats, who wish only to take as much as they can to survive the winters of their lives. I shall not be daunted by this rodent campaign to dumb down America. So, here I sit having weathered the most vicious attacks. There are still a few errant sniper situations on occasion, but the greater threat has now passed. The furry little buggers now scavenge the ground in an effort to finish what they have started, but here I sit, book in hand, occasionally dodging to the left or right as need be, engaged in the activity I find most gratifying, reading.
TING…CLANG…THWACK.
“HEY…WATCH IT YOU LITTLE FREAK! I’M TRYING TO READ HERE!”
I miss Tennessee, I miss the fall and most specifically the squirrels.
[© 2001 Greg Bunch]
Monday, September 25, 2006
Double the pleasure
I am overwhelmed with joy. I just cooked my first pound of bacon in California. Puuuuuuuurrrrrrrr! -and - My mom sent me a care package full of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
Acting Out
Four acts, five acts, six acts a peso, all for more ads, stand up and say so.
It’s getting more complicated every day for new writers to stay on top of the shifting act structure of American television, or at least American television of the four major networks. If you wrote a spec scrip for say CSI, you wrote it in a four act structure with a teaser on the front end as a hook. However, if you send that around it isn’t going to the people at CSI, it’s going to people at shows like Numb3rs or Criminal Minds, because no one reads specs of their own shows. They read specs of shows that are in a similar vein to see if the writer knows basic structure and can adhere to the characters of a given show. The problem with this is that Numb3rs or Criminal Minds are using a five act structure imposed to garner more commercial airtime. So, does this mean that they might be unsure your capable of adding another “:don’t turn the channel” act out to a script you’ve fine tuned to only have four? This very basic element changes the story. Where you might have had a nice scene of character building in say Act 2, you would have to split that up and change the whole story, adding another piece of “peril” that wasn’t there before to conform to the new act structure.
Now, the new five act structure works somewhat OK in action driven series, and in some cases this still isn’t enough. Shows like Lost and Desperate Housewives now employ a 6 act structure, ABC has actually mandated all its Dramas now use this structure regardless of their “speed”, so that the more character driven shows get hacked up and are less effective by it. Luckily there are still a few hold out to this. According to a USA today article from last year,, “producers of CSI, Law & Order and ER refused to go along. Fox uses it only on Bones.” And it would seem David E. Kelley is also not convinced for very good reasons, which he expressed in the same article.
"There's no opportunity to develop any kind of storytelling momentum," Kelley says, fearing that quiet scenes of dialogue will never hold up to increasingly loud — and frequent — commercial breaks. "High-octane shows, or puzzle shows, will be immune to it.
"If a knife is plunged into someone's sternum, you pay attention," Kelley says. "But for shows that don't depend on violence or melodramatic scenes, it's tougher to compete in a six-act show than in four acts, or in 41 minutes instead of 45 minutes. You have to be a little more aggressive with them, musically or filmically, just to get people's attention back."
Karen Woodward, in the Weekender edition of the Cynopsis newsletter, which is an e-mail newsletter and daily overview I get in my inbox, looked at this a while back.
“In the past, shows have been structured into four acts, but now they’re being structured as five or even six. The constant breaks are frustrating, but it’s more than that - this new structure affects the whole art of storytelling. “Moving to the five-act structure not only cuts the amount of time we have to tell the story, but changes the way we have to tell it,” says one writer on a popular drama. “More things have to happen in each act.”
“In a four-act structure, the 2nd act break (at the half-hour mark) has to have the strongest hook: “That’s when they arrest someone,” says the writer. “But if you move to five acts, the 2nd and 3rd act-outs would have to both be really strong, which complicates the story.” Essentially, the 2nd act break would provide the twist, and then the 3rd act break has to put a twist on that twist. “[For example], at the end of the 2nd act, the person being arrested would end up to be a transvestite, and then at the end of the 3rd act they’d have to die… and you have to do all that in less time then you had before.”
I felt like I was missing the boat on this since I don’t have a TV and oddly didn’t notice it on shows that I watch like Lost, probably because I’m still a fan and don’t structurally critique a show unless I’m doing it specifically. The other day I was reading Jane Espenson’s blog, which I do daily or by post, and she mentioned having run into the five act structure with Tru Calling and The Inside and now again on the script she’s currently writing. I’m assuming it’s the Battlestar Galactica script she’s working on. However, even for a prolific TV writer such as herself, she made no mention of the new six act structure, so even she’s been awakened to it I dare say at this point.
I’m feeling a bit torn about all of this. The new spec pilot I’m working on adheres to the old 4 act structure plus teaser, like all of me spec pilots do. Now I’m thinking I may need to go back on the rewrite and cut it up into five, which seems to be what Sci-Fi Channel is looking for these days and this is something primarily designed to pitch to the likes of them. Now, maybe I’m already using the five act structure, if you count the teaser, but I really don’t know. Maybe I’ve written everything in a five act structure and was just ahead of the curve somehow. I have to get a hold of one these scripts to find out. I don’t think I am. The old four act structure use to have a teaser, four acts, and a tag, like Homicide.
Bottom line is that network television is allowing advertisers to once again control the nature of the stories being told. The networks wonder why they can’t make solid dramas anymore and it’s because they’re competing with the likes of the HBO and Showtime which give viewers what they want, a one hour drama that plays like a movie where the action is inserted for reasons of story and moving it forward just when it needs to and not just when it needs to go to commercial.
My brain hurts now. Must break life into smaller digestible bits so that it doesn’t stick in my craw. Espensen turned me onto this fact so I started looking things up. It would appear every one knew about this a year ago. So much for hiding in the cabin.
[UPDATE: Jane Espenson just followed up her post of yesturday about 5 act structure with this bit today: "In other news, a follow-up on yesterday's five-act post. I've received two emails from working writers with completely contradictory information on the future of episodic tv structure. I am informed both that Bones has gone back to the four act structure after an attempt to work with five, and that new ABC drama pilots are being written with SIX acts (although with no teaser)! Well! So, I guess, the wise thing is probably to let your story dictate your choice! How many times does your story turn? That's how many act breaks it can have!"
So, I think I'll just stick with what I know for now and try not to fret.]
It’s getting more complicated every day for new writers to stay on top of the shifting act structure of American television, or at least American television of the four major networks. If you wrote a spec scrip for say CSI, you wrote it in a four act structure with a teaser on the front end as a hook. However, if you send that around it isn’t going to the people at CSI, it’s going to people at shows like Numb3rs or Criminal Minds, because no one reads specs of their own shows. They read specs of shows that are in a similar vein to see if the writer knows basic structure and can adhere to the characters of a given show. The problem with this is that Numb3rs or Criminal Minds are using a five act structure imposed to garner more commercial airtime. So, does this mean that they might be unsure your capable of adding another “:don’t turn the channel” act out to a script you’ve fine tuned to only have four? This very basic element changes the story. Where you might have had a nice scene of character building in say Act 2, you would have to split that up and change the whole story, adding another piece of “peril” that wasn’t there before to conform to the new act structure.
Now, the new five act structure works somewhat OK in action driven series, and in some cases this still isn’t enough. Shows like Lost and Desperate Housewives now employ a 6 act structure, ABC has actually mandated all its Dramas now use this structure regardless of their “speed”, so that the more character driven shows get hacked up and are less effective by it. Luckily there are still a few hold out to this. According to a USA today article from last year,, “producers of CSI, Law & Order and ER refused to go along. Fox uses it only on Bones.” And it would seem David E. Kelley is also not convinced for very good reasons, which he expressed in the same article.
"There's no opportunity to develop any kind of storytelling momentum," Kelley says, fearing that quiet scenes of dialogue will never hold up to increasingly loud — and frequent — commercial breaks. "High-octane shows, or puzzle shows, will be immune to it.
"If a knife is plunged into someone's sternum, you pay attention," Kelley says. "But for shows that don't depend on violence or melodramatic scenes, it's tougher to compete in a six-act show than in four acts, or in 41 minutes instead of 45 minutes. You have to be a little more aggressive with them, musically or filmically, just to get people's attention back."
Karen Woodward, in the Weekender edition of the Cynopsis newsletter, which is an e-mail newsletter and daily overview I get in my inbox, looked at this a while back.
“In the past, shows have been structured into four acts, but now they’re being structured as five or even six. The constant breaks are frustrating, but it’s more than that - this new structure affects the whole art of storytelling. “Moving to the five-act structure not only cuts the amount of time we have to tell the story, but changes the way we have to tell it,” says one writer on a popular drama. “More things have to happen in each act.”
“In a four-act structure, the 2nd act break (at the half-hour mark) has to have the strongest hook: “That’s when they arrest someone,” says the writer. “But if you move to five acts, the 2nd and 3rd act-outs would have to both be really strong, which complicates the story.” Essentially, the 2nd act break would provide the twist, and then the 3rd act break has to put a twist on that twist. “[For example], at the end of the 2nd act, the person being arrested would end up to be a transvestite, and then at the end of the 3rd act they’d have to die… and you have to do all that in less time then you had before.”
I felt like I was missing the boat on this since I don’t have a TV and oddly didn’t notice it on shows that I watch like Lost, probably because I’m still a fan and don’t structurally critique a show unless I’m doing it specifically. The other day I was reading Jane Espenson’s blog, which I do daily or by post, and she mentioned having run into the five act structure with Tru Calling and The Inside and now again on the script she’s currently writing. I’m assuming it’s the Battlestar Galactica script she’s working on. However, even for a prolific TV writer such as herself, she made no mention of the new six act structure, so even she’s been awakened to it I dare say at this point.
I’m feeling a bit torn about all of this. The new spec pilot I’m working on adheres to the old 4 act structure plus teaser, like all of me spec pilots do. Now I’m thinking I may need to go back on the rewrite and cut it up into five, which seems to be what Sci-Fi Channel is looking for these days and this is something primarily designed to pitch to the likes of them. Now, maybe I’m already using the five act structure, if you count the teaser, but I really don’t know. Maybe I’ve written everything in a five act structure and was just ahead of the curve somehow. I have to get a hold of one these scripts to find out. I don’t think I am. The old four act structure use to have a teaser, four acts, and a tag, like Homicide.
Bottom line is that network television is allowing advertisers to once again control the nature of the stories being told. The networks wonder why they can’t make solid dramas anymore and it’s because they’re competing with the likes of the HBO and Showtime which give viewers what they want, a one hour drama that plays like a movie where the action is inserted for reasons of story and moving it forward just when it needs to and not just when it needs to go to commercial.
My brain hurts now. Must break life into smaller digestible bits so that it doesn’t stick in my craw. Espensen turned me onto this fact so I started looking things up. It would appear every one knew about this a year ago. So much for hiding in the cabin.
[UPDATE: Jane Espenson just followed up her post of yesturday about 5 act structure with this bit today: "In other news, a follow-up on yesterday's five-act post. I've received two emails from working writers with completely contradictory information on the future of episodic tv structure. I am informed both that Bones has gone back to the four act structure after an attempt to work with five, and that new ABC drama pilots are being written with SIX acts (although with no teaser)! Well! So, I guess, the wise thing is probably to let your story dictate your choice! How many times does your story turn? That's how many act breaks it can have!"
So, I think I'll just stick with what I know for now and try not to fret.]
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Review: Dexter
I’ve finally seen the pilot for the best new show this season. It’s DEXTER. That’s right, I finally turned everything off on my computer that was pulling bandwidth so I could watch it. Showtime has finally gotten off its ass and started giving HBO a run for its money. Don’t get me wrong, the also have WEEDS, one of the best shows right now on TV, but this would seem to mark the first time they’ve created a worthy drama as well. Michael C Hall, formerly the gay brother on SIX FEET UNDER over on HBO, is pitch perfect as a blood splatter expert/serial killer of killers. It’s dark and funny and almost mesmerizing in its delivery. No turning away, this show. It gets right to the meat and shows the bone. No funny CSI gimmicks, just real people in situations so disturbing that it makes me giddy with delight. What makes Dexter so compelling is that he has no emotions, unless you count awe, which is considered an emotion. He finds himself truly in awe of the main serial killer in the premiere episode, a creature so devilishly clever that when Dexter figures out how to find him, he’s already uncovered Dexter. He sends Dexter a message at the end of the episode and Dexter not only gets it, he wants to be a part of it. Dexter wants to play. This is the kind of stuff that makes TV worthwhile and also the kind of stuff that makes Congress tighten its collective butt cheeks and start spouting how these sorts of things lead children to do funny things with animals. We can only hope. What’s also nice is the flashbacks of Dexter as a young foster child talking to his adoptive father after his father’s found the neighbor’s dog in a grave. He asks Dexter why he did it and Dexter tells him it’s because the dog wouldn’t stop yapping all day and it was bothering his foster mother who is sick. The father, a cop, seems to understand even when he reveals to Dexter that the grave was full of more than just the one dog. A later flashback of Dexter as a high school age kid has the father confronting him again and, having found a nice roll-up of knives, and thinking they’d solved Dexter’s issue, Dexter is supposed to come to him when he has feeling like this. Then, the father makes the most wonderfully chilling and beautifully realistic statement. He loves his son so much that he wants to find a way to channel his “needs”. He says Dexter is still a good kid because he’s never killed a human. Then the father says they need to work on making sure Dexter hones his skills and follows certain rules, because the cops can’t always catch all the bad guys, not the really bad ones, and this may be the outlet Dexter is looking for.
Obviously this show isn’t for everyone, most notable those who don’t like gore, killing, serial killers, brilliant character driven TV and it could possibly be harmful if your disillusioned, disaffected, or pregnant.
Obviously this show isn’t for everyone, most notable those who don’t like gore, killing, serial killers, brilliant character driven TV and it could possibly be harmful if your disillusioned, disaffected, or pregnant.
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