Her book became the bible for TV writers
The woman who wrote the book on how to write TV drama has seen it adopted as the bible at networks, studios, and writers rooms on the best TV shows.
So why did she throw out half the book for her second edition?
She said that in only two years since the release of her book, it had been suprisingly embraced by the industry as fast as it was by her students at USC’s School of Cinema & Television, but the world of entertainment has changed so much in the those two years that a new edition to her seemed necessary.
Saturday afternoon I went to the Writers Store to see a mentor of mine, Pamela Douglas, at an event for the release of the second edition of her book, Writing the TV Drama Series.
Pam calls today the Golden Age of TV Drama. She says that opportunitys are expanding, and are going nova. There are more venues. The three network paradigm is really just a distant memory for people who lived through it.
Series programming on every channel means different structures for each kind of venue. For instance, HBO & Showtime do not have commercials, so act structure for commercial breaks is not required.
On the other hand, network television has lost many viewers, so to make up ad revenue they charge less for advertisements but have more advertisements per hour. For hour long drama, this may mean five or six acts versus four and an optional teaser.
Farewell to the Electronic Hearth
Pam pointed out that there is “no more amalgamation of communities over place & time” — the communal, almost universal experience of yesteryear are gone forever. We no longer have a society that tunes in on a specific night at a specific time to watch the same thing.
Computers & TiVo changed everything. There’s no central control anymore.
Today the industry must narrowcast versus broadcast. The niche programming we used to have before is now an embraced standard because “hardly anybody gets everybody
Also, the streaming nature of video on demand changes the structure — act breaks no longer occur for commercials as before in an industry moving towards.
I’m looking forward to re-reading the book’s older material as well as the new developments — and interviews with TV showrunners, such as Ronald D. Moore of Battlestar Galactica.
I’ll post an in-depth review after I’ve read and digested the book. I make an appearance in it — my advanced TV writing class is featured in her chapter of success stories and cautionary tales. I suspect I’m more of a cautionary tale for now.
Pam said she added a section on writing TV pilots based, in part, on what I said during the interview she had with me and my fellow USC alumni.
So I’m especially looking forward to the TV pilot chapter.
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