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© Robin Kelly 1997 - 2003
Four new sitcom pilots were performed by a group of professional actors. The scripts were then discussed by a panel consisting of Matthew Carless (MC), Script Associate, BBC Comedy Development Unit and Paul A Mendelson (PM), writer of BBC sitcoms "So Haunt Me" and "May to September".
MC: The audience the BBC are mainly looking for is for the pre-watershed slots; for audiences of 10 million or above and so you have to consider the language. Sitcom language is complained about more than anything else.
Biggest weakness is that characters are not developed enough. You need to create memorable sitcoms. You can have too many scene changes. We want a minimum of pre-recorded material, which isn't just location but complicated interior as well. You have to have very strong characters and a very strong story.
PM: It's good to try and find something different from the milieu.
When you consider workers, in sitcoms, it's hard to believe that they would be hired to do the job. However loony they are you have to believe they can do their job. You have the characters doing a bit of work to show that.
It was good that the characters had different voices and they were slightly new characters I hadn't seen before.
MC: Too many pilots are bogged down by too much set-up. It makes it difficult to pinpoint the story. Stereotypes are the best type of character but throw in a curveball - as they say in America - make it different. Avoid lack of focus on story and lack of memorable characters. You only need one good character for script editors to take notice. The Script Unit gets tons of flatshares but there should be an added dimension to make it different. They are usually about students; rip-offs of Friends with characters talking exactly like Monica, Joey et al. They could be transcripts.
PM: Low concept gets you sacked in advertising, where I used to work. Low concepts in sitcom are the things that last forever as long as the characters are really, really strong. It can be a strength being low concept. Characters and plot should be taken to their full potential. In an office comedy, for instance, there is great potential but you have to make lists and lists of what characters do and how they connect in some way that isn't a co-incidence.
MC: You should connect narrative with series concept. Comedy should come from relationships with characters - show us don't tell us. The word 'bastard' isn't funny, but put it in context and it is. Sitcoms should be more like that and less trying too hard for lines to be funny.
Don't make characters the same. A lot of people rush their foundation work: creating the characters, series premise, etc.
Both comedy and drama arise from conflict either in story or between characters. What is good is strong energy, characters different from each other. What motivates the characters and causes the conflict. Make the characters engaging.
PM: If you have a character who has an obsession with a job then that can be as funny as characters who hate their jobs.
In terms of rejection I have a pile of rejected scripts and I know it's just one person's opinion - you just have to wait for that person to die off and re-submit it.
MC: All because there isn't work broadcast, the Unit develops scripts up to unbroadcast pilots.
PM: I took "So Haunt Me" to the BBC and was told that I had done everything wrong: children, ethnic humour suspension of disbelief, etc. and it was rejected. After "May to December" was a success, I re-submitted "So Haunt Me" and it was commissioned.
MC: Be careful of too many characters and locations. Sometimes writers send in something that is more comedy drama than sitcom.
It's a good exercise to go for a mid-season episode rather than the pilot and you could very well use that as pilot. Just re-tell the situation and have a plot.
Characters should be relatively unchanged at each episode beginning so someone who joins the series late on can still get it.
PM: Your character name can be a powerful tool to characterise that person. Certain names suggest a characteristic. Writers should think a lot about the names as they can subconsciously help characterise the character.
MC: Think about what is going to happen in future episodes? What is it about?