Monthly Archives: January 2007

Distracted by the Evil Pets

I was supposed to go into CBC today to sit behind Joe and read a magazine while he mixed our latest masterpiece… But Joe’s at home tending to a sick child.

So, I’ve been sitting at my desk all day with a pounding headache (stress or the air pressure, who knows at this point) staring at my computer… Trying to work…

Days like this are torture.

I’m not working on anything specific, just a few outlines and I’m trying to finish a dirty draft of this stupid screenplay…

I get distracted.

First, I stare at my thinning hair in the webcam… And read about all the various baldness cures… (I do this every day. I’m pretty much resolved to letting nature take it’s course, but every day I hope a new cure will be found. They won’t announce it in the papers, it’s information will be buried deep within the bowels of the interweb… only to be found and used by those geeky enough to know where to look…)

Then I read all the papers. It’s nice to see a Canadian newspaper has finally written a piece about Chaperone heading to London… only four days after it was announced.

Then I surf… and surf… and surf… I read about British model, Keeley Hazell’s sex tape hitting the internet. So I spend about 30 seconds tracking down the video (find it yourself… pervs) and I can’t help but notice that for a model who is famous for posing topless, there is a surprising lack of toplesness in the sex tape.

I spend a few minutes e-mailing this hilarious observation to my friends.

Then I try to get some more work done.

But then, the ultimate distraction. I look down, and there are the pets. Staring at me. I don’t know what the hell they want, but I’m pretty sure their intentions are evil.

I mean…

JUST LOOK AT THEM!

And then I spend an hour taking the picture, editing the picture and finally writing this post.

Which by this point is the most productive thing I’ve done all day, but it’s also the stupidest thing I’ve ever written.

I debate deleting it, but then I’d have nothing to show for my day… Which is really sad.

I go back to look at my thinning hair in the webcam.

Actual work = 1.5 pages
Time wasted = 5 hours and counting

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The Intelligent Audience

I watch a lot of TV. A lot. I was raised on the television. My parents parked my crib in front of the TV. It was my babysitter, my best friend, and my first true love.

I consider myself a bit of an expert/historian/geek when it comes to TV.

One thing that amazes me lately, is this general perception in Canadian Television that Canadian audiences want safe TV. And by safe, I mean Corner Gas… and yes, Little Mosque. Which although risky in premise, is actually about as safe as you can get.

I would like to point out a couple things about Canadian audiences.

I believe that the Canadian audience is as sophisticated as (if not more than) the American audience.

Shows that are hits on Cable in the States, are mainstream hits here at home. For example: The Daily Show does better per capita in Canada than it does in the US.

The Sopranos ran unedited on CTV.

In terms of Canadian programming, I would like people to remember The Newsroom. Not the version that I was on (I have to be careful here) but the show that premiered in ’96. The show that swept the Gemini’s. The show that was so popular that it prompted Vanity Fair to do profile piece on Ken Finkleman.

The first year of The Newsroom was (dare I say it) a bigger break-out hit than Corner Gas. It renewed people’s faith in Canadian television. It was bold, dark, edgy and nothing like anyone had seen before on network television… (Larry Sanders was on cable).

It’s easy to forget that first year. By the time I joined the show, the British version of The Office was winning all sorts of awards around the world… The Newsroom was no longer as fresh as it once was, after being off the air for several years… Audiences had gotten more sophisticated.

So, as the Corner Gas imitators start coming through the gates, I’d like people to remember that it is possible for a show to be “edgy” and “dark” and also be a “hit”. I fear that Canadian Television is underestimating the intelligence of the audience.

I worry that writers (always trying to second guess what the executives want) are going to be afraid of taking risks… When now is the most important time in Television history to take risks. There’s so much at stake, how can you not take a risk?

I don’t know what I’m saying here. I’m looped up on sleep drugs (which apparently aren’t helping, it’s 3am) but I know what I’m trying to say.

err.

Ok…

A good show is a good show. It shouldn’t be edgy for the sake of being edgy. It should just be good. That being said, if it’s good, AND it’s edgy, someone should take a chance on it. It shouldn’t be swept under the carpet because it’s not safe. Nor should it be “safe-a-fyied” in order to make it acceptable.

Now, if it’s safe AND it’s good (Corner Gas) than that’s great too. It’s all about the intent of the creator and his/her ability to convey that intent into a funny, solid script.

The audience is a lot more intelligent than anyone gives them credit for. They’re always a few steps ahead of the show. I consider myself an audience member fist, and a writer second.

Now, that being said…

Does anyone else find Beauty and The Geek one of the most entertaining shows in history?

I find it insanely gripping.

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