On Not Writing for Television

I am not a television writer and don't pretend to be, but I'd like to pick up on something that Matt Watts talked about in his blog yesterday. Now, perhaps because I'm not a television writer I don't hate Lost. I actually think it's a pretty good show, but I do see Matt's point:


For instance, there's the hatch. It was found by complete accident (or was it?) and Locke and Boone spent the greater part of the first season, digging it up. Finally, they BLOW THE HATCH! Whoo-hoo, they go down the hatch but how are they going to deal with Hurley getting down there? He's too fat. And we can't have the characters going up and down that long shaft every week, SO.... There's a GIANT METAL DOOR.

It was easy to miss, because it was BEHIND A BUSH.


Many, ok most, successful television shows end up 'jumping the shark.' HBO seems to have worked their way around this to an extent by pulling the plug on shows after a reasonable amount of time and by not making as many episodes a season.

What I wonder is: When you sit down to write a new series, why don't you write a story - that is a single story with a beginning, a middle and an end. Next you figure out how many episodes you need to get from the beginning to the end. Shows would still have to be renewed season to season but it seems to me that if you know the story from the start, it is easier to stick to and tell that story and when the story is over it's over.

Shows wouldn't go on for MASH or Friends like runs but I think you'd end up with better shows, with no flashback shows, no christmas specials, in short no filler - in future when these were sold on DVD people would be more compelled to own the entire thing, because there is no filler - it's a single story.

Just a thought, as I said, it's not what I do.

That Lovin' Feeling.

I have not actually been back in the building yet, such is life as a casual. I have heard from the inside though that many are experiencing a sense of loss since the lock out ended. People are feeling that everything has returned to normal, that the sense of purpose and unity are gone or fading fast. I've also heard from a few that things aren't back to normal because they are not 'going the extra mile' anymore: no more overtime, postponing lunch etc.,

It doesn't need to be that way. The unity we had on the line can continue and in many ways the new mission is going to be more challenging than ending the lock out. A big part of the reason we were as successful as we were in fighting the lock out was that the public knew that what the CBC does is more than a job. It's a public service, an essential part of Canadiana: Telling Canada's stories, and bringing news and information about the world we live in to their televisions, radios and computer screens.

In order to accomplish that, to prove it a worthwhile task to the CBC's detractors, to win back the audience that was lost, and to build a stronger, healthier CBC to hand down to future generations we have to have unity, we have to have a sense of our mission, and we have to go the extra mile.

Whether you are one of the public faces or voices of the CBC, a reporter, producer, ap, technician, set builder, designer, fixer of broken things, a clerk, an accountant etc., etc., etc., we all have our roles to play in what goes out to the public. Try to keep the whole picture in mind as you work - both the big picture you see and hear on the air and the small picture of what everyone around you contributes to that big picture.

I know that everyone is very busy getting the ship righted and moving forward again, but maintaining our unity is a flexible exercise. Take a minute to go for a coffee with friends outside your department, take an evening on the weekend for a meetup at a local pub, take a few minutes in the evening to send emails to new friends just to say hi, there are also several ways to stay in touch through publicbroadcasting.ca and you can even do this anonymously if that suits you better.

Keep talking to friends, family and co-workers about the CBC, about it's future, about what changes can and should be made to make it better and stronger, about what changes we have to prepare for based on new technology and social change.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record; the battle was won but in many ways the war just got harder. What, after all, was the point of saving our jobs if we are just going to let the institution that provides those jobs and more importantly provides the Canadian public with a vital service continue to die a slow death taking those jobs and that service with it.

The unity and sense of purpose are still there, if you want them.

Off Topic: BC Teachers

Although, this blog is, has been and will be, primarily about Public Broadcasting: With the lock out just barely over and with there being an undeniable link between education and public broadcasting, I have to take a moment to send some love out to the British Columbia Teachers' Federation

During the CBC Lock Out I remember commenting on how good BC's labour laws were, because struck work is actually illegal there. But, when it comes to the teachers - when there was an impasse in contract talks, the BC Government simply drew up a contract on it's own and tried to impose it on the union. The Teachers have walked out in violation of a court order and risk large fines and even the possibility of arrest because of their actions. (And you thought we had tall odds.)

So, I completely retract everything I said about BC Labour Laws. Any province where an employer can force a unilaterally written contract on workers and then threaten them with arrest if they fail to comply, effectively has no labour laws.

If you are in BC contact your MLA if you are not in BC consider contacting B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell or Labour Minister Mike de Jong. I would also urge you to consider signing this letter in support of the Teachers.

PublicBroadcasting.ca is 'on the air'

Granted, it is a work in progress. It is likely to remain so for a long time to come. It is, after all, at it’s core, about evolution and change. So, rather than keep quietly adding bits and pieces I decided it was better to launch it on the day most of the CBC returned to work, and let it grow and change from there.

So, if you are a CBC worker, a CBC Manager, work for TVO or the Knowledge Network or another public broadcaster, college or community radio, are a student who hopes to one day work in public broadcasting, are a public broadcasting viewer, listener or surfer, are a blogger or podcaster etc., etc., in short if you want to see strong, vibrant, relevant, public broadcasting in Canada then you are the kind of person we are looking for to join the discussion at publicbroadcasting.ca - have a look around and see how you can contribute.