Tune In
Perhaps my discussion of the parallels between Dexter and my box-novel The Demons Within was prophetic in some sense, because not long after I started reworking the dubiously written book into a screenplay it didn’t feel right. It has classic movie hallmarks and moments, but it felt more like a TV show, multiple characters, a few subplots weaving around the grand arc, character beats that are smaller in nature and lead to a more progressive development as opposed to the major upswings of character that occur in movies.
So, considering as I’m having a bit of trouble getting my head back into the screenwriting space with “Cloverfield at Sea” and the other Aussie-based one I was playing with, I reckon I’ll have a stab at converting this into a TV show. This was prompted by tuning into half an episode of Lie To Me, a new cop show where the main hook is that some behavioural specialist who’s involved in the investigations can tell when people are lying via their facial mannerisms and gestures and so on. I guess that’s an okay gimmick on its own, however throughout the course of the fifteen or twenty minutes I watched they used it for comic effect, dramatic effect and driving the narrative - a hook with too much weight on the line is likely to snap.
I make no bones about airing my distaste for all formulaic cop shows, the CSIs and NCISs and Law and Orders of this world just eat up people’s time that they could potentially spend reading a book, doing something positive or constructive, or watching great shows that got cruelly cancelled like Deadwood or Arrested Development or Firefly.
There have been a few successful shows that eschew the formula, for example The Shield and The Wire among others. While I don’t aspire to the lofty heights of critically acclaimed TV shows, I reckon they nail something that the other shows miss - substance, smaller piecemeal character progression, the wider arc actually delivering a more satisfying experience and ultimately through the use of cliffhangers and carryover plotlines generate a far more captivating and compulsive viewing experience.
Even 24, which by all accounts is some of the trashiest shit ever made, can deliver the goods when it comes to hooking people - unfortunately its own gimmick has more than worn out its welcome also.
So, my proposal for the TV show - title not forthcoming in any creative moment of clarity thus far - is to aim for something a little bit different again, the entire arc being around one investigation, one case, but the case has enough twists and turns, subplots and characters, cliffhangers and questions to keep you watching one week to the next.
My aim over the next week or so is to reread the book, ignoring the horrible mistakes I made and just view it as a barebones structure to develop (because the plot and the characters, in essence, were very good, it was just the writing that sucked) and start thinking about how to turn that book into a ten episode season where each episode has 4 acts, a teaser and tagline for next week, and how that all comes together for a satisfying season finale as well as providing discrete chunks of entertainment that don’t really on a gimmick or empty forensic technobabble.
Let’s see how we go…
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