Skin and Bone was excellent, pretty much all round.

Damn shame this show did not continue. Grrrr.

Excerpt from Tim's other Creative Screenwriting interview. Spoilers for Aidan below:

Breaking the Story: Showrunner Tim Minear on Creating a TV Episode BY JASON DAVIS

When it comes to starting a teleplay, Minear suggests that story and character "are two things that meet in the middle. Sometimes I start with the plot as opposed to a character, but usually I'm fishing around for a plot that will say something metaphorically about the character. When I'm doing something like The Inside, which is procedural, the crime stories themselves are much more front and center than the adventure plot of an episode of Firefly", the science-fiction Western he worked on with Joss Whedon.

Alluding to "Aiden," an episode of The Inside that never aired, Minear explains, "it was the story of pregnant women who were being attacked, cut open, and having their unborn children stolen from their bodies. That was a story that we actually took from the headlines. We thought that was interesting and morbid enough for the show, but we were also dealing with a character [FBI agent Paul Ryan, played by Jay Harrington] whose wife had miscarried. There were character things that we wanted to explore, and we found that this was a really good way to hit that emotional arc for Paul. It came when it needed to come in terms of that arc [and] was interesting in and of itself."

To Minear, a good story must "be interesting and surprising" and, he adds, must not "rely too much on bullshit. I think it is the writer's responsibility to be interesting and to not lie. You find that stories that you can actually boil down to that one-sentence explanation [the logline] are generally good stories to write." But he quickly clarifies that, "The truth is that a logline does translate to clear storytelling; however, I would also say that it is completely unimportant." Minear explains the seeming contradiction: "Some of the best things I have written, when you boil them down to the logline, don't sound very interesting." "Out of Gas," an episode of the short-lived series Firefly provides an example. "The logline for that was 'An explosion onboard Serenity [the spaceship where the series was set] causes the air to be shut off.' That's so not what the episode was about."

ETA: And that answers the question I always meant to ask about Aidan. The idea did come from the incident I saw on the news.

Matt! I have a peculiar offer for you. Check your profile address, or let me know if I should send it elsewhere.

5 am. Just watched Inside finale. "Welcome to LA".

I think it pretty much answers the initial criticism aimed at the show I saw in reviews and online. And pretty much ties up the (major) loose ends.

I loved this show. It's the first time I've really loved a procedual. I like proceduals, don't get me wrong, but I don't get obsessive about them. I did with this (5 am).

That said, being a child of the BBC -- role on Drive.

Katie *was* very funny on the Wonderfalls commentary. It's not that I don't enjoy principals kidding around. I just like there to be substance as well. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not.

Last week Kristen told me it was safe to peep in on TWoP and The Inside thread. I get special satisfaction from the people there who found the show and dug it. So nice.

How do you feel about the show now that you have some distance? Do you have new favorite/least favorite eps that are different than what you loved/hated when you first wrapped?

I so VERY much need to catch up on The Inside. It was on when I had my cable turned off in a fit of rage. (I called and made them write down a list of shows I was mad were cancelled. Because I'm a prick.)

They're all pretty easily downloadable on the net, Victor.

How do I feel about, Allyson? 13 was plenty for me. But I've since looked at them again and even the ones I hated I now think don't stink on ice. My favorites are still my favorites, but it's a pretty good list for a 13 run that I had to make by hitting the ground running --

Everything Nice Pre-Filer De-Clawed Aidan Little Girl Lost Gem Skin and Bone

Those are the ones that came out the way I wanted them to. My favorites are sill De-Clawed, Aidan, Little Girl Lost, Gem and Skin and Bone. I still have a special love in my heart for Aidan, Gem and Skin and Bone -- and I think that goes to my love of structure. The teasers and act breaks are killer.

Aidan, Declawed, and Skin and Bone are my faves. I don't really understand structure very well. I'm not sure why some things grab me by the throat and pull me in and other things flop like a dying fish on the floor.

I think Declawed was the most perfect in the bunch, the most gorgeous visually and in the storytelling.