Here's my list of what worked and what didn't on The Inside _for me_.

Worked:

- Becky. By the end I actually liked her, as a character, a lot. At the beginning I also liked her, but this started to disappear into the middle.

- Katie and Adam's characters. I know, I know, they are pretty much fluff to the main stories, but, seriously: they had some funny shit goin' on.

- Paul actually worked for me. The entire time. Yes, really.

- Web worked more. He's one of my favourite TV characters ever, I think, and I really mean that. He wants to get the job done, and he _will_ do it. I get that. I'd fine him a total prick in real life, but on screen, he's really interesting to watch.

- The aspect of moving to The Big City, and doing something that interests you (that you love?) that probably isn't healthy for you. Or is debately healthy for your mental health. Man, I get that. This is the Angel Season 2 effect for me. I did the big moving country to big city whilst young thing, and both of these shows resonated with me heavily.

What didn't work;

- The Paul/Web/Becky thing. This is actually one of the main focuses of the series, but for me it just didn't click for me. I'm not sure why. It's a shame, as it looked quite interesting on the surface, but at the same time I just lost interest in it.

- Honestly; some of Rachel Nicol's stances. Not acting. I thought some of the acting was actually really, really strong from her - but the way she positioned herself sometimes bugged me. This is the world's stupidest nickpick, I know, but.. uhm. Silly brain.

Favourite episodes;

De-Clawed, Loneliest Number, Aidan, Little Girl Lost, Gem and Skin and Bone. I tend to like episodes for different reasons - ie story telling (breaks etc), comedy etc. I think, overall, "Skin and Bone" is the best representation of why _I_ like the show -- it's freaky, it's well broken down, it's interesting and it's funny. "Little Girl Lost" is the best representation of the drama side of the show for me. "Loneliest Number", being one which Tim has issues with, is still on my list of favourites. I really dug that episode. I also dug Miracles, so maybe my standards are low. The concept just interested me, and it made me laugh morbidly.

On the whole, I found The Inside both enjoyable and interesting -- a good cut above other shows in the same area.

Anyway. Like I say, child of the BBC, so whatever's next I'm there.

English language telenovelas. A multi-season show with the length of the arc, and the end point planned from day one. Like Babylon five, only now Hollywood has a name for it. IJS

On the other hand, the "film thirteen episodes and cancel after the fourth is shown" bit would be even more frustrating with a Telenovela.

Exactly, Typo Boy. Warren Ellis claims to have planned out several years of arcs for Global Frequency, and that didn't get past pilot. The chance of getting a pilot picked up is usually fairly small (although if you're actually a talented writer/show runner it does increase that chance substantially). Then, something like only 1 in 4 of shows make it past 13 filmed episodes, with fewer actually airing that many.

I'd rather have a 13 episode arc, with more stuff layered on afterwards if the show is actually successful at the network. I think one of the lessons learned from Firefly is that layering on a crap load of elements is fine, but it got cancelled, and now chances are we'll never know what half of it was about.

Mm, Tim? I was flying AmericaWest to Las Vegas (just don't, is my advice), and this month's inflight magazine had a list of shows to buy on DVD. Their top pick was Wonderfalls, and Firefly also made the list. Do you have somebody doing clips for you? Sorry, I didn't think to swipe it for you.

Warren Ellis claims to have planned out several years of arcs for Global Frequency, and that didn't get past pilot.

Probably had, too. Bastard has to have been doing SOMETHING during the time he should've been spending finishing Planetary up. I mean, aside from playing on the Internet and posting shit to Scans_Daily.

Ellis playing on the Internet and posting random stuff is 2/7ths of my daily entertainment. I hope he never stops.

Warren Ellis claims to have planned out several years of arcs for Global Frequency, and that didn't get past pilot.

I think you mean John Rogers.

Well, Warren did write twelve issues of the comic.

I have a question. In an earlier linked interview about The Inside, it said that the finale (or at least some unaired episode) implied that one of the members of the team was a serial killer. I didn't get that from "Skin and Bone." Did I miss something?

I think that's about Thief of Hearts.