I've sunk into speaking about pilots for series in general and everybody else is still talking about Lost and that was for silly, personal reasons. My fault.
I made the mistake of conflating two issues in my head. The first was that I have yet to see an American television series that has shown the kind of worldbuilding or structure that would be the result of an extensive precommission show bible. The second was that you would get laughed at for handing in a fifty page show bible alongside your pilot script in the Irish and British television industry. That's because they pay ain't that great and one would be foolish to do that kind of work on the money from an option. But, yeah, Hollywood contracts, money flying, if that kind of work is expected, I defer.
I saw, well, red is overstating it, maybe a light pink when it was suggested that the bulk of the series should be figured out alongside the pilot and I got all proxy with the Lost writers.
I have yet to see an American television series that has shown the kind of worldbuilding or structure that would be the result of an extensive precommission show bible
I'm guessing, at the very least, that you didn't watch Babylon 5. That was more than just a show bible, by far.
How about "I have yet to see enough American television series with the kind of worldbuilding or structure that would lead me to believe that extensive precommission show bibles are a common practice"?
The second was that you would get laughed at for handing in a fifty page show bible alongside your pilot script in the Irish and British television industry.
I don't think you would ever need to hand it in at pilot pitch, but it wouldn't necessarily hurt to have it written, even if the network suits never know it exists.
How about "I have yet to see enough American television series with the kind of worldbuilding or structure that would lead me to believe that extensive precommission show bibles are a common practice"?
That's probably a reasonable accurate take on the subject.
I don't think you would ever need to hand it in at pilot pitch, but it wouldn't necessarily hurt to have it written, even if the network suits never know it exists.
For the, God forgive me I shouldn't be saying this, series I'm developing, the pilot and bible were handed in together. And it wasn't pitched to a network exec 'cause, well, no such thing exists here.
And it wasn't pitched to a network exec 'cause, well, no such thing exists here.
Oh my dog.... It's like a magical happy land full of happiness. Not much cash, compared to Hollywood, but a magical happy land nonetheless.
I'm just saying that Spring's assertion that assembling a show bible that loosely sketches out the first two or three seasons before you've even pitched the show is unreasonable is, I think, unfounded.
Being in comics fandom, all I can do is laugh and laugh and laugh at the idea of continuity.... (Dick Grayson quit his gig as Robin! No, wait -- Batman fired him! Wait -- it must have been polar bears!) When they're backed into a corner, they either (1) create Earth-10 (or whatever they're up to), or (2) OMGWTFINFINITECRISIS!
Oh my dog.... It's like a magical happy land full of happiness. Not much cash, compared to Hollywood, but a magical happy land nonetheless.
If you're frugal, you might make it to the next series without dying of starvation or the cold or something. But, if we're lucky, we might get time to do things right.
Not much cash
This, speaking as one who works for the commercial arm of the biggest player in the magical happy land full of happiness and would really like to be able to pay off her credit cards sometime this centuty...is not a point which can be understated.
That's probably a reasonable accurate take on the subject.
Unassailable, really.
My best friend writes for Canadian TV, and I've heard her talk about pre-pickup show bibles. And they're certainly not throwing around the luchre.
I don't mean to imply I think show bibles guarantee anything. I mean, they can be a bible of really bad idea that the writer reconsiders in time to get a brilliant series out of it. Or a writing team can do just brilliantly without one.
However, in looking at Lost failings, I doubt a show bible would have made it worse. A mere plan would have made it better.
