Month: November 2014
John Ostrander: So How Was It For You?
by John Ostrander
We’re now well into the new TV season and there were a number on new shows to which I was looking forward as well as some returning ones. I’ve now seen at least one of each and have formed some opinions. Since that’s what this column is all about, off we go.
On the returning shows, let’s start with The Blacklist. I was wondering if it could maintain momentum but so far it has, anchored by James Spader’s mesmerizing performance as Raymond “Red” Reddington. Terrifically charming, utterly lethal, ready with a quip, a story, or a bullet, Spader gives a wonderful performance.
I also wondered about Castle and the “cliffhanger” with which they left last season. They aren’t explaining things right away, making what happened part of the overall mystery for this season. It’s working. It feels as if there’s new steam in the engine and I’m enjoying the ride.
Diana Vaccarelli Sees OUTLANDER, Season 1
by Diana Vaccarelli
I’m a romantic at heart and after seeing a promotion for the new Starz show OUTLANDER, based on the series of books written by Diana Gabaldon, I had to give it a chance.
The first season is over now, but what a ride it gave us!
The TV series, like the books, follows the story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743 Scotland . Claire is thrown into a time that she only knows through the history books. Her heart is torn the life she knows and Frank, her husband, and her new timeframe…and newfound love, Jamie Fraser for Jamie the Scottish warrior she is forced to marry in order to save her life.
Cargo 3120: The Making of a Sci-Fi Franchise #4
Entry 4 – The First Draft of CARGO
by Aaron Walker Sr.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The Story So Far starts HERE)
Though I graduated in 2008, I didn’t write the first draft of Cargo until 2011. One thing that helped was having the source material from the class I took back in 2005. Note to all who are trying to develop a series: Work out your fiction before you start writing. One thing that impeded our progress back when we were teens was our failure to plan our story and develop our universe first. We talked about a lot of “cool scenes” but we never tied it together with a strong narrative. In short, world building and story planning is the very foundation of any science fiction endeavor.
Not knowing what I was doing, I turned to the internet to learn how to write a screenplay. Someone suggested planning your story out using index cards, so that’s exactly what I did. The result was a 117 page monstrosity that I absolutely loved and was proud of at the time. In my mind, I was ready for the competitions. So I entered the TVWriter.com 2011 People’s Pilot competition.
Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie #81
Pay to Play?
by Leesa Dean
So I was all set to go to the WGA East web series screening/networking event when…last minute they cancelled it. It’s supposed to be rescheduled but we’ll see when/if that happens.
So instead, I met up for cappuccino with Anne Flournoy, who had invited me to the event in the first place and we ended up chatting about our experiences as indie web producers and all that entails.
Anne has been in this game for a long time. Her series, The Louise Log, jumped off in 2007 (which was right when I started learning how to animate!) She’s now in Season 3. The series is based on a film she wrote/directed that was in Sundance and has gotten critical acclaim, plus she was able to crowd fund Season 3, which is impressive (especially in today’s climate). We don’t know each other very well, had met at a few web series networking events when Chilltown launched, she’s a big fan and we had been planning to get together to talk shop for about a year.