Screenwriting

Seriously. Save the cheerleader. Save the world. Lucy, you've got some `splaining to do. That's what she said. Live long and prosper/Beam me up Scotty. They're more than meets the eye. Why so serious?




Whether it be Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, I Love Lucy, The Office, Star Trek, Transformers or The Dark Knight television and movies almost always have that one line that will stick with viewers even after the show or movie is over. You hear most in everyday conversation, or see them plastered over t-shirts and other memorabilia. Even after shows become popular many viewers will start to talk like the characters (see The O.C. and swarms of people talking like they're from the Valley). That's not the actors, it's not the directors; it's the writers.





Pre writers strike nobody gave much credit to the writers. I know I didn't, the most I cared about was the actors. The writers are responsible for making you laugh (or cry), making you talk like your favourite characters, creating the characters and let's face it, they're even responsible for portraying what "real" life looks like on The Hills. This was painstakingly obvious with the aftermath from the November 5, 2007 to February 12, 2008 strike, when there was nothing on but mind-numbing reality television.



Personally, I watch around 11-12 hours of prime time TV a week (during the normal TV season). These past two weeks I've been re watching Season One of Chuck and Seasons One & Two of Heroes. Many shows hit what is known as the "sophomore slump" (many artists also get this) where if a show has a really good first season then the second season seems impossible to live up to. I don't think Chuck was subject to this, if anything Season Two was better. It's unfortunate, though, that the first season was during the writers strike and the show lost many viewers because of this. I personally feel as if it's the best written show on television. Out of all the shows I watch I've never seen a show blur the lines of comedy and drama as well as Chuck has managed to do. One of the best examples of this is Chuck Versus the Nemesis. In this episode, Chuck's old college roommate (Bryce; who got him kicked out of Stanford and whom was presumed dead) returns and it's all crazy spy stuff ... But in between we go back to the Buy More and they're preparing for the most notorious shopping day of the year, Black Friday. Normally preparing for Black Friday would be crazy; but when paired with the idiots that work there it is pure comedic genius. Not to mention, their "safety word" is pineapple and yes, it gets used for a "gas leak". One of the other gems in that episode is Bryce asking Chuck if he's wearing a Kevlar vest, in Klingon :)

Movie wise I haven't seen anything lately that screamed "good writing". Even my favourite movies aren't that well written (all well directed and acted though). That either means that movies aren't that good today, or I haven't seen very many new movies