At the end of March, myself and writing partner Frank Burton
submitted an entry to the BBC Script Room (Bunk Mates; a post
apocalyptic sitcom that was loosely based on a short comic strip I worked on
some years ago with Paul Harrison-Davies).
Apparently a few other writer folks followed suit, as the BBC received
almost 3,000 submissions (a third of which were also comedies).
In July we were contacted by the BBC who informed us that
our script was amongst the 5% that had made it to their long list. In traditional English fashion, I put the
kettle on and had a celebratory cup of tea and a biscuit (just the one biscuit,
mind. I didn’t want to overdo it at
this stage).
The 150 scripts left were once again sifted through, and in
August we were informed that Bunk Mates had made it to the shortlist along with
50 other entries (more celebratory tea for me, along with two biscuits - one of
which was a chocolate hobnob). We were
given some useful feedback from one of the script readers, which stated (among
other things) ‘Very funny and well written take on the 'post apocalyptic
sitcom' – a theme that comes up often. Great opening with the postman, the
juxtaposition of mundane and terrifying, which is then echoed in the script.
The plot and pacing is well thought out and there are no lulls in the script.’
In October the BBC informed us that along with 25 other
people we had made it to the final stage, and were invited to attend a
development session at the BBC HQ in November.
Anyway, we attended the session on Tuesday (if you look
closely at the photo swiped from the BBC Twitter feed, you might be able to
make out my bald spot in the foreground), and found it to be very informative
and productive. The most useful parts
of the half-day were being given the opportunity to question producers from
various BBC departments (such as radio, children’s tv, etc), and building up an
action plan of where we want to go with our writing careers and how we intend
to get there, with the aid of Development Producer Henry Swindell.
It was also nice to learn that all the comedy scripts have
been sent on for further evaluation, which may in time lead to more
feedback. The chances of Bunk Mates
actually getting developed at this stage are pretty slim (though not
impossible), and it was repeatedly pointed out that the scripts should be
considered more of a calling card of voice and talent.
As Paul Ashton puts it on the BBC Blog: ‘The real
danger for that 1% is that they might think they’ve made it and the pressure is
off – but they haven’t, and it isn’t. It’s just the first step on a long
road.’ So…the contacts are there, and
the BBC doors have both me and Frank’s boots firmly wedged in them. Time to write some stuff! (but first, the
kettle beckons…)
