So here we are: totally re-written and integrated for the first time! You can also download it for the first time right here!
Part 1: Is this a strong concept for a TV show (or any other ongoing story)?
- Does the concept contain a fundamental (and possibly fun) ironic contradiction?
- Is the show set in an unsafe space?
- Does the show establish its own unique way of entering its setting every week?
- Will trouble walk in the door on a regular basis?
- Does the ongoing situation produce goals or mini-goals that can be satisfactorily resolved on a weekly basis?
- Are there big stakes that will persist week after week?
- Will the heroes be forced to engage in both physical and cerebral activity on a weekly basis?
- Is this a setting that will bring (or has brought) different economic classes together?
- Is there a central relationship we haven’t seen in a story before?
- Does pilot feature an image haven’t seen before (that can be used to promote the show)?
- Does the pilot meet the content expectations of one particular intended network?
- Does the pilot provide a satisfactory stand-alone story (even if that story is just the accomplishment of a mini-goal)?
- Does the pilot build up potential energy (secrets that will come out, potential romances, etc.)?
- Is there something bold, weird, and never-before-seen about this concept and/or pilot?
- Is there an “Holy Crap!” scene somewhere along the way in the pilot (to create word of mouth)?
- Is there something about this promise that is inherently appealing? (Something that will make the audience say “Yes, I will be able to root for some aspect of this situation to recur every week, even if the world being portrayed is unpleasant”)
- Does the pilot contain all of the entertainment value inherent in the premise (rather than just setting everything up and promising that the fun will start next week)?
- Is there a major twist or escalation at the end (though sometimes this twist will only be new to, or only revealed to, the audience) that will kick future episodes up a notch?
- Is there one character (or sometimes two, in separate storylines) that the audience will choose to be their primary hero?
- Is the hero role strong enough to get an actor to abandon a movie career, come to work in TV for the first time, and sign a five-year contract before shooting the pilot?
- Does the hero have a great strength?
- Does the hero have a great flaw that is the flip side of that strength?
- Does the hero feel that that flaw cannot be resolved until it’s time to abandon the world of the show?
- Does the flaw resonate with the theme and/or setting of the show?
- Is the hero good at his or her job (or family role, if that’s his or her primary role)?
- Does the hero have a well-defined public identity?
- Does that ironically contrast with a hidden interior self?
- Does the hero have three rules he or she lives by (either stated or implied)?
- Does the hero have a consistent metaphor family (drawn from his or her job, background, or developmental state)?
- No matter how much the hero changes, does he or she have a default personality trait?
- Does the hero have a default argument tactic?
- Is the hero surrounded by people who sorely lack his or her most valuable quality?
- Is the hero curious?
- Is the hero generally resourceful?
- Does the hero use unique skills to solve problems (rather than doing what anybody else on the show would do)?
- Does the hero have a moment of humanity early on? (A funny, or kind, or oddball, or out-of-character, or comically vain, or unique-but-universal “I thought I was the only one who did that!” moment?)
- Does it take some effort for the POV character to extract other characters’ backstories?
- Are there at least two more roles that are strong enough to get TV veterans to sign their own five-year contracts?
- Are all of the other regular roles strong enough in the pilot to attract great actors?
- Does the writing demonstrate empathy for all of the characters?
- Is each character defined primarily by actions and attitudes, not an individual backstory?
- Do most of the main characters have some form of decision-making power? (And are the characters with authority over the rest also part of the cast?)
- Are the non-3-dimensional characters impartially polarized into head, heart and gut (or various forms of 2-way or 4-way polarization)?
- Does each member of the ensemble have a distinct metaphor family (different from the hero’s, even if they’re in the same profession)?
- Does each member of the ensemble have a different default personality trait?
- Does each member of the ensemble have a different default argument tactic?
- Does the ensemble as a whole have a unique philosophy about how to fill their role (and competition from an allied force with a different philosophy)?
- Do the characters consciously and unconsciously prioritize their own wants, rather than the wants of others? (Good characters don’t serve good, evil characters don’t serve evil.)
- Whether this is a premise or center-cut pilot, is there one point-of-view character who needs this world explained (who may or may not be the hero)?
- Are the characters resistant to openly admitting their feelings (to others and even to themselves)?
- Do the characters avoid saying things they wouldn’t say?
- Do the characters listen poorly?
- Do the characters interrupt each other more often than not?
- Is the dialogue more concise than real talk?
- Does the dialogue have more personality than real talk?
- Does the dialogue mirror the syntax of real talk, but not the dialect?
- Does the dialogue capture the jargon of the setting?
- Does the dialogue capture the tradecraft of the profession being portrayed?
- Is there a minimum of commas in the dialogue (the lines are not prefaced with yes, no, well, or the other character’s name)?
- Do non-professor characters speak without dependent clauses, conditionals, or parallel construction?
- Is exposition withheld until the point-of-view character and the audience are both demanding to know it?
- Is there one gutpunch scene, where the subtext falls away and the characters really lay into each other?
- Does the pilot have the average page-length for its format?
- Does the show have the right number of commercial breaks for its intended network?
- If this is intended for commercial TV, does every act end on a cliffhanger or escalation, especially the middle one (and, if not intended for commercial TV, does it still have escalations happening in roughly the same places)?
- Do all of the storylines believably occur (and climax) within the same time frame?
- Do the storylines have a variety of moods?
- Is this episode’s plot simple enough to spend more time on character than plot?
- Is the pilot’s challenge something that is the not just hard for the hero to do (an obstacle) but hard for the hero to want to do (a conflict)?
- Does the hero start out with a short-term goal for this episode?
- Does a troubling situation or major change in the status quo develop near the beginning of the episode?
- Does the hero eventually commit to dealing with this situation personally?
- Do the hero’s efforts quickly lead to an unforeseen conflict with another person?
- Does the hero try the easy way first?
- Does this culminate in a major midpoint setback or escalation of the problem (whether or not there’s a commercial break)?
- Does the hero try the hard way from this point on?
- By halfway through, are character decisions driving the story, rather than external plot complications?
- Are the stakes increased as the pace increases and the motivation escalates?
- Does a further setback force the hero to adopt a wider view of the problem?
- After that crisis, does the hero finally commit to pursuing a corrected goal?
- Before the final quarter of the story begins, (if not long before) has the hero switched to being proactive, instead of reactive?
- After the climax does either the hero, the point of view character or a guest star have a personal revelation and life change, possibly revealed through reversible behavior?
- Does the concept satisfy the urges that get people to watch and recommend this type of show?
- Are unrealistic genre-specific elements a big metaphor for a more common experience (not how life really is, but how life really feels)?
- Separate from the genre, does the story have a consistent mood?
- Is there a moment early on that establishes the mood (and type of jeopardy)?
- Are there framing devices (flashforwards, framing sequences and/or first person narration) to set the mood, pose a dramatic question, or pose ongoing questions?
- Is there a dramatic question posed early on, which will establish in the audience’s mind which moment will mark the end of the story?
- Does foreshadowing create anticipation and suspense (and refocus the audience’s attention on what’s important)?
- Are set-up and pay-off used to dazzle the audience, distracting attention from plot contrivances?
- Is the dramatic question of the pilot episode’s plot answered near the end of the story?
- Does the pilot have a statement of philosophy and/or theme (usually either at the beginning or ¾ of the way in.)
- Will the heroes grapple with new moral gray areas on a weekly basis?
- Are the storylines in the pilot thematically linked in an indirect way?
- Can the show’s overall theme be stated in the form of a classic good vs. good (or evil vs. evil) dilemma?
- In the pilot, do the characters have to choose between goods, or between evils, instead of choosing between good and evil?
- Does the pilot episode plot reflect the way the world works?
- Does the show focus more on the ethical breaches than moral breaches?
- Does the show have something authentic to say about this setting?
- Does the ongoing concept include twinges of real life national pain?
- Are these issues addressed in a way that avoids moral hypocrisy?
- Are small details throughout the pilot tied into the theme?
- Do all of the actions have real consequences?
- Do the characters refuse (or fail) to synthesize the meaning of the pilot episode’s story, forcing the audience to do that?
- Does the story’s outcome ironically contrast with the ensemble’s initial goal?
- Does the end of the pilot leave the thematic dilemma wide open and irresolvable?
- Is this scene a character event, not just a plot event?
- Does the audience have (or develop) a rooting interest in this scene (which may shift)?
- Were tense and/or hopeful expectations for this interaction established beforehand?
- Is this an intimidating setting that keeps characters active?
- Does the scene establish its own mini-ticking-clock (if only through subconscious anticipation)?
- Does the scene eliminate small talk and repeated beats by cutting out the beginning (or even the middle)?
- Is one of the scene partners not planning to have this conversation (and quite possibly has something better to do)?
- Are two agendas genuinely clashing (rather than merely two personalities)?
- Are the characters cagy (or in denial) about their own feelings?
- Does the scene have both a surface conflict and a suppressed conflict (one of which is the primary conflict in this scene)?
- Is the suppressed conflict (which may or may not come to the surface) implied through subtext?
- Do characters use verbal tricks and traps to get what they want, not just direct confrontation?
- Is there at least one non-plot element complicating the scene?
- Is there re-blocking?
- Is there literal push and pull between the scene partners (often resulting in just one touch)?
- Are objects given or taken, representing larger values?
- If this is a big scene, is it broken down into a series of mini-goals?
- Are previously-asked questions answered?
- Are new questions posed that will be left unanswered for now?
- As a result of this scene, does at least one of the scene partners end up doing something that he or she didn’t intend to do when the scene began?
- Does the scene cut out early, on a question (possibly to be answered instantly by the circumstances of the next scene)?
- Does the outcome of the scene ironically reverse (or ironically fulfill) the original intention?
Coming soon: We subject some great pilots to the checklist!
3 comments:
For the book writers among us, it seems to me that this is also a useful checklist if you're planning series of children's books (as opposed to a one-off). The Harry Potter books fit this template to a T.
Great, I'd hoped that it would work for that, too!
A lot of this is generally applicable to fiction writing. Some of the entries overlap. Some are obvious. It's a lot to read, but there are some takeaway points that would help specifically television writing, especially 1 hour dramas.
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