Hey guys. Couple quick things.

There's several different ideas floating around in my head regarding TV shows.

First off, and most important, for a TV show, is a Bible a requirement or just something that is an extra bonus?

I ask because a have a really hard time planning things ahead. Like, I think of them as I write so a Bible not being required would be a big thing for me.

Second, I looked around online, but couldn't find any TV scripts for particular episodes of shows. I found lots of transcripts, but no actual scripts. Any place I can go to find them, unless this place has them and I'm just completely overlooking them?

A couple I'm looking for:

Nip/Tuck: Season 2 - Joan Rivers
24: Season 5 - 12:00AM-1:00AM
Lost: Season 1 - Outlaws

They all have sequences which would be beneficial to my scripts, as I understand that TV scripts are written differently than movie scripts.

Any information would be very helpful.

-Thanks.

Hi

Don't know about those shows in particular, but there are plenty of TV scripts out there on the web - I know, coz I've read a lot of them!

The Dead Zone TV show site on USA TV has most of the episodes available for download in pdf format. These are the actual shooting scripts.

http://www.usanetwork.com/series/thedeadzone/theshow/episodeguide/episodes/s6_denouement/index.html

Various TV writers have sites with episodes from their shows available:

http://www.leegoldberg.com/

http://www.timminear.net/

The BBC's "Writer's Room" site has lots of scripts - however, the UK writes their TV scripts in a slightly different way to the US, so some of these may not be much use!

The SS main page, with the TV scripts link, lists plenty of possibilities (including shows you mention).

As to a bible - as I understand it, that comes after the show is commissioned, when the job of getting writers on board starts.

I'd be interested in any updates on this thread. Television is a different animal, I know, but I don't have the time to pursue it as a specific entity right now. My interest is in the story first, and then tailoring to a specific medium comes second at this point for me in my world right now.  

However, I am keen on "learning on the side" variations that apply and are formula specific in other mediums related to television, IE Soaps and Sitcoms.

Sandra

My PDF Scripts also have a few - including the pilot ep of 24 and sitcoms:

http://www.mypdfscripts.com/category/television-shows

I have just been commissioned to write six 50 minute teleplays for a new TV series planned to be filmed next year.

The first thing the executive producer did was put me in touch with a renowned script consultant to work on the bible and develop the main and minor repetitive characters.

Create the main characters background, construct his arc and also generate what will be the themes and continuous story lines throughout the series.

Unless you can plan ahead, visualise and transcribe your visions for others to follow don’t consider TV as your medium.

There is a good section on the differences regarding TV scripts in Christopher Riley’s book The Hollywood Standard. It also covers writing for multi camera TV.  

Writing for TV places a much bigger responsibility on the writer to plan ahead and work with others than writing for film.

Also the deadlines by which you have to deliver are ruthless.  

I consider a Bible to be very, very important to maintain continuity and keep track of the recurring aspects of your show, particular the characters, their backstories, and arcs as they progress. Before you start writing, you should really have this in hand since it represents where your show is coming from and ensures that whatever you write fits within the scheme of the world you've made. If you eventually have other people writing, this is also paramount to keeping everyone on the same page.

I know this is a stupid question, but what is a Bible (other than the obvious holy book)? I normally write Features, but I did dabble with a couple of series a while back. I know they're shorter and have a slightly different format, but this is the first time I've heard about a Bible? Sorry if it's a newbie question, but I was just curious.

A Bible relating to a TV series is a reference book with the profiles of all the main characters, including their back stories.

It also normally includes the concept and target destination of the series if it is say a series like “LOST”.

If it is a series like CSI then there would be a tight premise that every story must meet to conform to the concept of the series.

The purpose of this is so that any writer can be commissioned to write for the series and that the writer will know what is expected of them to conform with the audience’s expectations of the series.

Before broadcasters decide on purchasing a series they will expect to be able to read the Bible in the sales blurb.

Nothing should be hidden so there are no surprises when the broadcast company starts to present the series to the public, particularly when future episode have not been written or recorded at the time the first season is transmitted, such as with a series like 24.

Ah, got ya. Makes sense, thanks for clearing that up.