Working on a sitcom pilot and have a quick question.  I understand one needs to underline a character's name when he / she is introduced for the first time.  I have scene where we flash back to two of the characters' childhoods.  Would I need to underline their names again when first introducing their "young" versions of themselves?  In theory, these would be played by different actors, so I'm not really sure.  Thanks for the help!

Do you really have to underline character names when they are first introduced in TV script? I didn't know that. I would've assumed you CAPITALIZE their names, not underline them. As far as your particular question, I would introduce  KAREN when we first see her and then when we are introduced to a younger version played by a different character, I would introduce her as YOUNG KAREN. Something along those lines. :)

Yeah, sitcom formatting is totally different than movie screenplay formatting.  Takes a bit of getting used to :)  The action blocks are all in CAPS.

One more question.  How important (or not) is it to include an establishing shot, such as the front of a house, hospital, etc.  I see it used all the time on sitcoms, but don't know if I actually need to include it in the script.  Thanks again!

There are so many contradicting styles of formatting used in TV, that it's so hard to advise anyone in regards to formatting as a whole... but in terms of introducing a younger version of a character, Pia (Angry Bear) has listed exactly what I would recommend.

Hey Barry

I have a sitcom up here and read a few tv writing books and I also capitalized the action, which threw quite a few readers off it including Pia and actually a coverage site... who apologized later.
In saying that, there's a site that has link to a lot of this season and last season's pilots and 80% of the pilots where wrote in screenplay form... so I reverted mine back as it's easier on the eye.
I can get you the link later, I'm at work right now.

Mark

P.s I would go with Pia as far as the young characters