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Posts tagged as “Whedon”

Writing Themes and Values in TV (PT36)

Writing Themes and Values in TV (PT36)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:19 — 28.0MB)

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Alex and Nick discuss the importance of themes and values in television writing, and how you can use them to your advantage in your own TV scripts.

Why are themes and values important in television writing? What are some examples of both? How do you work them in scripts? How do you avoid preachiness in the writing?

The Paper Team shares their motifs…

SHOWNOTES

Content

1 – What are themes and values? (01:20)
2 – How to write themes and values in TV (14:12)
3 – Avoiding preachiness in your writing (23:10)
Takeaways and Resources (27:28)

Links

Survivor: Blood vs. Water
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
“Far Beyond the Stars” (6×13 – Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Sons of Anarchy
Everybody Loves Raymond
Desperate Housewives
“Earshot” (3×18 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Danny Strong
Buffy Studies
“Beer Bad” (4×05 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Scorpius (Farscape)
The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)
The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)
“Chaos is a ladder” speech from Game of Thrones (Video)
“BoJack Horseman Christmas Special: Sabrina’s Christmas Wish”

Resources

“Philosophy of…” Books
“The Philosophy of The Simpsons” – William Irwin, Mark T. Conard, Aeon J. Skoble
Star Trek episodes with social themes

Special thanks to Jason J. Cohn for helping us edit this episode.

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please consider leaving us an iTunes review at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

You can find Paper Team on Twitter:
Alex – @TVCalling
Nick – @_njwatson
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can e-mail us: [email protected]

The 2016 Paper Team Holiday Special (PT25)

The 2016 Paper Team Holiday Special (PT25)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:01 — 53.3MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | RSS | More

Alex and Nick celebrate the holiday season and the end of 2016 by taking a look at their favorite TV holiday episodes, the best media of the past year, and some stats about the first six months of Paper Team.

What makes a TV Christmas special? What are some of the best holiday specials? What was the best thing of 2016? What gifts did Nick and Alex give each other?

The Paper Team settles down in front of the fire and grabs a cup of eggnog…

SHOWNOTES

Content

1 – What makes a TV Christmas special? (00:30)
2 – The best holiday TV episodes (11:12)
3 – Best of 2016 (27:10)
4 – A look back at Paper Team’s first year (47:45)
Gift Exchange and Outro (52:45)

Links

Jingle All the Way
It’s a Wonderful Life
Christmas Episode (TV Tropes)
List of U.S. Christmas television episodes
EastEnders
Downton Abbey
Doctor Who Christmas specials
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special)
Home Alone
Die Hard
“Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” (1×01 – The Simpsons)
“Marge Be Not Proud” (7×11 – The Simpsons)
“Xmas Story” (2×08 – Futurama)
“Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo” (1×09 – South Park)
“Amends” (3×10 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
A Christmas Carol
“Merry Mayhem” (6×10 – Dawson’s Creek)
“The Best Chrismukkah Ever” (1×13 – The O.C.)
The OC Insider Shop
Yamaclaus
“The Strike” (9×10 – Seinfeld)
The Get Down
The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story
BrainDead
Atlanta
The Good Place
“Marcia, Marcia, Marcia” (1×06 – American Crime Story)
“San Junipero” (3×04 – Black Mirror)
“Fish Out Of Water” (3×04 – Bojack Horseman)
“Category 55 Doomsday Crisis” (1×05 – The Good Place)
Travelers
We Bare Bears
The Hamilton Mixtape
Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)
“Conscious” – BROODS
“Sprained Ankle” – Julien Baker
Moonlight
Arrival
Eric Heisserer
Lights Out
La La Land
“Bitch Planet” – Kelly Sue DeConnick
“Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days” – Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky & Braden Kowitz
The Influence of TV: Scratching the Surface (PT11)
Diversity in TV and the Writers’ Room ft. Francesca Butler & Kelly Lynne D’Angelo (PT14)
The Writers Guild Foundation Podcast
Time Timer
Pomodoro Technique
Aaron Sorkin’s Trump Letter
YearCompass
Home Alone: The Authorized Coloring Book
Die Hard: The Authorized Coloring and Activity Book
Aqua Notes Water-Proof Notepad

Special thanks to Jason J. Cohn for helping us edit this episode.

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please consider leaving us an iTunes review at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

You can find Paper Team on Twitter:
Alex – @TVCalling
Nick – @_njwatson
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can e-mail us: [email protected]

The Art of the TV Episode (PT20)

The Art of the TV Episode (PT20)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:36 — 47.5MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | RSS | More

Alex and Nick explore the differences in what an episode looks like between episodic or procedural TV and serialized shows.

How has the TV episode evolved over the years? What does an episode mean in the age of binge-watching? What are some memorable stand-alone and serialized episodes?

The Paper Team offers a self-contained narrative…

SHOWNOTES

Content

1 – The Stand-Alone Episode (00:34)
2 – The Serialized Episode (13:23)
3 – What is a TV episode today? (35:34)
4 – Critical reception of Episodic vs. Serialized TV (42:45)
Next Week On (50:03)

Links

Masters of Horror
“22 Short Films About Springfield” (7×21 – The Simpsons)
“Window of Opportunity” (4×06 – Stargate SG-1)
“The Farnsworth Parabox” (4×15 – Futurama)
“Hush” (4×10 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Donald Trump “Law & Order: SVU” Episode Gets Post-Election Airdate
6 Days to Air: The Making of South Park
“Restless” (4×22 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
“Grave Danger” (5×24-25 – CSI)
Monte-Carlo Television Festival
MIPTV Media Market
Coupling (US)
Law & Order: UK
Paris enquêtes criminelles
Babylon 5
The Cuckoo Hour
Dream On
“A Mother’s Work” (6×13 – Sons of Anarchy)
“Phase One” (2×13 – Alias)
“Other Things You Could Be Doing” (2×12 – You’re the Worst)
“Development Arrested” (3×13 – Arrested Development)
Why mythological shows are often idolized
NY Times Reviews Amazon’s Goliath Out of Order
“Two Boats and a Helicopter” (1×03 – The Leftovers)
“Guest” (1×06 – The Leftovers)
In Praise of Midbrow TV

Special thanks to Jason J. Cohn for helping us edit this episode.

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please consider leaving us an iTunes review at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

You can find Paper Team on Twitter:
Alex – @TVCalling
Nick – @_njwatson
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can e-mail us: [email protected]