The Quick TV Questionnaire: Alex Ayling

There are plenty of chances for us to share the television we love on the GEITF blog (and also on our YouTube channel), but we thought it was high time we let a few other people have a go...

We asked Talent Schemes committee member and YouTube Channel Manager for BBC Worldwide Alex Ayling to share some of his favourite programmes, nostalgic memories and boxset picks, and found out why he'd want to be friends with House of Cards' Frank Underwood.


1. Childhood favourite?
There was a children’s TV show called T-Bag in the 80s which was about an evil witch who hid out in random pieces of junk (I think she was miniaturised or something) plotting nefarious schemes, but was always vanquished by a plucky young heroine who had to collect magic objects in every episode. It had series-long narrative arcs that changed each year and pre-figured the era of Joss Whedon’s “Big Bad” by a good decade. I remember it being very affecting to me as a kid, but I’m sure it has aged dreadfully – so have resolved not to look it up on YouTube!

2. The popular show I just can’t get into
Even though I ought to be slap bang right in the middle of its target demographic, I can’t quite seem to get into The Big Bang Theory. Perhaps it’s the sheer number of episodes looming ahead of me that terrifies a perfectionist completist like me... But I also just can’t shake the feeling that these nerds are being laughed at, not with, and that just sounds like being back at school all over again

3.The programme I have on series link It might be shorter to list the shows that I don’t have on series link to be honest, I tend to devour as much as I possibly can. This year though, there has been one show which was elevated even above series link status in our house, as I found myself tuning in at 9pm every Wednesday to watch Keeley Hawes’ amazing turn in Line of Duty. I can’t remember the last time I made an appointment to view for a non-live show, so they must have been doing something right.

4. The last boxset I bought was...
Game of Thrones S3 – I don’t have Sky Atlantic, so I’m about a year behind everyone else on GoT. Fortunately I’ve read all the books so I’m unlikely to be spoiled. And anyway, with that show you should go into every episode thinking that your favourite character is about to meet an untimely end, as half the time you’re probably going to be right.

5. Guilty pleasure?
I fundamentally disagree with the entire concept of a guilty pleasure. If you like something then you should be proud of liking it! I could list all the critically-acclaimed dramas and worthy foreign imports to counteract the next half of this sentence, but you’ll still not see me much more excited than when the votes start coming in from the Eastern Bloc during Eurovision.

6. Reality show I’d be most likely to apply for...
I’ve always quite fancied going on The Apprentice. Not because I want to work with Lord Sugar (we’re just not Twitter compatible) but because I think the tasks they do always look like loads of fun and the house they stay in is always preposterous. I’m pretty sure I could come up with some winning hyperbole so the producers could hoist me by my own petard during my inevitable downfall and I’d also do a great line in two-faced snarkiness about the other obnoxious contestants in the talking heads.

7. The TV character I wish I knew in real life...
Maybe it’s my masochistic nature betraying me, but part of me kind of wishes I knew Frank Underwood from House of Cards. If I did know him, everyday life would be that much more exciting – not knowing whether I was going to get a sudden promotion or a one-way ticket to purgatory (or worse!) but at least it would never be boring.

8. If my life were a sitcom, it would be…
W1A (even though I work in W12).

9. TV theme tune I can’t get out of my head
My colleagues who sit near me have said that I frequently tap out the percussion line from the Doctor Who theme, but the weird earworm that I can’t seem to shake right now is the theme tune to Adventure Time.

10. Cancelled show I wish they’d bring back
Twin Peaks. Bring back Kyle MacLachlan for the first episode and then kill him off (again?). Cast Summer Glau as a hotshot FBI recruit sent to the town to investigate the murder. Russell Tovey can play her on/off love interest and Jessica Lange would make an excellent log lady. David Lynch would produce, Vince Gilligan would script and Ben Wheatley would direct. Come on Netflix – what are you waiting for!?

Alex is part of the Festival's Talent Schemes committee, who are responsible for the editorial direction of the schemes and selecting their delegates. The members of the committee are individuals who have extensive knowledge of the industry and are passionate about the future of the media. 

To find out more about our two talent schemes - The Network and Ones to Watch - visit the GEITF website: www.geitf.co.uk

Want to write the next hit comedy? Read on...

This year’s Festival programme is absolutely packed to the brim with an eclectic mix of sessions, masterclasses, debates and talks. One session that particularly stands out as an Edinburgh first is the BAFTA Rocliffe Sitcom Showcase. Taking place on the Thursday afternoon, this session  will be the culmination of months of searching, judging, and most probably laughing quite a bit too. Two comedy scripts, selected from almost 500 entries by an expert jury of famous names in comedy, will be performed live on stage by professional actors in front of a Festival audience. Our panel, including comedian John Bishop and BBC Controller of Comedy Shane Allen, will offer a BBC script commission to one of the writers on the day.

With an overwhelming number of entries, what separates the humorous from the hideous? Here Chris Sussman, Executive Editor at BBC Comedy (and member of the Festival Advisory Committee) has some tips for aspiring comedy writers: 

1. Get on with it. You can spend ages thinking about an idea, driving yourself crazy, tying your brain in knots. But you won't know if your script is going to be any good or not until you actually sit down and start writing it.

The Sitcom Showcase will be a first for GEITF

2. Don't bother with a treatment. It's almost impossible to tell from a treatment how a script is going to turn out. If you want to prove to people that your idea is funny, write the script and show it to them!

3. Keep drafting and redrafting. You'll probably only get one chance to impress people with your script, so make sure it's in the best possible state it can be before you send it out there.

4.  Arrange a read-through. There's nothing like hearing your script read out aloud to see which jokes work and which don't. Why not ask your friends to come round one night and read your script out loud for you? You'll be amazed how useful it'll be.

5. Write a second episode. You might find it's even stronger than the first because you know the characters and the world better and that's the one you end up sending out. Or it might give you ideas that will inspire you to go back and change your first script. Either way, it won't be a wasted exercise.

6.  Trust your instincts. If you think a joke's not working, then it probably isn't. If you think your story is flawed or clichéd or boring, the chances are other people are going to think that too.

On stage at NYTVF last year

7.  Know the marketplace. If there are four sitcoms on TV already set in a school, don't write a sitcom set in a school!

8.  Get an agent. A lot of production companies won't read scripts unless they come through an agent. I know it's hard but if your script is good you'll find someone who likes it and wants to take you on.

9.  Don't give up. You're probably going to hear the word 'no' a few thousand times before you hear 'yes', so make sure you keep going.

10. Broadcasters aren't turning down loads of brilliant scripts every day. We want to read the next great script as much as you want to write it!

The BAFTA Rocliffe Sitcom Showcase will take place on Thursday 22nd August at 13.45. Haven't bought you Festival ticket yet? Buy before June 30th to save £105!

For more information on the BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Forum click here.

Richard Curtis to interview Steve Levitan at Edinburgh in August

British film legend Richard Curtis will join us at to interview award winning screenwriter and director Steve Levitan in an unmissable Modern Family masterclass.
 

Join two of the industry’s biggest names as they discuss how Modern Family has become one of the most talked about TV phenomena in recent times.

They will explore the inspiration, creative process and critical and public reactions as well as the challenges of showrunning in some of the most competitive market conditions ever known.  It’s going to be a showstopper.

Richard Curtis television career, a few highlights:

1979-82     Not the Nine O'Clock News- Writer
1983-89     Blackadder - Writer
1984-85     Spitting Image - Writer
1991         Bernard and the Genie - Writer
1990-95    Mr Bean - Writer
1994-2007 The Vicar of Dibley - Writer/Co-Executive
1999-2007 Robbie the Reindeer - Writer
2005         The Girl in the Café - Writer/Executive Producer
2007         Casualty - Writer - (1 Episode)
2008         The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency     Writer/Executive Producer
2010          Doctor Who - Writer- (Vincent and the Doctor) 

We cant wait!

VIEW THE FULL 2012 PROGRAMME!

“A’right, Vicarage?”- Why I can’t help but love Rev.

Now, I’m not writing this to appease the-great-one, Advisory Committee Chair Kenton Allen, who produced it (although I’m sure this will put me in his good-books), but purely to express my love for this program.

I grew up in the Church of England, attended a local CofE School, became a Chalice assistant (that’s the one who holds the shiny goblet with wine in it up the front) and now, alongside helping out the Festival Team, I am also a Parish Administrator. I seriously cannot escape the Church of England…

So, one thing I love, having seen the ins-and-outs of the Church from a young age, is that someone from outside the Church has come in, had a look round, and summed it up perfectly: the ups, downs and general weirdness of a Vicar’s life and the people that surround them. Having your thoughts wander in prayers, offering people food & drink rather than the cold hard cash they are asking for, being constantly skint even though the rest of the world says you’re rolling in it, having all your congregation see you as this perfect being, but having faults the same as everyone else.

Now, it doesn’t sum up every individual church perfectly (some are FAR more middle class dahling…), but it’s pretty close. My Church, being near 2 very-hard-to-get-into CofE schools, is especially susceptible to ‘migrant’ child attendees who suddenly emerge around September each year, then disappear once their parents have the letter from the Vicar – I even overheard a child from the congregation once say, “You only have to go to church until you get into a good school”. Never has “On your knees, Forget the fees” been more obvious... My family and I watched that first episode in a weird comedy-horror state, as Tom Hollander seemed to have hit that particular nail on the head and could say it to the world, knowing that he wouldn’t have to go to Church the next Sunday and face the evil stares of the rest of the congregation.

That’s part of the key to Hollander’s success: he isn’t held back by the over-politeness of Churchgoers. We all have to be nice & happy all the time and all get along perfectly, because that’s what good British Christians do – isn’t it? Well, no. Sometimes stuff is so pants that something needs to be said – or alternatively, explained in a well-written sitcom with a sweary Vicar. So many times watching Rev. I find myself agreeing with nearly everything – except possibly the drug-taking – and find it so refreshing that a ‘real’ view of the Church is being made to the public. Yes, there are some crazy people, some ridiculously posh people and some people with prejudices from the dark ages, but there are also a lot of generally nice people too.

Rev. is just such a brilliantly written comedy too; so many issues are brought up in this program that could easily make it a hard-hitting drama, but they are dealt with so well and with such care for the characters involved that it’s not downhearted. Yes, you were angry when you found out the Archdeacon didn’t become Bishop because of his ‘friend’, but when Rev. Smallbone comforts him, you can’t help but “aww” (or in my sister’s case, cry your eyes out) and feel a little better about the world. It also doesn’t alienate those who don’t go to Church – someone who only has the vaguest idea of what the Church is and does can still enjoy the plainly brilliant humour on display: you don’t have to be ‘in with the gang’ to enjoy the antics of the clergy and congregation of St Saviour in the Marshes.

Basically, I love this show. Also my mum loves Tom Hollander and wants to adopt him. I don’t blame her – if he was a real Vicar, I’d happily make the journey over to East London on Sundays, especially if I got to see him off his face, doing his less-than-pc impression of a leper – now THAT is an exciting service! Although, I would be slightly worried if Lord Voldemort was the actual Bishop of London…

Ellen Richardson - Festival helper & YouTuber

http://www.youtube.com/icklenellierose