Hundreds of people who've never written before send in 'Dr. Who' scripts. They may have good ideas, but what they fail to realise is that writing for TV is incredibly complicated. They have no idea how difficult it is and what the financial commitment is.
'Police Story' had some of the best writing on television, and one reason for that is because most of the scripts were based on real cases.
Like in 'Eastenders' they can write coronavirus into the scripts, so people can actually be socially distancing. But if you're in a sketch show where you're on top of each other, doing stupid things, you can't really make it work.
TV is the place that writers want to be.
A lot of times, especially with TV, I would get these scripts, and I'm like, 'Oh, they want me to be the good-looking guy who's a little bit of a rascal.' It's just boring.
'Criminal Intent' scripts are very good. Like others involved in 'Law & Order' stuff, I've come to appreciate the lack of 'soap,' if you will. The story dominates. You don't spend a lot of time with the psychological underpinnings of the police.
I just personally feel like the best writing for actors exists in cable television.
Television has always been an appealing medium for writers to work in.
With network shows, writers can be so protective of every syllable.
With sitcom writing, you're trying to write stories.
Sitcom storylines are usually incredibly contrived.
The kind of scripts I have read for web shows have been outstanding.
Television is a great job for a writer in the way that movies used to be, way before my time. Back when writers in Hollywood were on staff or under contract at any given studio and you'd write movie scripts and then the movies would get made within a few weeks, such that you could be a working writer in the movie business back in the '30s and '40s and '50s and have a hand in writing five or six movies a year that actually got produced. The only thing remotely like that in the 21st century here in Hollywood is working in the TV business.
I wouldn't be interested in [nowadays] television simply because I think it goes too fast. Except if something was maybe a play on television or some great television script.
You read a lot of pilots during pilot season, and not all of them really grab you.
My manager sent me the first two scripts for 'True Detective,' and I just thought they were so interesting and that the world they were depicting was so titillating to me.
With all the lines I have to learn for TV scripts, I don't think I have any problems with forgetfulness - that's brain exercise enough for me.
There are great characters on television.
