When I receive a series bible for the first time, there is
always at least one character that stands out.
Perhaps it is because this character reminds me of someone I know, or I
feel some sort of relationship with him or her or, most likely, I can see
potential in that character for plot, humour or both.
When I receive scripts from other writers it is clear to me
that everyone responds like this. Some
writers will write tremendous dialogue and action for one character and
perfunctory dialogue and action for others.
This is why the best series have more than one writer. All the same, it is important not to make the
common mistake:
3. Don’t fall in love with the wrong character.
When we made Fireman Sam, we created a character, Mike, who
was a handyman. He was married to the
district nurse. Jack of all trades,
master of none, Mike was likeable, happy-go-lucky but totally hopeless at his
work. When we created him, we thought
that the accidents he provoked with plumbing, building and carpentry disasters
would create storylines that resulted in calling out the fire engine.
This, unfortunately, was not to be. The executive producers, who were all women,
did not like this character. They could
not understand how the obviously intelligent district nurse could have married
such a klutz. (Are they living in a different planet? Don’t we all know
intelligent women married to less intelligent men?) More appropriately, they were worried that
accidents caused by D-I-Y disasters in the home might give children watching a
sense of insecurity in the home.
A couple of the writers loved this character. They came up with stories featuring Mike,
with hilarious dialogue that would be recognised by anyone who has ever employed
a cowboy plumber. However much we told
them that this character was only a bit player, they could not resist featuring
him in their storylines, most of which were bound to be rejected.
Children’s television, especially for pre-school, demands
role models. These tend to people who
can do no wrong. When Fireman Sam was
first created, the intention was that he should be a loveable eccentric, whose
hobby was coming up with crackpot inventions.
This gave him a little personality, and made him more believable as a
human being. He was always supposes to
be “The Hero Next Door”
After 9/11 it became impossible to portray him as anything
other than a perfect hero. This meant
that that he became a token, a symbol, who could never make a mistake, show a
moment of weakness or indulge in inappropriate behaviour. That made it very difficult to write stories
about him. Isn’t it our faults and
eccentricities that make us interesting?
This gave the writers a lot of problems, since Sam had to be the hero of
every episode. In reality, Sam’s role in
the stories was always rather passive until it came to driving the fire engine
(the real hero of the series) and squirting water from a hose.
Many series for children suffer from having dull characters
who are so busy being good role models that they exhibit no personality at
all. This is why writers prefer to
feature the supporting characters, who are usually allowed to exhibit human
foibles.
We like to create leading characters for our series who are
far from perfect. Igam Ogam, for example is a very wilful toddler. This series rates well because the viewers,
toddlers and their parents, immediately recognise her behaviour and are able to
laugh at it. She always gets her
comeuppance. The voice of reason is
represented by a large dinosaur, a parent figure who always makes sure that
order is restored.
Most series for children are not like this. The received wisdom is that series without a
leading character who is a role model will not succeed in North America. This is probably why American series for
pre-school children feature characters who are relentlessly nice to each other,
and so often seem sentimental and dull to our European eyes.
Next: Common mistakes. Conclusion.
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