OVERVIEW

Television is a huge maw that devours programming. Think of the number of channels! Think of the need for new ideas! Think of the need for writers to write episodes of long-running series that reappear season after season! Although the total program lineup for the medium includes news, documentary, sports, games shows, and so on, we are going to discuss only the program content that is acted entertainment such as series, sitcoms, and soaps. ^[1] We need to understand the special requirements of television writing and learn the basic techniques of thinking and writing for television. Then we need to look at comedy and some techniques for writing comedy. Because television is changing all the time, we need to think about what's new. Then there is the question of script format how you lay out the page. Last, we need to recognize that there is a rich bibliography of works devoted exclusively to writing for television that will take you deeper than we can ever go in one chapter. Your job right now is to get up and running with your first effort at writing for this medium.

In the first half of the century of motion pictures, serial programming had evolved as a way of appealing to audiences. A weekly news report from Movietone News or Pathe was part of the program as was a cartoon. People would go to the movies on a weekly basis. Kids would go to Saturday matinees. Each week brought a new episode...