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The E-script Q&A
with guest
Nina DeCastro
Topic: Writing a Brand New TV series

"The Tick" is one of the most highly-praised new comedies of the 2001-2002 television season. In this exclusive online Q&A, E-script Executive Director Frank Moher speaks with Nina DeCastro, our sit-com workshop leader and one of the writers on "The Tick's" premiere season, about the challenges of working on a new network television series.

You can scroll through both the questions and answers, or use the links at the top to jump to ones that particularly interest you. (Just click on the number.) If you'd like to be notified of upcoming Q&As, with top professionals in film, TV, and theatre, why not join our mailing list?

In addition to her work on the writing staff of "The Tick," Nina DeCastro has written for the ABC series "Odd Man Out" and Nickolodeon's "All That." She has been a story analyst for Miramax and CBS, and is currently Director of Development for Overland Literary Management in Los Angeles. Nina is also a regular guest speaker in story analysis classes at the American Film Institute.

The New York Times called The Tick "among the nuttier concoctions to come along in a while . . . . The writing, comic-book choppy on the surface, is daring in a sly sort of way. Change a few words in the sidekick episode, put it on Lifetime and you have a somber movie about battered spouses. Episode 3, in which Captain Liberty accidentally kills another superhero, the Immortal, during overenthusiastic sex, calls to mind assorted real-life headlines.

"But absurdity is the only real agenda here, and 'The Tick' hits that target."

1: How did you get your job on "The Tick"?
2: How many people are on the writing staff? How do you work together (ie, how do the scripts get written)?
3: "The Tick" is a new series. How did the producers familiarize you with the
concept?

4: Does the fact that it's new mean the writers have more leeway in shaping it, and shaping the characters, than they might on an established series?
5: Did the series change (concept, characters, style) while you worked on it?
6: On a brand new series, one that has yet to air, how do you know if what you're doing is working?
7: What did you do the night the first episode aired?
8: Any idea yet what "The Tick's" future will be?

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Q: How did you get your job on "The Tick"?

A: I guess you could say that I got it the "traditional" way: with a whole lot of luck. My agent had sent my material to a Fox development executive who called me in for a meeting. We were discussing various shows that the network had in the pipe for pilot season when "The Tick" came up.

I was a huge fan of the animated show and was quite familiar with the characters. The executive liked me very much and thought I had the right sensibility for the show. My agent had already sent in my material to Sonnenfeld/Josephson (the producers) where their development people read it and liked it. Having the network champion my cause really helped, because at that point, the writing staff was pretty much set. The producers brought me in to meet with Ben Edlund, the creator and Executive Producer of the show. A few weeks later, I was called back to meet with Larry Charles, the show runner. Larry and I hit it off, but it was still a couple of weeks before it was a DONE DEAL.

Getting hired is a huge process where everyone has to be in agreement. You could say that the network and the development execs at Sonnenfeld/Josephson "pre-screened" me before I met with Ben and Larry. Executive producers rely on them to narrow the field to a short list of writers whose material they will read. After reading the samples, the EPs decide who they want to meet, and from there, who they want to hire.
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Q: How many people are on the writing staff? How do you work together (ie, how do the scripts get written)?

A: We had seven people on the writing staff. We'd pitch story ideas or areas that we thought would be fun to explore. Larry would then assign a writer to develop one of the premises into a one page synopsis. We would go over the synopsis in the writers room and discuss changes. Once Larry and Ben ran the storyline by the network and studio for their approval, the writer would go to outline, and then to script.
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Q: "The Tick" is a new series. How did the producers familiarize you with the concept?

A: Although "The Tick" is a new series, it's not a new concept. Ben Edlund created the comic book, then created the animated show. All the writers on the show were quite familiar with one or both of the venues. Ben had brought over three writers from the animated series to work on the show. Also, since it is a show about superheroes, many of us were big comic book fans or collectors, myself included.

Obviously, we were doing the live action version of "The Tick," and there were some changes. We had a lot of discussions about the philosophy behind the show.
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Q: Does the fact that it's new mean the writers have more leeway in shaping it, and shaping the characters, than they might on an established series?

A: I'm not sure about other new shows, but we did have a lot of leeway. I attribute that to the fact that Larry and Ben were open to ideas. Obviously, Ben knows these characters inside and out, and I don't think he ever said, "So and so wouldn't do that." For him, the characters were always evolving.

Of course, we were still at the point of defining what the show was going to be, and Larry wanted everyone to contribute.
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Q: Did the series change (concept, characters, style) while you worked on it?

A: Absolutely. I think every new show has to find its legs. The characters didn't change so much as the concept and style. At first, we didn't want to do a "villain of the week," but there was some discussion about whether or not we were cheating fans (this is, after all, a show about superheroes). Trying to find the right balance took us a while.
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Q: On a brand new series, one that has yet to air, how do you know if what you're doing is working?

A: We don't. But we'll hear from the network and studio if it's not working! We were also on the set a lot, and we'd watch dailies to see how the show is looking. We watch the dailies, we watch what's going on down at the set. That's when we knew that we couldn't do a lot of big action sequences.
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Q: What did you do the night the first episode aired?

I watched it in the privacy of my own home and made a sacrifice to whatever gods were listening that the numbers would be good.
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Q: Any idea yet what "The Tick"'s future will be?

A: We're still waiting. We're in a tough time slot, but we're pulling in a key demographic (young men). I'm optimistic, because the episodes that are coming up are hysterical. Whenever I pitched the show to someone not familiar with the comic book or the animated series, they sort of scratch their heads in bewilderment. It was probably a show they wouldn't take the time to watch. But now that they've seen it, they love it. I hope other viewers give it a chance.

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