Don’t Get It Mixed Up! Part I

I recently submitted ten pages of a sitcom to a BBC competition called ‘All Mixed Up’. Those of you who pass by this blog know that I don’t do self depreciating negativity or pity but all things considered I do believe there’s very little chance of my script getting picked up.

Why? like very good argument, I am supplying three points to support this hypothesis

Reason 1 of 3 Gbontwi won’t be working with the BBC…The competition called for “broad humour that appeals to a wide audience”.
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I don’t do all that. I only decided to go for the competition because ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ Actually the worst is someone might steal my idea some years down the line and get rich off it like Warnher Brothers did Carol Stewart. I still submitted my piece despite my DEEP pessimism because nothing from nothing get’s nothing. So after some DIY copyrighting to prevent plagiarism I decided to take ‘All Mixed Up’ as an opportunity to finally put on paper an idea I’ve had bouncing in my head for a couple of years now.

I got to thinking about TV comedy and TV in general about why it has to broad. I love all kinds of comedy TV but very few kinds with my kind of niche humour have made it big in their respective countries or internationally: The Office(UK), The Royle Family, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Game to name a couple of couples. These had specific humour (that I believe is the smartest & best) that many won’t get but still went large! I have noticed that the shows that do get made that break the mould are spearheaded by big or rising stars that the BBC, NBC etc are willing to take a risk on.

Most TV comedies I’ve liked (Frasier, Cheers, Cosby Show, King of Queens, Spin City) are very funny because of their twenty writer teams comedy but follow standard formulas. These are the TV shows that can be conceived by nobodies (i.e. me) that get picked up for not offending anybody and appealing to every possible Joe Average.

Worse than that though brings me to...

Reason 2 why Gbontwi won’t be working with the BBC…
Because it IS the BBC. The BBC are highly likely to take my highly original idea (titled ‘The St.Reatham Afristocracy’ – the adventures of a dead African leader’s grown up children living in south London) and make it a former shadow of itself.

Again there’s ‘even worse’ option. The show might make Black people look bad. I would probably back out. I could quote ‘The Wire’ as making Black people look bad but still being a BAD muthaphukka of a show but that’s drama and this is comedy. I don’t want no minstrels for my show inside –all in an attempt to make it appeal to the mainstream. Here be the debate. Would they merely want me to put a white face in it like C4 did with Desmond’s? Fact –Black people don’t support their own as much as I could so when I’m writing a TV show who am I expecting to watch it? There was once a TV show called ‘The Game’ on CW –An American TV channel which was one of the baddest Black shows. Because it wasn’t about suffering and pain and hope and bible and God and dancing it got cancelled after 4series. How far would I go to get a show I write a more than cult-following? Not very far I think. 1) Less funny. Just having the BBC having shown interest means I could go away & talk 2 ITV, C4 or sky with that kudos behind me –even if I had 2 pay 2 get my pilot made. The Miss Jocelyn Show or ‘The Crouches’ amongst other BBC productions have all been accused of not being funny. I would rather be funny and then cancelled and remembered fondly (and oft-youtubed) than the common alternative.

I suppose I’ll have to hold out for HBO.

Reason 3 why Gbontwi won’t be working with the BBC…The BBC’s deadline was midnight on a Monday night and I submitted mine at about 00:01 Tuesday morning.