It was the smallest gathering in some time, but I put that down to only week passing since the last meeting; that aside, the numbers still kicked ass compared to what they were like when I first wandered into this group 6 years ago.
We kicked off with a sketch by Gareth, he normally has something in his back pocket and today it was a tribute to X-Factor sob stories, well observed, but climaxing in his usual dive into the gutter and an ending someone pointed out was similar to Little Miss Sunshine (I didn’t have the heart to say that the film had now been ruined for me), but it was an enjoyable way to start the meeting.
Jon Neale stepped up next, following his last effort which was perfectly criticised for being a series of great jokes in search of a sketch. This week he was much more focused with a simple phone call. In the sketch we only hear one person’s voice and it was pointed out that in general people don’t handily repeat everything they are told and some other devices to reveal what the operator was saying would work wonders in what was another well observed and funny sketch.
Our third sketch ‘Where Have All the Bistros Gone‘ came from Robin Bailes who has a known dislike for the style. Intended for stage, the sketch was based around the town and country divide. Main criticism was levelled at the slow start and the half page of additional material that followed a passionate and funny speech.
Finally we come to our main feature, ‘Misanthropology‘ by self confessed Seinfeld addict Alex Papakyriacou. Pulling no punches Alex was quick to confess that although the names were changed this was his attempt at a Seinfeld script, from the situations, locations, characters and running jokes. This is a situation we have never had in the group before, we have never had what is, in almost every sense, a ‘spec script’. This made criticism that slightly more complicated as people tried to rack their brains about what use such a script would hold. Although it is possible to get on a show’s writing team by producing a great spec script, it helps if that show is still in production. Taken on its own merits, people unfamiliar with Sienfeld were lost under the weight of so many characters, those familiar however, could follow with ease. While this might be deemed a success in the tribute box, it means it was failure as a pilot. The three plot lines were given almost equal weight which made it hard to identify an “A” story or a primary perspective. Structurally the characters were kept apart for too much of the script and the non-recurring characters thrown into the mix were given as much screen time as the main characters. Anyone who was in the group at the start of the year would have remembered the ending from an earlier short from Alex. Sadly this ending in the new context was too convenient, relying on series slightly implausible events followed by a gross misunderstanding to get the pay off. With the loose theme of meat to tie everything together Misanthropology was an interesting exercise, but I doubt much can be done with the finished product.
One thing I do need to address, because I hear it too often, Seinfeld did have plots and was a very well constructed sitcom. Just because they built episodes around small things like buttons, toys and spare keys does not mean there was no plot. I thank you.
Tags: feedback, london comedy writers, sketch
