First Major Project - research post 2/3

Screenwriters,

I'll be talking about two screenwriters in particular, Douglas Addams and Steven Moffat.
Both are Dr who alumni, and both write a little comedy into their drama. this post will cover how these two geniuses in particular have shaped the way i think and write, and also how that relates to Mia and Me(formerly Alien relations)

Steven moffat

The Basics:

• born 18 November 1961 - Paisley, Scotland 
• Studied at the University of Glasgow 
• He was involved with the student television station, GUST (Glasgow University Student Television) 
• worked as a teacher for three and a half years at a High School in Greenock. 
• wrote a play called War Zones, performed at the 1985 Glasgow Mayfest and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 
• wrote a TV show called Press Gang, this ran for five series on ITV between 1989 and 1993. The programme won a BAFTA award in its second series. 
• wrote two series of Joking Apart, The show won the Bronze Rose of Montreux and was entered for the Emmys. 
• wrote Chalk, the show was based on Moffat's three years as an English teacher, didn't fare well with critics, released 1997. 
• wrote and produced Coupling, first broadcast on the BBC in 2000, ran until 2004. 
• wrote the drama series Jekyll, a modern version of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, this ran during 2007. 
• wrote the early drafts for The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, left production to write Dr Who. 
• Writes regularly for the Drama TV show SHERLOCK 
• wrote several episodes of Dr Who, before becoming Executive producer and head writer in 2008, has written 40 episodes, and 4 mini-episodes, all between 2005 and 2015 

How His Work has impacted My script:

Steven Moffat has influenced, by accident or by design so much of my work, as a bit of a fan of Dr who and Sherlock, I have loved his writing for most, if not all of his tenure at the helms of both shows. Sherlock in particular influenced the character dynamics seen in my earlier drafts, the subtle hints of a relationship between the main characters was something influenced by the relationship between Sherlock And John Watson, however in my later drafts I have been influenced more by Dr Who, mostly because I've been watching the newest series as I've been writing. the easy wordplay and banter between the 12th(13th?-ish) Dr and Clara has definitely left its mark on my script.

Douglas Adams

The Basics:

• born on 11 March 1952 in Cambridge, England. 
• wrote a report in The Brentwoodian in 1962, 
• wrote spoof reviews in the school magazine Broadsheet. 
• HE designed the cover of one issue of the Broadsheet, 
• had a letter and short story published nationally in The Eagle, in 1965. 
• wrote A poem entitled "A Dissertation on the task of writing a poem on a candle and an account of some of the difficulties thereto pertaining" in 1970 
• Attended Brentwood School, the prep school from 1959 to 1964, then the main school until December 1970. 
• he was awarded an Exhibition in English at St John's College, Cambridge, going up in 1971 
• became a member of the Footlights by 1973 
• graduated in 1974 with a B.A. in English literature. 
• A version of the Footlights Revue appeared on BBC2 television in 1974. this led to Adams being discovered by Monty Python's Graham Chapman. 
• he earned a writing credit in episode 45 of Monty Python for a sketch called "Patient Abuse". 
• Adams also contributed to a sketch on the album for Monty Python and the Holy Grail. 
• In 1976 he wrote and performed Unpleasantness at Brodie's Close at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. 
• he wrote sketches for The Burkiss Way, The News Huddlines, and (with Chapman), an episode of Doctor on the Go, all in 1977. 
• wrote most, if not all iterations of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy 
• wrote the novel, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency,published in 1987 and its sequel, published a year later 
• Co-wrote three serials for Dr Who, "The Pirate Planet", "City of Death", and"Shada"(un-broadcast) 
• he also wrote several early video games, these I am unfamiliar with. 

How His Work has impacted My script:

Addams' work always impacts my writing, I've been familiar with Addams' work since i was a small child, listening with my dad to HHGTTG on audio tape, then watching the original series, and eventually the 2005 film. I consider Adams a genius of writing, level with Shakespeare, most importantly though Adams' work influenced the development of my character, Mia Madeline, during my early idea stage I imagined Mia as a sort of gender-swapped Ford Prefect, this unfortunately didn't last long, however her capacity for long term secrets is definitely still in there, something she got from Ford.