Answer the following questions in a file on your USB drive (so you will have a copy to keep). Then, paste your answers into the fields below.
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The premise of a series idea is typically based on the following formula:
a primary tension or conflict + a containing situation = the premise
The conflict produces either comic situations or dramatic plots. These tensions arise out of contradictions in the condition of the hero or the world of the story:
a fish-out-of-water situation
a secret
a mystery
contradictory characters thrown or stuck together
Since the series' conflict must remain for many seasons, there must be a "containing situation," which perpetuates the confict, tension, or contradiction. For example,
Roommates forced to live together by economic necessity.
High school
Talking horse will only speak to his owner.
The FBI assigns a sketical, by-the-book agent to investigate supernatural and extraterrestrial phenomenon with a very unconventional agent who "wants to believe."
Family bonds and obligations
In a sentence or two, describe this basic tension
In a sentence or two, describe the containing situation that prevents the conflict from being resolved in an episode or two
Describe the genre of the show and give a couple of examples of actual shows in that genre (current or past)
Character Types or Positions
TV series--and stories in general--tend to feature the same set of character types, defined in relation to the "hero" Iand thus the audience).
In a series, rather than a one-time movie concept, relationships among these types are never resolved. Below, examples are given parenthetically from the series Seinfeld.
the Hero(Jerry)
the Buddy(George, Kramer)
the Love Interest (Elaine, current episode's girlfriend)
the Antagonistic, Blocking, or Complicating Character(s)
(Newman, Jerry's parents, George's parents, Jerry's various short-time girlfriends, George's various short-time girlfriends, Soup Nazi, sometimes Kramer, sometimes George, sometimes Elaine).
List one or more "Antagonistic" characters below
Variation: Ensemble Cast
Some series feature groups of friends, co-workers, and/or family members, weaving together their various experiences more or less equally, rather than focusing on a single, lead character. An example: Parks and Recreation or Girls.
Emotionally, an ensemble grouping almost always functions as a replacement family--if it is not literally a family
Each character in the ensemble has a distinct, defining role or value that arises from his/her character or situation in a shared world. (Source: Chris McGuire's Ensemble Comedy)
Characters in a series live their relationships in a shared world: a physical place and/or location, a social situation, a (sub)cultural context, a particlar universe of problems, hopes, values, challenges, etc. This shared world is sometimes defined by a profession/workpace, social issue, generational identity, gender, etc.
In a paragraph, describe the shared world of the series.
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In a short paragraph,describe "how the characters came together, the circumstances that hold them together, a description of that world" (see The TV Writer's Vault/Scripted Projects for more)
Real Places or Sub-Cultural Universes
Most series feature particular locales or settings which provide background texture or realism, generate plot complications, or even represent the ultimate subject and meaning of the show (Seinfeld/New York City; Dexter/Miami; Beverly Hillbillies, Sopranos/New Jersey).
In a sentence of two, try speculating on the meaning and function of the setting and other aspects of realism or real-world texture on your series concept--or on your reasons for having a generic setting like the middle-class suburbia of The Simpson's Springfield.
Try to write a one-sentence summary of your series concept.
For example, "A likable husband's tolerance and marriage is tested by the constant intrusion of his overbearing parents and dim-witted brother" - Everybody Loves Raymond (From The TV Writer's Vault, see also Wikipedia's Log Lines). See also some pitched log lines for movies (not TV series) with a producer's critiques from The Inside Pitch.
In one to four words, describe the structural logic of the title sequence (not to be confused with the "log line" describing the situations of the series itself.