It would not work now !

[mike]

OK first post time.

I was wondering if other members agree that this fantastic series is now a period piece of two eras. with the advent of mobiles, the internet & social networks Yvonne would have sussed Gary out in no time . I watched the last series again last week & was amazed how good it still is.

[Terry Kinane]

I agree with you. Sweetheart is a gem that belongs back in the 90s.

[jobsta]

I tend to agree also. Not just because of the plot elements you have out lined Mike, but also because I think culturally the sitcom is sadly a dying art form.

[Terry Kinane]

But, you know, my approach to Directing 'Sweetheart' was to treat it as Comedy Drama rather than sit com. I even suggested not shooting it in front of a 'live' studio audience.

However, the BBC wanted it shot that way, and he who has the money calls the tune.

I think it would have been even better if it had been shot as a Comedy Drama series.

[ibindere]

I agree and disagree in equal measure.

I think GNSH is absolutely a period piece of two eras. The 90's are now sufficiently long ago to be classed as a period piece (insofar as the show is a snapshot of an era that no longer exists).

However....... I do believe there is sufficient mileage there for a one-off. Maybe a christmas special. Just to allow us fans a chance to catch up with Gary and what has happened in his extraordinary life over the last 13 years. If Lo and Mo sat down for a couple of weeks and really put their minds to it, I'm sure they could come up with an amazing 1 hour of GNSH update. I accept a new series is probably asking too much, but surely a christmas special wouldnt be beyond the realms of possibility?

Terry, what are your thoughts on this?

[ibindere]

Feb 22, 2012 10:34:10 GMT -5 Terry Kinane said:

But, you know, my approach to Directing 'Sweetheart' was to treat it as Comedy Drama rather than sit com. I even suggested not shooting it in front of a 'live' studio audience.

However, the BBC wanted it shot that way, and he who has the money calls the tune.

I think it would have been even better if it had been shot as a Comedy Drama series.

Hi Terry, can you explain to us what difference you feel this would have made to the end product? Please expand!

:-)

[Terry Kinane]

I think a Christmas Special would be interesting.

The reality is though that a lot of people will either never have heard of the series, or would need to see a few select episodes transmitted in order to give them a sense of, and remind them of the series prior to a new episode being transmitted 13 years later.

I'm not sure that the beeb would ever go that route.

[ibindere]

Terry, this may seem a daft question, but how much do you estimate it would it cost to commission a 1 hour christmas special of GNSH privately? In other words, assuming Lo/Mo/Nick/Chris/Vic and one of each of the girls agreed to do it, what would it cost to bankroll the project if the beeb weren't interested? In terms of the writing, production, actor's fees, and anything else etc, right up to the finished product on the screen?

Indulge me!

[Terry Kinane]

Feb 22, 2012 10:36:48 GMT -5 ibindere said:

Feb 22, 2012 10:34:10 GMT -5 Terry Kinane said:

But, you know, my approach to Directing 'Sweetheart' was to treat it as Comedy Drama rather than sit com. I even suggested not shooting it in front of a 'live' studio audience.

However, the BBC wanted it shot that way, and he who has the money calls the tune.

I think it would have been even better if it had been shot as a Comedy Drama series.

Hi Terry, can you explain to us what difference you feel this would have made to the end product? Please expand!

:-)

Well, if we had shot it as a comedy drama series, I think that it would certainly have enhanced the visual feel of the 40s scenes. The exteriors that we shot for the 40s scenes I think were beautifully shot and lit...that's because we were shooting single camera and we could do things properly without making compromises.

If we had taken that grammar into the studio, I think that we would have ended up with a superior looking end result. Don't get me wrong, our lighting Director Chris Clayton did a fantastic job with 'Sweetheart', but I know what he could have done if we were not shooting multi camera. As an example, the train scenes in the spy episode were shot single camera.

[Terry Kinane]

Feb 22, 2012 10:48:43 GMT -5 ibindere said:

Terry, this may seem a daft question, but how much do you estimate it would it cost to commission a 1 hour christmas special of GNSH privately? In other words, assuming Lo/Mo/Nick/Chris/Vic and one of each of the girls agreed to do it, what would it cost to bankroll the project if the beeb weren't interested? In terms of the writing, production, actor's fees, and anything else etc, right up to the finished product on the screen?

Indulge me!

You wouldn't be able to borrow the money unless a major Network was bankrollong it. Many variables to take into account, for example, all of the sets are now destroyed and would have to be rebuilt from scratch. A new one hour episode would probably cost somewhere between 500 thousand and a million.

[ibindere]

Feb 22, 2012 10:59:40 GMT -5 Terry Kinane said:

Feb 22, 2012 10:48:43 GMT -5 ibindere said:

Terry, this may seem a daft question, but how much do you estimate it would it cost to commission a 1 hour christmas special of GNSH privately? In other words, assuming Lo/Mo/Nick/Chris/Vic and one of each of the girls agreed to do it, what would it cost to bankroll the project if the beeb weren't interested? In terms of the writing, production, actor's fees, and anything else etc, right up to the finished product on the screen?

Indulge me!

You wouldn't be able to borrow the money unless a major Network was bankrollong it. Many variables to take into account, for example, all of the sets are now destroyed and would have to be rebuilt from scratch. A new one hour episode would probably cost somewhere between 500 thousand and a million.

jesus. that's quite a lot of money.

if it was done privately though, would it recoup? would it be relatively easy to sell to various networks and get the money back?

[Terry Kinane]

Feb 22, 2012 11:14:59 GMT -5 ibindere said:

Feb 22, 2012 10:59:40 GMT -5 Terry Kinane said:

You wouldn't be able to borrow the money unless a major Network was bankrollong it. Many variables to take into account, for example, all of the sets are now destroyed and would have to be rebuilt from scratch. A new one hour episode would probably cost somewhere between 500 thousand and a million.

jesus. that's quite a lot of money.

if it was done privately though, would it recoup? would it be relatively easy to sell to various networks and get the money back?

You'd have to have a Network on board and a syndication deal in place for distribution. So, ibindere productions would have to approach a Network in a joint venture to produce this one off show. You would need to be able to show them that there are Networks around the world that would be interested in purchasing transmission rights for the production, so that the Network knows that they will make a profit on the deal.

If you could guarantee syndication in Australia, New Zealand and a handful of European Countries, then a Network might be interested in co funding it.

Highly unlikely that anything like that could ever happen though.

[mike]

Hi All.
What a fantastic idea, to see what Gary`s world is like in the 50`s & 60`s. How much of history did he change?, did he discover Elvis & the beatles & let them record "his" songs .
The possibilities would be endless.
Still thats only £33333 each, i`ll go & raid the piggy bank now!

[brainwobbler]

Feb 21, 2012 13:52:58 GMT -5 mike said:

OK first post time.

I was wondering if other members agree that this fantastic series is now a period piece of two eras. with the advent of mobiles, the internet & social networks Yvonne would have sussed Gary out in no time . I watched the last series again last week & was amazed how good it still is.

It's funny how we think of the 90's as being so ancient now, it must be nearly time for me to draw my pension ;D because it only seems like yesterday to me, for me the 60's and the 70's are the "prehistoric times" ;D not the 90's or even the 80's but yes, of course the fact is that the 90's are now a bygone era, the 80's ancient history ;D, I halfway agree with you're point in as much as I think a new GS series would need to be adapted to today's mobile, internet and social network culture.

I don't think it would be impossible to do it again but it's just that it would have to be much more sophisticated than the original, incorporating smartphone and tablet technology within the story lines because this is where it's at in today's world, even the very poorest have access to mobile internet technology, this is something that would have been unheard of back then in the early 90's when GS was first broadcast, of course the 1940's or past time travel scenes in the show could still be like the original.

It's just the modern scenes that will be a lot harder if you ask me, the Gary Sparrow character is difficult to place into today's world, he was just about believable and acceptable back then but now he would be a dinosaur like me ;D so he would really need to be different, also the way Gary goes through the time portal would probably have to involve much better special effect technology, I don't mind how it was done before personally but I would imagine that the younger generation watching won't be impressed with such a simple effect that could easily be replicated on Adobe Premier Elements or Studio 11 video editing software ;D, I also have to wonder about the comedy element, is comedy, especially situation comedy dying a death nowadays?? , seems to me like it is, if GS were made again would it need to be much more like a serious Sci-Fi than a comedy??, perhaps there would be too much that would have to be changed to be worth it and in that sense you may well be right.