Artwork by Stéphanie Pipelette
Happy Christmas Everyone. Wishing a Joyous and Peaceful time to all the Fame fans around the World.
Kids From Fame Media returns with all new posts on January 6th!
Monday, 23 December 2013
Happy Christmas
Artwork by Stéphanie Pipelette
Happy Christmas Everyone. Wishing a Joyous and Peaceful time to all the Fame fans around the World.
Kids From Fame Media returns with all new posts on January 6th!
Friday, 20 December 2013
Doris Schwartz Time and Again Season 2 Ep 6 Commentary
As this episode starts we are again thrown into the time lines merging with Cleo and Leroy in events that happened originally in season 4 and Julie and Montgomery in season 1.
We are seeing Leroy's story out of order at the moment but I wanted him to confront Doris so I continued inputting scenes that I could come back to when I tell Leroy's story.
Of course it's still too early for us to deal with that, so has to Doris move to another time line. This main basis for this episode was really just a one off and its purpose was to add a question over Doris' situation in the terms of is she dead and is this some kind of purgatory that she finds herself in.
Other shows like "Lost" and Ashes to Ashes", that had used the concept of characters being in the past or existing outside their normal lives had used the purgatory concept so I thought I would throw in a red herring and allure to that is what is possibly happening to Doris.
Also using the idea of including other characters this time we use Tracey whom Doris had met in "Street Kid". I thought it would be interesting find out what may have happened to this character as well as add to the mystery of Doris' story. The original Fame stories often ended with a happy ending but as real life isn't like that and I never believed Tracey's story would end so simply, I came up with a tragic backstory for her which sadly ended with her being murdered.
We flashback "Life Is a Celebration", again to include a full song in the story but also I wanted to contrast the hope of youth and how both Tracey and Doris were feeling when they were teenagers, with how they feel now after dealing with the hand that life dealt them. Despite what has happened to Doris her natural personality is to be optimistic but Tracey's circumstances are nothing to be optimistic about.
One thing I wanted to develop, in the vein of the original episode "Lisa's Song" was that people who had died with unfinished business wouldn't pass over to the other side and would be stuck in this World in some kind of Purgatory, as I knew I wanted to used that story idea with Nicole and Leroy later on.
I also think it is interesting that as Tracey hasn't passed on she has decided to hang around the school. Although I haven't laboured the point the implications is that she chose this because she was happiest at that time she spent at the school. Initially I wasn't sure how to reveal the truth about Tracey apart from her to blurt it out to Doris but after some thought it seemed the newspaper report would actually serve that purpose well. Also at the time of writing I wasn't sure if Tracey's story would continue and I would her utilised again in the future. As it turned out I couldn't actually think of another way to use that character. She had served her purpose so we don't see her again.
I personally find the end quite chilling as Doris starts to wonder what might have happened to her.
Read "Lost On A Winding Road"
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Thursday, 19 December 2013
Doris Schwartz Time and Again Season 2 Ep 5 Commentary
As I don't want to give too much of the story away so early on and the previous episode ending was a bit of a tease, Mrs Berg is utilised to get us out of the situation and highlights that perhaps there's more to Mrs Berg than has so far met the eye, which again was something I wanted to come back to in this episode. I didn't just want to keep using Doris moving in time to get her out of each situation so Mrs Berg seemed liked the perfect remedy to the situation. Doris does move in time but we get a sense that Crandall wouldn't now have said any more even if Doris hadn't moved in time.
Doris finds herself back in events that have already happened in the story. Again she doesn't want to change things so quickly moves but that creates new events that affect the time line. We also get another little scene where Leroy's suspicions are raised. Doris and possible the reader think that Leroy notices and follows Doris because of what we've read previously about his accident but for Leroy that is yet to happen!
One of the issues I've had all the way through this writing was how to make a time travelling, sci fi themed story fit in with Fame. I felt that some people may have been put off from reading as the story wasn't enough like the original show. Up until now I hadn't utilised the use of performance and songs. We'd referenced some of the songs that were actually performed on the show but that was it. So I decided to try and include more songs in the episodes.
This was my first attempt to do that. It was important to have a song that expressed how Doris was feeling as I didn't just want to throw a random song in. I've always loved Tina Turner's version of "Help" and the emotion and lyrics really seemed to sum up Doris' emotions and how lost she is feeling at this point in time.
Another aim was to bring in different people for Doris to interact with and Jim Hamilton seemed like a great choice. Particularly as he is blind there wouldn't be any issue of how Doris looked. So using the episode he came back to the school to help Doris perform "Diamonds are a girl's best friend" I put him in the story. We actually reference that episodes title "A Friend In Need" in a statement Jim makes to Doris.
Doris had always had a crush on Mr Hamilton and of course as our character is now middle aged she can act on those feelings more, particularly as she is feeling so lost. These feeling echo that she was lonely in her current life and not just now she has found herself in the past. So I added a kiss with Mr Hamilton to portray his. If we remember in the original episode Mr Hamilton has just been rejected by Lydia so he is also feeling vulnerable. Then Mrs Berg comes in to burst that bubble but also to give more of an explanation to Doris. This time Mrs is Berg is softened and we discover that she doesn't have all the answers and whatever is happening is down to Doris and she has a choice to make. We don't know it yet but ultimately that choice is life or death!
For me this is the most fully rounded episode yet, with the music, the links to the original episodes and characters. Also because we discover that this is Doris' journey and only she can resolve it. Which inspired the title "No Easy Rides" which comes from the Season 5 song "Love's a Journey Not A Place".
Read "No Easy Rides"
Doris Schwartz Time and Again Season 4 Episode 11
My fan fiction story "Doris Schwartz Time and Again" continues with episode Eleven titled "Start At The End Part 1" which comes from the Season 3 Song of the same name.
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Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Doris Schwartz Time and Again Season 2 Ep 4 Commentary
As this episode starts I have to get Doris out of the situation as I don't want the confrontation with Leroy to take place yet. As I'd introduced Greg Crandall this season I thought it would be interesting for him to be the one that saves her. Crandall always seemed to have a soft spot for Doris and so far he is the only Character that is displaced in time. The other characters we knew that had since died like Shorofsky were obviously alive during the whole run of the show. So although Doris knows they have since died there's no issue with them being there in the past, but Crandall's appearance during a time that he was already dead on the show does create a mystery.
Having had Crandall save Doris I want to build on the mystery of his character so quickly have Doris move in time so he doesn't have to give any explanation for his actions or his presence. Basically I wanted a little bit of light filler to fill the episode before we return to the Crandall mystery. So having Doris appear in the classroom and interact as a teacher with the season 6 cast was simply that.
It has no relevance to the this story at all and I just wanted it to be a little more fun. Also it was a way to try to incorporate all the cast even the ones that Doris didn't know. The scene does reference the fact that Ian can't read music, which was part of the original series. At this point of writing I wasn't sure if I would use the season 6 cast any more but ultimately there are a couple of brief scenes but that's it.
Then we suddenly are back to Crandall, and Doris believes he knows more about what is going on than he's said. So having Doris beg him to tell her the full story seemed like a good ending, as we think we are going to be told more of the story. So that's what inspired the title, "Show Me How To Make It Right" which comes from the season 1 song "I was Only Trying To Help". Doris is asking Crandall to help her understand so she can get back to her own time.
Read "Show Me How To Make It Right"
Debbie Allen What A Merry Christmas Tree with John Schneider
Debbie Allen What A Merry Christmas Tree with John Schneider.
Elizabeth Sherwood Investigates - A Murder In The Family Part 10
"Elizabeth Sherwood Investigates": "A Murder In The Family" concludes with the final Part. Part 10.
Read Story
Tuesday, 17 December 2013
Doris Schwartz Time and Again Season 2 Ep 3 Commentary
For me this was the first proper episode of season 2 as we start to see how things are affecting the time line. I thought it was appropriate for Doris to return to the beginning of the first episode of this adventure as that instantly shows that things are different this time round. So that's what inspired the title which comes from the season 4 song "The Loser Gets To Win".
The difference is mainly demonstrated by Coco's experience of seeing her future self and not understanding what she is seeing. I think it's interesting that Doris has realised that her actions could be affecting things and acts differently this time and leaves the auditorium as soon as possible. She goes directly to the music booth, which is where she went last time so we have no idea until Dusty arrives that she has moved in time.
Also this is a darker, more trouble Doris than we have previously seen, as she now realises that things aren't going to be easy and to a certain extent the novelty of being in the past has worn off.
Having Doris in season 5 helps her stay a little more incognito as the new characters don't know who she is.
As I knew Leroy's story would play a major part in the future I wanted to place the seeds of that story as soon as possible and one of the key events was going to be his fall and knee injury, that occurred in season 5. Having two time lines merge I thought it would be interesting, that it was seeing himself in the other time line and seeing Doris, who at this point he's already started to suspect, would be the cause of his accident, which in turn would lead him to start to blame Doris.
I always loved the original scene where Leroy echoes Lydia's "You Want Fame…" speech and so knew I wanted to include that. I also think it's interesting that seeing two time lines is just as confusing for Doris as it is for the other characters and builds mystery for the reader. Also I liked the idea that it looked like Doris was caught out this time.
Read "Back To Where We Started"
Debbie Allen Christmas Medley with John Schneider & Friends
Debbie Allen Christmas Medley with John Schneider and Friends.
Fame Songs - Cover Versions
Cover Version of "Desdemona"
Cover Version of "It's Gonna Be A Long Night"
Monday, 16 December 2013
Doris Schwartz Time and Again Season 2 Ep 2 Commentary
As this season is centred around the hospital I wanted to establish that pretty quickly. As Doris passes out in the previous episode rather than moves in time I wanted this to seem like she'd just been taken to the hospital to then later reveal that she was back in 2010. Doris had actually come out of the coma she was in. It isn't revealed that it's a coma at this point but I knew it was and I knew we'd be returning to this hospital room in future episodes..
I titled the episode "Are You Real or Just A Dream", which comes from the season 3 song "Shadows and Light" to throw some doubt on Mrs Berg, Mr Crandall and Mr Shorofsky. I didn't previously revealed when Mrs Berg had dies but placed it in this episode to highlight that each of the teachers in the hospital room with her are dead. Here we can't be sure if they are ghosts or real because only Doris sees them. I was still continuing with making them appear malevolent. At this point I didn't know whether they would be or not.
Although it's not entirely clear to the reader the announcements over the speaker system for code blue and for the Dr to go to maternity are echoes from another time line. They get repeated frequently through this season.
Also I had Mrs Berg be the voice calling Doris' name. This is the voice she'd heard mysteriously thought season one, which in itself was an echo in time.
Read "Are You Real or Just A Dream"
Michael Cerveris - Jesus Christ Was Born Today
Michael Cerveris and Kimberley Kaye perform "Jesus Christ Was Born Today" at The 5th Annual Joe Iconis Christmas Spectacular December 15, 2012.
Hi Fidelity by Valerie Landsburg Magnums Extended Remix
Here's a link to to an Extended Mix of "Hi Fidelity" I found on the Web.
Magnums 1980s Extended Remixes: kids from fame - high fidelity [1982] [magnums ext...:
Friday, 13 December 2013
Debbie Allen: Raising Money For Kids And Dance - Los Angeles Local News | FOX 11 LA KTTV
Debbie Allen Interview on her Gala and Hot Chocolate Nutcracker.
Debbie Allen: Raising Money For Kids And Dance - Los Angeles Local News | FOX 11 LA KTTV Los Angeles Local News | FOX 11 LA KTTV
Doris Schwartz Time and Again Season 2 Ep 1 Commentary
As I neared writing the end of season 1 I started to think about future story lines for season 2. I knew to make things work I needed to know where I was taking the story so that I could plan ahead and the plant seeds of what was to come.
I was on holiday and out for a walk one day and started chewing over,. with my partner some of the fundamental issues of why Doris was in the past. I also knew I wanted to show the story from a different side and chose Leroy to be that character. The ideas came thick and fast and things seemed to fall in place. Suddenly I knew exactly why Doris was in the past and how certain parts of the story would fit into that. So I developed a plan for where the season 3 finale would go and where Season 4 would start. I then worked backwards and started to develop ideas for Season 2. I also knew at what point in the story some of the answers would be revealed.
I decided that Season 2 would have a couple of common themes. Firstly the hospital would feature considerably. Thinking about how many times the cast ended up in hospital or visiting hospital that ave me a lot to plan with. I also decided that time would start to merge with itself giving me the perfect scenes in the season finale where our characters all meet up from different time periods.
I also knew that I hated Nicole's death on the show and Doris would have to do something about saving her.
First I had to move the story on from where we ended in season 1 but I didn't just want Doris to vanish that was. So I decided to continue from exactly where we left off.
The title "Feel It Begin" comes from the season 4 song "Tomorrow Morning". This was one of the episodes that I struggled with on the title. Apart from the new mystery of people seeing Greg Crandall and Leroy seeing himself most of this episode recaps what has happened. In the end I went with "Feel It Begin" because having made long term plans this is where I thought the real story started.
Having Greg Candall suddenly appear in 1983 I think added even more mystery. Mrs Berg was now definitely part of the action and I wanted her to seem like she knows far more than she says and that we couldn't always be sure of her intentions.
Although I'd decided on the hospital connection at this point I wasn't sure if this was a regular hospital or a mental hospital. So I recapped that Doris had previously had a breakdown and spent time in a mental hospital just in case I wanted to go down that route.
Read "Feel It Begin"
Thursday, 12 December 2013
Debbie Allen Radio Interview with Pat Prescott
2013 Debbie Allen Radio Interview with Pat Prescott from 94.7 The Wave, talking about her all star gala tonight and The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker at the weekend. Also she talks about "Greys Anatomy" and "Scandal".
Scroll down to the bottom of the page to listen to the interview.
Listen to Interview
Doris Schwartz Time and Again Season 1 Ep 9 Commentary
The season one finale is titled "Tangled Up in A Mystery" which comes from the season 4 song "Suspense"! For me this was the perfect title as every little plot line that had been built throughout the season was brought back in this episode. "Hail To The Chief" was just a perfect episode to put this story in as all the season 3 cast were there and we had the security agents who ultimately wouldn't be fooled by Doris' lies.
I loved how this episode flowed and ultimately reached it it's crescendo. With a little fun and emotion along the way.
In order to remind the reader Doris reconnects with Dwight and Holly and we have throwaway lines that just indicate plot line that were going on in Hail To The Chief" that we don't see here. The scene with Holly not only serves as a reminder but also gives us an indication as to what is happening for teenage Doris that could have led to her suspension.
Then we have the bitter sweet scene with her mother. Readers might have thought having Doris resolve some of her issues with her mother over the phone in episode 4 that that may have been the end of that plot line but as Angela was in "Hail To The Chief" it was an opportunity not to be missed and ads to the emotion. It was a little complicated how to explain all the various character meetings we had previously seen and have it all come out in one scene but I think it worked very well.
I'm not sure if it's spelt out clearly enough here as I didn't really labour the point but my intention with Bruno realising that his friend, teenage Doris isn't actually the same person as the older woman goes some way to repairing their friendship, which in turn helps teenage Doris who doesn't then get expelled. I never refer to this plot line again as for me it was over and things just got so much bigger in the future seasons. Plus Doris doesn't interact with the core characters in quite the same way again as she does in this season.
The Bruno realisation also is where I wrote myself into a corner because in the official time line his confrontation with middle aged Doris when he leaves "The Best In You and Me" was after the events in "Hail To the Chief". In my head I justified it by deciding that what is now happening in the "Hail To The Chief " setting hadn't previously happened and we were seeing an alternate time line of events with Bruno and Doris not being friends and Doris being expelled, which is why that all changed after this season finale! Phew did I get away with that?
The alternative would have been to reset Doris and Bruno's confrontation to a timeline before "Hail To The Chief" but for me it worked well enough where it was.
After I initially posted this episode I did go back and slightly amend Morloch's reaction to seeing Doris without the wig, just to ad continuity to events that happen in future episodes. I could have left it and explained it away as I did above but decided to just amend it slightly, which is a bit of a cheat I know but new readers will never realise and it doesn't really alter this story in anyway!
The mysterious voice and Mrs Berg's involvement are brought up again although I still wasn't sure how they were going to develop. Also the cliffhanger of having Doris led away by the agents at this point I didn't know how I would resolve. Yes I could use the obvious she moves in time but the fact that she was exposed to all the characters meant things would change a little in the future.
Read "Tangled Up In A Mystery"
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Doris Schwartz Time and Again Season 1 Ep 8 Commentary
The title "Look For Me" comes from the season 4 song "You Don't Know Who I Am". After Doris' confrontation with Bruno and her confusion as to why her teenage self wasn't performing in the "The Best In You And Me", Doris quickly sees another situation where her teenage self is missing. This all becomes very confusing and her concern as to what has happened to her teenage self becomes her main focus. Which is where the title comes in. i liked this little mystery.
Set in season 4's "Parent's Week" she interacts with Chris, Cassidy, Jesse and Nicole but none of them know Doris. I knew I wanted to include Jesse and Nicole more and there stories take off in season 2 but I couldn't really work anything substantial into this season for them so a brief cameo is all they get.
I love the scene with Chris and Cassidy referencing lots of events that Doris had been prominent in. Playing on Doris' old securities about Holly, I had Holly be the one who replaced Doris in all of the situations stated to add to Doris' frustrations. Personally I think it added not only a little tension but is also funny. Doris is now in the blond wig which is why Chris didn't recognise her from his first encounter when she pretended to be the dance teacher.
Then we build to the cliff hanger where we discover that Doris has been expelled. To me it was something that would never have happened to Doris in normal circumstances so becomes more of a shock. What could have possibly happened to have her expelled?
Read "Look For Me"
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Someday Someway Kids from Fame
"Someday Someway" comes from the season 5 episode "Self Defence" and is performed by Nia Peeples, Loretta Chandler, Carrie Hamilton and Page Hannah.
Download MP3
Doris Schwartz Time and Again Season 1 Ep 7 Commentary
After a weaker previous episode I really felt I was back on track with this story. "Only Trying To Help" obviously comes from the season 1 song of the same name and here we discover how badly Doris' interfering has affected the time line and particularly her relationship with Bruno. Doris and Bruno had always been a constant on the show and even after Bruno left and wasn't mentioned I still think we had a sense that they were still great friends. Bruno will play a major part in season 4 but to have that relationship put in jeopardy is really interesting to me. Particularly as it's all down to Doris' good intentions.
To me it makes things worse that her actions meant Bruno's father died after an argument with Bruno and Doris has caused Bruno to suffer exactly the same fate she suffered when her Mother died so that really adds to Doris' guilt.
It's obvious something has happened between Bruno and the teenage Doris, who of course has no idea what her older self has been up to. Similarly older Doris has no memory of events that never originally happened. I knew we would see this fight in a future episode although I wrote myself into a bit of a corner with it but more about that when we get to those episodes.
As well as the situation with Bruno there is obviously something else afoot as Doris isn't part of the performance but I thought I'd wait to explore that.
All of this does rather overshadow the cliff hanger from the previous episode but I personally like the idea that teenage Doris can't see herself. I have no real explanation for this apart from I liked the idea and it easily got me out of the Face To Face situation. Although it gave me ideas to be able to develop it in the future. So other works of fiction would have us believe that something bad like the world blowing up happens if we come face to face with our past selves but I'm saying nothing visibly happens it's just the younger version can't see themself.
I threw in a nice exchange with Dwight to help add to the confusion I was planning in the final episode of the season. So far she's been herself dressed up in a blond wig, looking older, A Dance teacher, a music teacher, Morloch's wife and Dwight's Mother.
Monday, 9 December 2013
Doris Schwartz Time and Again Season 1 Ep 6 Commentary
"Face To Face" from the season 2 song of the same name was obviously chosen because at the end Doris does come Face to Face with her younger self. Having mentioned the situation as a potential problem in episode 2, I really thought I should explore it more.
If I'm really honest this episode is filler and to me is the worst one of season one. I have been told that I was too hard on myself for saying that. One person said my filler episodes are better than some other people's stories at their peak! Which was really nice to hear.
However, I can't talk about it without mentioning how I feel about it. So to be honest, I knew where the story was going in future episodes but felt it was time to reflect on a couple of key points that had happened so far and not develop another big thing to happen.
So having Doris link to past events without really being involved and mentioning things like the mysterious voice and the hospital it kept those points on the boil as I still wasn't sure if I would need to use them or how I would use them.
Also the story highlights how little control she has over her situation and how quickly events can change for her, making her question how her actions may be affecting the time line.
The most important scene was the cafeteria scene highlighting that Bruno had taken her advice so that helped develop the story for future episodes.
Then having built up the jeopardy of the two Doris' meeting, of course by the end of the episode it happens. As I wrote it I had no idea how I would explain the situation or get the older Doris out of it and I left that dilemma for me to think over as I went through idea's for the next episode.
Read "Face To Face"
Doris Schwartz Time and Again Season 4 Episode 10
My fan fiction story "Doris Schwartz Time and Again" continues with episode Ten titled "Two To The Power Of Love" which comes from the Season 4 Song of the same name.
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Saturday, 7 December 2013
Elizabeth Sherwood Investigates
Apologies regarding the Elizabeth Sherwood Investigates story. I hadn't shared the Google site where I post the stories so none of the links were working.
I've now corrected this so all the links should be working in the original posts and here they are again to save you having to search for them:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Friday, 6 December 2013
Doris Schwartz Time and Again Season 1 Ep 5 Commentary
Halfway through the first season and by now I'd started to have ideas of how I wanted the season to end, which would be Doris being caught out by everyone. So it was clear to me that she had to now interact with as many people as possible. Having already placed her, in the previous episode, in "Gonna Learn How To Fly" it gave me two perfect opportunities to do this.
Also feeling some kind of closure after talking to her mother Doris felt the need to help others. This was always part of her character but here she suddenly has the opportunity and the knowledge of what is going to happen. Although she'd already pondered not getting changing the past the things that she was doing felt small. Telling Holly she would be successful didn't feel like it would have any consequences. Telling Bruno something may happen to his father was bigger but if the worst happened at least she knew Bruno would have been with him which may help in his grieving process. So she really didn't see any harm.
Having Mrs Berg sense something was again just building on what I'd already started with her character. We'd seen her as a medium twice on the show so I thought that might make her more susceptible to sensing something was wrong. Plus I wanted to add a little suspense to the end.
The title "To Change What Is Past" comes from the season 6 song "To See Your Face Again" was another title that had popped out at me and seemed perfect for this episode.
There are little nods in this episodes to the the season 3 story lines of the rivalry between Holly and Doris and also Doris dressing as a pensioner in "A Way Of Winning".
As well as Doris helping other people she is subconsciously helping herself. She had previous felt guilty about how she treated Holly and now she discovers that she'd knocked Holly's confidence at the audition, which she didn't previously know about. Then there's Bruno and I think most people feel a little guilty or inadequate when their friends lose people. So trying to help them she is trying to relieve some of her own guilt and negative feelings.
Read "To Change What Is Past"
Thursday, 5 December 2013
Doris Schwartz Time and Again Season 1 Ep 4 Commentary
Initially disappointed that her Mother is no longer there, the idea of being able to phone her means she finally gets to say what she feels she needs to say to her mother. The fact it is out of context for her mother makes no difference. It actually comes as a weight off Doris' mind that after 9 years she had finally got her opportunity.
I also wanted to highlight to the reader that I wasn't just going to set up a situation in an episode then have Doris move in time leaving the previous events unresolved, like I had when Doris is caught by Mrs Berg at the end of episode 2. Some would be resolved others would be stored for future episodes.
The move in time again highlights how little control she has over her current situation and adds to her feeling lost.
Initially when I wrote the Mrs Berg Scenes in this and previous episodes I had no idea how important Mrs Berg would become to the story. I thought it would be a way of adding a little mystery so the scene here is just to add to that with no intention of it going anywhere else.
From the beginning I wanted to include as many of the characters as possible. The Leroy scene at the start of this episode with him noticing Doris was again throwaway and I had no intention of it coming to anything. Later on I was glad I included it as I would expand Leroy's story in future episodes.
The one character I struggle to write is Chris. Here he has a nice little scene but in future episodes he becomes the hardest character to write so for the most part I didn't bother as other characters seemed to have plenty more potential.
The reference to the last time Doris was in the Make up room when she graduated was obviously something we never saw in an episode. However my very first attempt at fan fiction was to write a story showing Doris and Leroy graduating from the school so I decided to stick with that continuity and reference it.Doris' disguise means she can start to interact with the other characters more which I realised was going to be essential to take the story forward.
We then had the mysterious voice calling her name. Again at the time of writing I wasn't sure what it would be. I just felt it indicated that her future may be bleeding through to the past. In future episodes I would actually have characters calling her in exactly the same way so any of them could be what she is hearing here. Maybe she is hearing it because it is an amalgamation of all the times it is used.
Read "Lost In Yesterday"
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
Doris Schwartz Time and Again Season 1 Ep 3 Commentary
For me this is the most important episode of the first season. We not only learn so much back story of what has happened, to Doris in her life, and can see exactly why she may want to run away from that life but we also see how much scope "Time and Again" actually has. This made the writing very fulfilling.
Initially when I thought about the concept of this series, it was going be Doris revisiting various events from the past and maybe having mini adventures connected to those events or learning a lesson or two. However even after only two previous episodes, I realised there has to be something more otherwise the story would become pretty tired and very quickly.
When I first started writing the series it was a case of think of an episode and put Doris into it and see what happens. That is exactly how this one started. Doris needed to escape Mrs Berg and I'd already decided that that somehow she would move in time. It's a great plot device to get her out of difficult situations and keeping the story going.
When I think of events happening outside the school on the streets I always think of "Hot Times In The City Streets" from "Indian Summer" so as Doris was going outside I was quickly going to introduce the concept of moving in time and putting her into that episode. Initially it was just going to be fun and for those that didn't realise her rant at Cleo is connected to the events of "Spontaneous Combustion" which would occur a couple of episodes later.
However what happened was when I was looking at pictures to insert for "Hot Time in The City Street" I saw the Twin Towers. Instantly it made me wonder how someone from the future who was used to not seeing them would react to suddenly seeing them again. Even if someone didn't live in New York the events surrounding their destruction has so impacted on our minds that I thought it would be impossible not to have an emotional reaction and that would give a new aspect to the storytelling.
As I explored the idea it just hit me, lets Doris have suffered personal tragedy connected to those events. Of course it had to be her Mother. Having lost my own Mother suddenly it was easy to channel my own feelings of loss and guilt. Suddenly we have a powerful, emotional situation which we learn has scarred Doris. There is mention of a breakdown and time she has spent in a mental hospital. That was a seed I wanted to plant as that was one of the ideas I was exploring to explain what had happened to send back into the past. I wasn't sure I would use it but if it was there I could expand upon it if needed.
The title "To See Your Face Again" comes from the season 6 song of the same name and just fit perfectly. Anyone who has lost anyone important to them probably has that longing for some more time with that person, even just one day. Then I realised with time travel you can make it come true. Sticking with the season 4 episodes it didn't take much for me to remember Angela Schwartz appearance in "Blizzard". Some how it seemed appropriate to go from a really hot day to a really cold one which just seemed to add to the emotional punch that I believe this episode has.
This was great to write and it meant I laid down a challenge to myself to maintain even surpass the emotional impact of this episode in the future. Suddenly what I'd initially thought could end up being a chore to write a story had become very rewarding and enjoyable.
Read "To See Your Face Again"
Jesse Borrego at the National Night Out San Antonio
Jesse Borrego at the National Night Out San Antonio
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Doris Schwartz Time and Again Season 1 Ep 2 Commentary
The initial basis of this episode was to explore what we may all be thinking if by some strange possibility we found ourselves in the past. We've all seen movies and TV shows that have utilised the concept of time travel. There are some unwritten rules that fiction has adopted that have almost become fact. The Butterfly effect for example or people meeting themselves.
Although I personally enjoy science fiction, maybe the average "Fame" fan doesn't and so I needed to establish what could potentially happen and that being back in the past wasn't without it's dangers. I needed a way to highlight some of these issues without being too heavy handed so I enjoyed the pop culture reference to "Back To The Future" and thought it was a nice touch to have Doris have been in a Sci Fi movie. I also thought that Sci Fi wouldn't really be Doris' thing so having her not fully understand some of the principles would add to the story and perhaps be the experience of some of the readers.
Doris just needed to worry about changing things and not being discovered. Her accidental encounter with Miss Sherwood, although written as a bit of fun was there to establish how difficult it could be to interact with people when you know things that are going to happen and how careful you need to be.
Having Doris alone in the music booth contemplating her situation and asking herself questions but having no answers was there to highlight how isolated she is in her real life and how that will become stronger the longer she is in the past.
It's all new to her at the moment so there is an element of excitement but ultimately she is alone. Having no signal on her phone and being afraid to draw attention to herself and talk to others is really a metaphor for how she was feeling in her life. Alone and isolated. Although as a reader we have yet to discover this, there are hints in the first two episodes that she feels old, with unfulfilled dreams and that life hasn't been kind to her.
No matter how confused she is in the past ultimately she feels at home. The sights, sounds and even the smells from the past flood her senses and bring back happy memories and feelings. Even the embarrassing ones like how she felt about Michael Harrison make her smile. Life was definitely simpler when she was a teenager, even if she didn't realise it. Life has taken it's toll on middle aged Doris and although she can't remember some of the events almost instinctively she feels happier in her current predicament than she has felt in a long time.
The title "An Echo In Time" which comes from "Shadows and Light" just references that happiness is just an Echo for Doris. Something she hasn't experienced in a long time but can remember it from her past. It also references Mrs Berg recognising her straight away. Doris is an Echo from the future that confuses Mrs Berg.
The final part with Mrs Berg is there to add some mystery and jeopardy. Having realised she must try to keep a low profile and almost getting a buzz out of fooling Miss Sherwood, Doris realises that Mrs Berg recognises her straight away.
Read "An Echo In Time"
Elizabeth Sherwood Investigates - A Murder In The Family Part 1
Our new fan fiction series starts today titled "Elizabeth Sherwood Investigates". Reuniting Elizabeth with her ex colleague David Reardon we discover there's been "A Murder In The Family". This is Part 1:
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