Script-of-the-Week: Ally McBeal “The Attitude”

by David E. Kelley (54 pages)

Awards: None that I could find.

Points of Interest:

• Pacing: Quick passing jumping from one storyline to another with approximately three stories.

• Screen Visibility: Minimal.

• Formatting: Traditional with action lines describing character thought.

• Act Structure: Act I, Act II, Act III, Act IV.

Note: For Screenwriters who want to master well structured dramatic comedy with an emphasis on dialogue.

Script-of-the-Week: Ally McBeal “Compromising Positions”

by David E. Kelley (56 pages)

Awards: None that I could find.

Points of Interest:

• Pacing: A bit longer than the previous script.

• Screen Visibility: Minimal and in a few instances it was hard to “see” what was on the page.

• Formatting: Traditional and economic. Fast moving.

• Act Structure: Act I, Act II, Act III, Act IV.

Note: For Screenwriters who want to focus on IV Act structures. Also I laughed out loud a few times while I was reading.

Script-of-the-Week: Ally McBeal “The Blame Game”

by David E. Kelley (51 pages)

Awards: None that I could find.

Points of Interest: Well written piece that addresses the issue of blame in two virtually separately told stories.

• Pacing: A quick and fluid read.

• Screen Visibility: Minimal like many T.V. series. However some of the description (Dancing Baby, etc) is hard to picture.

• Formatting: Somewhat traditional with a generous use of parenthetical comments.

• Act Structure: Act I, Act II, Act III, Act IV.

Note: In one scene, Kelley apologizes to Flockhart (Ally McBeal) for a long monologue.

Script-of-the-Week: Frasier pilot episode “The Good Son”

by David Angell, Peter Casey & David Lee (44 pages)

Awards: In 1994, the script won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Comedy Series.

Points of Interest:

• Pacing: Fast pacing considering it covers a lot of story.

• Screen Visibility: Still minimal for a pilot episode although major set pieces (like Martin’s barcalounger) are described, albeit by name only.

• Formatting: Seems traditional with single spaced action in uppercase and double spaced dialogue in upper/lower case.

• Act Structure: Act 1: A,B,C,D,E(Scene E is only a paragraph long describing “Eddie the dog” staring at Frasier). Act 2: (no F or G) H, (no I) J,K,L.

Note: This is the pilot episode (not the previous episode I read). A great example of establishing new characters and already developed characters to an audience they probably knows Frasier from Cheers, but might also be new to all the characters. Gut wrenching laughs with many of the jokes. Enjoyable first episode.