[Spoilers] Interview with S9 writers Sam Vincent & Jonathan Brackley

[xRuthx]

(08-03-2011 06:09 PM)NightOwl Wrote:  

(08-03-2011 02:48 PM)HellsBells Wrote:  An interesting interview.

Were you concerned about how the audience would react to turning a lead character bad?

“Not half! We knew there was dedicated core of Lucas and/or Richard fans who would want our heads on sticks. But you have to balance that against the desire to deliver a big, unexpected, shocking story and do something really ambitious - like turning your alpha male hero into someone else entirely.

So basically they didn't care what Lucas fans thought of their storyline, they just wanted something big. If writers stop caring what parts of the audience think about the show, they may risk people not watching.

I find it aggravating, too, that they didn't address some of the criticism so many viewers had about the plot. Is it because they can't or they just can't be bothered to? If they wrote four of the first six episodes they should have laid the foundation for the revelations in 9x7 and 9x8. But they don't seem to recognize the need for that foundation.

My own sports metaphor is about a team of prima donas who've let past glory go their heads. Rather than practice they celebrate success prematurely and end up blowing the big game because of basic errors. Then they complain that the fans didn't support them.

I love both analogies but this one made me laugh (But dw I totally agree)

What I took from the writer's answer: We don't care about how a story works, we care about its initial shock value. I also found it ironic that the implication is that its only Lucas/RA fans who will find the storyline irritating. Lucas wasn't my favourite character and I still thought the story didn't work.

In reply to Hellsbells, I have been wondering about series ten and ratings for that very reason. I wonder if Lucas fans will watch series ten at all after 9.8? I wonder if it will affect the show much?

And Belle: I can only hope that 'Spooks' will not fall into the trap of becoming just mindless entertainment, aiming to 'shock' and filled with fast-paced action and explosions, with no room left for intelligent stories and somewhat detailed character development; there has to be such television, too, but this series isn't the place where writers only have to take their ego's in consideration. This is my biggest fear by far for series ten.