We've never had a screenwriter or playwright in our group, but I'm sure they would be welcome. It would be interesting to see their technique. The following unquoted comments come from Tom Maurstad, media critic for The Dallas Morning News. The quotes come from Matt Nix, creator of broadcast TV's The Good Guys, currently shooting on location in Dallas.
Broadcast shows are plot-driven, and cable shows are character-driven; broadcast shows are episodic, and cable shows are serialized. What those divisions have quickly boiled down to is a coded way of saying cable is good, and broadcast is bad, formulaic entertainment.
"I like plot, I like the mechanics of TV shows when they are done well. I want plot and character," Nix says. "The question I always ask is: 'Would the story happen if these characters weren't in it?'
"A writer-friend of mine came up with a good example: A guy has a gun pointed at him. If he begs for his life, that's plot-driven. If he puts his mouth over the gun and stares up at the person holding it, that's character-driven."
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