Pitch Up
I recently had a bad review on one of my books. It came from a friend, and I had been given reason to expect it was going to be bad about a month before it actually arrived, when I learned it was better described as terrible – but even this advanced warning didn’t prevent the inevitable tragic-artiste sulk that I am shamefully prone to. I sulked. I evaded. I saw that there was an up-coming competition from BAFTA and Stella Network to pitch a TV project in front of a panel that included Ben Stephenson (controller of BBC Commissioning), Alastair Pegg (C4 factual entertainment commissioning editor) and Greg Brennan (head of drama, Tiger Aspect). I decided that would be an outstanding diversion, even if my friend Sally accurately described it as an opportunity for writers to be ruthlessly humiliated in front of other writers. Which series to pitch though?
I settled for what is currently/temporarily called VIOLENT CASES, a title which absolutely no-one else likes and is actually ripped off a Neil Gaiman comic (shame) until I can find another name I like. After about 48 hours of emailed work-shopping through some writer friends, and a final polish with Hols in a cocktail bar (we were working, see?), I came up with this (and I’m not very worried about the idea being pinched because 1) I don’t know that anyone reads this blog and 2) there’s an awful lot more to it than this):
A female detective with a history of violence prevents a spate of London murders from ever happening by jumping back in time to re-live the crimes – as the victim.
Eight episodes. Eight dead women. Eight chances for Vanderburgh to face murderers in a quest to understand her own past. VIOLENT CASES throws a chronological twist on the crime genre, but even if you can escape to the past, can you also escape destiny?
I haven’t received any acknowledgement of the entry though so can’t help wondering whether entering it at 23:59 on the due date (post-cocktails, obviously) wasn’t cutting it a little too fine…thanks to all who helped cut it down and refine it anyway – it will have its time. Next time I need a diversion from the current project at hand.
[...] still don’t quite believe I’m typing this, but you know that competition I entered on Sunday? The one where writers could win the chance to publicly humiliate themselves in front of BAFTA, the [...]
[...] on, delaying the official opening of the event, I retired back to my enormous room to work on a TV series pitch I needed to submit by Sunday, and which a group of friends were kindly workshopping for me. A writer’s work is never done – [...]
Hey Dellie,
Just read this. I like the idea. I’m guessing you’ve thought of some of these already, but the Ripper murders are an obvious choice for a crime to solve. Maybe a series finale? What about something else like Anne Boleyn – capitalize on the recent popularity of The Tudors? Witchhunts in 16th century England – lots of women killed there. Heaps of possibilities.