Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe

Steve Bowbrick — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:11:29 +0000

Brooker takes a week off from putting the boot into TV inanity to interview five top TV writers—the writers of shows like Doctor Who, Shameless, Hustle, The IT Crowd and Peep Show—about writing. How they got into it, how they get going in the morning, how they come up with characters and names and so on.

Brooker’s respectful—even humble—with the writers and, in turn, they’re frank and disarmingly modest about the process: about the endless cups of tea and the fear and the drudgery of the first draft but also about the elation of seeing the finished product and the compulsion to write.

It’s really inspiring TV and, for anyone who’s ever attempted to write anything (and that’s, like, everyone now, right?), it’s really encouraging and of genuine practical use. I know for certain that professors of creative writing everywhere will be pirating this wholesale so they can put the video on and nip out for a smoke without feeling guilty. Absolutely superb TV.

Charlie Brooker on The Wire

roo — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 13:15:28 +0000

When Charlie Brooker hates something, he doesn’t mind telling you. In fact, his scathing reviews and dissections of pretty much everything are what makes him such good value, both in print and on TV.

But when he likes something…

This segment from Screenwipe is what made me go out and buy The Wire on DVD (series 1 to 3 are currently available on DVD, 4 is coming very soon and the 5th is being aired in the US right now).

Watchification » charlie brooker

Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe

Charlie Brooker on The Wire