the risks and benefits of dramatising what we do for tv ... · grey’s anatomy 291 dr kildare 191...

Stephen Potts

The risks and benefits of dramatising what we do for

TV: an example

My background- medical

• Consultant in Liaison Psychiatry, RIE 1996-2014

• Consultant in Transplant Psychiatry, RIE 2014-

• Part time since 96 (0.6-0.95 wte)

• Currently 0.4 wte

My background- writing

• Initially fiction for kids. 7 books published

• Latterly drama - stage, feature film, TV

• 13 short stage dramas, 8 feature film scripts

• One TV project - SHRINK PROOF

General Hospital (US)

Emergency Ward 10

In Treatment

Psychos

Scrubs

Grey’s Anatomy

Dr Kildare

Shrinks

Doctors

Cardiac Arrest

Critical

Dr Finlay’s Casebook

St Elsewhere's

Holby City

Casualty

Chicago Hope

ER

General Hospital (UK)

House


In Treatment

St Elsewhere's

Chicago Hope

Scrubs

Grey’s Anatomy

Dr Kildare

House

ER


Emergency Ward 10

Critical


Psychos

Holby City

Casualty

Doctors

Cardiac Arrest

Shrinks


St Elsewhere's

Chicago Hope

Scrubs

Grey’s Anatomy

Dr Kildare

House

ER

In Treatment


Emergency Ward 10

Critical

Cardiac Arrest

Casualty

Holby City


Doctors

Shrinks

Psychos

General Hospital (US) 13000+

St Elsewhere's 137

Chicago Hope 141

Scrubs 182

Grey’s Anatomy 291

Dr Kildare 191

House 177

ER 331

In Treatment 106

General Hospital (UK) 270

Emergency Ward 10 1016

Critical 13

Cardiac Arrest 27

Casualty 1037

Holby City 862

Dr Finlay’s Casebook 191 (27)

Doctors 3344

Shrinks .......7

Psychos .....6

SHRINKS

• 1 season, 7 x 60 min episodes

• 1991, Thames TV

• Set in private outpatient psychiatric practice

• Bill Paterson, Kate Winslet, Michael Winterbottom

• Poor reviews

• “One part guilt, two parts torment.” - Evening Standard

• “Really naff” - Guardian

• Widespread criticism from professionals.

ITC survey

• After criticism of Shrinks, ITC commissioned survey

• 2,800 "representative" TV viewers

• Majority

• "Good entertainment" & "realistic"

• Those with personal experience of MI (self/others)

• Depictions "less credible"

• "No evidence" to support professional misgivings that watching it causedmisconceptions

PSYCHOS

• I season, 6 x 60 minute episodes

• 1999, Channel 4

• Set in NHS inpatient psychiatric unit

• BAFTA nominated

• Criticised by MIND, BMA, RCPsych

• Insensitive, stigmatising, unrealistic

• ITC: “far-fetched…frequently inaccurate”

• BSC: “reinforces stereotypes and prejudice… offensive title”

General Hospital (US) 13000+

St Elsewhere's 137

Chicago Hope 141

Scrubs 182

Grey’s Anatomy 291

Dr Kildare 191

House 177

ER 331

In Treatment 106

General Hospital (UK) 270

Emergency Ward 10 1016

Critical 13

Cardiac Arrest 27

Casualty 1037

Holby City 862

Dr Finlay’s Casebook 191 (27)

Doctors 3344

Shrinks .......7

Psychos .....6

SHRINK PROOF

• Pitched idea many years ago - got nowhere

• Wrote script (title: Talking Shop)

• Pitched in UK (networks, prodcos) - got nowhere

• Rewrote for US setting, under new title.

• Added “Bible”

• Submitted to a US contest: made Top 10

• 3/12 mentoring, development of script and bible

• Further submissions

SHRINK PROOF - latest

• Some interest in US - but no bites

• Now rewriting again for UK - BBC reading it

Pitching

Pitching- of what?

• Essentially a sales pitch (like Dragons' Den) OF

• idea

• script

• package (script, director, cast, part-finance)

• completed episode

Alien - Jaws in space

Pitching - by whom?

• Writer

• Independent Producer

• Production company

• Team

Pitching- to whom?

• Broadcaster (BBC, Channel 4, Sky)

• Production company

• Financier

• Independent producer

Pitching- for what?

• Development money (for script & bible)

• Production money

• Commitment to broadcast

Pitching- how?

• Face-to face meeting

• Generated by

• prior connection/ reputation

• agent

• logline/written pitch

Pitch sessionTwo teams

• Pitchers: Writer, producer, prod-co, psych adviser

• Pitchees: Broadcaster looking for new show

Pitchers’ offer• Selling a drama which:

• is well-written (we hope…)

• will attract key talent in director(s), cast

• brings emotional engagement w/o melodrama

• is timely

• has immediate appeal for a wide audience (UK and abroad)

• engages interest w/o proselytising

• “has legs” - enough impact and variety in characters and plot to run long term without risk of repetition, implausibility or soapiness.

Pitchee dreams

• Popularity - high ratings

• Durability - multiple seasons

• Critical acclaim

• Awards

• International sales

Pitchee nightmares

• Negative publicity

• patient organisations & charities

• professional groups

• Criticism from regulators

Risks• Increase in stigmatisation

• of patients (as unpredictable violent failures)

• of psychiatrists ( as troubled malicious incompetents… not real doctors)

• Voyeurism - exploitation of misery for entertainment

• Negative messages:

• The drugs don’t work

• No-one gets better

• Who’s the doctor here?

• Unrealistic expectations

• Negative: deterring patients (“I’m not going there”) and medical students (“I’m not doing that.”)

• Positive: disappointing patients (“where’s my hug?”)

• Copycatting

• Emphasising separation of psychiatry and its patients from mainstream medicine

Benefits- to patients, services and society

• Mainstreaming

• of patients. Regular people with common problems

• of doctors. A valid and necessary branch of medicine

• Improved understanding in patients, families, communities and the professions

• reducing fear, improving uptake of, demand for and resourcing of services

• enhancing recruitment

• Reducing stigmatisation

• Realistic expectations

• Of process (professional care.... without hugs)

• Of outcome (recovery.... in the community)

• Public health messages

• eg risks of paracetamol, legal highs. Benefits of crisis services in A&E.

Via - Benefits to broadcaster

• New take on old format

• What we do is interesting. (It just IS…)

• Drama is built into it

• Enormous variety of storylines & subsettings

• Not as risk-laden as a specifically psych programme

the risks and benefits of dramatising what we do for tv ... · grey’s anatomy 291 dr kildare 191...

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