".....I'm remembering Fables of Forgotten Things."

Paul McGann as "Clarence" and Louise Dumayne as "Eldritch" in "Fables of Forgotten Things"

Four years ago, a little pilot that we shot for very little money and in very little time finally made a public appearance in the graveyard slot on BBC HD.

A LOT has happened since then. I've put on even more weight, quit smoking, started smoking, quit again, worked on all kinds of shows with much bigger...well, with budgets, and I've evolved from a baby writer into an adolescent. Or at least a toddler who knows a couple of swearwords.

I look back at "Fables of Forgotten Things" and see a million things I'd do differently - even when you take the constraints we were under into account. It's too slow. No, really. It's sloooooooowww x 1,000,000. It relies on voiceover which = SATANISM. Some of the dialogue clunks like Marley's chain. And there are evident traces of the trauma I suffered as a four year-old when I caught ten minutes of that Sapphire and Steele episode about the blank-faced man in the top hat:

Would you follow this man in the dead of night?

But I'm still astonished and inspired by what its brilliant director was able to achieve in just four days at one location. I can't believe how kind, generous and gracious our lead Paul McGann was throughout filming. I'm thrilled to have been part of a project that still feels so dark and distinctive. I'm dead bloody proud of the last four lines of dialogue. And there's something about the tone of the whole piece that's truthful to who I am, how I feel and what I want from all this. Truthfulness is, I think, the most precious quality in all stories.

While it's still available (and while the site still exists!), please take the time to check out Fables of Forgotten Things on the soon-to-be-gone BBC Film Network.

"....Hunted: Hourglass reviews are in!"




I was privileged to be part of the creative team for 'Hunted' and hope that you all enjoy tonight's episode 'Hourglass' as much as we enjoyed making it. For everybody who was a writer and producer on the show, it was an amazing, life changing experience.

Here are some quotes from the reviews for my episode:

"Hunted still twists and turns enough to get the pulses racing."
Daily Telegraph - "What to Watch"


"Anyone standing in Jack's way is toast in this complex, thrilling drama - ****"
TV Times - "Pick of the Day"

"This spy show is becoming more engrossing."
The Guide (Guardian) - "Pick of the Day"

"We're hooked - *****"
Heat magazine - "Pick of the Day"

"Drags you with it, however much you want to resist."
Alison Graham, Radio Times - "Pick of the Day"

The Independent - "Critic's Choice"  

"Hunted seems to be on surer ground with its action-heavy third episode"
Den of Geek

"Hourglass delivered solid action and intrigue."
IGN

Catch up with the thrills, spills, twists and turns so far....

Episode One: Mort and Episode Two: L.B.......

Read a blog from our brilliant creator, exec producer, head writer, mentor, maestro and showrunner....

Frank Spotnitz - Our Fascination with Spies, BBC Blog

"....New Tricks: Blue Flower reviews are in!"

"Far more effort and attention is being paid to the script these days.

Perhaps an old dog can learn new tricks after all."

The Times

"No-one can accuse New Tricks of not stuffing enough into an episode.

Sandra's team investigate the stabbing of an immigrant but the trail takes in escape

from behind the Iron Curtain, death by taxi driver, an ID theft gang and police corruption.

BEST DRAMA."

The Sun

"Gerry gets all the best lines in a story full of secrets and lies - *****."

TV Times - "Pick of the Day" 

Telegraph - "Pick of the Day"

Radio Times - "Pick of the Day"

TV Easy - "Pick of the Day"

Daily Mail - "Pick of the Day"

Inside Soap - "Don't Miss!"

Coming next Thursday, BBC One, 9pm!!!!!!!!

Hunted poster in Times Square!



Hunted poster on Wall Street!

Hunted billboard on Sunset Boulevard!!!

Take the test.....

"....Hunted is coming soon to HBO and BBC One!"

"....today the blue box with the flashing light was there."

Today I spent three and a half weird, inspiring and downright hilarious hours in the company of Tom Baker!

I was 5 years old when he fell to his Anthony Ainley-authored doom and that, coupled with the odd chromakey glimpse of Sapphire and Steele, forms the entire basis of my early TV memories.

It goes without saying that I never imagined I'd get to meet Tom Baker, let alone work with him but both things happened today.

I'm delighted to report that Tom is a force of nature, a genuine charmer and a truly incredible storyteller. Although working with him in the studio (at University of Brighton, Hastings) was an experience in itself, the thing I will remember forever happened long after we'd finished recording.

At the end of the recording session, Tom announced that he wanted some chips and would we like to join him?

We walked into a greasy spoon full of unsuspecting lunchtime diners.

Every gaze in the room locked onto Tom. There were whispers. It couldn't be, could it?

As if everybody knew there was only one way to confirm it, a silence fell, clearing the way for...

...THE VOICE THAT MAKES CHILDREN OF US ALL.

Tom is totally aware of these pied piper powers and their magical effect upon people well into their 30s, 40s and 50s. The waitress giggled. Told him he looks a lot like Doctor Who. Tom Baker replied that she looks a lot like Sarah Jane. The waitress blushed. Then giggled again. 

Reader, we spent the rest of the afternoon with Tom. Holding court. Eating chips. Drinking wine. Sharing stories. A few of us tried to match Tom's outrageous anecdotes with one or two of our own. He listened patiently. Then blew us away with some new, unprintable revelation about Francis Bacon. Or God. Or K9. Even Romana.

Deep down, we're still children, aren't we? We desperately want the extraordinary to intrude upon our lives. Some of us want to open the wardrobe door and find a forest inside. Others want to turn the next corner to find the blue box with the flashing light waiting for us.

Today, for 30 or so children in a seaside cafe, it was.