Echoes something Joss said a while back about the conflict between new and existing projects.

Excellent interview. Thank you Simon

malcolm | October 24, 13:54 CET

Tim wins at scary fandom experiences. A great read - thanks, Jackal.

gossi | October 24, 13:56 CET

By the way, Tim used his Expo screenwriting class to break a story about Book's history with the audience. Of course, if you consider it canon is entirely up to you - ultimately, it isn't, because it didn't happen in the context of the TV writing for the show, however Tim did work on Book's story in 2002 on Firefly so if anybody would be in a position to chuck out or in ideas for that theme, it'd be Tim.

Also, did Tim's expo thing from last year ever come out on DVD?

gossi | October 24, 14:22 CET

*sigh* I'd love an Inside DVD. That was such a great show.

jynnantonnyx | October 24, 14:45 CET

gossi, yes it has.

And remember,

“Tim Minear is smart. Learn from him and be smarter.”
—Joss Whedon

The_Gentleman | October 24, 15:00 CET

Thanks for bringing that over, Simon. :)

spikeylover | October 24, 17:09 CET

Gossi, If you want it send me a message or email me. I have a spare.

fade2dust | October 24, 18:00 CET

I was there for that. I didn't catch the castration thing but it was a lunatic who claimed to be a truck driver angry about street racing. He just kept raving and wouldn't shut up even with the whole audience shouting him down.

For some reason, I thought Drive was in a good position to be a mid-season replacement, but it sounds like it's farther out than that. It's hard to believe that Fox would just throw something that good away, but maybe, as TM says, their brand is changing.

dreamlogic | October 24, 21:47 CET

Hard to believe Fox would throw something good away? Tell me that is saracasm i didnt catch.

Because Wonderfalls, Firefly, John Doe, Tru Calling, Kitchen Confidential, The Inside, Space: Above and Beyond, Dark Angel, Arrested Development, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr, Futurama, and (even though recently brought back) Family Guy, would all beg to differ.

pongluver | October 24, 22:04 CET

I was in the seminar Tim Minear held on Sunday at Expo (and I got to see the first six minutes of DRIVE). I took notes (like duh) but haven't been arsed to transcribe them yet.

The Book story was pretty inspired. The group didn't get it totally fleshed out to the point of individual scenes in such a short amount of time, but Tim guided us to the major beats at the end of each act and showed us all how they worked and all the delicious meaning that spun out of each bit. The whole seminar renewed my faith in TV writing and Tim in particular. That guy really needs a vehicle for his ideas, they are too plentiful and too good to die quiet deaths in the trash bins at Fox.

orphea | October 24, 22:39 CET

Hard to believe Fox would throw something good away? Tell me that is saracasm i didnt catch.

I think the difference is, pongluver, FOX aired all the shows you listed, and then they got cancelled. FOX haven't even tried Drive -- but we all know they've spent millions on it, we all know they hired somebody they consider very talented for it (after all, they keep bringing him on to their shows to fix them), and everybody I know who has taste who's seen it has liked it.

Here's a really, really wacky idea - whilst they still have the cast under contracts, why don't they air the pilot? Say, next week. Come on, they've gotta be able to replace something else which is tanking. See what ratings it gets. If they're good, they could pick up more episodes.

Or they could just piss the investment down the drain.

gossi | October 24, 22:49 CET

dreamlogic: "I was there for that. I didn't catch the castration thing but it was a lunatic who claimed to be a truck driver angry about street racing."

dl, do ya think this is the incident? (I mean, yeah, probably, but how did we both miss the castration thing?) Or maybe it was at one of Tim's seminars we didn't attend?

Or maybe we did miss it in the "Crafting the Whedon'verse" panel 'cause of all the groaning and hollering at the guy. God knows I was squirming in my seat. Sad to say it, but he was certifiably kookarama and scarifyin'.

(Oh, orphea, do transcribe them. Won't you?)

J: "So nothing in development for next season?"
TM: "No, not yet. My deal is a development deal so I'm theoretically coming up with all these brilliant ideas that will be rejected soundly, but at the moment consulting on this series takes up all my time."

QuoterGal | October 24, 23:02 CET

It was the same seminar.

Allyson | October 24, 23:06 CET

Thanks, Allyson. Geez, that guy was even more of a gentleman and a scholar than I'd thought...

QuoterGal | October 24, 23:09 CET

I echo the comments about the Fox Network. Imo the basic problem
with that bunch of Yay-hoo's is American Idol. The whole dang
network is tailored to fit that one show. To wit;

In the US viewership on Friday and Saturday is much lower than
the rest of the week. No expensive show has a much of a chance
in hell on those two days on Fox, or even the CW or cable.
The 3 older networks could do something more than the others
but not a great deal more.

OK after alloting 2 days for Idol that leaves only three days,
i.e. six hours of programming for the more expensive shows to
air. Thats not enough room. Not every show can fit into that
space.

And of course Fox has the delightful habit of moving shows all
over the place DURING the season. That really helps build a
loyal fan base.

Unless the network adds a third hour or someone finds away to
reduce costs shows like Joss's which have special effects,
stunts, and good (decently paid) actors are an endangered
species on Fox.

JDL | October 24, 23:45 CET

I feel bad for Tim in spite of his saying in the interview that at least you worked on something for a period of time. I missed Wonder Falls, The Inside was pulled just when I was really starting to enjoy it, and if Drive doesn't get picked up I know I'm going to shed a few on Tim's behalf. Damn.

Tonya J | October 25, 08:00 CET

It's so great to read Tim interviews because he speaks his mind, but, yeah, would someone please put this guy to work making his own shows and then actually air them? ;-)

billz | October 25, 10:12 CET

I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you, orphea. I was the loon having a nervous breakdown trying to find a DVD player and whiteboard markers.

Allyson | October 25, 22:23 CET

Teehee. I didn't notice a nervous breakdown! So you hid it well. ;) I didn't know it was you at the time, but I did feel sorry for the girl having to tell Tim Minear he had a crap whiteboard to work with and no markers. That thing looked like a sail in the wind.

orphea | October 28, 09:11 CET