zlacker

I don’t remember the program but in the years of broadcast TV there was a writer on a nightly talk show explaining why all TV episodes were so bland. He said that he wrote an intricate plot for TV which was rejected because the show had to be watchable by someone doing this dishes. So this isn’t a phenomenon new to the Netflix era.

>>foobar+(OP)
Many years ago when I was in college, one of my professors wrote a Star Trek Next Generation script, and she talked about how the producers pretty much destroyed her story by insisting she stick to the formula such as "between X and Y minutes, the Enterprise or one of the main characters must be in danger. That danger must be resolved by minute Z." Sigh.

>>techno+Wb
Since not every episode follows that formula, I wonder if that's a requirement specifically of spec script writers because they'd want to keep the more important/interesting episodes written by staff.

>>foobar+(OP)
That sounds like something Harlan Ellison would grouch about.