Do you have a secret writing ambition? Something you'd do in a minute if you could clone yourself or the opportunity rang you up on the phone? (Unfortunately, ambitions rarely if ever do this unless you're a big celebrity. Even secret ambitions require hard work in the real world.)
Okay, here's mine. I'd absolutely love to write for a cable TV drama, because that's where I think some of the best writing around has been taking place these last few years. Some of my nominees: the late, great Battlestar Galactica, Dexter, and my new favorite, Breaking Bad. (Thanks to Joni and my sister, Connie, for the fantastic recommendation.) Not to mention the prematurely canceled Firefly (though I may never forgive Josh Whedon for killing off my favorite characters in the movie version, Serenity.) I've been impressed as can be by the way the writers craft an addictive, overarching story out of episodes that have a compelling plot arc of their own. Strong story questions all but force the viewer to tune in the next week, and the characters are incredibly compelling.
The Closer's another series I really enjoy, though for me it misses the top tier because it's more episodic, which may be much better for syndication, but for my taste isn't as compelling. Great characters, though, and I enjoy the touches of humor which come out of character, something all my faves have in common.
I love the idea of working collaboratively on such a high-quality series. Or at least I think it would be fun, exciting, and challenging, though as a novelist, I'd be forced to get my ego out of the way to be able to work a part of a team instead of being a virtual goddess of my own universe. (Are we all really control freaks? Is that the real attraction?)
Anyway, I thought I'd take a moment to ask you all two things. Feel free to respond to either one or both.
1. Is there a wonderfully written cable/TV drama I'm missing? I'm not much of a TV watcher, so I normally don't "discover" a show for years, and often watch a season at a time on DVD. (No commercials! Yea! Delay while waiting for latest season to come out on vid. Boo!)
2. Better yet, what's your secret writing ambition? The one too impractical, time-consuming, or scary to pursue? We'd love to compare fantasies!
Pictured, Bryan Cranston from Season 1 of Breaking Bad.
