Wrap up

Well, I guess an apology is in order to those dear readers who had been looking for more updates on the L.A. adventure (sorry, Mom). It was a big tough to make sure that I got an update in every day, especially because as I settled into the flow of the work week one day ended up blending into the next, especially if you're shadowing the writer's room of a television show.

If I remember correctly, the last time I tossed a post out the writing staff was in the middle of breaking the two-part season finale. Well, as it turns out my last day on the job was the same day that the writer's pitched the story of the finale to Shawn, which he liked, so presumably the broken story will become the season (potentially series, but more on that later) finale. I think that I've mentioned this before, but it bares repeating, the episodes that I was around to either read or see the stories being broken, I think that the last five or so episodes of the season will be fantastic. It won't be giving away too much to reveal that the conspiracy, which has been a runner for most of the season, will finally be wrapped up, and it is a bit ambiguous as far as whether or not the unit will remain together at the end of the season. I'm excited to see how it all comes out.

I never did get the chance to meet David Mamet while I was there, which was a bit disappointing. I mean, it is his show so it would've been interesting to meet the guy behind it all. But, no such luck. Oh well.

Being at work for the last day was also an interesting experience. There were half a dozen people all offering advice as far as what to do once I graduate in May. The suggestions ranged from "go off on a cruise and get paid to see the world" to "move to LA if you want to write," to "marry a rich older woman," but I think the best and most practical advice came from co-EPs Frank Military and Todd Ellis Kessler, whose separate but similar advice was, "graduate."

The last few weekends in Los Angeles were relatively uneventful. I had to head downtown to find a music club called The Smell so I could write an article on it for the school's newspaper. While downtown I wandered into a place called Grand Central Market , what a spectacular place. I highly encourage you to look around at some of the photos on their website to get a sense of what it is like. My experience of it was simple. I wandered in and walked around marveling at all of the food. For someone who loves to cook, like I do, it was quite a thing to see. Fresh fruits and vegetable vendors, fresh meat and fish vendors, more dried chille peppers, beans and rice than you could shake a stick at, all of which was accompanied by vendors peddling any kind of Latin food you could possibly imagine. I think I liked this place so much for a few different reasons. First, it showcased just how multi-cultural the city of Los Angeles is, as I'm pretty sure that I was one of the only non-Spanish speakers in the market. Going along with that, it felt oddly out of place in Los Angeles. The market itself is a twenty minute bus ride from the corner of Hollywood and Highland, whose chain clothing stores and neon lights stand in stark contrast to this simple market which would seem to be more at home in a small, Central American capital. Finally, it was just nice to be able to buy food outside of the vacuum seal of Whole Foods.

I also finally made it out to see a few movies while I was there. Che, Rachel Getting Married, The Wrestler, and Gran Torino, which was laughably bad. The others were okay though.

Before I had mentioned that there is a fear that this might be the show's last season. I'm sure this is a concern of all shows at the end of a season, and they do pull in halfway decent ratings in a tough time slot. But, an edict came down from the brass at CBS; no cliffhangers to end the season. Of course this could just be that CBS isn't particularly interested in having loose threads when they wrap up programming in May. But some saw that edict as CBS saying that they didn't want a massive fan protest if the show is canceled (a la Jericho, where fans sent CBS some giant amount of peanuts to keep their beloved, and not half bad if I do say so myself, show). I think that the decision would be made easier if CBS decides to go to series with the Shawn Ryan's recently green lit pilot. Variety has this article for more details, if you want.

While I was still on the show the aforementioned Frank Military saw his law script get greenlit for a pilot by CBS. Technical consultant Tim Clemente also saw his FBI hour-long get greenlit as well (press release included in the article about Frank's show). It was interesting to be around when they found out that the shows were going to pilot. Obviously this is an extremely rare occurrence given the number of scripts that are written and given to CBS, or any network for that matter, every year. When you factor into the mix how reticent networks are to try new things, just look at how many CSI or Law & Order spin offs there are, it really is spectacular that these two journeymen writers were able to get their pilots greenlit, to say nothing of how great it would be if they went to series. In any case, if Shawn's pilot goes to series I question whether or not the show would come back for a season five, especially if there isn't a head showrunner working on the show. But at this point it really is all speculation.

All told, though, I really do feel like the experience was worthwhile, more worthwhile than you would expect sitting around and watching a group of people work would be. I think that I best articulated why I felt like the experience was worthwhile in the thank you e-mail I sent to the members of the writer's room a few days after I left L.A. This is what I said:

Hello The Unit writer's room,

I wanted to take time before I am thrust back into the hectic hustle and bustle of my last Middlebury semester to thank everyone for letting me sit in on the writer's room for the past month. I really do feel like the time I spent observing the process was time well spent. As I mentioned to Patrick and Shannon before I left, coming into this internship I felt that my strengths as a writer lie primarily in my ability to write dialog and develop character, but the ability to plot compelling stories has always seemed to elude me. I think that, like all things, this skill will come with time and practice, but being able to sit and watch (and occasionaly contribute) the room has given me a greater understanding of how best to develop those skills. The experience has also led me to revisit past work to re-evaluate strengths and weaknesses, and although there is no question that I still have work to do, its also given me confidence in my ability to fox those weaknesses.

So, again, thank you all very much for having me. I hope that I was helpful, or at the very least, not a nuisance. My suspicion is that following my graduation in May I'll be coming back out to L.A., so if you have advice for that move (or anything else, for that matter), or find yourselves without something to do and feel like reading and giving notes to an aspiring writer I would be extremely appreciative.

Thanks again,

Jason Gutierrez
The Unit's Season Four Middlebury Intern


So that was that. One additional thing that L.A. taught me was that going to grad school was not a clear way to getting a job writing or making films, in fact it almost seems like a hindrance. Talking to the assistants it really struck me that it was a ladder-type system, and you work your way up, and even then its wholly dependent upon whether or not you can tell a compelling story and tell it well. So, my post-graduation plans have been thrown into disarray ever so slightly. But that's another conversation for another time.

If you have questions about the trip that I didn't get answer or anything else that you'd like to talk about, leave a comment and I'll write a post in response. I'll also keep this blog up and going, so that way I have a forum to discuss potential future plans that involve moves to Los Angeles, or, in the event of that move actually occurring, I have a place to let people know about life on the Left Coast. Until then, adieu.

UPDATE

Don't forget to watch the end of the season! It should be good. CBS~ Sunday nights at 10 PM EST.