Writer's blog: season 2, episode 2
Unfinished Business and Dodgy Territory
When you're working on a series, there are sometimes
leftovers.
Bits of story that you didn't finish, or get round
to.
Sometimes it's because you can't decide what's the best way to do
it, and other times, you just run out of room.
Sometimes, to your shame, the leftovers just don't fit with the
current menu plan, so they remain forever at the back of the story
fridge, unanswered and unfinished...
(On
Shortland Street , we used to call such a story
Jenny's Cyst, because it was an example of a story we forgot to um,
finish. And on The Show Which Remains Nameless because it's on
another network, we call those hanging-out-there stories The Body
Under The Driveway, because that's one that never got resolved
either.)
But anyway, on season one, we often used to talk about who Possum's
father might be, and it was the source of much debate. What
would happen if it was Brad? Or Kevin? Or some
random? Was it possible that Cody really didn't
remember?
(And if you missed Episode two, from now on this will be full of
spoilers, so
catch Episode two Ondemand - or read on at
your peril.)
But among our suspects was one who was far more contentious:
Larry. Given that he is a lot older than Cody and also Amy's
Dad, we knew this was potentially leading us into Dodgy
Territory.
Writers tend to like Dodgy Territory: because things which touch a
nerve often make for good story. (And if you're Gavin
Strawhan, Dodgy Territory isn't just a place to go to, it's more
like Home Sweet Home.)
And when we talked about the story, it caused even more arguing and
debate, particularly to do with the attitudes of the
characters.
Kate McD got very hot under the collar about Amy and whose side
she'd be on, and whether she could actually go to that place where
she thought her father had molested Cody. But if
everyone's getting heated, it's probably a good sign that we're
onto something.
(On the other hand, if we're all falling around laughing, that
doesn't necessarily mean we're writing anything funny. Jodie
Molloy is probably just telling us one of her X-rated travel
stories.)
Anyway, the episode is all about secrets, and whether or not it's
better to tell the truth. But the thing about secrets or
stories from the character's pasts is that they need to have an
impact in the present.
And as it turned out, it was good that we waited to do the story
because it fitted much better with this year's quests than last
year's - and had a lot more impact.
Amy wants to help others and be good, so finding out that Cody did
her Dad, and that he could be Possum's father is quite a large test
to this resolve.
Amy spent last series being very loyal to Larry - in fact, he was
most of her reason for wanting to get rich and buy her house
back. She is a little cooler with her father since he
rejected her efforts and got back together with her mother.
But blood is still thicker than water.
Cody's vow is to make her marriage work, so this rather large
bombshell seemed like a great test for her. It was also good
to have the boot on the other foot for a change -where she was the
one with a secret in her closet, not Eli.
Eli has turned out to be an interesting character. It would
have been predictable for him to reject Cody over this, but Eli is
far more practical and goal oriented. In a world where
people are supposed to talk about things all the time, he is a fan
of the opposite. Say nothing and it will blow over...
The other fun thing about the episode was being able to go back to
things we'd talked about but never put on screen - Larry and Alison
in the good old days, when he was the king of cars, and their place
was party central. (It was also very good to see Jay back in
that spectacularly mongy wig.)
I also like the way everyone's memory of the party is so
subjective. Memory is like that. And even very good
friends have things they don't tell each
other.
I like the way that Kevin had a moment where he could have changed
history. At the time, he didn't know, and now he does - and
well, he decides to say nothing about it. And keep another
secret.
Good on you, Kev.
