No. 16 - 20th July 2009.

A bit of a departure for TV Eye this month as I thought I’d bring you an exclusive interview with James Moran. Regular readers will no doubt be familiar with the name: James first came to FrightFest’s attention as the writer of 2006’s opening night film, Severance, before moving on to write for a number of popular television shows including Doctor Who, Spooks and Primeval. Having written episode 3 of Torchwood: Children of Earth (BBC One) I caught up with James recently to talk to him about his work.

PN: Hi James! This is your second time writing for Torchwood, the first being the episode ‘Sleeper’ in series 2. Going back to that, how did you first get involved with the show? Did the producers approach you?

JM: Severance had just come out, and I'd written another horror script and a TV pilot. My agent managed to get me a meeting with the Torchwood people, based on my work, and they invited me to pitch them a few ideas. One of those was about a sleeper alien, they liked it, and I was in.

PN: Having written for the show previously did that make your experience on 'Children of Earth' easier?

JM: More or less - because I already knew the characters, and had written for them before, it was easier to slip back into it. And ‘Children of Earth’ is very much a thriller, with a similar feel to some of ‘Sleeper’, so it was right up my alley. But at the same time it was harder, because I had to up my game and help to pull something even more epic out of the bag. I did feel more at home though, because I'd been there before, and knew everyone already.

PN: Rather than the traditional stand-alone episodes, 'Children of Earth' has been made as single story spread across five episodes. How did you and the other writers approach this?

JM: We all went into a meeting room for 2 days, and worked out the entire storyline together, from beginning to end. Once we'd done that, things sort of fell into a five episode structure, we decided where each one would stop and continue on, and only then did they decide who was doing what episode. So we concentrated on the story and episodes before we even got to the outline stage - it meant we could keep track of everything before we started getting down to the fine details. Once that was done, I did my outlines and script drafts as normal, as did the others, but kept meeting up to read each others work, and to keep it all consistent.

PN: For those that haven't seen it yet, can you give us an outline of the plot?

JM: All the children in the world stop at the same time, for a few minutes, and something alien starts to speak through them. Torchwood are faced with a threat that might be too big even for them, something that could bring society as we know it to its knees. And I can't say more, I don't want to give too much away!

PN: I read your reaction to the first episode as, "Exciting, action packed, scary, funny, mad... proper epic!" You're pleased with how it turned out then?

JM: Oh yes, it looks amazing, I'm really impressed with what the team accomplished. I knew it was good on the page, but you never know how it's going to play on screen until you see it, so I'm relieved that it all works as well as I hoped. It has a really big, global feel to it, and looks like a movie.

PN: I’d agree, it does have a much more epic feel and the five episode structure really gives the characters room to breathe and builds the suspense. It's also noticeably more adult in theme with some extremely bleak moments. Was it a deliberate decision to tone down the more comedic elements, or did that just evolve naturally from the subject matter?

JM: It just evolved naturally. There was a story we were all telling, and as everyone worked through the developments, it became this big, sprawling, epic beast. The nature of the story meant that it felt less comedic, and had to be appropriate to the events that were occurring. And once you go down the road of why the aliens want what they do, it's only going to get darker and darker...

PN: ‘Children of Earth’ has provoked some fierce reactions from fans which I think is testament to how strong the writing team is, that people really care about the show and its characters. How do you deal with the criticisms and where do you think Torchwood will go from here?

JM: Whatever you write, some people will love it, some people will hate it. You have to just focus on what you think is best for the story, write something that you think is good, and hopefully others will like it too. This series has quite a controversial storyline, with some big shocks and dark scenes, and that's always going to cause big reactions. But overall, I think it's a fantastic series, and I'm incredibly proud of the whole thing. Whether people think it's great or terrible, I'm just glad they're responding so passionately. I'm used to criticism at this stage, and as long as it doesn't get personal, I don't mind it at all. Everyone's opinion is just as valid as anyone else's, after all. Where does Torchwood go from here? No idea, but the beauty of the show is that it could go anywhere. I really hope the show comes back, and I'm sure there are plenty more stories to tell in that world.

PN: Moving on from Torchwood, you also did an episode of Doctor Who (‘The Fires of Pompeii’) last year. That must have been a real career highlight for you?

JM: It was a dream come true. I've loved the show since I was a kid, and always watched the credits to see who made the show, never imagining that one day I'd be one of them! Those sort of people didn't seem real, they were magical beings from another dimension. The chance to write an episode, put words in the Doctor's mouth, and be part of the show's history was incredible, I had so much fun doing it, and am really thrilled with the finished episode.

PN: I believe Karen Gillen [recently cast as the Doctor's new assistant] starred in your episode?

JM: I didn't meet her, but I'm really looking forward to what she does in the role. I'm sure she'll be fantastic, and can't wait to see what the team have got planned for us. At this point, I've seen how the team works, and so if they've made a choice, I firmly believe that it's the right one - I know they know what they're doing, so it's all in safe hands.

PN: You've also been invited to appear at a number of conventions and fan events. Those must be fun to do?

JM: They're great fun and really rewarding. Normally you spend all day locked in a room, typing, getting notes, wondering if you're a big fraud who can't write, and then for a few days a year you go and get told you're marvellous by smiling, happy people. Obviously, some of them won't like your work, but that's fine too, it's nice to hear from everyone, and get unfiltered feedback. But then you get to turn it off at the end of the event, and go back to work - if you had it constantly, you'd go insane, and start thinking you were a genius. Which would be the end of the road, you'd become rubbish immediately. Compliments can be dangerous if you listen to nothing else.

PN: You've had a busy 12 months actually, with episodes of Primeval, Spooks, Spooks: Code 9 and Robinson Crusoe all in the bag. How did you enjoy working on those shows?

JM: It was great fun, but exhausting, because it all happened at once. But you can't say no... I had more work than was sensible, and then it just kept coming - but I didn't dare pass up the chance to do each show. It's great playing with someone else's toys, and I'm really glad I did those shows. It's weird, because you go from being in the audience of the show, to suddenly being in the room with the producers and actors, chatting away, coming up with stories, and it feels like you've gone into an imaginary world. They're all different and challenging in their own way, and I'm really proud of all of the finished episodes.

PN: It's a shame that Primeval has been axed. Have these recent cutbacks had a significant affect on the amount of work that you've been offered? What TV stuff are you working on at the moment?

JM: Things stayed really busy up until December last year, when I started slowing myself down and trying to take on less work. I got a bit burned out by Christmas, and didn't want to be exhausted all the time. So by the time January came around, I had a good few things on the go, just enough - and was fortunate to have enough work to tide me over for most of the upcoming year. It just so happens that it's all in-development stuff this time - new shows that might or might not get made. There's more time and less pressure, but no guarantee that it'll ever be on TV. So that is now starting to affect me, in that I don't know which ones, if any, will get picked up, because everyone is cutting back. Most of the TV work this year is for stuff I'm co-creating, so if they get commissioned, then I'll be overseeing the shows. One's an action drama, ones a tense thriller, one's a slasher... I'm also doing an episode for 2 new shows, but again, there's no guarantee they'll get made. Fingers crossed.

PN: So you would like to create your own show at some point?

JM: Hopefully, yes, that's the plan anyway. I'm working on a few things that will be mine if they get made, and that would be great. I'm determined to get my own show off the ground as soon as possible, I love playing with toys from other shows, but I'm not allowed to break them or steal them...

PN: You're obviously a huge fan of television yourself. What shows are unmissable in your home?

JM: Dexter, 24, Doctor Who, Torchwood, Spooks, House, 30 Rock, CSI (Vegas, the only one for me). Really enjoying The Mentalist and Burn Notice too. Gutted that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles got cancelled, it was a fantastic show. And of course, my guilty secret, America's Next Top Model, and Britain's Next Top Model. They're the only reality shows I watch, and they're bloody brilliant. There, I've confessed, now everyone knows, I feel so much better...

PN: Since writing Severance you seem too have been concentrating solely on television work. Have you any plans to get back into films?

JM: I have two spec scripts that are almost ready to go out to interested parties - I had no time to write any spec stuff last year, until around November, so since then I've been working on them when I can. I've also been hired to write a horror comedy for a production company as long as they can get the funding, and have just got another gig to do a page-one rewrite on another horror comedy, which I'll be starting very soon, it's all set. So I definitely want to get back into films, but don't want to leave TV at all - TV is much nicer to writers than the movie world is.

PN: Finally, as a FrightFest regular, are there any particular titles that have grabbed your attention from this year's line up?

JM: The main one I'm dying to see is the restored print of An American Werewolf in London, with John Landis and Jenny Agutter in attendance. If something went wrong and there were NO other films showing, I'd still say the 140 quid pass was value for money. It's a superb, perfect movie, gets better every time I see it, and the werewolf transformation STILL hasn't been beaten, 28 years later. Nothing against the talented CGI artists out there, but right now, you can't beat prosthetics, you just can't.

I’ve heard good things about Dead Snow, also Pontypool, Best Worst Movie, Trick r'Treat, and I'm looking forward to seeing I Think We're Alone Now again.

My thanks to James for taking time out from his busy schedule to talk to us. Torchwood: Children of Earth is now available to buy on DVD.

Until next time,

Keep watching.

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