TV - Inside and Backstage

So, this post by Denis McGrath over at Dead Things on Sticks is filled with optimism about what it's like to be working on a TV series. Some choice quotes:

Somebody once said that when you're doing TV, six is a mint; thirteen is a stretch; twenty-two is a war.

Somebody - it may have been my father - said years ago that one of the best ways to gauge the quality of a work experience is: Am I still learning? And the answer here is definitely, absolutely, yes.

... when you have professional actors, who really read the script, try to work their way through it and are trying to work with you to make it better, here is the single greatest thing they do:

They never let you get away with anything.

There's a whole lot more, including a section on the interplay between writers and directors which introduces the concept of "The Trade."

The Trade is where you look at the scene as it was shot and you suss out what was gained and what was lost. If you're lucky, you can make peace with what the director added and paper over or accept what was lost.

There is much wisdom here.