We continue this sordid tale of scriptwriting and fanboy intrigue. Reader discretion is advised.
For the sake of context and clarity, we’ll briefly cover the history of the project. Details behind the BBC writer/producer story-protecting jump:
Intro to “Proteus Rising”
Let me start with profound apologies to anyone who cares about this here empty space of mine, my personal blog. The last few years have been turbulent, full of all those things, as John Lennon once wrote, that happen while you make other plans. Personal and professional conflicts. Illness. And family losses, including my father. I wish I knew how to juggle blogging and all those other things at the time. But I’m here now.
And Facebook is one hell of a time sink. Hello, Facebook, by the way.
I return with a mission. I’m stuck with a story that probably won’t ever be produced. Two reasons. One, it’s a Doctor Who story and their writing assignments are by invitation only. The second reason: The exec producer of this fanfic project, Neil Marsh (not the showrunners of the actual BBC production), is into passive-aggressive behavior. He has run away. Rather than abandon this project yet again, I intend to finish it — here on this blog.
The next several postings will feature the work in progress. If you were ever curious how a story or a script is written (or how I write them), maybe they’ll be interesting. Normally, copyright concerns would keep me from doing something like this. But Doctor Who is a BBC property and I wouldn’t claim otherwise. This is partly an exercise to begin with, playing with somebody’s else concepts to see what can be done.
But I also wanted to prove the work was being done — and that it’s worth doing. Enablers and apologists can dismiss the work and the worth out of hand, I’m sure. They almost have to. Otherwise they’d have to re-evaluate who and what they’re enabling and excusing.
Therefore, all and sundry are on notice: If Neil insists on abandoning this project, it won’t be for lack of a great story.
Because it’ll be here, true believers. Stay tuned.
Kill The Senate Health Care Bill?
Bamf. Materializing here on the blog. Why away so long? I’ll explain later.
Here’s one reason. Facebook. It’s been a fun little timesink. And buggy as hell.
One major plus to Facebook has been the opportunity to share news items with many people — covering a lot of social ground, through different demographics, cliques, and gaggles of online folk — with just a click.
But the news story of health care reform is so big, so crucial, and today so unpredictable that sharing one link isn’t enough.
Case in point: Howard Dean, a major booster for health care reform and the US Senate’s efforts, has come out against the Senate bill in draft now.
There’s plenty of news coverage on the politics of it, the great and superficially entertaining bruhaha around it. But very little about what it means.
Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight.com best summarizes the pro side: that it will help some folks now and you’d be crazy not to.
Howard Dean’s complaints boil down to, “It will do more harm than good.” He claims:
- Under this bill, patients with pre-existing conditions can get health care, but at three times the cost. Health insurance companies can’t deny them care. They can simply price gouge, especially if they’re older.
- People will be forced to buy health care insurance or they will be fined.
- 27 percent of that money goes to health care CEO’s, not to the cost of health care.
- A small percentage of the US will qualify for this coverage.
- The coverage under this bill would last for only a few years — until 2014.
A private sector solution. No controls on the market. No universal coverage. With price hikes aimed at the old and the vulnerable.
Is Howard Dean correct? If he was, I’d hate this bill too.
So now I’m posting this to my personal blog and setting Facebook to import it. Please read. Think it over. Keep everyone talking.