Story Telling Unit-Screenwriter Review: John Sullivan

John Sullivan's style of screenwriting has become more than iconic. Throughout his career, he had written a number of side splitting comedies including Citizen Smith, The Green Green Grass and not forgetting of corse one of his best renowned pieces, British comedy sitcom Only Fools and Horses. So how does he do it? And how has it developed? Well, Sullivan writes most of what he does based around his own experiences in life, and stories that he's heard. If you’ve seen the famous ‘chandelier’ scene in Only Fools and Horses (of course you have), you may not know that this was actually based on a true story told to him by his father. Men he used to work with made the same fatal mistake, except it wasn't funny. Men lost their jobs, which in that current economic climate, couldn't afford to do. John still found it hilarious, despite his father telling him otherwise. Eventually it was written in, and his father watched the episode he said “yeah you're right it was funny”. Its made me realise how inspiration is all around us, its just having the ability to analyse and recognise how we can use whats around us and peoples behaviour.
Perhaps one of the most iconic moments in Only Fools was when Del Boy falls through the bar; this was inspired after seeing someone do something similar in real life and tried to play off. Sullivan found it hilarious, but wasn't sure how he could fit it into the series. He waited years to fit it in; Del Boy would never make such a simple error in his own local pup ‘The Nags Head’, so he waited until he could place the character in a place where he was a stranger, and therefore unfamiliar with the layout and surroundings. The time came in 1989’s episode "Yuppie Love”.

What fascinates me the most about Sullivan's work is how you can sit with people of all ages and know John Sullivan's scrips are funny. Its truly inspiring how he had such an incredible talent for writing, from being just a regular person with a working class upbringing. This had me questioning that perhaps this is actually what inspired him. After reading a little on his family life, especially when he unfortunately passed away in 2011, it was clear to see he was was a kind hearted family man. It therefore comes as no surprise to me that he should write about a kind hearted family in comedy (Only Fools and Horses). After watching the show, I feel as though I know the characters so intimately, that I could easily know them in real life and I think thats the feeling most people get when watching the show. Nicholas Lyndhurst and David Jason have said “John gives us the ammunition, we just fire”. Screenwriters often get very little credit for the work they produce, but I feel there is an exception in Sullivan’s case.
Sullivan's writing style is very unique to that of a comedy. He doesn't seem to be afraid to add sensitive topics in, so he can have us as the audience laughing one minute and then crying the next. He successfully makes Del Boy not an unpleasant con merchant, as he would initially be perceived as, but a dreamer simply trying to make his way in the world.

However, like most successful people John Sullivan’s work wasn’t always appreciated. He wrote in several scripts which all eventually got rejected. In the BBC building they used to have pictures around of various shows and if yours got put up you had made it. When Only Fools and Horses was just released there was a poster in the studios. The difference was it was in one of the toilets which to some extent is rather insulting. In later years with its success, this obviously changed and there were posters all over the BBC building. Deservedly so for a truly inspirational writer. 

He was also able to overcome the obstacle when Lennard Pierce, who played the grandfather in Only Fools passed away. This would've been very distressing for himself and the cast. However, he knew they needed to move on. Sullivan wanted a different charatcer to be introduced but he didn't want it to be an older woman because she would get too much respect. Del and Rodney couldn't sling her in the back of the van to drive, so he knew it should be a male. Then came Uncle Albert, played by Buster Merryfield, and he fitted in straight away. This was the grandads brother and he meets Del and Rodney at the funeral, which was again, very well written considering it was the real thing a couple of weeks previously. This just goes to show how Sullivan was able to overcome what got in his way and continued to write one of the most favoured sitcoms to be broadcasted on television.