Story Telling Unit-Screenwriter Review: Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong

Sam Bain is a British comedy writer. He is responsible for some of Britains funniest sitcoms including the likes of Peep Show and Fresh Meat. I have enjoyed both of these shows greatly, without realising they were actually written by the same person. It therefore had me questioning: what is it about his writing style that really appeals to me? When researching into both shows I came to realise that Sam Bain isn't a solo operation. Him and his friend/partner Jesse Armstrong are both responsible for these two television sitcoms. After realising this I became instantly hooked; its very rare for two screenwriters to be close enough, and share the same sense of humour to want to collaborate on projects together. In fact, most of their work is a collaboration. Peep Show's high standards and reputable quality have remained consistent throughout, and has if anything got better over the years, as the characters developed further and the programme budget got higher.

Unfortunately for me, Bain and Armstrong ended Peep Show last year after nine hilarious series’. When researching the writers, I was really intrigued as to why they decided to end it now. I could’ve happily sat through another good few episodes, and still not got bored. Sam Bain in an interview said they wanted to end it there "because we are desperate not to do a bad series”. i get where they are coming from with this; some programmes are best left alone, in order to obtain a legacy, and leave people wanting more. Its better to finish on a high then to end on a low. Besides from, much of the cast wont stick around forever. People move on with their own lives, so it can be difficult keeping some of the original cast. Other than Peep Show, they have created other comedy dramas such as Fresh Meat, a programme about a student household, as mentioned earlier. Another example of their joint work includes sitcom starring Clive Swift and Roger Lloyd-Pack (best known as ‘Trigger’ from Only Fools and Horses), The Old Guys. After watching a clip of this programme I can see that it shares similar traits to Peep Show; its just with two elderly men. Unfortunately, this series wasn't as successful as Bain and Armstrong had hoped and more recognition from the BBC.

Bain and Armstrong are comical geniuses. their writing technique is to brainstorm ideas together and then go off separately to write separately. They will then show each other their work and combine the best of both worlds. It still fascinates me how Bain found such a compatible writing partner. Their shared sense of humour is fundamental but theres more to it than that. They must share the same work ethic; the pair are both perfectionists, striving to write the best comedy sitcoms of our time. While they share these traits, they are still two different people with different ideas. Perhaps they balance each other out; two heads are better than one.

As I did on my review of the screenwriter John Sullivan, I want to look into the background of the writers; to see what could’ve inspired them to write and their ability to write so well. Bain grew up in London and surprisingly comes from a show-business family by all accounts. His Mother was an actress, and his grandmother played one of the two elderly ladies in the sitcom Fawlty Towers (‘Miss Gatsby’). His cousin was also featured in another well regarded British comedy ‘Allo,’Allo.
The fact alone that he grew up in such a television orientated background makes it unsurprising that he should fall into the industry too. Armstrong, had a different upbringing, in Oswestry, near Wales. There was nothing really of show business in his family other than his father who went on to become a novelist, but that was in later life. The two met at Manchester University while studying Creative Writing, which could've been the inspiration for fresh meat, given that it is set in Manchester, and the students sharing the house study at Manchester University themselves. The foibles they get up to could’ve been inspired by their experience there in the1990s. This is where the bond between the two started but it wasn't until they graduated and found themselves in undesirable jobs that they decided to write together. In separate jobs, they would write to each other in a funny old-fashioned way, purely to make each other laugh. This inspired a pilot episode of Bread Heads which was according to Bain, the initial DNA for Peep Show. It also gave them the chance to meet David Mitchell and Robert Webb, who then collaborated in becoming ‘Mark and Jez’ for Peep Show. Interestingly they based the characters with Mitchell and Webb in mind, and even if they didn't end up by acting in it, it really helped Bain and Armstrong with the creative process. Usually Screenwriters will write a piece with the characters in mind, not the actors which again, sets their work apart from others.

In conclusion I would say Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong are two of the brightest television screenwriters of our time. Their work has reached audiences across the country, reaching out to people of all ages. Their unique writing style, by working as a duo has allowed us to get the best of both their comical minds. It seems so obvious to me when watching some of their sitcoms, that they were written by two people who get on very well, and have a shared sense of humour. I especially enjoyed Peep Show and Fresh Meat without realising they had the same writers, which says a lot about their writing style.