Genre: Opinion/Argumentation

Mark Wright is an accomplished writer " currently scraping out a living as a freelance " contributing to various magazines , writing for Big Finish's range of Doctor Who audio dramas and turning out the odd book along the way ( he 's currently planning to write a guide to the Indiana Jones adventures ) . OTT caught up with Mark as he battled with deadlines to complete his latest book , 1001 DVDs You Should Own , to ask him about his recent publication 24 : Season 2 : The Unofficial Guide , published by Contender Books . OTT : So , how come you did n't write the 24 book for Contender last year ? MARK WRIGHT : I first came to work for Contender when I was commissioned to write the production notes and booklet for the first box set of The Professionals on DVD . Lee Binding , who commissioned me for that work , recommended me to the company's book division when they were keen to do a guide to the first season of 24 . I was asked to write the book , but unfortunately in the time scale they wanted the finished manuscript , I was working on a Doctor Who script whilst still holding down a 9 - 5 job at What DVD , so it just was n ' t possible . This was a real shame , as books was a direction I really wanted to go in . Jim Sangster is a mate , and as he had written some highly successful episode guides himself , I happily recommended him . As it was , I was commissioned to write a guide to CSI : Crime Scene Investigation , so I got to do my book after all ( although that never saw the light of day for reasons I sha n ' t bore you with - but I 've got a fully typeset manuscript sitting on my desk ) . OTT : What was the brief this time around ? Were you looking to follow up on what Jim had done , or take a different direction for the second book ? MARK WRIGHT : When it came to season two , naturally Jim was the first choice to handle it , but he had just got a commission for the official Spooks book , so the project was handed to me . I had just gone freelance , so was incredibly keen . I wanted to keep intact a lot of what Jim had done with the first volume , but take some of the elements into a more humorous direction . The strength of the first book is the mini-essays that discuss a related theme from the episode in detail , and Jim is so good at doing those and basically , I 'm not , so I decided to lose that aspect and expand the categories of the guide . So we get analysis of Jack's character , and Kim's dumbness , and I went for sections like " Fashion Police " , that kind of thing . I also wanted some sort of episode review and rating system ( which also satisfies the legal angle of unofficial publishing of this nature ) , so hence the " Debrief " and " Pulse Rate " sections . OTT : What were the actual mechanics of writing the book ? MARK WRIGHT : I was commissioned to wrote the book in October , and had a delivery date of late May to tie in with the transmission of the final episode in the US . So , of course , I did n't start writing until April ! It was easy to write the up front sections as that was all to hand , researchable material like actor profiles and synopsis of the first season . I also had interviews with Dennis Haysbert and Leslie Hope from the publicity rounds for the first season DVD , so that really strengthened the front section . The most difficult thing to write was the actual synopsis of the episodes . The plots are so involved with 24 that you really have to include everything and that can take a couple of hours . It 's very dry writing , and you always wonder if you should be spicing it up with comments and off the cuff lines , but that would probably get in the way . Those are the sections that make the writing process arduous . The fun bits are the categories where you can actually be creative and put your own voice into the writing . I did drag my heels a little bit , so I think I 'd watched the first 10 episodes by the time I started writing . But that was a good idea as the general feel of the season was established by then , all the conventions and characters were in place , so I could work with running jokes by that point . I wrote the main block of the episode guide section at my parents ' in Yorkshire over Easter . I was house-sitting so I had the place to myself and just got my head down . At that stage I was doing around three episodes a day , which is about nine hours work . I ca n ' t really say how long the book took to write as I dragged my heels so much . Writers can probably get work done in half the time it actually takes them , but we wait until the last possible second before having to do it . There are far too many cups of tea , trips to the shop for a bun , computer-games to play and episodes of Doctors to watch before getting on with any work . OTT : Presumably you came to 24 series two with some preconceptions . What had you thought of the first series ? Were you a hardcore fan ? And what were your hopes for series two ? MARK WRIGHT : Like most people , I thought that season one was highly disjointed , however entertaining . That 's even more apparent when you watch the season back to back on DVD , which was my first experience of 24 . I actually interviewed Leslie Hope when I 'd seen just the first episode ! I would n ' t say I was a hardcore fan at this point . I thought the real-time aspect got in the way of good storytelling , especially when you watch in the UK and it blatantly is n't in real-time . But the performances were compelling all round , and TV is rarely this entertaining , which will always be 24 ' s virtue . The gimmick is secondary . OTT : How did you think series two compared to the first ? This time around the whole 24 episodes were plotted in advance - do you think that made a difference ? MARK WRIGHT : I thought it was much more polished and confident . There was an air of pushing the envelope a bit , of a team who 'd had chance to play and beat out the main points . At first I thought it was a mistake to detonate the bomb when they did , and was n ' t sure if they could pull the narrative back from such a high point of adrenaline . But then I realized that the final act was much more contemplative , having the courage to examine the ramifications of that event . OTT : What 's your take on the slightly gratuitous torture sequences this time around , and the continuing plot device of people being locked in rooms ? MARK WRIGHT : Anyone who has heard my Doctor Who plays will know that I 'm never averse to a bit of torture , but perhaps things were taken a little far . It 's a debate that could go on and on . There are bad people in the world who do bad things , and good people in the world who have to do bad things to bad people to get information . I think it 's well within Jack's character to act in the way he did towards Ali and Marie , and to have our central character die at the hands of torturers made for one of the best cliffhangers in that real adventure serial style . We know Jack will survive , but it 's damn exciting ! I do think that the torture and murder of Paul Koplin in front of Kate Warner was a bit much though , especially when the poor bloke had his old man chopped off . Now that was just cruel . As for the constant turnaround of people being locked in rooms , I think it 's good fun actually . It 's a convention of the series in the same way that running up and down corridors is part of Doctor Who and red shirts dying is part of Star Trek . I do think Palmer should have phoned out for pizza and watched a movie when he was locked up - that was a lovely widescreen TV he had in that room . OTT : Likewise , how do you view Kim's storylines ? An annoying distraction from the main plot , or a welcome second layer ? MARK WRIGHT : I 'm in two minds about this one . On the one hand , the constant need to have Kim in danger was a bit silly . But then there are moments when she absolutely breaks your heart . Her reaction to Jack's apparent sacrifice with the bomb was beautifully played by Elisha Cuthbert . I loved the plotline with Kevin Dillon as the loony survivalist , but I think all of Kim's adventures were justified in that one moment when she guns down Gary Matheson . Jack must force his daughter to become a killer , and it 's a wonderful character moment that really pays off . OTT : What do you think have been this year's stand-out moments ? Do they compare to the highpoints from series one ? MARK WRIGHT : George Mason was a joy throughout . I cried when he went down with the bomb . That was the best episode by far . The return of Nina Myers was handled well and I was a big fan of the team-up between Jack and Yusuf Auda . It was like a different show , and I suspect that might form something of a blueprint for season three . The cliffhanger ending felt too tacked on to be truly successful , but still fun , although you have to be a real fan to realize the connection back to season one . I had to look twice . I do n't think season one had that many standout moments , aside from Terri's death . I think the team wanted more " events " this time round , almost playing to the crowd a little too much , but I reckon they pulled it off . OTT : Earlier this year you guested on BBC3's 24 " fanzine " , Pure 24 . How was the experience of doing live TV ? Do the studio audience collectively watch the episode together as the show suggests ? And what 's your take on this kind of programme ? MARK WRIGHT : Pure 24 was a blast . I was very surprised to be on there , but it was great fun . At the end of the day , I 'm a hack , and then I 'm being flown to Manchester to do some telly . Very bizarre . I 've done TV and radio before from my days working on What DVD magazine so the live aspect was n ' t too daunting , and I love the atmosphere of a TV studio . The Pure 24 team are lovely , and everybody has a laugh . It was great being on that first show with Lennie James as I 'd seen him in so many things , and he gave me a couple of suggestions for the book , like the drinking game . All in all it was a great experience and one that I 'd love to do again . As far as I know the audience watch the episode together , but the couch guests are across the road discussing the episode with Zara the Assistant Producer . I think shows like this are good if the fan base is there , and 24 seems to have that kind of fan who do want to discuss the episode over the watercooler on Monday morning . Pure 24 sort of preempts that , and I tend to think if the BBC feel there 's an audience for shows like this , then why not ? It 's been successful enough to warrant a third series next year . OTT : How important do you think the real time format is to 24 ' s success ? MARK WRIGHT : I think it might become a hindrance for season three and get in the way of telling a good story . It was fine for the first two as it was almost believable , but I 'm not sure about it for season three . It was a great hook for the audience to begin with , but now we know the characters so well , do we really need it ? Having said that , take away the real-time aspect , and I guess you lose what makes the show so unique . OTT : Where next for the series ? Is there anything left for it to do ? MARK WRIGHT : I think we 'll get a more personal story for season three . You ca n ' t really get any bigger than a nuclear bomb going off , there 's nowhere else to go , unless you want to do 24 hours of an alien invasion ( now that might work ! ) I think we 'll see things much more from Jack's perspective , see him happier and back at work , maybe in the field . I would n ' t like to say if any of the hanging plot strands from season two will be picked up , but from what I 've been hearing it will take place a couple of years later during Palmer's campaign for re-election ( so it seems he survives ) . And as for Kim being gay ? I think that might be too many people listening to internet gossip ! WITH THANKS TO MARK WRIGHT