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A bible for screenwriters is a reference document used for information on a story's characters, settings and other elements.[1] Show bibles are commonly used in television series; new writers and freelancers are often referred to it when writing scripts for the show to ensure continuity with previous episodes; they're also used by individual writers for books and movies to keep track of details.
| “ | Show bibles ... just aren't as important as you might think to the daily life of the [writing] staff. The truth is that once you're living inside a show, you're swimming as fast as you can from one island to the next, and there is neither the time nor the need to record decisions that have been made (these are in the scripts), or that are in the process of being made (these are in the notes taken in the room as the writers work). | ” |
A show bible is used as a sales document to "pitch" a new series to a television network or television studio; it helps them (and the series' writers) understand the show. A bible also includes details, such as the show's setting and character histories.[2]
The Frasier show bible, for example, was "scrupulously maintained"; anything established on air — "the name of Frasier's mother, Niles' favorite professor, Martin's favorite bar...even a list of Maris' [dozens of] food allergies" — was reflected in the bible in order to maintain the show's continuity.[2]
Some programs (particularly science fiction series) go into great detail describing the capabilities and limits of technology used on the show. According to Jane Espenson, a television producer of the 2004 version of Battlestar Galactica, the show's bible has "lots of detailed explanation for how the ship itself operates, including the function of various features of the hangar deck, and a discussion of the technical language used by the pilots, and even a neat little essay on why it's not plausible for anyone to abscond with a viper."[2]
Series which don't use a written bible have the script coordinator or writers' assistants of a show serve as "walking bibles" in remembering or establishing trivial details such as "What did we name our lead character's childhood pet hamster?" or "How much time passed between episodes two and three?".[2] Series produced without written bibles include the Stargate franchise,[citation needed] the X-Files,[citation needed] Doctor Who,[citation needed] and the Power Rangers franchise.[citation needed]
In the United States, writing the show bible of a produced series earns that writer the 24 units of required credit necessary to qualify for membership in the Writers Guild of America.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ "Bible" in this context is typically an abbreviation for more specific terms such as "story bible" or "show bible" or similar.
- ^ a b c d e How to Give Maris Hives, Alphabetized, an April 2008 blog entry from the writer's blog of Jane Espenson
- ^ Writers Guild of America, West. How to Become a Member. Retrieved on 2009-07-06.
[edit] Online examples
- Airwolf: The Bible at The Wolf's Lair - Welcome.
- Battlestar Galactica 2004 series bible.
- Gargoyles Bible for Season 1.
- Freaks and Geeks series bible.
- The Dead Zone TV Series and Show - Writers Guides for Seasons 1, 2, 3 and 4 - USA Network.
- LegacyWeb - Poltergeist: The Legacy Series Bible.
- He-Man.org - Masters of the Universe (1983) Series Bible.
- TFArchive - Transformers Cartoons - Transformers Production Bible.
- The Starlost: The Word from a fansite hosted at snowcrest.net.
- Judson Scott - The Phoenix 'Bible' from a GeoCities website.
- Sonic the Hedgehog series bible from FUS - Fans United for SatAM.
- Star Trek Voyager series bible from star-trek-voyager.net.[dead link]
- Skysurfer Strike Force series bible.
