Interviews Jane Espenson by DJ Forrest

When the premise of Miracle Day was discussed were you there from the start, what was the process, were all the scriptwriters called in and given an episode to write for, or were you able to pick and choose?

Jane: I was not there from the very beginning, but I was brought in quite early in the process for discussions of the premise and some talk about the overall direction of the story with Russell and a small team. Later, other writers were added and we spent several weeks as a larger team, digging deeper into the story, and determining the rough contents of the episodes.  I was originally assigned, I believe, three episodes, one of which (episode 7 – Immortal Sins), I had specifically requested.  We continued to refine the episodes in one-on-one sessions with Russell as each writer started to turn in their drafts.  I wrote many drafts of each episode, which I really enjoyed. There was a real sense that you would be allowed to go back into the script as often as was needed to make it the best it could be.

The episode Immortal Sins was possibly the best episode out of them all, when we discovered a little bit more of Jack’s dark past.  How much were you allowed to write concerning Jack and how much has to be run past Russell before you actually put pen to paper?  Is Russell a hard taskmaster when it comes to the script, or is he an easy person to work with?

Jane: In television, most things come from the creator of the series, including the idea for this episode.  Russell was very involved in every beat of this episode and I’m certain I went through several passes at the outline before I began to write and then many drafts after that.  In the first draft that I wrote there were lots of scenes set on a ferry, and then in the city during a parade, and in a speak-easy, and lots of street shots with big crowds.  It would have been incredibly expensive to shoot it, but we decided to get the “dream” version down on paper first.  Russell is amazing to work with, but he is also a taskmaster in the very best way – he doesn’t let you stop until you’ve done work you love. I would happily write for him every single day for the rest of my career.

In the scene in the butchers shop where Jack is attacked by the locals, you do see that this is another story about Jack’s past and present involvement in Miracle Day, do you ever wish that perhaps a storyline wasn’t about Jack, as he’s put through the ringer so many times, the past is always in some way Jack’s fault. 

Jane: When I was working at Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Joss would always ask “What’s the Buffy of it?” And here, of course, the heart of the show is about the “Jack of it”. It would be a disservice to a strong central character to take the story away from them, and when you have an actor like John Barrowman,it would be a crime to have him stand on the sidelines.

Although you write scripts have you ever considered writing a book, and if you did, would you ever consider writing a Torchwood story?

Jane: I do want to write a book about writing for television, and I’m sure I’ll use examples from my time at Torchwood to illustrate points.

Have you ever when writing for Torchwood faced difficulties such as regional accents, especially writing for people who are Welsh?

Jane: Russell was often very amused by my first drafts when I tried to write the dialect for the Welsh characters. He would have to correct things all the time. And the American writers would correct his writing for the American characters as well.  It’s harder than it looks.

I read somewhere that you hadn’t watched the series before Children Of Earth, but given that, out of the characters you’ve witnessed and written about in Torchwood, who are your favourites and why?

Jane: I had seen a number of episodes before Children of Earth, including the ones featuring James Marsters, and I went back and watched all of the episodes before starting work on Miracle Day.  I love all the characters.  Gwen is probably my favorite – what a marvellous woman! And Eve is just as amazing.

When you were given the gig for Torchwood, how did it come about?  Did Russell contact you through your agent, or did you know Russell prior to this, or was this something you had to apply to be a part of?

Jane: I had met Russell before. But the offer came through my agent.  I accepted immediately.

If Torchwood comes back, and I hope it does, and I hope it returns to its roots in Cardiff, would you like to write another few episodes for it?

Jane: I would love to write more Torchwood or anything for Russell. He’s delightful.

For me, what makes Torchwood so great, what made it work in the early days was the different stories every week, weevils one night, meteors and space ships another.  I miss that about the show, and although I know Starz brought it more sparkle and the stunts and sets were much bigger, I still feel that the series would work again back in Wales, because that’s where it belongs.  But I am aware that America has more than Britain in terms of everything really, but I also worry that now that Torchwood has gone over to America, it’s had these big storylines, from COE the last involvement with Britain, to Miracle Day and the Phicorp story, where does Torchwood go from here? What can top Miracle Day?  Can it survive with one story a week on a different topic like it used to have?  Will Jack and Gwen still be fighting another dark force from Jack’s past? What new threat can there be? 

Jane: I don’t know of any current plans to continue the show, but if it did continue, I’m sure these are the first questions that will be asked.

Now that Exodus Code is in the book stores, if there was a chance of scripting that up, would you want to be a part of that, or is it harder to script something that has already been written?

Jane: I would only be involved in any Torchwood project that involves Russell. I haven’t heard of any plans involving adapting a book, but I have done that kind of work before and it’s a lot easier than creating a script from scratch.

I don’t want to see an end to my favourite show since Doctor Who.  I love watching my box sets, I love reading the hardback novels, I love writing my mini-series of Torchwood on the website with a new team but with Jack and Gwen at the helm.   What are your feelings about Torchwood the show and its future? 

Jane: I want Russell to work on whatever projects give him joy.  And whatever they are, I would be thrilled to help however he needs me!

Other questions

Where did the idea come from for Warehouse 13 and do you think that in some way this prepared you for writing for Torchwood? 

Jane: The idea came from a writer named D. Brent Mote, who came up with the premise and wrote the original draft of the pilot.  I don’t think that working on the pilot really related much to writing for Torchwood, although I enjoyed both projects.

On Warehouse 13 what was your favourite episode and if you could bring back another team and you were allowed to choose your own cast, who would you have and why?

Jane: I was only involved in the pilot for Warehouse 13, so I don’t feel qualified to speak to this other than to praise the writers who worked on the show and made it so popular.

When you’re writing, do you prefer to work in absolute peace, or do you have music or background noise to help you along?  If its music, what do you like to have play while you write and does that level of music alter for each scene say if you’ve an action piece to write, do you play something with more of an orchestral feel to it? 

Jane: I can’t listen to any music when I’m writing.  Writing for me is very auditory – I feel as though I am actually hearing the voices of the characters and music makes that harder

I’ve only seen one or two episodes of Husbands and only online and found them witty and enjoyable.  It made a nice change to see Mekhi Phifer in that series playing a happy person as oppose to grumpy old Matheson in Torchwood.  How did the Husbands come about and how different is it writing for two men than a heterosexual relationship?

Jane: Husbands is a project that is incredibly important to me. The idea came from Brad Bell, who also runs the show and stars in it. He had the idea of taking a very traditional newlywed comedy and adapting it for the age of marriage equality.  We write the scripts together and I’m so proud of how it has turned out. The episodes are viewable at www.HusbandsTheSeries.com

and we’re about to release new ones next month. Writing for our newlyweds is both the same and different than writing for a traditional married couple. We want to talk about ways that their situation puts extra demands on them, but we also want to talk about how universal the experiences of married couples are. Striking the balance between those two aspects is what the show is all about.

I love your writing sprints, I’ve achieved a couple although when you’re online I’m usually about to log off after writing for a good few hours.  How much preparation do you give yourself when you’re writing, can you be working on a piece for 8 hours straight before realising you’re hungry and you missed at least two meals you’d forgotten about?

Jane: Thank you. I’m glad you find the sprints useful. I know I do. If I know I need to work on a project, telling my twitter followers about it helps keep me honest and focused for an hour.  I don’t tend to write for very long sessions. I like short bursts of concentrated work instead.

If writing became more of a chore and less of an enjoyment, would you feel that it was the right time to stop, or has it never been a chore? 

Jane: Work can be either a chore or a treat. It depends on so many things including the project and my mood. But as a professional, you need to dive into it whether you feel like it or not, and I always end up finding joy in it once I’m writing dialogue.

Who have been the best characters to write for in any capacity, whether Torchwood, Husbands or Warehouse 13 or Buffy and how much influence did you have in that characters development?

Jane: I have too many favorite characters to list them all, but Gwen and Jack from Torchwood are right up there with Cheeks and Brady from Husbands, and Spike, Anya and Andrew from Buffy.  I also love writing for Rumplestiltskin and the other characters on Once Upon a Time.