The task facing me this month is finishing up scripts for this year’s TV production. (I need to get on the ball to enable my producer Simon to work with the tourist boards to get permissions and dates set for all the visits.) We’ll shoot three shows in April and three shows in August. These will be combined with the shows we filmed last year to create our new 13-episode public television series, debuting this fall.
To write a script, I take the guidebook chapter, distill it down to only the material that would be good on TV, and then fiddle with the elements to try to come up with a good, balanced script: start lively, cover the big-picture context early, break heavy museum visits with light food and fun activities, determine when and where to work in local experts, cover the clichés but go deeper on elements of substance, avoid redundancy, and finish on a fun up note.
As I was working on establishing a structure for my Copenhagen script, it occurred to me that others might enjoy seeing the process…and even playing script-designer. So, here are the elements I think would make a good half-hour show on Copenhagen. If you’ve got nothing better to do, you can build your own show (and even submit your structure or suggestions on this blog). In three days or so, I’ll show you the structure I plan to use for our new Copenhagen show (and perhaps the rough script, if I can get that far). Here are the pieces:
The Little Mermaid
Town Hall Square
Nyhavn, the old sailors’ port
Amalienborg, changing of guard
Nazi Resistance museum
Christiania (squatter town)
Free loaner bikes
Rosenborg Castle and crown jewels
Hans Christian Andersen statue
Canal Tour
City lay of the land
Smørrebrød, open-face sandwiches
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek art museum
Tivoli amusement park
Strøget, pedestrian main boulevard
Christianshavn
Beer and pølse, local hot dogs
Vor Frelser church
Slick new Metro
Cathedral with Neoclassical statuary
National Museum
Thorvaldsen Museum, Neoclassical statues
New “Black Diamond” library
B&B booking center
Pastry – the “Danish”
Rick I went back and looked at the “blog” that Marc wrote after our R.S. trip with you to Scandinavia in 2000 …..http://scanplan.homestead.com/files/Chapter_1-_Marc_s_Overview_of_Denmark.htm ….to pull out some ideas. (I wish I had the same influence/power I had on him at 14 to make him sit and write his thoughts and do research as at 21 in college when I want to see him write papers) Anyway, I think you might want to touch on the train station, also although the mermaid is a crowd pleaser there was that great statue that is sunk in the canal that you pointed out to us on the canal ride and walk. What about the Golden Girls statue, that makes a great photo op background. I don’t know that many people do the bike rides and we found the sightseeing bus (hop on hop off?) helpful for a spin around town the first day. I’m glad you are adding the hot dogs- Marc loved them. Tivoli has historic relevance no doubt but for the kids I remember Marc LOVED that stupid Ripleys Believe it or Not and you might want to mention that for kids-although I found it boring. With Six Flags around, Tivoli to kids is like a yawn where the amusement park in Stockholm did catch his attention. I think what sets you program out in front of Samantha Brown’s is how you cover the museums indepth so I hope you do some indepth coverage of the palaces and museums esp. Glyptotek. Maybe it is too much to cover in a half hour but Aero was a highlight of the trip.
Rick ………..It is again very interesting to learn how you do your job ….and even the timing of your activities during the year and the preparation……Your PBS shows are the best travel shows out there……….they stand out in quality and are plain fun to watch……not a boring moment………
Greetings Rick,This entry pertains to your Greece segment for next fall. Instead of just doing the usual (focusing on the Acropolis), why not show what else there is: For example, Begin at the Kallimarmaro “ancient stadium” (now open to public) then walk to the “Olypeion” (finished by Hadrian) walk across street to the ‘Lysicrates Monument” (my favorite and which is considered the first academy award)…then begin the walk around the pedestrian park…showing houses etc. along the way..walk up to Phillapous Hill for a magnificent view of the Acropolis, walk around to the ancient cemetary (Keramiekos)–its a lovely area, then back up to Hadrians Street to ancient agora, then to the revamped Monastiraki square to the Roman agora and then the plaka district…Just by showing the acropolis via Philapopos hill you can incorporate the other lovely antiquities of the city that most travel shows never incorporate into there segments…then how about showing OAKA and a touch of the gritty modern side of Athens….and do not forget to show the new subway…etc. Thanks Yianni
Ah – just in time. I am taking my 24 year old son (from Tacoma) to London on our way to Helsinki in May, and I was considering going into Copenhagen on the way. So, will take a good hard look at your suggestions. Thanks.
Rick: I spent quite a bit of time in Copenhagen recently and had four suggestions to help get a feel for Copenhagen. 1. Go to an FC Copenhagen match (picture outside the stadium of fans gathering). It shows a more modern and fun side of Copenhagen. 2. Picture of AP Maersk Headquarters. This company is ~15-20% of the Danish GDP and dominates commercial life in all of Denmark. Yet, its building is reserved and mild-mannered (not exactly the Sears Tower). 3. I would include a picture of the Oresund bridge/tunnel. Spanning the Oresund is an amazing feat of engineering of the Great Belt Way (in addition to the world’s second largest bridge and the planned Puttsgarden, Germany Bridge). It shows what Danes have done with one of the smallest countries in the world, combining modern engineering with livable 19th century streets. 4. Finally, I would talk of the story of the Danish Jews during WWII (maybe as part of the resistance segment). It’s one of the proudest moments of a people in a generally horrific century: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rescue_of_the_Danish_Jews
Oh, and have a Carlsberg — probably the best beer in the world (like the sign says…)
For a great view of the city from above, check out The Round Tower (Rundetaarn), which was finished in 1642. It served as a student church, university library, and an astronomic observatory, (Europe’s oldest in fact.) The journey to the top is a spiral pathway, wide enough for a horse and carraige. Halfway up is a nook in the wall, where a wooden toilet seat remains. This toilet seat has seen Hans Christian Andersen himself use its facilities, and the remnants of pipe smoke can be seen in the form of a yellowish nicotine build-up on the ceiling. For an entrance fee of 25 kroner, equivalent to $5.00, it’ fun to take a break from the expansive shopping street and get a bird’e eye view of the city, and maybe on a clear day, see what the Swede’s are up to :-)
Rick, See if you can get the guard at Amalienborg Palace to yell at you (or someone else). When I was there it was fun to watch him do that to people who went where they shouldn’t have gone, or sat where they shouldn’t have sat.
We did the self tour of the Christianborg ruins then went upstairs and took f English language tour of the present Chritianborg Palace. It was a great way to learn some history.
We did the self tour of the Christianborg ruins then went upstairs and took f English language tour of the present Chritianborg Palace. It was a great way to learn some history.
When we visited back in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, we found Denmark to be a wonderful place to visit. We enjoyed the country, most people were wonderful, Copenhagen was interesting, and Legoland was a nice place to spent a few hours. But we found it a paradox, the most wonderful, most confusing, the most hateful (some young people) towards the US, and all the other wonderful but confusing things you can imagine. We were told by both Germans and Danes, that when WW II ended, members of the German Military stranded in Norway, were shot by Danes, as they tried to get home. Young people we talked to said they were against US missiles, but knew nothing about the Soviet military. They complained about the US but had no comment about the Soviets. (1979) The Danes complained that in the US, we don’t treat our immigrants as the Danes say we should, but admitted they don’t treat their very few immigrants, very well at all. One man then added, “But this is Denmark, we don’t want any immigrants.†On the main street of Copenhagen in 1979, a booth in the middle of a street, had a sign for “Lyndon LaRouche for President of the US.†I asked what they would think if people in the US campaigned for a man to become the head of Denmark’s Government, and they didn’t like that idea at all. When we arrived in Denmark in 1985, the customs man tried to stamp our passport. While he was trying to get the stamp to work we told him about our trip. He said there is plenty of food in Denmark, but the government can’t afford a workable passport stamp. The campground in Horsens was being closed for the season, just as we arrived. The next morning they told us they decided we looked too tired to look for another campground, so they changed their minds and stayed another night, just for us. Such nice people. Oh my, this comment is long, but Denmark is wonderful.
Hi Rick, I see you’ll be visiting Portugal this year. My wife and I just got back from spending two months Eurailing through most of Europe; we both felt it was time after listening to me tell her what a great time I’d had 40 years ago in 1967. Portugal was really one of the highlights of our tour, and I’d just like to encourage you to visit a little more of the North this time. We especially liked Porto and Braga.
(ISBN-13: 9780691032269 The Moment) – very kind of you to share your creative process in this manner, very kind – just as you included Oscar Wilde in your Dublin broadcast, will you consider featuring Soren Kierkegaard in your Copenhagen show – SK’s quarrels with the leadership in the Danish Lutheran Church over complacency are the stuff of legend and I dare say, are the stuff of relevant provocation even today – many thanks
Thanks for sharing the process with us, Rick. But correct me if I’m wrong, didn’t you already cover many of these sites on your TV show several years ago? Perhaps you could enlighten us on the thought process of re-visiting many of the same locations.
Mmmmmm… smørrebrød! http://www.flickr.com/photos/bsktcase/49268163/
I was in Copenhagen in Movember. The canal boat tour was an interesting way to see the city from a different point of view. It was interesting to see the homes built in the old navy yard in the submarine drydock and gunboat houses just inches from the water. I wonder if they flood when there is a storm. I was surprised to NOT see the Danish butter cookies in a tin that are sold everywhere in the US at Christmas. I only saw them in the airport as I was leaving!
If you are in copenhagen, you should take the side trip to the little fishing village of Dragør on the other side of the airport. From there you can see the malmo bridge, but really the beauty of the location is that it has a classic little fishing port and real people doing real traditional things. There are also some interesting viking era mounds around the town near the center, close to the high school as i recall. There is also a goose hatchery very close to the beach, and on the beach you can find the old wwII coastal fortifications that you can walk up and around. I think it is a great 1/2 day especially if it is sunny, you can go to the small town, pick up some local food and walk to the fortification and watch the ships in the sound go under the bridge.
Never having been to Copenhagen, the script list sounds good. That seems a lot to put in one show, or maybe it’s spread between more than one… Happy travels.