Bible (television)
Encyclopedia
A bible for screenwriter
s is a reference document used for information on a story's characters, settings and other elements. 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.
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.
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.
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."
Sometimes, 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?".
Instead of a show bible, the producers of the Stargate
franchise used fansites to check for details about the series. Likewise, the producers of the X-Files
relied on the script writers' collective memory to maintain continuity. The official Star Wars database, the "Holocron", is only available to people at Lucas Licensing and contains information from every officially licensed Star Wars product.
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
.
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
s is a reference document used for information on a story's characters, settings and other elements. Show bibles are commonly used in television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
; new writers and freelancers are often referred to it when writing scripts for the show to ensure continuity
Continuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
with previous episodes; they're also used by individual writers for books and movies to keep track of details.
A show bible is used as a sales document to "pitch" a new series to a television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
or television studio
Television studio
A television studio is an installation in which a video productions take place, either for the recording of live television to video tape, or for the acquisition of raw footage for post-production. The design of a studio is similar to, and derived from, movie studios, with a few amendments for the...
; it helps them (and the series' writers) understand the show. A bible also includes details, such as the show's setting and character histories.
The Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
show bible, for example, was "scrupulously maintained"; anything established on air — "the name of Frasier's
Frasier Crane
Frasier W. Crane, M.D., Ph.D., A.P.A. is a fictional character on the American television sitcoms Frasier and Cheers. He was played by Kelsey Grammer for 20 years, tying the record for the longest-running character on prime-time American television, which was set by James Arness, who played Marshal...
mother, Niles'
Niles Crane
Niles Crane, M.D., Ph.D., A.P.A. is a fictional character on the American sitcom Frasier, a spin-off of the popular show Cheers. He was portrayed by David Hyde Pierce. Niles is the younger brother of Dr. Frasier Crane, the son of Det. Martin Crane and Dr. Hester Crane, husband of Daphne Moon,...
favorite professor, Martin's
Martin Crane
Det. Martin "Marty" Crane is a fictional character on the American television show Frasier. He was played by actor John Mahoney. Martin is the father of Frasier and Niles Crane.- Biography :...
favorite bar...even a list of Maris' [dozens of] food allergies" — was reflected in the bible in order to maintain the show's continuity.
Some programs (particularly science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series) go into great detail describing the capabilities and limits of technology used on the show. According to Jane Espenson
Jane Espenson
Jane Espenson is an American script writer and television producer who has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. She had a five-year stint as a writer and producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and shared a Hugo Award for her writing on the episode "Conversations with Dead People"...
, a television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
of the 2004 version of Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
, 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."
Sometimes, the script coordinator
Script coordinator
Script Coordinator is a role in the production of a film or television series. The script coordinator is responsible for producing each draft of the script and annotating it for ease of use for the production team....
or writers' assistants
Production assistant
A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production...
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?".
Instead of a show bible, the producers of the Stargate
Stargate
Stargate is a adventure military science fiction franchise, initially conceived by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The first film in the franchise was simply titled Stargate. It was originally released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco, and became a hit, grossing nearly...
franchise used fansites to check for details about the series. Likewise, the producers of the X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
relied on the script writers' collective memory to maintain continuity. The official Star Wars database, the "Holocron", is only available to people at Lucas Licensing and contains information from every officially licensed Star Wars product.
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
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
.
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 fansiteFansiteA fansite, fan site, or fanpage is a website created and maintained by a fan or devotee interested in a celebrity, thing, or a particular cultural phenomenon...
hosted at snowcrest.net. - Judson Scott - The Phoenix 'Bible' from a GeoCitiesGeoCitiesYahoo! GeoCities is a web hosting service, currently available only in Japan.GeoCities was originally founded by David Bohnett and John Rezner in late 1994 as Beverly Hills Internet . In its original form, site users selected a "city" in which to place their web pages...
website. - Sonic the Hedgehog series bible from FUS - Fans United for SatAM.
- Star Trek Voyager series bible from star-trek-voyager.net
- Skysurfer Strike Force series bible.