Does David Fury Matter?

nerd4hire

nerd4hire

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I sometimes wonder how much writing/producing talent like David Fury matters. Here's the evidence.

Angel folds (or gets folded depending on how you look at it), he goes to Lost. He's there for Season 1. He writes two of the best episodes - the Lockecentric Walkabout, and the Hurleycentric Numbers. What he does in his capacity as co-executive-producer I don't know, but he's not there for Season 2. Compare Season 2 to Season 1.

Fury does a brief stunt at The Inside. The Inside gets cancelled before it's time, or what I call Foxified. Nevertheless it can be considered. The early episodes of The Inside get bad critique. No-one gets to see the final 6 Fury worked on in the first run, but those who have seen it since, seem to be more or less unanimous in loving them.

Fury goes to 24. Who here besides me has heard this season of 24 referred to as the best season ever?

Here's David Fury's credits.

Writer - filmography
(2000s) (1990s)

1. "24"
- Day 5: 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. (2006) TV Episode
2. "Lost"
- Numbers (2005) TV Episode (writer)
- Special (2005) TV Episode (writer)
- Solitary (2004) TV Episode (writer)
- Walkabout (2004) TV Episode (writer)
3. "The Inside"
- Gem (2005) TV Episode (teleplay)
4. "Angel" (staff writer) (1999-2004) (story) (episode 5.02 "Just Rewards") (teleplay) (episode 5.02 "Just Rewards") (writer) (episode 1.02 "Lonely Hearts") (writer) (episode 1.10 "Parting Gifts") (writer) (episode 2.17 "Disharmony") (writer) (episode 3.19 "Price, The") (writer) (episode 4.03 "House Always Wins, The") (writer) (episode 4.10 "Awakening") (writer) (episode 4.13 "Salvage") (writer) (episode 4.21 "Peace Out") (writer) (episode 5.08 "Destiny") (writer) (episode 5.12 "You're Welcome") (writer) (episode 5.21 "Power Play")
... aka Angel: The Series (USA)
- You're Welcome (2004) TV Episode
- Just Rewards (2003) TV Episode (teleplay)
- Peace Out (2003) TV Episode
- Salvage (2003) TV Episode
- Awakening (2003) TV Episode
(3 more)
5. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (staff writer) (1998-2003)
... aka BtVS (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka Buffy
... aka Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Series
- Lies My Parents Told Me (2003) TV Episode (writer)
- Showtime (2003) TV Episode (writer)
- Sleeper (2002) TV Episode (writer)
- Grave (2002) TV Episode (writer)
- Gone (2002) TV Episode (writer)
(12 more)

6. "The Wild Thornberrys" (1998) TV Series (writer)
7. "Working" (1997) TV Series (writer)
8. "Life's Work" (1996) TV Series
9. "Pinky and the Brain" (1995) TV Series (writer)
10. "House of Buggin'" (1995) TV Series (writer)
11. "The Jackie Thomas Show" (1992) TV Series
12. Life As We Know It! (1991) (TV)
13. "Dream On" (1990) TV Series (writer)

Filmography as: Writer, Producer, Actor, Director, Miscellaneous Crew, Himself

Producer - filmography
(2000s) (1990s)

1. "24"
- Day 5: 8:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. (2006) TV Episode (co-executive producer)
- Day 5: 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. (2006) TV Episode (co-executive producer)
- Day 5: 5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. (2006) TV Episode (co-executive producer)
- Day 5: 6:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. (2006) TV Episode (co-executive producer)
- Day 5: 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. (2006) TV Episode (co-executive producer)
(9 more)
2. "The Inside" (2005) TV Series (co-executive producer) (uncredited)
3. "Lost" (2004) TV Series (co-executive producer) (2004-2005)
4. "Angel" (1999) TV Series (co-executive producer) (2003-2004) (consulting producer) (2002-2003) (executive producer) (2004)
... aka Angel: The Series (USA)

5. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997) TV Series (co-executive producer) (2001-2003) (producer) (1999-2000) (supervising producer) (2000-2001)
... aka BtVS (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka Buffy
... aka Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Series
6. "Life's Work" (1996) TV Series (producer)
7. "House of Buggin'" (1995) TV Series (producer)

Filmography as: Writer, Producer, Actor, Director, Miscellaneous Crew, Himself

Actor - filmography
(2000s) (1990s)

1. Bandwagon (2004) .... David Fury
2. "Angel"
... aka Angel: The Series (USA)
- Smile Time (2004) TV Episode .... Gregor Framkin
- The House Always Wins (2002) TV Episode (uncredited) .... Tropicana Guest
- Reprise (2001) TV Episode .... First Worshipper
3. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
... aka BtVS (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka Buffy
... aka Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Series
- Selfless (2002) TV Episode (voice) (uncredited) .... Mustard Man
- Once More, with Feeling (2001) TV Episode .... Mustard Man
4. Chance (2002) .... Pizza Delivery Man

5. "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman"
... aka Lois & Clark
... aka The New Adventures of Superman
- Pilot (1993) TV Episode .... Cop
6. "The Jackie Thomas Show"
- Guys and Balls (1993) TV Episode .... Bus Driver

Filmography as: Writer, Producer, Actor, Director, Miscellaneous Crew, Himself

Director - filmography
(2000s) (1990s)

1. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
... aka BtVS (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka Buffy
... aka Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Series
- Lies My Parents Told Me (2003) TV Episode
- Gone (2002) TV Episode

2. "Angel" (1999) TV Series (episode 5.12 "You're Welcome")
... aka Angel: The Series (USA)

Filmography as: Writer, Producer, Actor, Director, Miscellaneous Crew, Himself

Miscellaneous Crew - filmography

1. "Dream On" (1990) TV Series (story editor)

Filmography as: Writer, Producer, Actor, Director, Miscellaneous Crew, Himself

Himself - filmography

1. 'Buffy': Season 7 Overview (2004) (V) .... Himself
2. Malice in Wonderland: Wolfram & Hart (2004) (V) .... Himself
3. 'Angel': Season 4 Overview (2004) (V) .... Himself
... aka Prophecies: Season 4 Overview (USA)
4. 'Buffy': Season 6 Overview (2004) (V) .... Himself
5. 'Buffy': Season 5 Overview (2003) (V) .... Himself
6. 'Buffy': Season 4 Overview (2003) (V) .... Himself
7. 'Buffy': Season 3 Overview (2003) (V) .... Himself
Click to expand...

http://imdb.com/name/nm0299236/
 
Oh man N4H I could NOT agree with you more!!!!! I was rewatching Lost S1 and noticing in particular the Fury eppys and thinking pretty much the exact same thing.

nerd4hire said:
Fury goes to 24. Who here besides me has heard this season of 24 referred to as the best season ever?
Click to expand...

I haven't seen The Inside nor have I watched 24 but I have also heard the above statement from many die-hard 24 fans I know.

I was so excited when I heard he was writing for Lost. And I agree, Season 1 FAR superior to S2. S2 is not bad..just not the calibre of S1, which didn't rely strictly on 'shock' value (thinking last eppy) to keep you tuned in. My fave eppy is Walkabout.
 
Fury has obviously expressed some frustration about 24 (its character, metaphorical limitations). I wish he'd get bored and go back to Lost. But then 24 wouldn't be so dang fun! Hmm.
 
I really like those two episodes of Lost, But On the whole I actually prefer Lost season 2, to season 1! I think it's more interesting, the characters have been developed further and the mythology has begin to be explored!
 
R
Randy Giles
[No message]
That's funny you say that BEG...most people I've talked to enjoy S1 better. I am loving certain aspects of S2 moreso than S1, I just prefer S1 on a whole.

I never knew Fury was involved with Dream On..that was such a smart, funny show! It didn't last long though!
 
Yeah I know not many people think that, Cuz I keep saying that I'm so glad the series has not gone downhill, but has in fact improved, and people just dont seem to agree, lol!
 
David Fury seems like a talented guy but I don't think he'll go back to "Lost"...something must have happened there because I recall him really dissing that show, telling everyone that the producers had NO PLAN (which can't be true), etc.

As for "Lost" itself, I'm with BEG. Season Two overall DID seem more interesting than season one. It had some really great episodes and pushed the series to a whole new level. I loved "The Other 48 Days". The Others. The other survivors. The awesome finale. Charlie and Eko's freaky religious visions. The black smoke that may or may not be the monster. How can you not like that?!
 
They're doing a raffle giveaway thing of David Fury Scripts at DavidFury.net.

"¢ Congratulations to David and the rest of the cast and crew of 24 on their recent Emmy wins! To celebrate the victories, as well as the relaunch of DavidFury.net, we're giving away autographed scripts! We have a copy of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer third-season episode "Helpless," and the fifth-season 24 episodes "12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M.," and "11 P.M. - 12:00 A.M."
Click to expand...

http://www.davidfury.net/

Speaking of the Emmy win, I can't remember. Was Fury was nominated for Lost? Did he win? Does he have 2 now? I have to look that up.
 
Fury was nominated for "Walkabout", but I don't think he won it. Lost did win best drama that year though, so Fury's worked on both the winners in that category two years in a row.

And re: The Inside - Fury only co-wrote one ep of that, which was one of the best, but I think the show's improvement was caused more by it finding its footing. The premise and characters had all been established and the last several eps were more focused on the characters than the previous ones.
 
Yeah The Inside thing is curious as far as Fury is concerned. I agree of course on the "it found it's footing thing", but I remember specifically hearing Fury worked on the final six. I was under the impression he was some kind of uncredited co-executive producer or something, whatever that is.

The mention of Fury's involvement at about the time the best episodes were happening there is kind of meant to add weight to the question of this thread. What is this lucky accident that seems to happen that Fury always seems to land on a series at about the time it's at it's best? If he does do something, what is it? It must be something beyond his simple involvement as the credited writer of particular episodes, because the quality exists beyond them.

Lost, 24, and The Inside were already pretty darned good, so I'm wondering is he maybe some kind of touchup, polish guy?

Edit:

So out of curiousity I just checked on the Emmy for lost thing, and according to IMDB he picked up awards both as a producer and as the writer of Walkabout.
 
Being a co-exec is basically just being a high paid writer - although they may work on editing and stuff like that.

I think I remember hearing Minear say last year that Fury is exceptionally good at writing scripts out of order - so my theory is that when they're breaking stories in the writers room he hones in on their structure. Having said that, he also seemed to be the character-guy on Lost, so I'm not sure.

The other thing about Fury is he's been known to be vocal in the writers' room about things he dislikes - such as Spike's attempted rape, so that could be another reason things change when he's on a show.
 
Before David wrote for Lost, it was agreed that it would only be for a short time and then he'd go to 24, so it's not like he was kicked out.
 
I don't know where this originally appeared so I can't link to the original source, but I saw it here.

http://forums.spacecast.com/forums/265255/ShowPost.aspx

It may give some clues to why Fury appears here, and there as some kind of producer, and some of the stuff he may do.

Anyway the poster on the board introduces it this way.

"A poster at whedonesque.com posted the following report about a panel she attended at Worldcon last week. The panel was on "showrunning" and featured Farscape's Rockne O'Bannon and Angel/ Firefly/ Wonderfalls' Tim Minear:"

Someone asked why there were so many producing credits on TV shows "“ they couldn't all be producing?

Tim said it's because "producers have no union."

Gillian said frequently many are producing, and that's how you learn.

There was some discussion about unions, and union agreements limiting the number of writers, etc. you could give credit to for a show, and Tim reiterated, "It really is because producers have no union." That you were able to give credit to writers that otherwise would not be able to receive credit on a show "“ though he pointed out that not all producers were writers, by any means. He also said that folks receiving a producing credit may have done nothing on a show, like those folks on Buffy (the Kuzuis) "“ it could just depend on the deal negotiated. And he noted that producer Kelly Manners on Angel, while creatively very involved with the show in a "daily nuts & bolts" way, was not a writer.

Rockne said one can give out the producing credit very easily. He also would begrudge no writer a producing credit.

There was a question about how SR communicate to writers "“ what commonly is the way that SR let writers know what they expect from them?

Michael (I think) said that some SR can't judge other writers' stuff, and some can communicate extremely well. Sometimes as a writer, you may be met with "it's crap" or stony silence from a SR, which isn't all that helpful.

Gillian said that what really helps a writer understand the tone of a show are sample scripts "“ they really help in generating new material.

Tim said that Joss would sit down with you and go through it "“ he'd re-write it with you. He said that Wonderfalls was weird, and that he and (one of Wonderfall creators) Bryan Fuller got it, but they found it sorta impossible to explain to writing staff. "I'd act it out." Once they had scripts, he could point to the sample scripts and say, "Do it like that. Why do you suck? Do it like that."

He said that (Angel producer & co-creator) David Greenwalt once read one of Tim's Angel scripts and said he "liked half of it but wanted to wipe his assith the other half." Tim said he should be sure to "leave the brads in."
Click to expand...
 
Before I comment I have to go on record as being a big Fury fan. He has a lot of talent and always brings his own sense of style to whatever show he is on. That said, when it comes to Lost and 24 I'm not certain that his involvement is so important, either for the good or the bad.

Take Lost. My current second favourite show and one of the few shows that had me hooked from episode one. Personally I've loved every second of season two and in no way see it as being inferior to the first season. What happened on Lost is that it suffered the same negative impact as Buffy's sixth season, and for very much the same reasons. Many of the basic elements of the show were either turned around or left aside entirely in favour of newer developments and, maybe more to the point, many of the popular characters were sidelined or written in a way that their fans didn't like. Even Terry O'Quinn has stated that he was unhappy with where Locke's story seemed to be going, compared to the person he was portrayed as in season one, so if the actors can show dissatisfaction then it's a given that the internet fanbase will have something negative to say.

Again, like Buffy in season six, Lost has taken the dangerous path of not giving the audience what they wanted and instead building on things that might not yet make a lot of sense. That doesn't mean that the show is any less enjoyable though. Going back to Locke, I have hated seeing the breaking of a man who showed so much conviction and strength in season one, but I have still enjoyed the story it has told and I've no doubt that season three will build on that again. In fact I guarantee you that Lost will be one of those shows that is much better appreciated when viewed as a complete whole, rather than judging it season by season.

Now, 24. Another big favourite of mine. I loved season five but it was in no way better than season four and I'd even argue the case for season two being better than them both. Of course, it's only a matter of preference and opinion but I don't think it has been universally stated that season five was the best one yet. What it was was the most controversial and highly publicised, right from the get go. The early deaths of Palmer and Michelle, continuing with the almost weekly loss of a fan favourite character, made the show even more edge of your seat viewing than normal. I absolutely loved it but I'd still rather watch season two again.

Basically what i'm saying is that Fury's influence on these two shows is debateable as in both cases the success or failure of the seasons he was and was not involved with had many factors outside of his influence. What you can't debate is that he is a fantastic writer and both series should have been glad of his involvement.
 
I just wanted to put in a few things here -

* While I admit the later episodes of The Inside are better than the earlier episodes, I REALLY love ALL the episodes and I think the pilot is very good. The show never needed to "find itself", it was always great. It just got even better.

* I still maintain season 2 of Lost is a little better than season 1, especially now that I'm watching it on DVD.

* If David Fury really does make a show so great he should move to Heroes.
 
Buffy Summers
Buffy Summers
Heroes sucks :p
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