I’m not sure how many writers out there actually know what it takes to even make those first steps toward starting a career as a TV writer. Sure you can sit there as much as you like and think that because your ideas are new and radical that networks and studios will fall all over themselves to work with you… you can do that but it’ll get you nowhere and you’ll waste your time. What any aspiring TV writer needs is a guidebook through the forest, a helping hand for those of you unlucky enough not to be born with an uncle in the business. SMALL SCREEN, BIG PICTURE by Chad Gervich is exactly that. Learn how to navigate the TV industry, get inside the writers room, design shows that can sell and arm yourself with the tools to storm Hollywood and succeed. Among the many topics the book covers are how today’s TV business model works and how it’s changing and which jobs will kickstart your TV writing career–and how to find and get those jobs–some of the most important information of all.

Now a bit of disclosure. Chad’s a good buddy of mine and I was interviewed for the book but I had no idea how extensive Small Screen, Big Picture was going to be. Chad’s pedigree is pretty impressive. He’s worked as a TV writer, producer and exec and has developed and produced shows for the Littlefield Company, Fox Television Studios, Paramount Television, NBC, Warner Bros. ABC, Fox Reality Channel, E! Entertainment Television and 20th Century Fox so the guy really knows what he’s talking about when it comes to breaking in and staying in (as some would say an even harder task) the entertainment biz.

So, if you do have dreams of someday becoming a TV writer, you need to make this book your new bible. There are things in here that took me years to learn and I only wish I’d had something like this 10 years ago. Small Screen, Big Picture is a goldmine of information for every aspiring TV writer, everywhere. 
Mediabistro.com Presents Small Screen, Big Picture: A Writer’s Guide to the TV Business

It started as a goof. I keep my iPhone next to my bed at night mostly as a writing tool but instead of finishing the last chapter of my latest novel I started procrastinating. Out of the blue I downloaded Tap Tap Revenge, tried it once and forgot it. Then a strange thing happened… about a week later I decided I liked the demo song and tried it again… and on the following night, and the night after that, etc… Then last night I decided to download Nine Inch Nails Revenge and ruined my life. 

Well, maybe not ruined but now I’m hooked. 

What you get in Tap Tap Revenge: NIN is 13 tracks from the last two NIN albums, The Slip and Ghosts I-IV and much improved gameplay over the original TTR. Whereas TTR runs slightly jerky on my iPhone, TTR:NIN just cruises. Even the responsiveness of the NIN version is much better to the point where if I play the original TTR afterwards, I can totally feel the difference. Notes where I think I nailed it, seem to come off as “MISS” more often in TTR. I’m sure the game engine improvements in TTR:NIN will be applied to original TTR in the not-too-distant future. 

Being an NIN fan, I have to say that I enjoy the rhythmic challenge of playing along with songs I like given the way the precise industrial grooves drive these songs… and yes, I would definitely call this an interactive (and quite fun) experience. 

Tapulous, the company that created TTR and TTR:NIN has also built in a social networking feature into both games where you can post your high score along with your TTR profile. This was something I wasn’t really interested in until I found out there was a giveaway. LOL. 

Until Nov. 14th, any Nine Inch Nails Revenge score of 150,000 or higher posted from the game to their board automatically enters you into a drawing for NIN concert tickets and a grand prize of a Les Paul autographed by Trent Reznor himself… so yes, after my first entry-worthy score I did post it. Wish me luck.

Okay, so I slagged Guitar Hero on the show a few times last year until Scott Alexander at Playboy told me the game was really intended as another distribution mechanism for music and I laid off. I get it but I don’t want to play it. I think the mere thought of standing there in front of the TV with a fake plastic guitar slung around my neck kind of leaves me dry but I have to tell you, sitting there with my headphones on, thumb-drumming on the screen to some cool NIN songs doesn’t suck at all. 

Nine Inch Nails Revenge sells for a bargain basement $4.99 and is available at the iTunes Store. 

Download Nine Inch Nails Revenge