Over its eight episode run, it attracted some intense criticism, not all of it particularly constructive.
Personally, I liked the show.
I was keen to catch up with its lead writer and creator, Ben Richards, though.
Plus, I was interested in his thoughts of the genuine constructive criticisms of the show.
In the end, we had quite a long chat about it all.
And heres what happened…
So, lets start with the obvious question.
HadOutcastshad got a second series, what was going to happen next?
Its one thing that galls me, and causes me and the people involved with the show real pain.
We would have learned some of the lessons about issues like pacing and action.
Theyre reasonable lessons to learn.
I think, in general, it takes two series for a show.
Often its the third where a show hits its stride.
The second series you sometimes over-adjust.
Anyway, we had a huge episode one planned, which was a kind of battle for Carpathia.
We did think there would be a second series.
We had to think that.
I thought there would probably be a second series, even though Im a natural pessimist.
So, there was Fleur with the ACs and her relationship with Rudy that was only hinted at.
So, we had all that to deal with.
We had where the ACs were going to go, and what they were going to become.
We had the fertility issue.
She was going to be terrifying.
She was going to be like Ian McShane inDeadwood.
It was the one thing missing in season one.
Tate had a lot that was wrong with him.
And she would have been really funny.
She was going to be an absolute, no-nonsense, kick-ass character.
And she was also going to play, by the end, a slightly heroic role.
So, we had a really good story mapped out.
And, I think, keeping some of the moral issues of the show.
And with the arrival of CT-10, there was an element of how this new species might look.
And I think: well you were sat there giggling about gypsy weddings, and you gaveusa hard time?
But a series 2 would still probably have been quite different from the first.
Thats something now well never see, which is sad both for me and lots of disappointed fans.
But even on episode one, as I keep reminding everybody, we had some decent reviews.
Of all the shows Ive worked on, I never expected vitriol on this one.
I could understand people saying its not their cup of tea.
But I didnt expect a hardcore who went completely ballistic.
It really does toughen you up, though, because I stopped caring about what they were saying.
And youre not supposed to answer back, but I nearly went after him.
I thought that was both insulting and completely untrue.
And you see as the episodes go on how untrue it is.
Then there was one particular commentator who used the phrases discount CGI and pestilent script.
And I think that was wrong on two levels.
Firstly, the CGI was far from discount.
That wasnt what really bothered me, though.
Sleepless nights and endless tiny adjustments.
And for it to be dismissed in such a breezy cavalier fashion, I found really shocking.
Thats when you might want to use the word pestilent.
And that did toughen me up.
It just made me shrug, in the end.
But some of the stuff that came from sections of the press, I was just surprised.
I could feel some of the antennae twitching.
I did feel a sense of that.
And so, I engaged with several of the sites and that really, really helped me.
These people are smart without being sycophantic and you’re free to talk to them.
That was a real pleasure.
But then a flashmob disperses.
And it did disperse, actually.
It got much better after that first week.
Well, Id also say that we have to expect it, because were well rewarded.
And Im really, really not a whinger.
I accept that criticism comes with the territory.
I think it definitely has an impact on your personal life.
Its eight weeks where it’s possible for you to be thrown into a tailspin by one comment.
But then one comment from leftfield can go like a poison dart into you.
And sometimes you do wonder, What I have I done thats so bad?
Why is it becoming so personal and vicious?
We didnt do any of that.
And it was a show that took itself seriously.
Now, whether it succeeded or not is a debate you’ve got the option to have.
But we were trying something different, something really ambitious.
I think thats perfectly reasonable.
There are a number of reasons you might not like the show.
You might not like sci-fi.
You might now like the kind of sci-fi we did, which I completely understand.
You might not like the slow pacing, although I mind it far less than some.
We tried to focus on the characters and relationships and issues that were involved in the premise.
And I can completely understand people not liking that, or it not being their cup of tea.
I think it was moving.
Was it a good episode one to introduce a new series?
There are criticisms I can completely understand.
It was possibly a mistake to start with characters with a lot of backstory.
There was a big backstory to Mitchell that nobody had seen.
We hoped to kick off with a lot of story.
The other point that was raised, particularly after the press launch, was the tone.
I would certainly go back to look at that.
So, I certainly dont privilege bleakness.
I would think that that person was critically at fault.
But I could understand them still having reservations.
And actually that was a common experience.
Most people who watched the whole thing found plenty to praise in it as well.
Including those who had had reservations about the early episodes.
And, without wishing to get all Mr Angry, what did people expect?
There are very few of my favourite shows where the first epsiode had me totally hooked.
This is a show that had an impact, and certainly did not end friendless!
Money we didnt have!
I think sometimes a 45 minute episode would have suited us better, in some cases.
And with episodes one and two, without a doubt, it should have been a 90 minute pilot.
Almost everyone I know who watched the show thinks the same thing.
You learn with hindsight.
The story of episode two would have belonged much better to episode one.
But they were often honourable mistakes.
I thought it was really interesting.
Obviously, with hindsight, we would do some things differently.
Itll be interesting to see when it goes out on BBC America.
The feedback we had from them was that they really like it.
Sci-fi has a tail, too.
An upside of the Internet age is that shows live on a lot more.
And I stand by the show one hundred percent.
Im proud of it, and I dont regret doing it.
Can we talk about the scheduling change that took place halfway through the series?
When the BBC movedOutcastsfrom 9pm on a Monday to late Sunday night?
I said, when we first spoke, that it was struggling in its timeslot, and it was.
It came as something of a relief from the pressure when we moved to Sunday nights.
And I was pleasantly surprised by our Sunday figures, which I thought were higher than I was expecting.
So, I could enjoy the second half of the series, and I was very confident about it.
I was confident in myself.
And I was pleased with the loyalty shown by many who had stuck with the show.
I think it raises a massive, massive general issue.
Obviously, they cant just bomb completely andOutcastsmight have been more at ease on another channel.
But then we have to ask how will we get the budgets we need to make such drama?
Because only a major channel has the money to make those kind of shows.
We couldnt have madeOutcastson a smaller budget.
It wouldnt have worked.
Maybe it would have fared better on another channel.
If it had got three million viewers on BBC2, it would have been a hit.
Im sure that the BBC will be asking the same questions.
If they talk about making bold, ambitious shows, what kind of shows will they be?
And what will be the lowest rating acceptable for that?
That didnt go unnoticed!
But I understand that ratings matter.
And I understood at the time why they took the decision they did.
Three million with catch-up and with AI rising steadily.
Because three million is not a small amount of people.
Thats what we have to look at.
What is the benchmark?
So, I just think the decision opened up so many questions.
I hoped that a hardcore would follow it, which they did.
Can you give a glimpse of how tight the time issue is when working on a show such asOutcasts?
The biggest issue was time, without a shadow of a doubt.
We only had the first episode ready whenOutcastswas greenlit.
We then were asked for delivery in not much more than a year.
And by delivery, you mean?
Episodes in the can.
So, we had to write seven episodes, shoot them and deliver them for the autumn of 2010.
They then decided to hold until the new year, so we had a bit more time.
Once you get the green light, you just go like a greyhound.
You spend so long waiting.
And its not like America.
Theres no writers room.
Its starting to go that way, but its very hard to do.
British writers dont work like that, the whole culture is different.
Torchwoodsort of did it?
More shows are doing it now.Skinshas one.
Its easier to get a writers room when youre up and running.
We had to get the scripts together.
We had to find another fucking planet!
We had other writers in mind.
We had a list and approached them quickly.
When you say incredibly short, how much time are you talking about?
And that story, I thought worked really well.
We had twenty-four days to shoot a block of two episodes.
And look at those episodes!
How complex they are in production terms.
It is, yeah.
Theres no rehearsal, either.
One of the things is that you dont have pick-up days.
If you get a scene wrong, and the director is under so much pressure, then thats it.
Its off the schedule.
If its in a location, particularly in a location, you cant go back there.
So, the time pressures on writing and shooting were enormous.
Ben Richards, thank you very much.
Outcasts is available on DVD now.
you’ve got the option to findall of our Outcasts coverage here.
