> This is strange, in a way, since the series does not present an obviously alluring portrait of creative collaboration. Its principal locations are drab and unglamorous: a vast and featureless film studio, followed by a messy, windowless basement. The catering consists of flaccid toast, mugs of tea, biscuits and cigarettes. The participants, pale and scruffy, seem bored, tired, and unhappy much of the time. None of them seem to know why they are there, what they are working on, or whether they have anything worth working on. As we watch them hack away at the same songs over and over again, we can start to feel a little dispirited too.

Are you kidding me?? This is probably the most inspiring part of the whole show! This is how you create things. It's a long, "unglamorous" slog full of dead ends, muck & mire, and discovery. This is what gets an artist excited - the oeuvre in gestation, the birthing pains, the grim determination depsite not knowing whether you're pursuing genius or madness! Gets me fired up every time.

The completed creation is usually a bit of a downer, like when you finish a good book.