100 Words: It’s the people in the car chase

“It’s the characters who make it relatable…. If people can’t buy into the characters, then it just becomes a series of events. I always use the example of a car chase – if you don’t care about the people in the car then it means nothing. You only care about the outcome if you care about the people.” --Stephen Butchard, screenwriter (“The Last Kingdom” seasons 1-3). Incidentally, when Martha Hillier replaced Butchard for season 4, plotting suffered and Uhtred became impulsive rather than brilliant. Another factor: Netflix took over production from the BBC and Carnival Films (“Downton Abbey”) season 4.