In 2014 I read the Jimmy Connors autobiography and while it was an appallingly written book*, Jimmy and his milieu and the 70's and 80's time periods made for great reading. So, I thought it could make an exciting TV series. Start off with Connors, continue with Borg and McEnroe, and then all the great characters on the edges like Năstase and Vitas. This was years before the Borg vs McEnroe film, which with the exception of the McEnroe characterization, was a superb film. So, I ended up writing a pilot script called Courts of Babylon that dealt with Jimmy's childhood in the Midwest and his teenage years in L.A. under the tutelage of the charismatic Ecuadorian, Pancho Segura.
While researching this project I read a lot about Chris and her rivalry with Martina. And I started to reminisce about watching their matches as a kid down here in Australia. I also began reading all the books and articles and ultimately decided a story that focused on their rivalry and friendship would make a more dynamic and succinct narrative.
In 2018 I completed writing the Rivals pilot. I entered it into a few screenwriting competitions and then promptly moved on to other things. And for most aspiring screenwriters, that's the way it works. The script remains locked away and unseen. However, early this year I dug it out and had the idea of recording it as a radio play, or what these days is known as a serialized podcast. I obviously didn't have the money to make a TV show, but I could pay some voice actors to record the lines, then edit in some sound effects and music. And that's what I did.
All the voice actors were sourced from a freelance internet site and they were all fantastic! Each voice was recorded separately, and none of the actors have met any of their counterparts. Indeed, I've never spoken to any of the actors! So, the trick was to create a flow during editing and make it sound like all the actors were together within the same space.
Another challenge was to take a screenplay that's a blueprint for a visual medium and adapt it into something that would work as an auditory experience. There wasn't really a template for this. So, inevitably I made a lot of mistakes. But slowly I started to learn what worked and what didn't. And now that it's starting to build up an audience, it was definitely worth it. It's certainly an option that other aspiring screenwriters might like to consider.
Rivals is the definition of a passion project, and apart from help with the sound mix, I'm responsible for everything. So, that's why it takes so long to pump out the episodes. I'm intending to have Episode 3 out early next year. It's about Martina as a child during the Prague Spring and it's full of drama and tension. All future episodes would deal with our two adult rivals, their career ups and down, their relationships, and ultimately their mark on tennis and women's sport.
Similar to the film Rush (2013) about the rivalry between racing drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, the show will continuously alternate the rivals from a position of protagonist to antagonist. One episode you're desperate for Chrissie to win. In the next, you're cheering your lungs out for Martina. Blending their trailblazing and iconic careers with some jet-set melodrama and sexy seventies retro chic, will deliver episodes that will hopefully appeal to younger and older audiences alike.
Enjoy the show,
Tim Farrell
* Like almost all sporting biographies, The Outsider was authored by a ghost writer. However, if you want to read great tennis writing, check out the following authors: Chris Clarey, Richard Evans, Joel Drucker, Ben Rothenberg and the late David Foster Wallace.
To read about Chris and Martina, see this list.
