The mystery of ‘The Ministry of Time’: honor and reputation | Television

Just nine years after its premiere on TVE, The Ministry of Time is back in the news. It’s because the BBC (without which I doubt I would be a screenwriter, I owe them so much) launches a project with the same name and a similar synopsis to the one my brother Pablo and I created at the time. It happens when the series has not been broadcast for more than three years. Yet the networks burn. His followers (l ministerial) defend it with passion, as always. The media covers the news. And with exciting solidarity and unanimity, audiovisual and cultural professionals (including an icon like the Prado Museum) show their unconditional support.

How is it possible that a series that hasn’t been on air for three years is still newsworthy? I don’t have a clear answer: the series and its surroundings have surprised me since its premiere. In chapter two, a Ministry official encountered Alonso de Entrerríos cursing that he had to go to Atapuerca. Five minutes later, on social media, the Atapuerca Foundation invited us to visit the place. In chapter three, a subject matter expert taught me that we had pirated subtitles in Russian, Italian, Chinese, English… In chapter five, I get messages from erasmus Spaniards in Russia tell me that Irene Larra is an icon of the LGTB movement…

The National Library invites those who anticipate the season’s plots to document each chapter with images from its collections and tweet, as per ministerial plus, every chapter. The true image of Lorca, Lope de Vega or Velázquez is often that of those who play them in the series (Ángel Ruiz, Víctor Clavijo and Julián Villagrán).

Although it has never brought a linear audience, industry paradoxes, the series is trending topics (worldwide) each chapter and its name are used in newspaper reports, in a popular way.

The chapters are used in schools and institutes. They are also used in teaching Spanish to foreigners: a couple of years ago, at the University of Salamanca, the thesis “The application of subtitled audiovisual media in teaching Spanish to Chinese speakers: the case of The Ministry of Time”Its author, Lin Jia, kindly sent it to me.

Furthermore, recognition from the media and professionals has given us the chance to win almost every award possible, including a Platinum and two consecutive Waves. Even in a poll carried out (in 2017) critics chose us – these polls are usually not fair – as the best Spanish series in history.

How does a series that is not renewed and that many say has no audience achieve all this? How it’s plagiarized by NBC (Timeless) with screenwriters of the caliber of Kripke and Ryan? How does the BBC announce a series with the same name and premise? How is it there ministerial All over the world?

As you can see, the history of the series is a succession (almost always happy) of paradoxes and mysteries. Despite this, I believe that its creation is based on a series of concepts that I don’t want to be forgotten. The first is creative freedom: Pablo and I write The Ministry of Time like the series we wanted to see, even if we didn’t sell it. No flu. Without algorithms. And with the non-negotiable need of being showrunner Of the same. And TVE gave us complete freedom. Thus a pop series emerged that mixed fantasy with adventure… And with our History. Because as in Isabella, Vittorio Ros or, soon, inside Ena The idea is to talk about ourselves, our successes and our failures.

Believing that Philip II is as much history as Emilio Herrera. Lorca as Luis Aragonés. The hatless like Isabel. And respecting our elders: Jardiel, Chicho, Armiñán, Berlanga, Ibáñez… Believing that it is time to put an end to the question of the two Spains, because there are more. That being Spanish is a broader concept than an ideology and that we must be wary of ideologies that grant certificates of patriotism or goodness.

Timing is also an important factor. The Ministry of Time It was born when all of us who have been producing series for many years have been fighting for a change, fed up with exhausted formulas, with creators such as – among others – Ramón Campos, Álex Pina and then Los Javis…, who grew up at home with television always turned on. And we love her and will never despise her. We will never say that a series “is a longer film”.

Finally, respect for the spectator, which is the most intelligent thing (no matter what anyone says) in this sector. It happens that when you see stupid products you run away from the screen. We needed direct communication with him (with who else?). The Ministry of Time he was a pioneer in transmedia communication. In this way we managed to make each broadcast a celebration, which speaks of the need for quality free-to-air television, as happens in European fiction. And this entails the need for powerful public television.

And the party continues. Because, even if the series is not broadcast, behind it there is a community that does not forget the motto of Alonso de Entrerríos, key to the series: Honor and reputation.

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