Bob Paris starts us off:
There are a few examples where an actor appears on two series at the same time. In the case of Richard Deacon, he was on the Dick Van Dyke Show and Leave It To Beaver when their production overlapped for three seasons. Why would a producer cast an actor already working on a show and open themselves up to scheduling issues where the actor may be unavailable due to being needed on the other show?
Certain actors are just in demand. I suppose Carl Reiner figured Richard Deacon was the perfect man for the role. And his part on LEAVE IT TO BEAVER was sporadic at best. Maybe they would use him three times a year. So he probably wasn’t under contract.
My guess is he signed as a recurring regular on THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW and Carl graciously worked around his schedule so Deacon could continue to appear a few times a season on LEAVE IT TO BEAVER.
I may be wrong, but when Lisa Kudrow was first on FRIENDS, wasn’t she also on MAD ABOUT YOU?
Today, if an actor is already on a show you can hire him in “second position.” That means if he’s not needed for the show he’s on, he can do the other thing. But if there’s a conflict, the original show is in “first position.”
JS has another LEAVE IT TO BEAVER related question. What are the odds?
How do you choose a director of photography - if that is even what the title is? My kid likes "Leave it to Beaver". We've been watching it on Peacock. The black and white photography is very good, especially for the time.
It’s the show runner’s call, but usually he leaves it up to the line producer. Line producers assemble the crew. However, if the show runner has used a certain DP before or has been notably impressed by his work on other things he may make that call.
This gives me a moment to send props to DP’s of multi-camera shows. On single-camera shows (shot like a movie) you can light for each angle and film the scene multiple times from multiple angles. On multi-camera shows, they’re little plays shot in front of a studio audience. So the set has to be lit only once and accommodate for actors moving all about. It’s tricky, but the good ones make the sets look rich while showing off the actors in the most flattering light. And they never get credit.
From purplepenquin:
Who picks the "clips" for a clip-show? Do the writers write a story & then search through old episodes for scenes that would fit in with it, or are they told to use specific clips & then the writers have to find a way to tie 'em all together?
The show runner and writers generally select the clips, which, trust me, is a GIANT pain-in-the-ass. We did it for the MASH clip show and had to spend many long nights watching and selecting, and paring down clips — all coming after our regular ten hour work days.
As for the format, that’s up to the individual show, and it’s a chicken vs egg thing. Some shows come up with a framework for the premise — someone gets out an old scrapbook, or it’s a going away party — and other times the clips are selected first and then they decide how they’re going to frame them.
Here’s what I love about clip shows, though — residuals. We get royalties on every clip used from shows we wrote. Having written 40 CHEERS episodes, we made a bundle on that clip show. We did okay with MASH too.
Clip shows will become a thing of the past as fewer series will go a hundred episodes. Streaming services are quite content with 30 total. That makes for a very short clip show.
And finally, from Terry:
On the M*A*S*H forum over on reddit, there was some discussion going on as to the color of Hawkeye's robe (hey, we're all bored and spending a lot more time at home these days - give us a break!) In one episode when he is making out his will, he leaves it to Charles because "Purple is the color of royalty." That thing looked anything but purple to me on screen. It always seemed to be more of a dark maroon or at most burgundy. Was that because of lighting, the film used, or what? Thanks, Ken!
You can adjust the color and tint on your TV so no two sets may look exactly alike. Also, the network transmission. Back in the day when CBS fired aired MASH, there was a very slight red tint to the transmission. The show never looked as good as the 35 mm film that was sent to them. The DVD’s look better.
But to answer your question, in person the robe was more of a burgundy color.
What’s your Friday Question? And please VOTE.
50 comments :
I remember hearing an interview with Jeff Garlin where he mentioned he was in first position for THE GOLDBERGS while still appearing on CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM. The CURB schedule was flexible enough that he could do both.
Not only did the time of Friends and Mad About You overlap, Phoebe's twin sister Ursula showed up on Friends and Kudrow also played a one-off character named "Karen" in MAY.
Confused? You won't be when you wa...
Sorry.
Ken,
Good memory! Yes, Lisa Kudrow was on FRIENDS and MAD ABOUT YOU concurrently.
In fact the producers of FRIENDS came up with a whole reason why you would see her on the two different series.
Her character Phoebe on FRIENDS was twin sisters with Ursula, her character on MAD ABOUT YOU.
And during the run, Ursula would occasionally pop up on FRIENDS.
You're right about Lisa Kudrow; she did Friends and Mad About You at the same time. She did cut back her involvement on the latter show, however; she appeared as Ursula in 12 episodes the year before Friends premiered (she had done one the year before that as a different character), and did five Mad About You episodes the first year Friends was on, but only five more total after that (including the finale, when the epilogue revealed she'd been elected governor of New York).
From Warren Littlefield's oral history of 1990s NBC programming, Top of the Rock:
LISA KUDROW: And then once I knew that I was going to the network—and that’s when you work out the deal—that’s when I was like, “Thank God it’s on NBC. Pilots work and don’t work, but we have to protect Mad About You, please.” That was the only thing I cared about, so that I could still do that show. I thought since it was on the same network maybe it wouldn’t be a problem.
DAVID CRANE: When we got our time slot, we were following Mad About You. It was weird, so that’s when we said, “What if Phoebe and Ursula [Kudrow’s Mad About You character] were sisters?” We called Danny Jacobson [a co-creator and executive producer of Mad About You], and he said, “O.K.” I’m not sure I would have.
FRIDAY QUESTION: Back in 1978 a TV Movie musical called "Cindy", a Black re-telling(well, the movie says rip-off!) of Cinderella aired. It featured a great cast, Charlaine Woodard, Nell Carter, Alaina Reed and Clifton Davis and it was written by no less than James L. Brooks, Ed. Weinberger, Stan Daniels and David Davis.
Sadly, it has never been reissued on DVD. If they have the time or you, could you ask any of them how this project came to be?
Ken--you're clearly a fan of "Jeopardy!". My question for you is: what would be your six dream categories--your "Clavins", if you will--if you ever made it up to the lectern? And what would be your six nightmare categories? (And you have to stick to "real" categories--no fair listing "The 1991 Baltimore Orioles" or "Little Known Facts About 'Big Wave Dave's'".)
What color was Sam's hair?
The second episode of Clerks: The Animated Series was a clip show. IMDB: Dante and Randal get locked in the freezer of the Quick Stop. There, they look back on their lives, primarily in clips from the same and previous episode.
P.S. I forgot to mention "Cindy" is absolutely wonderful!
For Directors of Photography, you couldn't go far wrong with the choice for "I Love Lucy". Karl Freund's credits included "Dracula", "The Mummy" and "Mad Love".
How did everyone overlook what to me is the most obvious example of multiple casting? While I enjoyed the wonderful Wayne Knight as curmudgeonly postman Newman on "Seinfeld," to my mother he was the sheriff on "3rd Rock From The Sun." My mom rarely watched sitcoms, but somehow adored that one. (Knight and Kristen Johnston teamed up again for "The Exes" on TV Land, and I'd love to see him in a guest role on "Mom.")
As a little kid watching “Green Acres” and “Petticoat Junction,” I used to think that Frank Cady as Sam Drucker must’ve been the richest man in show business. He’d even appear sometimes on “Beverly Hillbillies” (that Hooverville connection was insane). Of course, I’ll bet be didn’t make more than $500 a show back in the mid-60’s.
As a little kid watching “Green Acres” and “Petticoat Junction,” I used to think that Frank Cady as Sam Drucker must’ve been the richest man in show business. He’d even appear sometimes on “Beverly Hillbillies” (that Hooverville connection was insane). Of course, I’ll bet be didn’t make more than $500 a show back in the mid-60’s.
Revue/Universal back in the late 1950s and early 60s was such a busy place that it's directors of photography simply rotated from show to show on an 'as needed' basis. So someone in 1958 doing "Leave It to Beaver" today might be doing "M Squad" later in the week, and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" or "The Jack Benny Program" next week.
(Meanwhile, this isn't a question, but something you might be interested in -- a 1998 air check of your K-Earth morning drive man, Dan Ingram. Apparently, he went out to Los Angeles and did an audition for the morning drive spot on KRTH after Robert W. Morgan died, but didn't get the job.)
Richard Deacon also had a starring role in an episode of The Twilight Zone, "The Brain Center at Whipple's," at the time - originally airing on May 15, 1964.
I'll never understand how reddit has somehow become a legitimate social media platform, when it has always been something of a troll playground.
J Lee,
Not only was I aware of this, I was in the studio during this aircheck. KRTH had on-air tryouts for the morning show. But truthfully, I don't think they ever seriously considered Dan. He was given no prep on the format, when to play jingles, etc. So to me that's not giving him a fair shake. I've always resented PD Mike Phillips for that. He set him up to fail. And thus, we in LA were denied the opportunity to hear the greatest Top 40 DJ of all-time on a daily basis.
Lisa Nicole Carson was on ER and Ally McBeal when both were among the top 10 shows on network TV.
I didn't watch the debate, I just watched the analysis.
Robert Picardo, now best known for STAR TREK: VOYAGER, earlier played both Dr. Dick Richards on CHINA BEACH and Coach Cutlip on THE WONDER YEARS at the same time. Great character names for both!
Folks, the grand prize winner is Miguel Ferrer, who in the 1990-91 season was on THREE shows simultaneously: TWIN PEAKS, SHANNON'S DEAL and BROKEN BADGES. He also squeezed in a couple of films and TV-movies during that time. And just before his death in 2017, he essentially did it again with the TWIN PEAKS revival, NCIS: LOS ANGELES and voicing the cartoon STRETCH ARMSTRONG.
Did you hear the good news that Sarah Cooper’s special is coming out? Also did you hear the bad news that Maya Rudolph is on it and executive producing it?
IMO, the greatest clip show ever was Community. It was filled with clips from episodes that never existed! My son and I were watching, and when it hit us, we both lost it.
@Dan Sachs
When ABC aired the Clerks cartoon, they aired them out of order. Therefore, the jokes in the flashback episode didn't make sense because the episode they were flashing back to never aired! They showed episodes 4 and 2 and that's it!
Christine Baranski was on THE GOOD WIFE and (occasionally) THE BIG BANG THEORY at the same time.
I finally got round to listening to your two-part interview with Michael Uslan. It was terrific. Bob Kane was pretty lousy for what he did. I agree totally with your comments on Snyder's Superman. I liked your joke about Kilmer. I'd also add Clooney and Affleck. I'm biased though, as my favorite Batman will always be Keaton.
You mentioned that you wrote and drew your own comic when you were a kid and that you still have them. Any chance you could post some screenshots for us to see?! I bet it had hints of the acerbic and witty humor you'd write as an adult.
It seemed like Alison Brie's appearances in "Mad Men" went from semi-regular to occasional guest after "Community" began, but it's good they worked it out so she could be on both shows.
BETTY GARRETT was on both ALL IN THE FAMILY and LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY simultaneously.
I hope you'll be reviewing the new Borat film!
Robert Reed was on both The Brady Bunch and Mannix at the same time, and The Brady Bunch set was frequently used on Mannix.
My Friday question is: I read somewhere that a bunch of MASH episodes from a few of the later seasons were not stored well and the master prints turned geeenish and couldn’t be used for the DVDs. They had to use the syndicated prints, and as a result, some material that had been cut for syndication isn’t on the DVD/streaming versions. I can’t find now where I read that. Do you know if it’s true?
I think I recall a specific missing scene or partial scene in one episode I originally saw in its first run on CBS: in the episode “War of Nerves” BJ throws Charles’s cot onto the bonfire and BJ comments that the cot has “no intrinsic value” (that’s not the missing scene; it IS on the DVD). But if I recall correctly, that “Intrinsic” line is a callback to earlier in the episode when Charles tells BJ that something else has no intrinsic value. But there is no such line on the DVDs. Was there something cut from the episode and not on the DVD nor streaming? Or did I hallucinate it?
The eighth-aired episode of DIFF'RENT STROKES was an hour-long retrospective (and a Christmas show!) celebrating the boys' first 56 days (?) in the apartment.
Do any established (not in danger of cancellation) TV series film a few extra scenes to serve as coverage in case a cast member becomes unavailable or has to be written out of the series? I am thinking of THE SOPRANOS, and how the parting image of deceased cast member Nancy Marchand was a bad CGI instead of a serviceable exit scene.
Ken,from what I heard Charlie Van Dyke was already chosen to be morning man and the auditions were just a programming stunt. In 1998 Ingram was doing weekends at CBS FM and with a good voiceover career was quite content. Ingram did KRTH week for fun.
To Ron Fassler:
If Frank Cady were rich, he wouldn't have been living in that crappy little apartment in "Rear Window" and sleeping on the balcony with his wife because they couldn't afford an air conditioner.
Kelsey Grammer was on the last show of Carols Second Act. He was the ex of Patricia Heaton's character. I am not sure if he was going to be a regular character or on just once in a while.
I was a grade school aged kid growing up in Chicago in the 1960's. WGN Channel 9 ruled the airwaves with children's shows aimed at my demographic.
A very talented gentleman named Ray Rayner did a morning show that appealed to both kids and adults. News, weather, sports, crafts, animals, skits, cartoons, monologue and lots of stuff. It aired from 7am-8am weekdays. Live.
At 12 noon, Ray played circus clown Oliver O. Oliver on WGN's legendary version of "Bozo's Circus". It was a one hour show. Live.
At 3:30 or 4pm, Ray did 2 different shows over time; one where he played an astronaut and showed "Space Angel" cartoons. Another where he played a police sargent and showed "Dick Tracy" cartoons. Both these shows were done live.
Ray Rayner not only appeared in 3 popular(in Chicago)shows at the same time, but he did each show 5 days week, live!
From Ray Rayner Wikipedia page
“During 2 1⁄2 years as a POW in Stalag Luft III, he helped prepare the escape depicted
in the film The Great Escape—though he was transferred to another camp before the escape took place.”
A list of those with 2 or more simultaneously-running TV series is lengthier than one might guess,
including Arthur Godfrey Alison Brie Steve Allen Joel McHale Hugh Downs Bea Benaderet Regis Philbin...
The practice - MUCH more prevalent - began, of course, with radio, where audiences were often
unaware of the ubiquity of their favorite performers. Famously, Phil Harris played one version
of himself on the Benny Show, then- mid-episodes - would rush down the street to perform as a slightly
different Phil Harris on his sitcom with his wife, Alice. Walter Tetley played Julius on that same
Harris-Faye series, while - as Leroy!!!! -,he was weekly, at the same, bedeviling Hal Peary or Willard Waterman on the Great Gildersleeve...
Paul F Tompkins - at least this week - has four simultaneous unscripted podcast series
Threedom; Stay At Homekins; The Neighborhood Listen; and Star Trek:The Pod Directive
I just remembered that during "Laugh-In"s first season, Larry Hovis was a regular there while still playing Carter on "Hogan's Heroes". After that show was cancelled, Larry returned to "LI" for a season taking Richard Dawson with him...
Richard Anderson was one actor (if not the first) to play the same character on all three networks, as Oscar Goldman on The Six Million Dollar Man on ABC, The Bionic Woman on ABC and NBC and a reunion movie on CBS.
Two part Friday Question:
1. As you may already know there were two streaming reunions of Frasier and Everybody Loves Raymond two shows which you were involved which I thought was funny and was wondering what you thought about them if you've seen them.
2. If there is ever a Wings table read reunion of favorite scenes ala Raymond what would be your choices of scenes to see them perform?
Another reason for the death of clip shows: There's no need for them anymore.
TV episodes used to be ephemeral things, something you could watch once (or a second time when it was repeated) and then never again, unless the show was somehow popular enough to be syndicated (which was extremely unlikely). So, clip shows gave us another chance to see (at least in part) some past episodes that we would never have another chance to see (at least as far as we knew back then).
But now... you can watch anything you want, anytime you want, anywhere you want. If I want to revisit past episodes, I can watch the entire season. I don't have to be content with a 3 minute segment... and if I want just that three minute segment, I can probably find it on YouTube.
Each actor on Cheers had their own 'picture' in the opening credits. Who chose the pictures for the corresponding actor and what would yours be?
Greg Ehrbar and Mike Schlesinger
John Forsythe — two Hitchcock films, one Cary Grant, and Jewish, who knew! —
1. For a short time had 2 simultaneous series: Charlie’s Angels and Dynasty
2. Starred as the peripatetic Bachelor Father on ABC CBS and NBC
Frankie Thomas — possibly, by using an intergalactic scooter —
was able to explore four planets as Tom Corbett, Space Cadet —
ABC NBC CBS, and DUMONT
Here are some of the different calls of the end of Game 4 of the World Series - https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1320228109535367168?fbclid=IwAR0zHlBw1xMdclTpk7V0e3L66KpckiCSLe00g_BlX1F6WReowyTJT9AW_Mw
I know it's hard to recreate a moment, knowing how it ends, but do you have any thoughts on how you would have called the play? Where would you have been focusing? What might have you missed in the chaos?
Sanford: Yes, the plan was that Grammer would become a regular on CAROL's second season, reuniting with Heaton. But CBS didn't care and stupidly cancelled it anyway.
Hi Ken
I realise this had nothing to do with you, but I suppose I'm asking you to speculate: when Wayne Rogers left M*A*S*H in 1974, why did Larry Gelbart & Gene Reynolds create a brand new character rather than have the new guy be Duke Forrest (the third main surgeon in the movie--played by Tom Skerritt-- who they dropped for the series because two leads were enough).
Thanks.
FRIDAY QUESTION: I noticed that the song “Isn’t It Romantic” occasionally was played, sung and hummed in “Cheers”, “Frasier” and “Wings.” Was this a favorite tune of the priducers?
Friday Question - I have never watched a "Scream" movie until a few days ago it aired, on I think, CBS.
I was amazed at how much sex and gore they aired for network Television.
Do you think, to keep up with streaming and cable, they are going to loosen the standards.
It was good for network TV. I was amazed how much got aired.
Nichole Bloom played very different characters simultaneously on Shameless and Superstore for a while. Still on Superstore, if it ever comes back.
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