Vincent Saia, a podcast listener, gets us started:
If you and David Isaacs were to run a show and were allowed a staff of six writers - living or dead - who would those writers be?
An all-time dream team? Okay. But it’s hard to hold it down to just six. I would gladly take even one.
Larry Gelbart, Carl Reiner, Jim Brooks, Nat Hiken, Tina Fey, and Neil Simon.
For fun – let’s say I had to choose six writing teams, living or dead.
Glen Charles & Les Charles, Tom Patchett & Jay Tarses, Bill Persky & Sam Denoff, Garry Marshall & Jerry Belson, Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel, and Annie Levine & Jonathan Emerson.
Steve McLean wonders:
Since the streaming model is based on acquiring new subscribers, it seems like there's little incentive to continue a hit show for many seasons. Platforms are chasing new customers with the 'hot' new show. Do you think we've moved past the days 8, 9, 10 seasons for a successful series?
Basically yes.
Only broadcast networks will want to continue that model because their success revolves around ratings, and those are delivered by stacking their schedules with hit shows.
But who knows if there will even be broadcast networks as we know them in nine or ten years?
Kendall Rivers is up next.
You've mentioned Cheers as one of the best pilots ever made. What are your other 4 in your top 5?
THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, THE GOOD WIFE, FRASIER, THE COSBY SHOW.
(Don’t hate me for including THE COSBY SHOW. Separating the scumbag from the series, it’s a sensational television pilot. You’ll have to seek it out though since you’re sure not going to see THE COSBY SHOW on TV anytime soon.)
And finally, from Bob Uecker Is A National Treasure (which he is, by the way):
You wrote the post about how some dramatic stars were terrible comedic actors. Obviously part of that is timing -- when to wait a beat on a line, not stepping on another actor's laugh, etc. But is some of it that the dramatic actor is trying too hard to be funny? I've noticed that most great comedic actors (take David Hyde Pierce or Ted Danson) are playing the character seriously with very real motivations/flaws and the character becomes funny based on the situation. But the minute an actor tries to be funny, it absolutely flops. For most of the actors listed, do you think they could have been funny if they had some real coaching?
Actors press when they don’t have confidence — either in themselves or the material. So you can’t always blame the actor. The funniest actor in the world is going to be brought down by a bad script. And if you have a dramatic actor who’s not adept at comedy, the results are even worse.
Comedy is a lot like music. The good ones just feel the rhythm. It’s in their bones. Intuitively they know how to pause, when to pause, how big a reaction should be, how arch to deliver a line, etc.
Yes, these are techniques that can be taught to some degree, but if it’s not in your soul it will come off mechanical.
The ability to play comedy is a gift. And the ones who have it make it look so easy — and it is anything but.
What’s your Friday Question? And if you didn't check in last Wednesday, feel free to say hi today.
Stay safe. Wear a mask. Follow science. VOTE.
37 comments :
Dear Ken,
First of all, big fan of your work. Cheers and Frasier are two of my absolute favorite series of all time. Second, I was rewatching old episodes of the Simpsons, and noticed that you and David Isaacs had written an episode (I think it was the episode where Homer becomes the mascot for the baseball team or something). What was it like writing for the Simpsons, and how was writing for animation different than writing for a live action sitcom?
Friday question: I recently watched a interview with Allan Burns on Youtube where he said he almost turned down chance to co-create MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW because he did not want to work on a multi-cam sitcom again after the long hours he had to work as staff writer on HE AND SHE, until he was reminded as producer for MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW he would not need to work the same long hours as the staff writers. Is that a common attitude of producers or the exception?
Dear Ken,
First of all, big fan of your work. Cheers and Frasier are two of my favorite shows of all time. Second, I was rewatching an old episode of the Simpsons on Disney+, and noticed that you and David Isaacs had written that episode. (I think it was the episode where Homer becomes the mascot for the baseball team). My question is, What was it like writing for the Simpsons, and how was writing for animation different than writing for a live action sitcom?
THE COSBY SHOW is available on Amazon Prime.
The Cosby Show is still on Amazon Prime. So are the early-70s Bill Cosby Show and the 90s Cosby. So all of those shows are still really easy to find if someone is curious.
Hi Ken,
Two of your writing dream teams are featured and interviewed in this excellent article from 1965 on the state of the television writer.
https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Television-Magazine/Television-1965-May.pdf
FRIDAY QUESTION: From a technical/logistical standpoint, which is easier to shoot: film, video or high-definition video and what are the unique challenges of each?
Possible FQ, Maybe just a comment. Mildly surprised that you didn't comment on Bob Gibson or especially Jay Johnstone. Was curious if you ever crossed paths with Jay Johnstone during your announcing career.
No John Swartzwelder?
I'm a lurker, I missed checking in Wednesday, thanks for the second invitation! I love your work and I love your blog, I’ve been reading it daily for many years. I heard about it via Mark Evanier’s blog (I worked with Mark in the 80s on Garfield and Friends). I live in LA where I work for Disney, but I was born and raised in Kentucky (and, uh, I love LA). I myself had a blog for a while but ran out steam so I am in awe that you’ve kept it going, and so beautifully, bravo!! Thanks Ken for all the great, funny, interesting posts over the years, I salute you!
As I recall lots of the Cosby pilot was adapted from the BILL COSBY: HIMSELF stand-up special for HBO. So the material had probably been road-tested, revised, tested again, and so on for a very long time before it was turned into a pilot.
I remember that the Frasier pilot had a brutal argument between Frasier and Martin. The scene ended unresolved. Then the payoff came at the end of the episode, when Martin calls in to say "thank you." For a pilot I would think that's risky, but it worked. The actors were firing on all cylinders from the very beginning.
I've been watching Frasier reruns on Cozi TV, but it's painful. They have removed so much material to make room for junk commercials ("Were you abused in the Boy Scouts?") that it should be a federal crime.
Speaking of playing comedy, I was taken aback by how bad Chris Rock was in sketches during his hosting of SNL last saturday. There is a guy who knows timing and writes great comedy, but is horrible in a sketch. Cant take his eyes off the cue cards and looks like a 3rd grade kid with stage fright in school play. Same as when he was a cast member eons ago. I think he is only comfortable with his own material and stage.
My FQ is a folo:
If you *had* those six dream writers all in the same room... would they kill each other?
I assume that it's not an automatic skill of great comedy writers -- even room writers -- to always get along with their counterparts...
I think Leslie Nielsen is one of the best case studies of how trying too hard to be funny can hurt a comedic performance. In "Airplane!" and "Police Squad"/"Naked Gun" (particularly the series and first movie), he played the characters completely straight and the result was absolutely hilarious. In later years, as he started getting much weaker projects (like "Spy Hard") that didn't have as strong a script or director, he fell into the temptation to constantly mug for the camera and the result wasn't nearly as funny.
I disagree on The Cosby Show for the reasons Chris G gave above: The entire pilot was lifted almost 100% from a couple of the routines in the Bill Cosby: Himself special.
Great choices! Out of that group I'd say Frasier and The Cosby Show are in my all time favorite pilots. Also I personally think the pilots of Martin, Married with Children, The Bernie Mac Show, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Amen etc .The two I feel as a writer I learned the most in how to structure a pilot the best way were Everybody Loves Raymond and Cheers.
The two first episodes that really knocked me off my BarcaLounger were MTM and “Due South.”
Any comments on last night’s CONNECTING (other than the all-caps title, that is?)
I don't expect you to be willing (or perhaps legally able) to provide all the juicy details, but what led to your leaving MASH? I've watched the series through a dozen times and am taking my girlfriend through it at the moment--we're into Season 8, but I don't think I'd noticed until this binge how explicitly and prominently your name (and David's) was credited through most (or all?) of Season 7.
I'm watching M*A*S*H for the first time on MeTV. I noticed it skipped the season 1 episode "Dear Dad." Do you know why?
I know it's hard to winnow the best pilots down to only five, but I thought you might include "Bewitched." Personally, I'd vote for "Turn On" with Tim Conway. The first half of the first episode was so good, ABC decided they could never top it and just canceled the series after the first commercial break.
Friday question:
Do you think there are some shows that just only need to be a mini-series or just one season? (Loaded question, because I already know my answer). I mean, can shows be brilliant and then just run their course, and how do the people involved go about respectfully agreeing about that?
Thanks for answering my question, Ken.
I agree with you about "The Cosby Show."
It was a great pilot - loaded with laughs, many of them unexpected (the immortal "Theo, that's the dumbest thing I ever heard), gave us a solid idea of the characters and the dynamics - we knew what to expect from the series - and had promising young actors paired with the masterful adults (Phylicia Rashad was and still is an amazing actor).
Bill Cosby may indeed be a scumbag, but that doesn't change how good the series was. And btw what did Rashad, Malcolm Jamal-Warner, and the others do to deserve losing their residuals?
btw, Pat Reeder, have you considered going into comedy? Because if not, you really should. I'm still laughing from your post.
I never found The Cosby Show funny and it's nothing to do with him being exposed later as a serial rapist. I felt it was very simple, very gentle humor that lacked wit. I remember an episode where we were supposed to find it hilarious that the family were lip syncing to a song. Yeah, comedy gold.
Of course, that soft, lowbrow and anodyne humor now makes sense as part of the facade he hid behind. Much like evangelicals who preach family values while secretly abusing kids, or Michael Jackson singing about saving the world while inviting boys into his bedroom. The so-called wholesome types who make a point of letting everyone know how wholesome they are almost always turn out to be the biggest perverts.
I would argue that broadcast television is already dead as a creative platform. Of the 10 top shows this week, 6 are football, 3 are talent/dance shows and one is 60 Minutes.
That was a good one, Pat!
Syndication used to be one of the big factors in networks deciding whether or not to renew a show- at least it was back in the 60's when it was common for the network be the co-owner of the show. The magic number appears to have been 100 episodes. First 100 episodes total, then 100 episodes in color. The story goes CBS renewed Petticoat Junction for a 7th season just so they could have 100 episodes that were in color and featured the same three actresses playing the Bradley daughters. The syndicated rerun business has changed so much I don't know if its still a big factor.
I'm not making any predictions about the future of TV, but it's worth noting that around 1980 when the medium was in its early 30s, industry watchers started predicting the imminent demise of broadcast television starting with the death of one of the big three networks.
Forty years later, the slice of the pie is much smaller, but we have six networks and terrestrial superstations like MeTV are among the most profitable segments of the industry.
Agreed, Tudor Queen. I may despise Phil Spector for what he did to poor Lana Clarkson, but why then penalize acts like the Ronettes ("Be My Baby"), Crystals ("Uptown") or Paris Sisters ("I Love How You Love Me"), who made musical magic under his watch?
Today would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday. I seem to remember reading an entry where you write about an encounter you had with him during your radio days. I can’t seem to locate it in the archive.
You should have included the pilot for "Almost Perfect." I remember laughing throughout and thinking it didn't feel like a pilot. There were none of the awkward or forced moments you usually find in pilots. I loved season 1, but I'll never understand why Kevin Kilner's character was cut in season 2. I read somewhere it was because if she found Mr. Right her life would be perfect, and that would belie the title. I thought just the opposite was true: She found Mr. Right, had the great career, and her life still wasn't perfect, because life never is. There's always something, and the always-somethings are what the show would have been about. Is that the reason the character was cut? Thanks!
@Tudor Queen
Speaking of residuals, it was a big deal in New Jersey because the guy who played Elvin (the husband of the oldest daughter) was working at Trader Joe's. He was outed by one of the customers and his picture was put on the internet without his permission. In a rare moment of humanity, the internet took the side of Elvin and shamed the woman for invading his privacy.
Friday Question - 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.
I haven't seen it in years, but I remember the pilot for NEWSRADIO being bpth great and totally up-to-speed right out of the gate, no simple feat.
@Andrew It's much better to watch Frasier on CBS Access or the smarter and much longer lasting alternative is to buy the whole series on DVD. Frasier is definitely worth the money.
Baseball has suffered several huge losses in the last couple of months (Tom Seaver, Joe Morgan, Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, etc.). You had to have had dealings with many of these greats in your broadcasting days - what kind of memories do you have of them?
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