Mark Solomon asks:
Ken, I just watched on ME -TV an episode of “Wings” which you directed.
Given your extensive history as a writer primarily (including past episodes
of “Wings”), did you have the latitude during table reads and rehearsals to
suggest or even unilaterally execute script or dialogue revisions that other
episodic Directors-for-hire may not have been granted?
Sometimes yes and sometimes no. I would always ask the show runner before I started whether it was okay to throw in a joke or maybe change a joke. Some were very receptive; others wanted to see the script exactly as written. And by the way, that’s fine.
But I would always check first. And if the powers-that-be did give me latitude I would always give them a heads-up on any changes right before run-through so they weren’t caught off guard.
Also, I was never defensive. I'm there to serve the show runner. So if he didn't like any of my "improvements," out they came with no push-back from me.
However, on ALMOST PERFECT, where I also was a show runner, I’d change things left and right. I’d even move things around in a scene on occasion. But my co-show-runners were always fine with it since it saved us a lot of rewrite work later that night. Some script and joke problems were already solved.
But I would NEVER do that as a freelance director.
blogward wonders:
I've just (from Scotland) been catching up with the Bob Newhart Show - which was never networked in the UK. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED Frasier, best sitcom of its era, but to my eyes, the production similarities with early 'Newhart' are uncannny - even the credits font is the same as Cheers (Cooper Black!).
As for a stuffy, middle-aged, balding psychologist conducting one-handed consultations on the phone - he's kind of Niles Crane crossed with Dick Van Dyke!
How much do you think that Frasier - and maybe its getting greenlit - initially owed to Bob Newhart? I'm not making accusations of plagiarism, it just never occurred to me that the Frasier style is part of what seems to be a (glorious) US sitcom tradition.
I can’t speak for the creators other than to say to my knowledge THE BOB NEWHART SHOW had no influence on the creation of FRASIER. First off, Frasier was already established as a psychiatrist on CHEERS. On FRASIER he doesn’t even have a private practice. And the other characters and show dynamics are completely different. Bob Hartley is married, Frasier is not. Frasier lives with his father, Bob does not. Bob does not have a brother. There’s no nutty “Howard” neighbor on FRASIER.
I love THE BOB NEWHART SHOW. But I’m pretty certain it was not the inspiration for what became the premise of FRASIER.
From Vincent Saia:
Ever get a freebee from a sponsor?
No. Never did, which is too bad because Chevrolet sponsored MASH.
And finally, from Dan in Coquitlam:
Of the many guest star appearances on your TV shows, who made such an impression that you (or the show) wanted to bring back but for whatever reason never re-appeared?
Oh, that’s an easy one. John Cleese on CHEERS. He was absolutely hilarious. We wanted to bring him back and even had a script assigned, but there proved to be a conflict in his schedule and he wasn’t able to do it. We had to scramble and change the script.
See that episode if you haven’t already. It’s one of my absolute favorites. Written by Peter Casey & David Lee.
What’s your Friday Question? Happy Lincoln’s birthday and (Sunday) Valentine’s Day.
35 comments :
I think what the writer from Scotland is noting is that both BOB NEWHART and FRASIER had premises where you could bring in lots of people for the lead to bounce off of - patients for Newhart, callers for Frasier. NEWHART did something similar with the inn -- the reason for the inn setting was so Bob Newhart would have new folks to play straight man to every episode. NIGHT COURT had a similar deal with the defendants cycling through each week.
The sad irony is that if Lincoln was alive today, Republicans would call him a "soyboy," one of their favorite insults they like to use against any man who isn't a far right violent misogynist.
On a lighter note, Ken, you've gotta check out Resident Alien. It's hilarious.
Being originally from the UK I always thought it odd that The Bob Newhart show was never shown in the UK, considering how popular he always was and is there, although 'Newhart' certainly was shown in the 80's on Channel 4 and was very popular.
Having been president during the Civil War, Lincoln would be happy to see the hope that the new administration is providing. He would also be happy, having slavery during his lifetime, a woman of color as VP.
M. Brannigan: Do you mean to say that there were viewers in the UK who saw the Newhart finale without having seen or heard of The Bob Newhart Show? How odd that must have been.
Just to be an asshole on Lincoln's birthday:
Is it "show runner" (two words), show-runner" (hyphenated), or "showrunner" (one word)? I've seen it here rendered multiple ways.
I know, ask a stupid question...
---FRIDAY QUESTION---
I noticed David Ogden Stiers did three episodes in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" final season (as station manager) around the same time he was brought onto MASH. Was he doing both shows at the same time? Or was it a matter of MTM ending in the spring and then joining MASH in the summer/fall? If it's the latter, was he on the radar for MASH because of his appearance in MTM?
I wondered if you had any comments or stories about photos used on shows. Not the ones hanging on the wall, but the ones that are part of the story. Are they stock photos from agencies or are they photos of actors, who are then paid as if they were an extra. Or something like that?
Ever used a photo of an old friend, or family member, in an episode?
The Cleese episode is the funniest ever on Cheers, IMO
John Cleese won an Emmy for that episode, and it was deserved, but it's frustrating to me that he won for a guest spot before Ted Danson ever won for his work on the show!
Well, I would have certainly enjoyed hearing Mr. Carlin call in to Frasier's radio show. Jack Riley was a hoot.
How does it affect an actor to be the punchline character in a show? I'm thinking Cliff in Cheers, and of course, Screech in Saved By the Bell.
The comment on Frasier not having a private practice when he was on Cheers made me wonder what he actually did. Didn’t he see Diane as a patient at first? Anyone out there know? This is now bugging the crap out of me.
Frasier didn't have a private practice on FRASIER. He was a radio talk-show host. He did have a private practice on CHEERS.
I think Ken missed the point of blogward's question, or at least part of it. The point is that Fraiser was an established character, at least as far as his creation in the fall of 1984 is concerned. The main question centers on how much the Bob Hartley character on THE BOB NEWHART SHOW influenced the creation of the character.
With that being said, there is no doubt that FRAISER's premise would be similar to the character given that one can't assume that Fraiser the character can't move to Seattle to become a firefighter overnight.
If you think about it, FRASIER was NBC's second comedy about a recently divorced dad who moved to the Pacific Northwest to host a radio advice show with a sarcastic female producer -- and which was part of a shared universe with another popular sitcom.
But I doubt anyone would think FRASIER owes a single thing to HELLO, LARRY!
Frasier the series was organically developed from how Frasier the character worked well on Cheers, so the series had to start from there. It was the opposite of The Bob Newhart Show, which was a matter of taking Newhart's renown for reaction and finding a career and supporting characters to maximize it.
The challenge with Frasier wasn't so much avoiding duplication of The Bob Newhart Show (or given the call-in radio concept, WKRP or *gasp* Hello Larry), it was to round out who Frasier was beyond his support function on Cheers, which is always the challenge with a spinoff.
What astonishes me about the Frasier series is how little its core cast and premise really changed during its run while maintaining its quality and freshness, compared to other long-running shows that modified the players, setting or situation either by creative choice, interference or circumstance.
Friday question: Commercials. As someone who has written for movies and stage as well as TV, do you find it difficult to remember to break down scripts into ten-minute segments because of the ads? Or does it help you to structure the show? Did you ever wish you were writing for the BBC without commercials and even the freedom to run over a few minutes (as FAWLTY TOWERS sometimes did)?
My Friday question has two parts, if you don't mind.
1) On a show like Cheers, the cold open often had nothing to do with the actual episode. One that comes to mind is Cliff (?) getting a parking ticket on his mail truck. Norm walks down the sidewalk and removes the ticket, only for the meter maid to give Cliff another one. Was that simply a scene written on the fly to fill time, or was the entire episode written with that gag included?
2) How was it determined whether an episode got a cold open, shorter intro, or closing credits scene? Was that also just something to fill time when an episode ran short? Seinfeld's later intros seemed to alternate between a Jerry monologue and the scene running over the credits.
Thank you!
If Lincoln were alive now, I imagine him reacting like Dustin Hoffman's character in WAG THE DOG. "*This* is nothing..."
wg
On the Who Sell Out, there's a tune called Jaguar, which they put on there in the hopes that it would earn the band members automobiles. Didn't work though.
If Lincoln were alive today, he'd be like, do I put in twitter "4-score and 7 years" or "Four score and seven years ago"
Has anyone seen my hat?
Friday question: My mom and I were recently watching an episode of "Wings" that had Peter Tork of the Monkees as a guest star. That's one of my mom's favorite episodes, as she's a big fan of the group, and so on her behalf, I'm curious whose idea it was to bring him on the show? Was there someone on staff who was a fan, or was it just a fun one-off idea, or what?
@Matt
Speaking of David Ogden Stiers, I always felt that Frasier Crane was the spiritual descendant of Charles Emerson Winchester. That's why Stiers' casting as Frasier & Niles' potential father was so inspired.
Thanks for answering another one of my questions, Ken.
Speaking of freebies, I grew up with Earl Hamner's kids. Chevrolet sponsored The Waltons and Earl had a succession of Corvettes "provided" by the network. My mom's cousin was Nat Hiken who created the Phil Silvers [Bilko] Show. He must have made a joke involving the name Lionel, because he received an elaborate set of electric trains from the company. My grandparents were visiting Nat and his daughters were not interested in the model railroad. When they were leaving, Nat packed all of it up and had them bring it back to L.A. for me. I still have and enjoy them over 55 years later.
Unknown's comment about Lincoln and Twitter reminds me of this 2010 gag Dan Piraro and I did for his King Features panel, Bizarro...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BxxDBcxz-gKkpuoolFbLyBkpQyWJZodZ/view?usp=sharing
Friday Question: Carla was often pregnant in “Cheers”, and I know during season 3 it was because Perlman herself was pregnant (as was Shelley Long, though hers was concealed). Were any of Carla’s other pregnancies incorporated to accommodate Perlman’s real-life condition, or were some of them purely for story purposes and she wore padding?
@gottacook - Yes, absolutely it was odd - Me and my family had no idea why Suzanne Pleshette was there, but I guess the joke still worked to a certain extent, it just added another level of bizarreness to a bizarre finale!
Yes, CHEERS credits use the font Cooper Black (or something very similar). FRASIER... does not. I don’t know what it is but it ain’t Cooper Black. I just checked some clips on YouTube to prove to myself I’m not imagining things (and also to prove I have no life). And that is my 2 cents on this critically important matter.
[Ken, please delete my previous comment which contains an egregious typo]
Yes, THE BOB NEWHART SHOW credits used Cooper Black font. But FRASIER did not. Not similar at all. I checked some YouTube clips to prove I’m not imagining things (and to prove I have no life). And that is my 2 cents on this critically important matter.
You would also have to have been familiar with the series Dallas and Bobby's shower scene to fully get the joke...
Re: Cooper Black - I was thinking of Taxi. Or M*A*S*H!
And thanks so much, Ken. Happy belated birthday!
I'm curious as to whether or not you've seen The Kominsky Method, and if so, what do you think of it?
---Keith R.A. DeCandido
A Friday Question of speculative interest:
In "The Comedy Litmus Test" (10FEB) you wrote:
Recently, I’ve been asked to assess short plays for several theatre festivals.
Do you ever read something that strikes you as potentially brilliant - but "needs work"?
And if so, would this ever inspire you to collaborate with the writer?
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