tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post1654345868893036278..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: I had a bizarre dream last nightBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19470668248801975632010-08-16T07:35:56.371-07:002010-08-16T07:35:56.371-07:00You mean Joyce Bulifant was...a beard?You mean Joyce Bulifant was.<i>..a beard?</i>VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-38499579547700410232010-08-11T09:30:45.923-07:002010-08-11T09:30:45.923-07:00Murray came out, then went to work on a cruise shi...Murray came out, then went to work on a cruise ship. That would be perfect. <br /><br />When you dream about Death Race, is Don Steele in it?Bob Summersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-9809339399942472582010-08-11T09:19:50.748-07:002010-08-11T09:19:50.748-07:00It's the same way in news (my field), too. Nob...It's the same way in news (my field), too. Nobody "writes silence" anymore. No time.Michael Hagertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10854329436921975104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-48005929238924997742010-08-11T07:48:20.965-07:002010-08-11T07:48:20.965-07:00All in the Family & Maude are prime examples o...<i>All in the Family & Maude are prime examples of the leisurely comedy approach from the 70s.</i><br /><br />I catch reruns of AITF, and they do those silent dinner table scenes, or Archie stalking a fly through the kitchen, only two or three minutes, tops, but you can't imagine wordless comedy on TV today, can you? But it seems to me David Hyde Pierce had a couple of long, wordless scenes on Frasier. Can't remember the details, though.Jim, Cheers Fannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82568959553691252042010-08-11T01:26:36.631-07:002010-08-11T01:26:36.631-07:00>>>Comedies today have to cater to the &q...>>>Comedies today have to cater to the "short attention span" viewer.<<<<br /><br />Ah, yes, for those days of the sophisticated and complex plots of "I Love Lucy."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65516330543573648642010-08-11T00:16:19.262-07:002010-08-11T00:16:19.262-07:00The fast speed-cuts and uptempo can be numbing and...The fast speed-cuts and uptempo can be numbing and work to avoid developing set-ups and characters while substituting 3-second shots of grimacing figures, hip pop references and mash everything into one sonic/visual consistency. But there were shows like "Malcolm in the Middle" which introduced that new uptempo speed in a way while also developing plot and character. <br /><br />I've always championed the better tv cartoons for their ability to do this all while being well-written and funny too. Today's "Penguins of Madagascar" has at least seven full, well-developed characters on their "set" at any time, better written and also funnier than most of the sitcoms today. The same could have been said about the PowerPuff Girls from an earlier decade. Script was there, character was there and speed was there. Usually 11 minutes. <br /><br />That would be a good tv channel re- imagine these "great" sitcoms today in the timespan of a cartoon, around 11 minutes. It's VERY doable.A_Homernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-72637144754888189732010-08-10T23:21:58.772-07:002010-08-10T23:21:58.772-07:00Glad it was a bizarre dream you were describing, i...Glad it was a bizarre dream you were describing, if it had been a wet one I would have been outta here!YEKIMIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01921751875397071034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59521230232503445562010-08-10T21:50:13.862-07:002010-08-10T21:50:13.862-07:00All in the Family & Maude are prime examples o...All in the Family & Maude are prime examples of the leisurely comedy approach from the 70s. And Damn Fine, too!. I think that this approach to the Sitcom is why Modern Family is a hit today.J S Swansonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-67414434859322132010-08-10T21:07:42.962-07:002010-08-10T21:07:42.962-07:00Wasn't Everybody Loves Raymond sort of a delib...Wasn't <i>Everybody Loves Raymond</i> sort of a deliberate throwback to that earlier type of pacing? Phil Rosenthal banned "B" stories from most episodes, and returned to the old system where you have a small story and if characters aren't directly involved in the story, they comment on it. It was his rebellion against the multiple plots that <i>Seinfeld</i> and other shows were using.<br /><br />I think both systems (the single-plot MTM show and the multiple-plot <i>M*A*S*H</i>-type episode) can work, but I find it weird that comedies got more heavily plotted as the running times got shorter and shorter. <i>Mary Tyler Moore</i> or <i>Taxi</i> had minimal plot with 24-5 minutes of running time; <i>30 Rock</i> has 97 plots per episode with 21 minutes. You'd think it would be the other way around.Jaime J. Weinmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15128500411119962998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-83842482963011530422010-08-10T20:47:25.643-07:002010-08-10T20:47:25.643-07:00Katherine Heigl wanted me to ask, in your dream, w...Katherine Heigl wanted me to ask, in your dream, was she good?A. Buck Shortnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59167108652779889972010-08-10T18:31:39.042-07:002010-08-10T18:31:39.042-07:00Schtupping Captain Stubing? Ach!Schtupping Captain Stubing? Ach!Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71744971478868825852010-08-10T18:09:40.310-07:002010-08-10T18:09:40.310-07:00lou knew because lou was shtupping murray.lou knew because lou was shtupping murray.normadesmondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17325110017442011627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-84326624142742819882010-08-10T17:33:22.208-07:002010-08-10T17:33:22.208-07:00Not really apropos to the post, but in this interv...Not really apropos to the post, but in this interview with Alan Sepinwall, "Parks and Recreation" creator Michael Schur talks about his affinity for the "Bar Wars" episodes.<br /><br />http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/interview-parks-and-recreation-co-creator-mike-schur-previews-season-three<br /><br /> "I was a huge fan of “Cheers,” where once a year you would get that episode, and I remember distinctly whenever I realized it was a Gary’s Old Towne Tavern episode, a sense of excitement would wash over me, you know?"Chalmersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-89913982872999698282010-08-10T16:34:38.826-07:002010-08-10T16:34:38.826-07:00Ken, if these bizarre dreams keep happening, you m...Ken, if these bizarre dreams keep happening, you may have to go see a competent therapist to help you out... I know a good one in Chicago I can refer you to, named Hartley....Tom Quigleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12959628996361620134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-6884167851578258252010-08-10T16:32:27.688-07:002010-08-10T16:32:27.688-07:00Nothing to say really, other than just looking at ...Nothing to say really, other than just looking at that picture of Mary, Ted, and Murray makes me smile.Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02155991693956178030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-37596852327524594492010-08-10T10:37:49.764-07:002010-08-10T10:37:49.764-07:00The fast cuts and rapid fire jokes may be the curr...The fast cuts and rapid fire jokes may be the current style, but they don't hold my attention. <br /><br />If you like your characters and respect the actors who play them, you give them some breathing room. Or should.<br /><br />Cheers was good with that. They would play with an idea sometimes, and it was like following a volleyball.<br /><br />For example, there was the time Frasier entered Cheers to read his article about the movies of Ingmar Bergman. Each Cheers character played with that. Norm loved Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, and that led to the mention of famous boxers such as Ingmar Johansson and then Joe Louis and Abbot and Costello. Eventually, Frasier stormed out with his article.Max Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07706524941272103444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-81829754004577748482010-08-10T10:29:01.721-07:002010-08-10T10:29:01.721-07:00Your dream sounds a bit like the episode of The Of...Your dream sounds a bit like the episode of The Office where everyone found out Oscar was gay.TimmyDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01292923625577353715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-46421475032018519682010-08-10T10:05:48.156-07:002010-08-10T10:05:48.156-07:00Last night I didn't dream at all, because I di...Last night I didn't dream at all, because I didn't sleep. ;)<br /><br />But I do have something more than tangentially related to the subject at hand. I watch a lot of movies and TV shows, but never old ones. The apparent production values bother me, as well as the limited sets, but I now realize the stories are way too slow to maintain my 21st-century attention span. <br /><br />See, even right now I'm watching a boring movie on my second monitor and reading a blog on my laptop as I check RSS feeds. I'm glad TV show pacing serves the contemporary need for moving-fast-things.Kathryn Hartoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02897526822167862246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43835855596517154012010-08-10T09:17:40.749-07:002010-08-10T09:17:40.749-07:00Comedies today have to cater to the "short at...Comedies today have to cater to the "short attention span" viewer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-73956781574523767932010-08-10T09:13:43.698-07:002010-08-10T09:13:43.698-07:00Best. Dream. Ever.
For a writer anyway.
You'...Best. Dream. Ever. <br /><br />For a writer anyway.<br /><br />You're right. That would make a fantastic episode of TMTMS! I'm dying to know what Sue Anne said. <br />Was she 90 year old Betty White?The Jnowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16706072961396012855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82805459445676016542010-08-10T09:06:12.489-07:002010-08-10T09:06:12.489-07:00Yeah, my jaw hit the floor when I saw there was a ...Yeah, my jaw hit the floor when I saw there was a picture of Mary on your blog today, Ken! Couldn't imagine what you were going to say.<br />I just finished watching season 10 of CHEERS. I've been catching lots of the earlier ones, too. Who was the redheaded barfly? Alan Koss? Was he also in MOONSTRUCK (playing a plumbing customer)? But I digress. All the best, Ken!Boolienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35387456393086960322010-08-10T08:06:51.173-07:002010-08-10T08:06:51.173-07:00When I think about differences in TV pacing THEN a...When I think about differences in TV pacing THEN and NOW, the example that most often comes to mind is "THE TWILIGHT ZONE". A classic, yes...<br /><br />...but some of those episodes now seem to take a loooooooooong time getting to their O.Henry payoff.<br /><br />It's hard to imagine today's audience keeping their finger off the remote control for 5 minutes, let alone 30, waiting for some of those dramatic punchlines.<br /><br />Then again, back in the days of "ZONE", people had lost their taste for Vaudeville, which was as chronologically distant as "ZONE" is today.<br /><br />"Imagine a world with only 3 broadcast networks..."Briannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-90918716467404882512010-08-10T07:07:00.776-07:002010-08-10T07:07:00.776-07:00Be happy you didn't wake up from your dream to...Be happy you didn't wake up from your dream to Patrick Duffy coming out of the shower, and finding out your career was nothing but a dream.bensonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-853899005080599082010-08-10T06:59:19.351-07:002010-08-10T06:59:19.351-07:00Ah, so you've worked with her I see.Ah, so you've worked with her I see.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com