tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post2199766645023913453..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Friday QuestionsBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74011620334908498142019-03-24T12:44:10.489-07:002019-03-24T12:44:10.489-07:00Hi Ken
Probably a silly question, but one I have ...Hi Ken<br /><br />Probably a silly question, but one I have always wondered.<br /><br />When you were making MASH, was it easier with operating theater scenes to film, as I would imagine you could almost film it once and then re-write at will, as they were wearing masks and no one could see their lips. Basically just reusing the same take?<br /><br />Following on from that. If this was true, was it tempting to put extra scenes in there if time was tight (sunlight at the park running out etc)?Chris Thomsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-47419007586398477802019-03-23T20:52:43.364-07:002019-03-23T20:52:43.364-07:00@John in NW Ohio: Having lived my first more than...@John in NW Ohio: Having lived my first more than 50 years of conscious life having Ernie, Ned Martin with the Red Sox and Dave Niehaus as the lead announcer on my home team's broadcasts, I didn't realize until I started traveling by car in the summer and tuning into other broadcasts that there were broadcasters who didn't do that all the time.<br /><br />Of course, the worst is listening to football on the radio and not getting down and distance on every single play. Do they think we're listening to them while watching the game on TV?bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-88501814378788282602019-03-23T12:16:03.894-07:002019-03-23T12:16:03.894-07:00Here's a somewhat self-indulgent Friday Questi...Here's a somewhat self-indulgent Friday Question. The fact that I, who's nobody, can leave a comment and someone who's name I've seen in TV credits for years will actually read that comment, is to me nothing short of amazing (which is why I went overboard when I first started reading this blog and left a comment every time out, even when I had nothing to say.) But I wonder, how does that feel from the other side? I know you can tell very little about us from reading our comments, but, that said, is there anything about us or what we regularly have to say that you find amazing, or at least mildly surprising?Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02155991693956178030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21740279368884051902019-03-22T20:38:20.482-07:002019-03-22T20:38:20.482-07:00I remember seeing the pilot for Mother, Juggs and ...I remember seeing the pilot for Mother, Juggs and Speed. (I'd previously seen the movie, too.) Nothing from the pilot sticks to my mind except for the very end, when the three of them are in the ambulance, and they get a call. Juggs yells "Show business!", the lights go on and the siren wails and off they go, riding into oblivion.<br /><br />"Which one is Juggs?"thirteennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-38446120126081165092019-03-22T18:07:13.861-07:002019-03-22T18:07:13.861-07:00Wow ! Deja vu.Wow ! Deja vu.therealshellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05598639173652882797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-67899683521124036122019-03-22T17:04:13.649-07:002019-03-22T17:04:13.649-07:00Friday Question: It seems like sitcoms and realit...Friday Question: It seems like sitcoms and reality shows are so much less expensive to produce, get the highest ratings, and give the most bang for the buck in syndication, versus hour-long dramas. How and why do cash-strapped networks still mount something like 911 or The Orville, or all these cable networks I've never heard of mount period pieces, or Siren on Freeform? (Not that I think it's a bad thing that they do - it just seems so unlike money-grubbing networks to do it.)Ryn's Sistehrnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44935171655790253052019-03-22T15:51:37.609-07:002019-03-22T15:51:37.609-07:00Mariners are the next big thing in Seattle. Unless...Mariners are the next big thing in Seattle. Unless they get a hockey team.therealshellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05598639173652882797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-25152196112134086122019-03-22T14:51:52.985-07:002019-03-22T14:51:52.985-07:00Actually the baseball season has already started. ...Actually the baseball season has already started. The Mariners and the A's played two games in Japan. Ichirio (I probably misspelled his name) retired after the second game. He'll now need to wait a year longer before he reaches HOF-maybe unanimous choice. Were you still broadcasting M's games when he arrived, or were you with Dodgers by then? If you have any Ichirio stories they would be nice to hear.Scottmcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52759661946752054092019-03-22T14:01:36.310-07:002019-03-22T14:01:36.310-07:00In case you weren't aware, this week the Marin...In case you weren't aware, this week the Mariners and Athletics opened the season in Japan. The Mariners swept the two-game series.ScarletNumbernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61122323503639605902019-03-22T12:51:45.005-07:002019-03-22T12:51:45.005-07:00I'd be disappointed if Frasier was to return a...I'd be disappointed if Frasier was to return as a single camera. It wouldn't suit the character. Fans are used to the natural energy that comes from the live studio audience reaction to the dialogue, especially in the scenes with callers to his show. Moments like Frasier responding to a boring caller with his electron tunnelling microscope riposte wouldn't be as riotous without the audience reaction.<br /><br />Friday Question <br /><br />You've previously written about working on Mannequin 2 and how awful it was. I particularly cracked up at your anecdote about the producers wanting to pay you and David in big screen TVs. My question: do you ever get residuals from Mannequin 2? I know the movie tanked but surely every movie must provide some residuals, however small.Peternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-37374782722987063752019-03-22T11:38:08.141-07:002019-03-22T11:38:08.141-07:00Ernie Harwell's priority, first and foremost, ...Ernie Harwell's priority, first and foremost, was letting you know where the ball is. There are plenty of fine baseball radio announcers today that simply do not do this. John in NW Ohionoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14610806590353263842019-03-22T11:27:39.032-07:002019-03-22T11:27:39.032-07:00regarding Directors:
There are plenty of sitcoms t...regarding Directors:<br />There are plenty of sitcoms that seems Multi-camera but are single shot.<br />How I Met Your Mother and Seinfeld (on and off cameras).<br />Couldn't those directors do both kinds of shows?The Bumble Bee Pendanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11782074071758250824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-73599138860202523972019-03-22T11:04:04.237-07:002019-03-22T11:04:04.237-07:00Even Chuck Lorre, with all his success, noted last...Even Chuck Lorre, with all his success, noted last year in one of his vanity cards that network executives tended to panic whenever they heard the words "single camera". Suggests he, too, has been pigeonholed. (Which to me at least partly explained why THE KOMINSKY METHOD was not on CBS.)<br /><br />wgWendy M. Grossmanhttp://www.pelicancrossing.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71366184209068013012019-03-22T09:59:10.305-07:002019-03-22T09:59:10.305-07:00Ken, you directed the Pet Cemetery episode of ELR,...Ken, you directed the Pet Cemetery episode of ELR, right? At the end, Ray is outside digging the hampster's grave in the rain. What's it it like to shoot extended scenes in the rain for sitcoms? Are the logistics an issue?Glennnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61656806186536957412019-03-22T09:39:52.790-07:002019-03-22T09:39:52.790-07:00Catching up on your blog and re: the 3/15 question...Catching up on your blog and re: the 3/15 question about Eddy: is there any reason writers or shows don't go by the animal's real name? Does it just not matter since they are going by cues?Bethnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63859124654314060622019-03-22T09:38:41.848-07:002019-03-22T09:38:41.848-07:00About the broadcasting question: Nelson, Kiner, an...About the broadcasting question: Nelson, Kiner, and Murphy, were the longest-running three-man broadcast crew ever in baseball (17 years), and maybe anywhere. But while Kiner did color for Nelson for a couple of innings on TV, for the most part, each flew solo, at Nelson's direction.<br /><br />Which reminds me of when Don Drysdale succeeded Jerry Doggett with the Dodgers. Of course, The Vin and his partners always broadcast alone. Drysdale told Ross Porter he was used to talking on the air, and could they have both mikes open? Ross said sure. At the end of the first half-inning they did together in spring training, the phone rang in the booth. It was Peter O'Malley telling them to shut the other announcer's microphone. After the game, Big D saw Peter, who of course he had known since both of them were teenagers, and said, "Peter, 25 teams let their announcers talk to each other." Peter said, "We don't." And I wish that genius McCourt (and his hired gun Lon Rosen, who should have been fired by the current regime for having fired Ross without so much as talking to him) had stuck to that, at least on radio. I don't mind on TV.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05266475919252239220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-17523698172585741342019-03-22T08:47:05.156-07:002019-03-22T08:47:05.156-07:00Thanks for answering my questions two weeks in a r...Thanks for answering my questions two weeks in a row! I appreciate it!Peternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54461266265660035482019-03-22T08:16:33.825-07:002019-03-22T08:16:33.825-07:00Wow, the new baseball contracts are totally insane...Wow, the new baseball contracts are totally insane, we can only imagine what will happen in the next 10 years.Mike Barerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14447874605833321732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50459584648865465642019-03-22T08:15:41.034-07:002019-03-22T08:15:41.034-07:00This is, I believe, the tenth Friday question of m...This is, I believe, the tenth Friday question of mine you've answered, Ken. Thanks and have a great weekend. VincentSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-37185506044704257492019-03-22T07:26:15.288-07:002019-03-22T07:26:15.288-07:00Thanks for answering my question. Have a follow-u...Thanks for answering my question. Have a follow-up question - how common is it for announcers to switch between radio and TV during same game these days? Both New York teams have had separate radio and TV teams for years that don't cross over.Michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52325341299515149342019-03-22T07:14:59.329-07:002019-03-22T07:14:59.329-07:00Has your agent or agency spoken to you about the n...Has your agent or agency spoken to you about the negotiations.<br /><br />https://variety.com/2019/film/news/wme-wga-good-faith-negotiation-1203154430/<br /><br /><br />How are things? Will you fire your agent in April as it seems the talks are failing?<br /><br />Claranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-25172320704141306442019-03-22T07:13:02.837-07:002019-03-22T07:13:02.837-07:00Thanks for answering my ?!Thanks for answering my ?!YEKIMIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01921751875397071034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75835459464285277222019-03-22T07:09:22.702-07:002019-03-22T07:09:22.702-07:00I used to be a writer of Tech manuals :)
I used to be a writer of Tech manuals :)<br /><br />Dhruvnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58459252916254481932019-03-22T06:20:55.911-07:002019-03-22T06:20:55.911-07:00Ken, I enjoyed your podcast with Dennis Palumbo. ...Ken, I enjoyed your podcast with Dennis Palumbo. I'm a big fan of "My Favorite Year" and was fascinated with how MGM came around to agreeing to cast Peter O'Toole. I don't think Michael Caine would have been as funny even though he's a amazing actor. MGM dropped the ball on many movies from that era. "Diner" was another film that they mishandled with "A Christmas Story" being the biggest blunder. That film has probably made more on merchandising alone than its original production budget.DARON72https://www.blogger.com/profile/01726705799261360259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59244132468099845472019-03-22T06:14:12.534-07:002019-03-22T06:14:12.534-07:00Friday question, Ken.
What is the protocol for us...Friday question, Ken.<br /><br />What is the protocol for using personal stories. I imagine it's OK for a writer to think, "I remember a time when I forgot my mother's birthday and there was Hell to pay. Let's make that a story."<br /><br />But what if Mom objects? And say you remember an embarassing story where a friend or even family member did something that they might not like on national TV? How do finesse that? Or are the lines one doesn't cross?<br /><br />I know the character Brick on "The Middle" had a habit of looking down and repeating what he just said, and I recall that the show's creator said her son did that. If I were the son, I would not like shown on national TV, and that got me thinking about my question for the day.<br /><br />Keep up the good work.Jim Snoreply@blogger.com