tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post408253547950210423..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Because you asked for itBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40137742129654305472012-07-31T09:07:00.557-07:002012-07-31T09:07:00.557-07:00What was the rationale for giving Hunnicutt a must...What was the rationale for giving Hunnicutt a mustache on M*A*S*H? And what was behind the recharacterization of Hot Lips?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02812294259661057955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-36225794427412048662012-07-27T11:49:38.474-07:002012-07-27T11:49:38.474-07:00I still have about 6 episodes of the Tortellis on ...I still have about 6 episodes of the Tortellis on VHS. I haven't watched it in years, and yes, I still have a VCR.Haim Yonkelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21927595764503474062012-07-27T10:31:04.184-07:002012-07-27T10:31:04.184-07:00Why was Carla becoming a grandmother never mention...<i>Why was Carla becoming a grandmother never mentioned again after the episode she found out about it? We never saw Anthony and his wife again either.</i><br />IIRC, Carla became a grandma pretty early in the Rebecca years, Eddie was still alive, and when Sam and Rebecca rehearsed as parents (penultimate season?) with Carla's kids, Geno mentioned that Anthony was doing time. so presumably his wife and baby moved in with the in-laws when Anthony was sentenced. Anthony wasn't at Serafina's wedding, was he? Which, btw, is one of my favorite Cheers episodes. "HUGO! My Beloved!"Jim, Cheers Fannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44058613036706877382012-07-27T10:23:27.327-07:002012-07-27T10:23:27.327-07:00I just found a BBC audio program called Raise a Gl...I just found a BBC audio program called Raise a Glass for Cheers at . I haven't yet had a chance to listen to it. Were you involved? Is it accurate?Nevin ":-)"https://www.blogger.com/profile/17771619215069657979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-76707226242333447012012-07-27T00:01:35.319-07:002012-07-27T00:01:35.319-07:00Have you ever missed a deadline because you just c...Have you ever missed a deadline because you just couldn't get the episode to gel no matter what you tried? What does the studio do when this happens? Does the show runner plod ahead with your script at the behest of the studio and tell you to fix it during production or do they switch to a different script in development and hope for the best? If they tell you to fix it during production can you usually pull it off or does it end up being a nightmare? If you miss the deadline are you put on the sh*t list and phased out or do you get a talking to, cold shoulder, death threats...what do they do?Codyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15244519478946026617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22623438243161465042012-07-26T19:43:21.288-07:002012-07-26T19:43:21.288-07:00I'm going to differ with the claim above that ...I'm going to differ with the claim above that you have to have some normal person for the weirdos in a sitcom to bounce off of. While that is certainly a viable structure (Judd Hirsh in Taxi, Gary Sandy in the early WKRP, Eddie Albert on Green Acres, Bob Newhart in various things, etc.), where's the sane Munster? Who is the audience-matching reactive on Addam's Family? Even Jason Bateman's character on Arrested Development is mere less nuts than his family; he's still clearly coo-coo.<br /><br />As for what happened to Carla being a grandma - relatives often had an episode built around them and then were never heard from again. What happened to Coach's daughter, to Sam's ex-wife and brother, to Rebecca's sister (my favorite Rebeccacentric episode)?Nat Gertler (Sitcom Room alum)http://natstv.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58630656287179532762012-07-26T19:14:29.634-07:002012-07-26T19:14:29.634-07:00Hi Ken,
I'm looking to break into the comedy ...Hi Ken,<br /><br />I'm looking to break into the comedy writing business, but I live in Australia. Should I aim to go for a writers assistant position to learn the ropes or perhaps an internship? And also what is the best time to contact people in regards to coming on board with this? I'm particularly interested in animation (adult swim type shows)<br /><br />Thanks Ken!<br /><br />- BrookeBrooke McMasterhttp://www.brooklyncommons.com.aunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-11542801969777246862012-07-26T17:32:59.772-07:002012-07-26T17:32:59.772-07:00The one thing I remember from Top of the Heap... &...The one thing I remember from Top of the Heap... "Son, I always wanted to see you working in the lap of luxury, and here you are right in the crotch!"pumkinheadnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-53850530011315891032012-07-26T16:08:40.451-07:002012-07-26T16:08:40.451-07:00Speaking of CHEERS, this has been bugging me for a...Speaking of CHEERS, this has been bugging me for a bit. Does anyone remember which episode has the teaser where Diane complains that nobody yells when she comes in like they do with Norm, so Sam tells her to come in again, she does so, and everyone yells, "NORM!"?cadavranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49709424970502134262012-07-26T15:48:55.217-07:002012-07-26T15:48:55.217-07:00tb said...
On Married with Children, I remember M...tb said... <br />On Married with Children, I remember Matt LeBlanc was Kelly Bundy's boyfriend and there was an episode that was clearly intended to start a spin-off series - his character was Vinnie Verducci I think<br /><br />There were actually two spin offs with that character. The first one was called "Top of the Heap" and the second was "Vinnie and Bobby". The best thing about either show was Joey Lauren Adams, who played Vinnie's neighbor.MGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21992543154749955992012-07-26T14:02:31.229-07:002012-07-26T14:02:31.229-07:00Why was Carla becoming a grandmother never mention...Why was Carla becoming a grandmother never mentioned again after the episode she found out about it? We never saw Anthony and his wife again either.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21881917077745044742012-07-26T13:52:27.569-07:002012-07-26T13:52:27.569-07:00It would have been interesting if The Tortellis ha...It would have been interesting if The Tortellis had been done in the style of Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Although I thought Always jumped the shark in its last season, for a while there it really made having no likable and very 2 dimensional characters work. But that was then and this is now and that was then, as Nick would say.Bill McCloskeynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-84812539419084739532012-07-26T11:27:38.916-07:002012-07-26T11:27:38.916-07:00Thanx for answering my question. Nice pic of Harri...Thanx for answering my question. Nice pic of Harris. I like her, allthough I know her best from Desperate Housewives.Susannahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4472349562521407142012-07-26T11:27:28.234-07:002012-07-26T11:27:28.234-07:00On Married with Children, I remember Matt LeBlanc ...On Married with Children, I remember Matt LeBlanc was Kelly Bundy's boyfriend and there was an episode that was clearly intended to start a spin-off series - his character was Vinnie Verducci I think. I always mix up the Tortellis with the Verducci's for some reasontbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26535948782579186112012-07-26T11:07:22.749-07:002012-07-26T11:07:22.749-07:00Why don't the Mariners ever bunt? It seems Ry...Why don't the Mariners ever bunt? It seems Ryan and Kawasaki should be doing it nearly every at bat.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32516361279493777152012-07-26T09:48:12.236-07:002012-07-26T09:48:12.236-07:00BBC4 has just posted their "Raising a Glass t...BBC4 has just posted their "Raising a Glass to Cheers" radio documentary, available to "listen again" for seven days. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01l1dkcJon88https://www.blogger.com/profile/16908049871851563389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-88428014068561411122012-07-26T09:05:31.823-07:002012-07-26T09:05:31.823-07:00I co-wrote an episode of THE TORTELLIS and it was ...I co-wrote an episode of THE TORTELLIS and it was a fascinating experience. On CHEERS, the character of Nick Tortelli was not a good guy -- he was a (comedically) sleazy, scheming con man who had no problem using the people in his life to get what he wanted. When my writing partner and I pitched our story to the producers, it was built around this version of Nick -- the character used his son to hoodwink his wife in order to get away with an indiscretion. We went to script with this story and it seemed to turn out okay. But somewhere along the line, someone (I'm assuming the network) decided that Nick couldn't be a bad guy; that he had to be nice and "lovable," which, of course, totally gutted the character and left us with nothing to write for him. Our script was rewritten to turn the scheming Nick into a Nick who was a hapless victim of a series of contrived misunderstandings and the result was just awful -- it wasn't about anything and it wasn't funny. And I think that that -- along with the hiring of some showrunners who were much more comfortable with softer, "family" comedies rather than the sharp-edged humor that would have been appropriate for the characters as originally conceived -- was the reason that a show that could have been a fun "dark" comedy into the vanilla nothing that it became.Ray Mortonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63563285194786196252012-07-26T08:48:57.603-07:002012-07-26T08:48:57.603-07:00I have always wondered why, in the 5th season of F...I have always wondered why, in the 5th season of Frasier, there were back to back episodes with a party premise. Those would be, "The Life of the Party," and "Party, Party." That just seems odd.Carsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65613269755887178902012-07-26T08:46:14.756-07:002012-07-26T08:46:14.756-07:00Hey Ken,
In your career as a baseball broadcaster...Hey Ken, <br />In your career as a baseball broadcaster, have you ever gotten fairly close to a player only to see him traded? I know as a fan, having a favorite player trades mid-season just kinda sucks.<br /><br />Thanks!Sean in NoCalnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-69178458025726701582012-07-26T08:32:38.571-07:002012-07-26T08:32:38.571-07:00Ah, the lovely Harriet Sansom Harris. I know she&...Ah, the lovely Harriet Sansom Harris. I know she's had a pretty good career, but what they could have done with her back in the days of the studio system.<br /><br />MikeMBungenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-9578851942011871092012-07-26T08:27:18.922-07:002012-07-26T08:27:18.922-07:00Thanks, Ken! I'm now wondering if you see writ...Thanks, Ken! I'm now wondering if you see writing on your blog as good "exercise" for your writing skills while you're not working in TV? Coming up with snappy ways to express things, or structure an opinion, or just make wry and sarcastic comments about something, seems like good practice. <br /><br />Of course, you probably spend part of your week writing a new book, too!Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-66411690096336348522012-07-26T08:23:59.348-07:002012-07-26T08:23:59.348-07:00Thanks for this on the Tortellis. I doubt if you ...Thanks for this on the Tortellis. I doubt if you ever thought that show would afford you an opportunity to talk about the problems of writing a sitcom.<br /><br />Some readers of the blog may be interested to seek out a half-hour program which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 this morning: Raising a Glass to Cheers. This link should bring you to the right page on the I-Player: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01l1dkc/Raising_a_Glass_to_Cheers/<br /><br />It is fronted by Stephen Merchant (Ricky Gervais's writing partner) and features George Wendt and Rob Long.<br /><br />One more note to 'Benson' about the declining quality of Britcoms. It isn't so much that Britcoms are getting worse, but that far more of them are being exported. It is no surprise that they aren't all as good as the cream which used to rise to the top for export.Harkawayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01083121703954107594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-15114688341915296132012-07-26T07:32:08.080-07:002012-07-26T07:32:08.080-07:00404,
This is not a repeat. What happened is this...404,<br /><br />This is not a repeat. What happened is this post went up accidentally for a few moments on that day (because I pushed the wrong button) but pulled it a few minutes later. So unless you were logging on to my blog during that five minute period you never saw this. <br /><br />Scroll down and you'll see it only appears here.By Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82916214698532523702012-07-26T07:31:12.380-07:002012-07-26T07:31:12.380-07:00Having worked at one time for the company which wa...Having worked at one time for the company which was responsible for booking the audiences and distributing tickets for nearly all the major TV production companies (with the exception of Paramount) this time of year was always interesting for the very reason in the first question. Since the pilot was usually filmed back in the spring, a finished 22 minute pilot could be screened for the audience on the studio monitors before they started filming that night's show. That, along with the info supplied by the warmup comedian usually gave the audience attending early episode filmings an idea of what was going on and what the show was about. <br /><br />It wasn't until the show actually was on the airwaves and viewers had had a chance to see it that the producers felt they could dispense with showing the pilot. In addition, from an audience being filled to capacity point of view, which producers would always insist upon (usually it was part of their contractual agreement with my employer), it became easier to distribute tickets and book audiences, as by that point, the show was a known commodity and people would actually be writing in or calling to request tickets to a show they wanted to see.Tom Quigleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12959628996361620134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-79169656702928448342012-07-26T07:20:33.185-07:002012-07-26T07:20:33.185-07:00I remember the Tortellis, and I had the same thoug...I remember the Tortellis, and I had the same thought then that I've had regarding several new shows since: There has to be at least one straightman to carry the show or it doesn't work. There has to be someone that the majority of viewers can relate to, someone who centers the show. Otherwise the eccentricities are just annoying instead of being funny.McAlvienoreply@blogger.com