tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post4133486363815165727..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Following up on Yesterday's postBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58471899616237623932013-07-11T12:38:38.470-07:002013-07-11T12:38:38.470-07:00Is anyone else as mad as I am that the Writers Gui...Is anyone else as mad as I am that the Writers Guild left "The Waltons" off their recent list of the 101 Best Written TV Series! Earl Hamner pioneered the continuing storylines on all drama series used today. All drama series on the list after 1980 could not have been done without "The Waltons". Are these young Writers Guild members ignoratnt?!Victor Buhlernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61763760839440767742013-07-03T15:02:50.367-07:002013-07-03T15:02:50.367-07:00When Sam Malone's ex-wife did appear on Cheers...When Sam Malone's ex-wife did appear on Cheers, she was played by the lovely, talented Donna McKechnie. That was enough to leave me disappointed that she did not become a recurring character.<br /><br />In one episode of Cheers, the gang surprised Frasier by having a stripper jump out of a cake. This backfired when the girl turned out to be one of Frasier's patients. <br /><br />Frasier told her something like "this is no way to get back at your Father over the way he blah blah blah..." It was clear the girl recognized Frasier and easy for the others to deduce he was her therapist, but it was still inexcusable for Frasier to blurt out in front of other people the confidential details of his patient's therapy.<br /><br />From that point on, I saw him as someone who shouldn't be trusted and should probably lose his license, even if the show presented him as a respected practitioner.Kosmo13noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8211955932187101722013-07-03T11:41:26.787-07:002013-07-03T11:41:26.787-07:00I admire writers who use language concisely, so I ...I admire writers who use language concisely, so I don't mind the skipping of Hello and Goodbye on the phone. I do mind prefacing exposition with a character saying "As you know, Neal,..."; it's unnatural for the character to say that, and it's a waste of words. <br /><br />On CSI, as they're poring over the dead body of the week, there's always this conversation going on where someone states the facts and someone else states the obvious conclusion. "Bits of skin under the fingernails" "He must have fought back". I know they're doing this to provide a clue, and to make sure everyone in the scene (who's alive) has some lines. But, again, it seems unnatural and more verbose than it needs to be. <br /><br />On L&O, the witnesses they interview are always very busy people and after a few questions they go "now if you'll excuse me, I have a soufflé that's cooking" and walk away from the detectives. WTF.<br /><br />Technology is constantly portrayed as either more advanced or more primitive than it really is. It doesn't take minutes to look up an IP address. You can trace any phone call where the callee has answered; you don't need to keep the caller talking for some amount of time. <br /><br />Sometimes the shows don't seem to know the area they're purportedly set in. In the opening scene of the pilot of Mercy, set in a hospital in NJ, a new nurse says that she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. Nobody within 300 miles of Philadelphia calls it that; it is Penn. It would not have detracted from the scene if they had used the local name. A number of shows set in NYC - Castle is one - talk about Grand Central Station when they really mean Grand Central Terminal.<br /><br />Police procedurals love to put their stars in the spotlight, but this leads to more WTF moments. A SWAT team, clad in helmets and body armor and carrying assault rifles, storm a building, but they are led by our star detectives, who aren't wearing helmets or body armor and are wielding small pistols.<br /><br />NCIS is better about this now, but for the longest time the preferred way to stop the bad guys from killing one or even many people was to have Gibbs and company hop in their cars and drive from the Navy Yard to the scene of the crime, totally ignoring that local law enforcement could get there much sooner.Lou Hnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82522485067938854412013-07-03T10:30:54.075-07:002013-07-03T10:30:54.075-07:00How about a black guy walking into a bar in the ol...How about a black guy walking into a bar in the old west?Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-60813544087990581862013-07-03T01:21:53.499-07:002013-07-03T01:21:53.499-07:00Hank,
I have no control over the captchas. That&#...Hank,<br /><br />I have no control over the captchas. That's a Blogger thing. And if I didn't have them I'd be spammed to death. Sorry for the inconvenience. By Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49595276417936861022013-07-03T01:19:17.257-07:002013-07-03T01:19:17.257-07:00Along the same lines as the noise that a pay phone...Along the same lines as the noise that a pay phone makes or doesn't make, whenever a movie or television show wants to indicate that we are seeing what a character is seeing through a pair a binoculars, they show a telephoto shot masked by two overlapping circles. But when you actually look through binoculars, the view is circular!<br /><br />P.S. Your captchas are really hard. Can't you find one that aren't nearly impossible to solve?Hank Gillettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17328364486555780403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-69284818871170974012013-07-03T00:17:22.482-07:002013-07-03T00:17:22.482-07:00My peeve is loud movie trailers. I replace my hear...My peeve is loud movie trailers. I replace my hearing aid with ear plugs and it's still too loud. It's the same odd chunking swooshing sound. When did movie trailers get so loud? When I was a kid, you had narrated trailers. Art Gillmore giving the movie the hard sell. The pointless loud noises are worse. Are movie trailers getting louder to get through to ears deadened by the previous week's trailer?Waynenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-10315846001532090802013-07-02T21:51:54.022-07:002013-07-02T21:51:54.022-07:00Sam's divorce WAS mentioned at least once (and...Sam's divorce WAS mentioned at least once (and probably at least a couple of times) in later episodes/seasons, but very, very rarely. This was surprising because it could have been an easy idea for some good stories -- Sam's ex comes back for some reason. She's seen very briefly in the second episode, just as a punchline, and then never again. Ken, my question is: Any idea why this potential story was never utilized? Was there ever a discussion of doing so?<br /><br />- Steve Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-3550569146425925672013-07-02T21:20:19.129-07:002013-07-02T21:20:19.129-07:00Pardon me if this has been mentioned already, but ...Pardon me if this has been mentioned already, but my pet peeve are acts that begin with a character saying, "I can't believe..." It seems a lazy way to get latecomers -- and those with short-term memory problems -- up to speed with the plot. craig mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30818924813534243112013-07-02T18:59:54.770-07:002013-07-02T18:59:54.770-07:00Since this has kind of turned into "Pet Peeve...Since this has kind of turned into "Pet Peeves part 2", I'll post one of mine: When a character puts a coin into a modern-style pay phone [the rectangular shaped ones used from the '70's until now], it gives a "ding ding" bell sound....... something those phones NEVER did. The older-style pay phones [the ones that were wider at the bottom with a side-cradle for the receiver] gave a bell sound, but never the newer ones. Even as a kid in the 1970's, I noticed this discrepancy.Bumnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-34506278311899829832013-07-02T18:29:51.973-07:002013-07-02T18:29:51.973-07:00Two big pet peeves of mine:
No birth control. Jus...Two big pet peeves of mine:<br /><br />No birth control. Just clothes- ripping passion. I know it makes for a better scene, but no birth control ever discussed in 2013?<br /><br />Also, and this is a newer peeve: extreme closeups and quick cuts to simulate a fight or battle scene. All we see is frantic movement, grunting and flashing arms and legs and numerous quick cuts. (Just saw Man of Steel, e.g.) Didn't they used to have choreographers plot out fights and battles? Now, with nausea-inducing quick cuts, you don't know who's hitting who, or what's really happening. Movies before a few years ago would show more long and medium shots where you could understand who's winning and who's not.<br /><br />How does one write this kind of scene?<br /><br />It took this topic to bring me out of many years of lurking!Southfield_Bobnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-80115568358482693242013-07-02T16:45:28.549-07:002013-07-02T16:45:28.549-07:00**but we did think it would stretch believability ...**but we did think it would stretch believability to ever have John Ratzenberger dance on a show**<br /><br />"Dance, mailman!"-- a favorite moment<br /><br />as much as I loved the character, Lilith's presence in the bar was far more out of character than Frasier'sJim, Cheers Fannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-24053415162064845542013-07-02T15:48:06.834-07:002013-07-02T15:48:06.834-07:00The executive producer of the original "Dalla...The executive producer of the original "Dallas" series turned purple when there were diners in the foreground silently mouthing conversation while the principal actors, seated much farther into the room, could plainly be heard.<br /><br />Also, "Knots Landing" did a bit in which Greg (William Devane) had never seen Abby (Donna Mills) without make-up. Greg enters the bathroom while Abby is showering, thinking she can't possibly be made up in the shower. She pulls back the shower curtain to reveal her face in full make-up.Lorimartiannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59183890331551973042013-07-02T15:42:41.567-07:002013-07-02T15:42:41.567-07:00Since Zach brought it up - the Boston accent. Why ...Since Zach brought it up - the Boston accent. Why do only the Kennedy's speak like the Kennedy's?<br />Never heard anyone else sound like thattbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-73862734960752755212013-07-02T13:55:58.880-07:002013-07-02T13:55:58.880-07:00Why is Cliff the only regular patron of the bar to...Why is Cliff the only regular patron of the bar to have a Boston accent?Zack Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00439905777189448192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59986244587979851242013-07-02T13:51:38.866-07:002013-07-02T13:51:38.866-07:00Ken, appreciate the Cheers post, but I want to off...Ken, appreciate the Cheers post, but I want to offer some polite objections to the tropes--it's the realities of TV production. And <br /><br />1) SEX. "Women have sex with their tops on"/"No nudity." Ken. ALL TV NETWORKS have these things called STANDARDS AND PRACTICES DEPARTMENTS. They read every script and make lots of notes on it about what you can't do. Nudity, including female breasts, is a huge no-on. You're telling me the country that flipped out when Janet Jackson's nipple was accidentally exposed is going to be okay with nipples on the TV? <br /><br />Even with nudity-okay places like HBO & Showtime, it strikes as something the actress should get to choose).<br /><br />Same thing with why it's rare to hear someone order a brand-name alcoholic drink. if that character is scripted to do anything *slightly* obnoxious, let alone dangerous or illegal, it could be implied that, say ABSOLUT Vodka made the character do that--and therefore be a giant libel suit. <br /><br />"First, the text is then too small to read. Second, why run them at all? Is there a rule that the station run the credits?" Yes. Networks are contractually obligated to run credits of people who worked on the shows. They are also allowed to alter the size. Whattaya gonna do.<br /><br />Actors not eating large amounts: Given multiple takes, in order to get continuity shot of an actor actually eating a meal, you’d have to have four meals, and the actor would have to eat most of them. Not practical, and not healthy for the actor.<br /><br />The whole show characters not finding parking/other complaints about TV being fast--that's gonna make for some boring TV. I do like the idea that cops should fill out more paperwork--Justified does that one extremely well. <br /><br />All right, that's enough of my counter-rant for now. Still love the blog.Greg Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12476688473774894464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43147264471178930402013-07-02T13:43:34.816-07:002013-07-02T13:43:34.816-07:00One more pet peeve, which applies mainly to sci-fi...One more pet peeve, which applies mainly to sci-fi, fantasy and cartoons:<br /><br />The plot hinges on something being possible or not possible; then another episode blows right by it. Or the same episode offers something that would seem to supersede the question.<br /><br />-- QED, an early cross between steampunk and Sherlock Holmes, was hobbled by careless and often stupid scripts. In one, the fate of the empire hangs on possessing a cumbersome device that could remotely detonate a bomb. In another episode, a missile that seeks out a portable radio transmitter is accepted as a workaday bit of hardware.<br /><br />-- The Black Hole makes a big plot point of robots holding a funeral (a genuinely creepy moment). Robots can't grieve, right? But the movie also includes comic anthropomorphized robots with more emotions than many of the actors -- and human ESP interface besides. <br /><br />-- Scooby Doo would rack up cartoony impossibilities and have the mystery hinge on an arbitrarily enforced bit of logic -- an animal not acting like an animal, for example. Not forgivable in a cartoon that claims to be a fair play puzzle.<br /><br />-- The Flintstones and Jetsons both were guilty of changing their minds about what was possible in their respective epochs. George Jetson's car could fold into an attache case at work, but everywhere else there had to be a parking space.DBensonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-39576392427065197132013-07-02T12:55:21.056-07:002013-07-02T12:55:21.056-07:00One of my pet peeves is kinda hard to explain but ...One of my pet peeves is kinda hard to explain but I'll try ; in comedies, when someone is asking for something but not for the reasons you'd expect, and it has to be revealed somehow. Like this:<br /><br />1: Can I use your phone? <br />2. Sure, do you want to make a phone call? <br />1. No, I want to hit you over the head with it! (does) <br /><br />Or<br /><br />1. Can I use have your jacket? <br />2. Sure, are you cold? <br />1. No, I lit a fire and I have to put it out by covering the flames. <br /><br />Not the best examples but it was all I could think of. The point is that 2 would never ask those questions in real life. Noone asks that kind of questions. Anehttp://angelundercover.blogg.nonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-41268961372652734092013-07-02T12:32:52.678-07:002013-07-02T12:32:52.678-07:00How come we never see a liquor distributor or sale...How come we never see a liquor distributor or salesman visit the bar? How come we never see Sam doing any paperwork (at least, Rebecca did some, occasionally).<br /><br />Thanks, Stephen for the trivia on the name of the corporation bought Cheers! I never thought "Lillian Corporation" was actually named on camera.Douglas Trapassohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18348522207945522495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8128183502331335152013-07-02T12:10:59.010-07:002013-07-02T12:10:59.010-07:00Donald F., a good trained riding horse is trained ...Donald F., a good trained riding horse is trained to be "ground tied" or "toss tied" - when one drops the reins on the ground, or tosses them over something, the horse accepts that as "tied up". Granted, if they're spooked and run, it doesn't do you much good ... but neither would a knot on the hitching rail, the horse wold just break the reins anyway and run, if they were spooked enough. neighnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35191751134306512192013-07-02T10:56:17.703-07:002013-07-02T10:56:17.703-07:00I admit I don't know poker too well...but I ne...I admit I don't know poker too well...but I never questioned what happened in "The Merchant of Korea". I presume that when a group of people play long enough, most everyone wins at least one hand. The point is they all knew when Charles had a ban hand.<br /><br /><br />"To God's little acre"<br />"And His gardener"Paul Ducanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56630363848652574372013-07-02T10:23:56.572-07:002013-07-02T10:23:56.572-07:00Thanks, Ken, for starting a fun and enlightening c...Thanks, Ken, for starting a fun and enlightening conversation. I was reminded of my pet peeve while watching the most recent episode of "Falling Skies". A search party is riding horses, they arrive at a ghost town and are told to dis-mount by their captain. Then they all "Tie" their horses by slipping a rope over once on a rail. I have yet to see anyone on any show actually tie a horses reins with any more action than a little swish. It's just knot right.Donald Fnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-6844822650463813792013-07-02T09:25:18.596-07:002013-07-02T09:25:18.596-07:00Two other peeves: the "Rashomon" flashba...Two other peeves: the "Rashomon" flashback story, which is to say the same story told from different viewpoints. It's been done quite a lot.<br /><br />The other flashback story is what I call the "all-seeing oracle". I understand that a story has to be told that involves that character. Almost inevitably, there will be a scene in which the storyteller isn't in and often, they are not even privy to the information in that scene. I wanted to write a scene like that, but have the characters talk in gibberish. When one of the hearers of the story says, "This isn't making any sense", the narrator would say, "I know. I wasn't there."Brian Phillipshttp://ultrasonicremote.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33625814903518842402013-07-02T09:12:07.156-07:002013-07-02T09:12:07.156-07:00To the above, regarding the bar opening at 9:30am:...To the above, regarding the bar opening at 9:30am: All the bars in my town open at 10:00am, some even at 7:00am, if they cater to people coming off third shift. You'd have to think Cheers would also cater to tourists and people that had the day off that wanted to have a drink around noon. What got me about Cheers was that there was no food besides pretzels offered. Rare is the bar that doesn't try to make a little extra on the side with something fried. Sure, Melville's is upstairs, but that's a classy joint, not a place where a bar regular could dash up to sloshed or even afford to order the nightly nachos from.<br />I understand, why deal with a bunch of food props if you could avoid it? But it is my pet peeve.Brycenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-83599983956003095652013-07-02T08:52:15.692-07:002013-07-02T08:52:15.692-07:00I noticed that a lot of the noted "Cheers&quo...I noticed that a lot of the noted "Cheers" pet peeves started to appear as the series progressed. In the early episodes, there was an attempt to ground things in the reality of a bar. Norm would be drunkenly taken out of the bar at closing time (as expected if he drank all day). And it was clear that most of what we saw took place after work, which was more realistic -- not just for the health and employment of the characters but simply based on how bars operate. I don't know of any -- at least in the states -- that open at 9:30 a.m. Five to closing is typical, which is about a normal workday (just at night).<br /><br />I thought there was some logic in never replacing Diane as a waitress. Despite what he says in the pilot, I doubt Sam hired Diane because he "needed a waitress." He was getting alone fine with just Carla. And once Sam sold the bar to the Lillian Corporation, well, having worked in corporate, they tend to be top-heavy: So, Rebecca as manager doing essentially what Sam did but without tending bar. And only one waitress.<br /><br /><br /> <br /><br />Stephen Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03670422634319094941noreply@blogger.com