tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post4737818687588302497..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Friday QuestionsBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8693656456259618702011-12-22T09:49:41.967-08:002011-12-22T09:49:41.967-08:00Ken, I just started reading your blog and enjoy it...Ken, I just started reading your blog and enjoy it much. I'm still making my way through it, so I apologize if you've already answered the Friday questions below: <br /><br />1) Do you have a shot at Cooperstown? and<br /><br />2)Do you and David still write freelance episodes / do you think you'd ever return to TV writing full time?<br /><br />Thanks for writing!Coryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03724849277190530926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-46418460565543557072011-12-22T08:07:07.021-08:002011-12-22T08:07:07.021-08:00Mr. Levine -
First of all, thank you so much for ...Mr. Levine - <br />First of all, thank you so much for this blog - it's great to read a real first hand account of the dream factory in the golden age of television. I've been fortunate enough to be able to travel to LA every few years or so and have toured Universal, Warner and Paramount (MGM/Sony is next on my list). I read (not sure how accurate) that Warner still has the Ponderosa set in storage. Is it common practice for studios to keep sets from iconic shows or are they more likely to be tossed or taken home?Scott from Wisconsinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4347620122314517002011-12-19T06:39:58.568-08:002011-12-19T06:39:58.568-08:00There is indeed a Mr. Peabody & Sherman movie ...There is indeed a Mr. Peabody & Sherman movie in development--but Robert Downey, Jr., not David Hyde-Pierce, will be providing Mr. Peabody's voice.Sopheatunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-89101917680896093842011-12-19T01:28:31.903-08:002011-12-19T01:28:31.903-08:00Friday question, from a screenplay newbie. Which i...Friday question, from a screenplay newbie. Which is better for protection before submitting the script to readers/editors/whomever, a WGA registration or a Copyright acquisition? (Of course, insert "answer will not substitute for legal advice" disclaimer here.)Liggienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61247553525319353912011-12-18T16:17:23.577-08:002011-12-18T16:17:23.577-08:00Without Cliff's backstory it's a pun. With...Without Cliff's backstory it's a pun. With his backstory it's so much more. Think of it like this if it helps - it's you with and without a thesaurus. With one, you wax retarded but with beautiful prose, gloriously railing against heaven, profiled by lightning, Wagner scoring every flick of your poison pen. Without one, you're still retarded, probably a little waxy, but everything else is just lobster bibs, disappointed parents, and masturbating to that one time your female cousin touched your hand, all the way down.Dan Tedsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16452847576600692673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-76878825918886303402011-12-18T10:20:17.160-08:002011-12-18T10:20:17.160-08:00Tan Lamesome Said:
"I refuse to believe the ...Tan Lamesome Said:<br /><br />"I refuse to believe the guy who came up with someone asking what a Freudian slip was and Cliffy answering, "That's when you say one thing when you're actually thinking about a mother" didn't laugh his ass off then try for the better part of the afternoon to suck his own cock."<br /><br />Hopefully whoever typed it, after carefully rereading it, said to himself, "The form of humor that fans dote on, that they slaver over, that they indulge in among themselves, that they slather across fanzine pages, that they interlineate and cross-quote, that they revere and unmercifully visit on the rest of us is... The pun. <br />That most witless thalidomide bastard of True Wit. That intellectually-debased sediment found at the lowest level of humor. That coarse-surfaced imposition on our good offices that never produces a titter, a giggle, a chuckle or a laugh, but which takes as a measure of its effectiveness...a groan of pain," then vomiting in his mouth a bit, while selected the line, and hitting "delete."<br /><br />-Son TeddansonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82494744678425811042011-12-17T20:41:06.033-08:002011-12-17T20:41:06.033-08:00Jokes are funky bitchnuts. I swear there's an ...Jokes are funky bitchnuts. I swear there's an equation for them just waiting to be found. They require some degree of surprise (punchlines you anticipate aren't funny), but they also require certain premises to be laid down and there's only so many ways to do that. So basically your job becomes finding new ways to camouflage a pattern people have only seen a GODZILLION times so they're misdirected long enough to not see the punchline coming.<br /><br />But the longer you write jokes, the more variations on the theme you've seen, the more you anticipate the punchlines on even well-camouflaged jokes, the less you're surprised, so the less you laugh. <br /><br />But sometimes the joke is just so GODDAMN funny and you realize you're just so GODDAMN fantastic that you have to laugh. I refuse to believe the guy who came up with someone asking what a Freudian slip was and Cliffy answering, "That's when you say one thing when you're actually thinking about a mother" didn't laugh his ass off then try for the better part of the afternoon to suck his own cock.Dan Tedsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16452847576600692673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-25633484689218126412011-12-17T11:28:10.955-08:002011-12-17T11:28:10.955-08:00Ken-- Your opinion on the overall series aside, I&...Ken-- Your opinion on the overall series aside, I'm wondering if you could share some stories about Harry Morgan's work on "AfterMASH." I always felt he did a pretty fine job in this chance he had -- during his 60s, to boot -- to have the lead role on a series.<br /><br />--David from up north in WashingtonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71561521827250174952011-12-17T10:23:46.133-08:002011-12-17T10:23:46.133-08:00Re: Manager's forcing temps to scour the inter...Re: Manager's forcing temps to scour the internets to counter the criticism of an ailing show...<br /><br />In the age of twitter, don't forget the participation of the show runner, the writers, the actors, the directors, the cameramen, the caterer, and all their friends and family members, squawking like stuck birds all over the internet and calling themselves "fans," and overdo it to the degree that nobody believes anybody's positive opinion on the matter.<br /><br />I'm looking at YOU, "Community."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19859216396992118142011-12-17T06:41:51.456-08:002011-12-17T06:41:51.456-08:00I wish someone would do a big screen version of Sh...I wish someone would do a big screen version of Sherman & Mr. Peabody--DHP would be a great Mr. Peabody...<br /><br />I've always wondered about "travelogue" epidsodes---the cast goes to the Grand Canyon or Hawaii (Bradys, Sanford & Sun); Italy (Raymond); London (Family Ties, Friends, etc). <br /><br />In latter years, I thought maybe this was a bid to drive up syndication prices outside the US. But it must be a huge pain to shoot a show on location. And surely the whole crew doesn't go. I can't imagine that the bigger name actors who probably travel a lot, enjoy these excursions. <br /><br />It must be interesting to budget a "Let's Go to Europe" episode....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-38768274045163507642011-12-17T03:07:27.943-08:002011-12-17T03:07:27.943-08:00Anonymous: I don't know about Ken, but I can n...Anonymous: I don't know about Ken, but I can nearly always tell what the next line of dialogue in a show is going to be. That's the result of watching TV for close to 60 years. Nothing is new.Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-20913684460012930952011-12-17T00:24:50.130-08:002011-12-17T00:24:50.130-08:00R/E Laughing at your own jokes -- Have you ever se...R/E Laughing at your own jokes -- Have you ever seen an actor who thought a line was so funny that he/she could not deliver it without breaking up? You see actors all the time in blooper reels getting "the giggles" but I wonder if you have seen the same reaction from the written word? Was the line rewritten so it could be delivered?DwWashburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03057278992504418291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-89647195901306205022011-12-16T23:14:39.846-08:002011-12-16T23:14:39.846-08:00You do, Johnny. But not stuff that goes into the ...You do, Johnny. But not stuff that goes into the script.By Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65754355690132461622011-12-16T20:57:31.812-08:002011-12-16T20:57:31.812-08:00So, Ken...you expect a car every night of Hanukah?...So, Ken...you expect a car every night of Hanukah?<br /><br />Those photos of Palmer and Danson remind me of the old SPY magazine's "Separated at Birth?" feature.<br />(one Christmas back in the day, my mother bought me a copy of the book).Paul Ducanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-27633770498257872822011-12-16T19:39:48.182-08:002011-12-16T19:39:48.182-08:00I'm confused, Ken... Haven't I often heard...I'm confused, Ken... Haven't I often heard you say that one of the reasons that being a sitcom writer is a wonderful job is because you get to laugh your ass off all day long?Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-67350114900463838762011-12-16T16:30:50.865-08:002011-12-16T16:30:50.865-08:00One of the best cancellation finales was on the 20...One of the best cancellation finales was on the 2003 NBC show, <i>The Lyon's Den</i>, starring Rob Lowe.<br /><br />The show was cancelled after six episodes, but Channel 5 in the UK bought the rights for the rest of the season, so they ended up making all 13. (I'm not sure, but I'll bet the whole show got a box set DVD)<br /><br />And since the producers knew this was it for this show, they clearly chucked whatever bible they had in place and wrote an AMAZING 180-degree, wtf, yet still perfectly believable finale that was just flat-out awesome.Dave Arnottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21234144751509440662011-12-16T15:45:14.170-08:002011-12-16T15:45:14.170-08:00Sometimes a show gets cancelled way too late, long...Sometimes a show gets cancelled way too late, long after the well has run dry, and the showrunners need to take back a season or two. <i>Roseanne</i>'s final season is a glaring case-in-point, as was the final season of <i>Falcon Crest</i>, when it essentially became a different show with the same sets. Perhaps the most-egregious example, for we survivors of the 1960s, was when the stylish and fun <i>Burke's Law</i> suddenly became the execrable <i>Amos Burke, Secret Agent</i>.<br /><br />As for viewers of <i>FlashForward</i>, of which I was one: they can do what I did, buy the novel it was based on and read that. You won't get what the show runner had planned, but you'll get a good story with actual closure.<br /><br />When <i>Dynasty</i> ended abrubtly with a cliff-hanger with several characters in immediate peril of Certain Death, I was free to just assume that the worst had happened in <i>all</i> cases, and all those characters were dead. When they later did a TV movie to wrap up the cliffhangers, I was most disappointed. (But not as disappointed as by the fact that I read for a role in the <i>Dynasty</i> TV reunion movie, and didn't get the part.) <br /><br />Same with <i>Dallas</i>. I was perfectly happy to assume JR had shot himself, and that the series had ended with JR finally giving himself what he'd deserved for years, and then they did a TV reunion movie and JR had just shot the mirror, something no actor would <i>EVER</i> do, and ruined it.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-79062088119844159742011-12-16T14:29:55.889-08:002011-12-16T14:29:55.889-08:00I'm very happy to read there was no snarky wis...I'm very happy to read there was no snarky wisecrack about her highness. A low ha!Roseanne's nutty inturnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40005009465078519752011-12-16T13:28:52.849-08:002011-12-16T13:28:52.849-08:00Speaking of DHP, saw him interviewed last week. H...Speaking of DHP, saw him interviewed last week. He always looked a little like Kelsey Grammar, but now...spitting image. I know what they say about long-time married couples looking away...maybe it's true for sitcom brothers too.Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03759513028364776662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71130097682266594412011-12-16T12:40:10.307-08:002011-12-16T12:40:10.307-08:00Ken, here's Friday question: When you watch a ...Ken, here's Friday question: When you watch a current sitcom, do you see all the punchlines coming from a mile away? Or are you ever surprised by a funny line (like us non-writers)? <br /><br />I often wonder if people in show business can simply enjoy a show or movie, or if they find themselves constantly thinking "I would have done that differently."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-6485586703460477002011-12-16T11:00:28.143-08:002011-12-16T11:00:28.143-08:00Here's a Friday question - do you know who got...Here's a Friday question - do you know who got Tecumseh when Cheers ended? Hate to think he's a doorstop at a Pensacola Piggly Wiggly's or something. He was like a member of the cast.Dan Tedsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16452847576600692673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16485039623387871722011-12-16T10:08:08.260-08:002011-12-16T10:08:08.260-08:00The thought of Ed LaSalle being dropped into Big W...The thought of Ed LaSalle being dropped into Big Wave Dave's or Almost Perfect, makes you wonder about the comedic possibilities.bensonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8086744170154248152011-12-16T09:57:38.257-08:002011-12-16T09:57:38.257-08:00I was a production assistant (i.e. writer's se...I was a production assistant (i.e. writer's secretary) on a sitcom in the early 80's. I would be in the writer's room when the scripts were rewritten and it was always an interesting and chaotic process. After about six months I got up my confidence (I was 24 at the time) and suggested a line for the script. My two bosses thought it was good enough to put in the show and they did. I was so proud. Then on shoot night when the character said my line, there was not a sound on the set. No laughs, nothing! It's an experience I still cringe at today. I'm glad the producers thought enough of my line to put it in the script. I just wish they had replaced it during pickups later in the evening! I've caught the reruns a couple of times over the years and it seems even the guy sweetening the laughs didn't add any for my line. Makes me cringe again just thinking about it! :-)David Schwartzhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ2W6VoCrSwnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-11280627299697377022011-12-16T09:30:45.359-08:002011-12-16T09:30:45.359-08:00Hey, thanks for answering my question about creato...Hey, thanks for answering my question about creator / writers revealing or not their original planned destination for the series...PolyWogghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05239033481272527855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-45676665884064791732011-12-16T09:05:35.879-08:002011-12-16T09:05:35.879-08:00Future Friday question: I've been watching a ...Future Friday question: I've been watching a lot of Cheers on HDNet recently and I'm wondering how Sam could ever make a profit in the bar since noone ever pays? In fact, I can't recall anyone ever opening the cash drawer.Jon Jnoreply@blogger.com