tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post6131978635522801081..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Our spec MARY TYLER MOORE SHOWBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1136832768001666732012-09-10T19:26:55.625-07:002012-09-10T19:26:55.625-07:00Do you know where I can find a video clip of the s...Do you know where I can find a video clip of the scene where Lou Grant punches the puppet? I think it is one of the funniest things I have ever seen and I cannot find that clip anywhere. Could you e-mail a link to it please (if it is out there)? <br />english.me1967@gmail.comMr. Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14011072363028174111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-86480800729135737142010-07-17T11:31:27.326-07:002010-07-17T11:31:27.326-07:00Ken: Can you or anyone else name the woman wearin...Ken: Can you or anyone else name the woman wearing the white head covering who appears within the crook of "Mary Richards'" arm when Mary throws up her hat in the freeze-framed part of the opening of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"? This un-credited female must have signed a waiver granting use of her picture. I've always been curious who this passerby extra actually was/is because she so promanently stands out in the visual image of this opening<br />sequence.Robertnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56599324592493485982010-06-30T13:55:40.012-07:002010-06-30T13:55:40.012-07:00Oops - sorry. I meant Dennis.....Oops - sorry. I meant Dennis.....Toby O'Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06999037844031101965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-24463236431586266312010-06-30T13:53:36.219-07:002010-06-30T13:53:36.219-07:00Jason was right - it was two different episodes......Jason was right - it was two different episodes....Toby O'Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06999037844031101965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54107822028075817262010-06-25T07:57:23.906-07:002010-06-25T07:57:23.906-07:00I asked a Friday question a couple of months ago (...I asked a Friday question a couple of months ago (unanswered -- not a criticism, just a statement), asking if it was possible that writers/producers would ever "steal" -- ahem, rewrite -- spec scripts sent in by unknowns. A lot of commenters said that it was an absurd thought. Of course they never would! Well, I guess this is proof it has happened in the past. So, those unknowns who sue the studios saying they created Indiana Jones or Shrek -- entirely possible?Michael in Vancouvernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19224178242551705282010-06-24T18:35:53.054-07:002010-06-24T18:35:53.054-07:00Happy to post the script... if I can find it.Happy to post the script... if I can find it.By Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-18880881113728282252010-06-24T18:24:14.971-07:002010-06-24T18:24:14.971-07:00Ken, would you be willing to post your and David&#...Ken, would you be willing to post your and David's draft here? Your UCLA draft, warts and all. In addition to being potentially helpful and insightful, I think it'd also be fun (for us) reading.David Andersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-28050303444649942612010-06-24T17:41:00.890-07:002010-06-24T17:41:00.890-07:00Ken, here are two potential Friday questions:
Tha...Ken, here are two potential Friday questions:<br /><br />Thanks to you I have been peeking in on Earl Pomerantz's blog from time to time. <br /> <br />He recently had an <a href="http://earlpomerantz.blogspot.com/2010/05/it-was-different-back-then.html" rel="nofollow">interesting post</a> that touched on something I am curious about: the end of having outside freelancers contribute scripts to programs. From your experience can you pin-point when the staffs of series started to "ballon" as he puts it. The same thing happened to drama sometime in the mid to late 80s and now almost all television series are staff written in the main.<br /><br />Is there a danger of a creator becoming overly protective of a character and that creating a roadblock to storytelling?<br /><br />I ask because on the writer's blog for Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes has confessed that she got upset when the season finale originally included <a href="http://www.greyswriters.com/2010/05/shonda-rhimes-on-sanctuary-and-death-and-all-his-friends.html" rel="nofollow">Bailey being shot</a> until she changed the script. And in a previous episode she <a href="http://www.greyswriters.com/2010/05/zoanne-clack-with-pete-nowalk-and-shonda-rhimes-on-shiny-happy-people.html" rel="nofollow">turned thumbs down</a> to Bailey's boyfriend flirting with other woman and telling her they weren't exclusive. It was adjusted to be a mis-understanding. <br /> <br />Rhimes seems to strongly identify with the Bailey character. Doesn't that mean the staff become timid at what they are willing to risk in using her even if that reduces dramatic possibilities? Sort of like how bland Mickey Mouse became as time wore on and Walt Disney was overly posessive of the mouse who helped launch his kingdom...Dana Gabbardhttp://socata.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-41867380781796624202010-06-24T16:17:20.696-07:002010-06-24T16:17:20.696-07:00We asked the girl who wrote the other good one how...<i>We asked the girl who wrote the other good one how long it took her to write it. Two years.</i><br /><br />By the way, she just finished her third draft of that script and I hear it's great.l.a.guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-57634632992406629642010-06-24T15:44:03.608-07:002010-06-24T15:44:03.608-07:00I'm a chilean sitcom writer and i love all the...I'm a chilean sitcom writer and i love all the material you've got in your blog!! we study all this with our writing staff!gonzalo losadanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7112271701008224252010-06-24T14:15:36.994-07:002010-06-24T14:15:36.994-07:00Of course he got his job back. Had he handed in h...Of course he got his job back. Had he handed in his resignation, instead of his recongnition, it might not have ended as well.phb21noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22792058704982274542010-06-24T12:43:54.592-07:002010-06-24T12:43:54.592-07:00A. Buck Short said:
All Murray really needed was t...A. Buck Short said:<br /><i>All Murray really needed was to go on a cruise or two and find Jesus.</i> <br /><br />Much easier on a cruise to find a bar.Mary Stellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02186261066656584772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14156234910420756872010-06-24T11:35:43.944-07:002010-06-24T11:35:43.944-07:00All Murray really needed was to go on a cruise or ...All Murray really needed was to go on a cruise or two and find Jesus. Just catching up on back posts. I couldn't tell from the scoreboad photo, but in the closer two-shot your son Matt is a dead ringer for Manny Rarmirez. Incidentally, the great thing about where your future inlaws live is if you decide to follow your dream and run the Boston Marathon next April, it still looks like a spectacle by Natick, but the pack thins out enough there that when your angina kicks in, they can hand you a paper cup of water without being <i>entirely</i> trampled.A. Buck Shortnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-29652649043859976362010-06-24T11:04:05.519-07:002010-06-24T11:04:05.519-07:00Hi Ken! I'm a new reader to your blog. Thanks ...Hi Ken! I'm a new reader to your blog. Thanks for this wealth of information. Forgive me if this q has already been answered in the past (I haven't gone back too far into your archives yet), but what was it about the two scripts that made them god-awful? Were they clunky? Bad jokes? Dialogue too short/too long? All of the above? I wonder if there are things I should look out for when rewriting my first spec.Cynthiahttp://www.fureyandthefeast.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-45294991598272980972010-06-24T10:47:53.053-07:002010-06-24T10:47:53.053-07:00You've got me on the hook, Ken. I can't w...You've got me on the hook, Ken. I can't wait for the next installment.Chad Garlandnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-85624170797771380072010-06-24T10:29:06.418-07:002010-06-24T10:29:06.418-07:00Ken, did the MTM folks see your Murray script befo...Ken, did the MTM folks see your Murray script before they wrote their own? I'm not asking for ownership reasons, just wondering if you had already made connections with their writing room. Either way, it's a great compliment. You and David were obviously on the right track.Somersbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03171162269200885559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-37397333483160365672010-06-24T10:22:23.222-07:002010-06-24T10:22:23.222-07:00My recollection is that the "Lou punching the...My recollection is that the "Lou punching the puppet" scene came from an episode where Sue Ann's show was cancelled. Rather than quit, she determined to work out her contract, which involved working on a kiddie show dressed as a daisy and talking to puppets.<br /><br />Mary convinces Lou to hire Sue Ann on the news staff, I think.<br /><br />But, I could be wrong about this.Dennis Hartinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-18520621978508998022010-06-24T09:41:40.503-07:002010-06-24T09:41:40.503-07:00I can tell you from my experiences for coming up w...I can tell you from my experiences for coming up with new funny material. Once you come up with the punchline, the rest is easy. It's always easier to build the joke around the punchline.Tony Rolettinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16093403106256562352010-06-24T09:14:39.241-07:002010-06-24T09:14:39.241-07:00Ken, you've written in the past about going th...Ken, you've written in the past about going through a final draft with the aim of taking out pages and adding jokes. I am always in awe of a good joke with a solid set up. How do you come up with jokes? How do you make them better? Is there some kind of practice you can do to write jokes?Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02778954744664852442noreply@blogger.com