tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post8150721611138354329..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Not all laughs are equal By Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7319443700053361562020-09-09T14:17:13.401-07:002020-09-09T14:17:13.401-07:00Modern sitcoms (say, the last 15 years) have gotte...Modern sitcoms (say, the last 15 years) have gotten pretty obnoxious with the laugh track, notably on Tyler Perry, Nickelodeon, or Disney Channel shows. You would swear some of Ken's best one-liners were being spewed, the way the "audience" reacts. Half the time, it's not even for a joke, just a general comment. BTW, watch a Youtube video of "Big Bang Theory" dialogue without the audience...some of the jokes come across as creepy.Brandon FGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77064029056314933182020-09-03T19:24:34.185-07:002020-09-03T19:24:34.185-07:00Dubbed-in laughs are perhaps justified for a singl...Dubbed-in laughs are perhaps justified for a single-cam show like MASH, but not for a multi-cam show. Earn your laughs in front of a live audience, or you just don't deserve them. I think the actors and audience both deserve that kind of respect.Nohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07963684047788854637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-20601565260731813772020-09-02T19:48:46.660-07:002020-09-02T19:48:46.660-07:00Off topic: Just read today that Cheers in Boston i...Off topic: Just read today that Cheers in Boston is closing. Covid & the lack of tourists killed it.normadesmondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17325110017442011627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75975952147211289212020-09-02T17:08:27.443-07:002020-09-02T17:08:27.443-07:00Maybe off-topic, but here's an appreciation of...Maybe off-topic, but here's an appreciation of "Cheers" from someone who grew up watching it: https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2020/08/wits-end-everything-i-needed-to-know-i-learned-from-cheers/Liggienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31365393032257305882020-09-02T17:03:51.878-07:002020-09-02T17:03:51.878-07:00I'd think you'd want to vary the power of ...I'd think you'd want to vary the power of the jokes throughout a script. A few small jokes here, a medium-sized one, a few more small ones, then a full-on belly laugh. <br /><br />The only exception to this would be "Airplane!", which aimed for a big laugh every ten seconds and usually succeeded.Liggienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33128211942615241482020-09-02T15:47:25.891-07:002020-09-02T15:47:25.891-07:00Spicer's work is very funny and very smart. Gr...Spicer's work is very funny and very smart. Great recommendation!Charles Bryannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-37320875228837602082020-09-02T15:24:23.482-07:002020-09-02T15:24:23.482-07:00The mention of different audiences reacting to com...The mention of different audiences reacting to comedy reminds me of a great joke at one of the White House Correspondents Dinners. The guest comedian, I think it might have been Conan O'Brien, talked about the tables in the room. He said if you hear the Fox News table laughing, it probably means a little girl has fallen off her bike. Troy McClurenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-37886378172234446282020-09-02T14:53:55.221-07:002020-09-02T14:53:55.221-07:00I've talked before about Jack Benny's line...I've talked before about Jack Benny's line, that it took five years to set up a joke. A lot of it wouldn't be funny unless he or one of his cast said it. And that has been true since the dawn of comedy.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05266475919252239220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-51076016403244377432020-09-02T13:23:22.567-07:002020-09-02T13:23:22.567-07:00Reminded me of a comment by Trace Beaulieu about M...Reminded me of a comment by Trace Beaulieu about Mystery Science Theater 3000- they would on occasion make a reference so obscure that only 10% of the audience would understand- just to make those people go "My God, how did they get inside my head?"Jeff Boicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14600946876122022978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-85186624086341911972020-09-02T13:03:19.676-07:002020-09-02T13:03:19.676-07:00Speaking of laughter, for any of you who haven'...Speaking of laughter, for any of you who haven't yet encountered Michael Spicer, I recommend him. You'll find he posts short video clips at https://twitter.com/mrmichaelspicer (or if you're on Twitter, @mrmichaelspicer). I particularly liked this one: https://twitter.com/i/status/1204712479705554945<br /><br />wgWendy M. Grossmanhttp://www.pelicancrossing.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-42056361881659979562020-09-02T11:57:42.937-07:002020-09-02T11:57:42.937-07:00WB Jax< every series has a different way of con...WB Jax< every series has a different way of conjuring titles. <br /><br />* "Mom" is famed for taking two distinctive phrases or subjects from that episode's script and linking them (e.g., "Kitty Litter and a Class A Felony" or "A Catheter and a Dipsy-Doodle"). <br /><br />* "Seinfeld" used "The ________", such as in "The Contest" or "The Opposite."<br /><br />* "Friends" used "The one About ______."<br /><br />* And going back to radio days, "Dragnet" used "The Big ______," though that was done for filing purposes. VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19397006066433744562020-09-02T07:53:11.378-07:002020-09-02T07:53:11.378-07:00Friday Question, Ken. At what point of episode scr...Friday Question, Ken. At what point of episode scripting are titles usually conceived? For you and David did such titles as "Death Takes A Holiday On Ice" come easily to you and were there times when either a story editor or fellow writer suggested an alternative (perhaps better, perhaps not) title for one of your scripts?WB Jaxnoreply@blogger.com