tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post8158365511841798604..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Point of View questionsBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-38366643498772902612009-04-29T06:37:00.000-07:002009-04-29T06:37:00.000-07:00Yes this is my Cheers set I am curious to know if ...Yes this is my Cheers set I am curious to know if I got it right. I guess I do have too much free time on my hands as Charlotte says but I have been twiddling my thumbs lately all the way to the bank. :D<br />http://www.flickr.com/photos/24682838@N05/3156777722/in/set-72157611957371655/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56362438539189681712009-04-13T07:12:00.000-07:002009-04-13T07:12:00.000-07:00Here's a Friday question for you: What's your take...Here's a Friday question for you: What's your take on writers who blow up their series on the way out, out of spite after negotiations gone wrong? I was thinking of Amy Sherman-Palladino and how she intentionally wrote the series into a corner as she was leaving, creating a mess that the subsequent writers couldn't possibly clean up. But Aaron Sorkin would apply as well, I guess, leaving the season hanging with Zoe kidnapped and all. Why go out with a bang you don't intend to resolve? Just as final f--- you to the network or others? In Amy Sherman Palladino's case, she really ruined it for Gilmore Girls fans. I personally will never watch another show she is involved with just because of the spitefullness of that act.Karennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-37656992105296002272009-04-10T21:47:00.000-07:002009-04-10T21:47:00.000-07:00Ken, when you were show running Season 7 on MASH, ...Ken, when you were show running Season 7 on MASH, was there a conscious effort to try and not tip the balance too far over one way or the other between comedy and drama (i.e. -- if you did a show like "Point of View", would you try to balance it out with a lighter script after that?)<BR/><BR/>As I've belabored the point before, to me it seemed as if MASH lost a good deal of its comedy edge starting in Season 8 and moving on to Season 11, while Seasons 1-2 are still groping for the balance between the 50s-60s style military comedies and the more serious overtones Gelbart and Reynolds were trying to work into the series. Seasons 3-7 do the best job of working in the humor without being too "wacky" or having the actors be overly-earnest, to the point you have to import the designated bad guy of the week, because none of the regular cast really fits that bill anymore.<BR/><BR/>Also, on the Aaron Sorkin front -- since somehow, we've ended up on the Arron Sorkin front -- it appears he's considering coming back to TV with a show <A HREF="http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/04/sure-well-watch.html" REL="nofollow">based on Keith Olbermann's "Countdown".</A> The Entertainment Weekly blurb says it's supposed to be a drama, but to me, it conjures up images of Paddy Chayefsky's Howard Beale character doing a comedy relief rant-of-the-week (though I believe Keith's in a battle-to-the-death with Glenn Beck right now for rights to the moniker "The Howard Beale of Cable TV News" between his scorched earth 'Special Comments' and Beck setting Fox News late-night show participants on fire). Either way, it still should be funnier than the comedy bits Sorkin came up with for "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip".Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-11387816966925181252009-04-10T17:31:00.000-07:002009-04-10T17:31:00.000-07:00No, the worst episode of The West Wing is post-Sor...No, the worst episode of <I>The West Wing</I> is post-Sorkin, Season 5, Episode 4, entitled <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_(The_West_Wing)" REL="nofollow">"Han"</A>, with teleplay by Peter Noah from a story by Peter Noah & Mark Goffman and Paula Yoo.<BR/><BR/>A North Korean musician wishes to defect while on a visit to the United States, appealing directly to the President of the United States through a hand-written request for political asylum in the liner notes of a gift CD.<BR/><BR/><I><B>And he is refused,</B></I> tossed back into slavery under that physically grown man with the personal selfishness and spite of a spoiled child (which he was), Kim Jong-il, who had lobster flown to him at each railway stop going to Moscow along the eastbound Siberian Express while children in his nation went hungry; who builds nuclear reactors and launches badly-designed ICBMs while famine stalks his country; who built a <A HREF="http://www.esquire.com/the-side/DESIGN/hotel-of-doom-012808" REL="nofollow">100-story hotel so badly constructed it will likely never open</A>, left unfinished for sixteen-years of exposure to the weather (no window glass) while people died from hunger in its shadow.<BR/><BR/>This teleplay was a travesty, violating every decent impulse upon which the United States is built, showing the Bartlet administration sacrificing the life of this man who begged for help and got none, in an attempt to save negotiations which, since the show couldn't overthrow the <I>status quo</I>, would certainly fail anyway.David K. M. Klaushttp://davidkevin.livejournal.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31839127256237287322009-04-10T17:15:00.000-07:002009-04-10T17:15:00.000-07:00Thanks so much for answering my question, Ken.And ...Thanks so much for answering my question, Ken.<BR/><BR/>And now a bit of randomness for you in the category of some-guy-with-a-dangerous-amount-of-free-time-on-his-hands: the CHEERS set (and others) reproduced in Lego! Not just as seen on TV, but with studio lights and all! (How's his accuracy, Ken?) http://www.flickr.com/photos/24682838@N05/page2/charlottehttp://www.myspace.com/charlottefullertonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65662806304499128672009-04-10T10:12:00.000-07:002009-04-10T10:12:00.000-07:00I think special episodes are the best. Even if the...I think special episodes are the best. Even if they don't turn out as well as they could have, special episodes are always more fun to watch. Plus there's more advertising for specials so there's more viewers, even if in the end it turns out not so great.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-69405890157758413822009-04-10T09:13:00.000-07:002009-04-10T09:13:00.000-07:00The Xena musical episodes are a blast, but they mo...The Xena musical episodes are a blast, but they mostly consist of cover versions of well known songs. A big part of Whedon's achievement is that he wrote every note and lyric of the "Once More with Feeling" episode, and brilliantly so. For me, this is more important than being first to the party (just as Ken and David's achievement in "Point of View" isn't diminished by the existence of earlier shows that used the same concept).jbryantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-18185142253827626052009-04-10T08:27:00.000-07:002009-04-10T08:27:00.000-07:00'Special' episodes also only work if a show has be...<I>'Special' episodes also only work if a show has been on the air for long enough that fans are already well-aware of the character's traits and the show's overall format, so a break in said format really stands out. Some examples that leap to mind include the musical episode of 'Buffy' or the backwards episode of Seinfeld.</I><BR/><BR/>Let us not forget that "Xena: Warrior Princess" did a musical episode -- two, in fact -- before "Buffy," but everyone seems to forget that in all the hosannas sent Joss Whedon's way.<BR/><BR/>wv: "buclo" -- an aptly terse description of where the Pittsburgh Pirates have stood in the standings since 1993.VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30481708007328730262009-04-10T08:20:00.000-07:002009-04-10T08:20:00.000-07:00Question Mark, that West Wing episode was a classi...Question Mark, that West Wing episode was a classic example of why the post-Sorkin episodes are so much weaker than those from when he was in charge. It's an interesting comparison. While I think MASH went on too long, each new character or change brought something to the show in its own way, whether it was the more strait-laced but crazy underneath B.J. or Winchester being a legitimate foil, as opposed to the increasingly silly Burns. But on The West Wing, Sorkin's departure led to the John Wells "ER" mentality of "let's drive a semi through the building because people watch the building, not the characters." MASH never lost the idea that it was a show about people.<BR/><BR/>Thus, since people do unusual things, it was possible to do the "Point of View" episode and the "Dreams" episode. I don't think Ken ever has said what he thought of the latter episode, and I'd like to know.Michael Greennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-76344498556113237812009-04-10T07:23:00.000-07:002009-04-10T07:23:00.000-07:00I'm sorry, but "only made $5 Million dollars"?I un...I'm sorry, but "only made $5 Million dollars"?<BR/><BR/>I understand it's point of comparison, but it just points up just how ridiculous this all is.bensonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-29829261530601801782009-04-10T04:26:00.000-07:002009-04-10T04:26:00.000-07:00About Marisky Hargitay's salary vs. Tina Fey. ...About Marisky Hargitay's salary vs. Tina Fey. "Law & Order: SVU" has been on since 1999. Hargitay and Chris Meloni only got $350,000 per episode starting in 2007. "30 Rock" started in 2006. I believe the "Friends" cast got the big money after five years. So, give Fey time.<BR/><BR/>Also, Fey may have gotten a share of profits from show one. Hartigtay and Meloni are now asking for a profit share which NBC is not thrilled about. In fact, the network is threatening to get rid of both. <BR/><BR/>By the way, the CJ documntary episode "Access" was not the worst episode of of "The West Wing". That honor goes to "Isaac and Ishmael."mcpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-28078183644452966022009-04-10T01:04:00.000-07:002009-04-10T01:04:00.000-07:00This is off topic. I read that Tina Fey only made ...This is off topic. I read that Tina Fey only made 5 million last year. That doesn't seem like much when you consider that Mariska Hargitay made 7 million last year. Hargitay is a star, but so is Fey AND a showrunner and all that comes with that. So, what's the deal? By the way, I love your blog. I can't believe that won't produce your play.Tiffanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14769851864731660781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-23376885014959807592009-04-10T00:39:00.000-07:002009-04-10T00:39:00.000-07:00'Special' episodes also only work if a show has be...'Special' episodes also only work if a show has been on the air for long enough that fans are already well-aware of the character's traits and the show's overall format, so a break in said format really stands out. Some examples that leap to mind include the musical episode of 'Buffy' or the backwards episode of Seinfeld. The showrunners wouldn't have been able to do episodes like that in S1 or S2, but by the later years, the groundwork has been laid to really break the mold.<BR/><BR/>Then again, there was also the 'documentary about CJ' episode of West Wing that was probably the series' low point, but hey, they can't be winners.Question Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00267485396018087075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56048211826964066642009-04-09T21:45:00.000-07:002009-04-09T21:45:00.000-07:00hi ken,it's "did-they-or-didn't-they&...hi ken,<BR/><BR/>it's "did-they-or-didn't-they"-time on the german MASH-forum again. this time the big question is, did margaret and hawkeye marry *each other* or did they marry *someone else*? one of the members claimed that in the pilot the sentence, "of course, margaret and hawkeyey got married," was spoken. since about 99% of the germans on that board had no chance to see AfterMASH and since you are the writer, i thought you would be the one to clear up this mystery from the MASH vaults.<BR/><BR/>cheers,<BR/><BR/>rita<BR/><BR/>ps. even though this is only in german, you might find this whole thing rather entertaining.<BR/><BR/>http://www.fanforum.mash-4077.de/thread.php?threadid=10061&threadview=0&hilight=&hilightuser=0&page=1ritanoreply@blogger.com