tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post8364783618026154223..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: LeBron is a disloyal a-hole...and Friday questionsBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49401292762912463612010-07-28T22:28:17.327-07:002010-07-28T22:28:17.327-07:00I LOVE LUCY never used "professional laughers...I LOVE LUCY never used "professional laughers." Film editor Dann Cahn had a small library of recordings of audience reactions that he used, not to sweeten, but to smooth over inconsistencies in the show's soundtrack caused by editing. All shows filmed in front of a live audience use pre-recorded tracks of laughter and applause for this reason. It's a technique that dates back to radio at least as far as 1946, when Bing Crosby decided that recording and editing his series on tape beat the heck out of doing it live every week. The drawback to this has always been that those tracks can become familiar to viewers if they hear them enough. (Anybody remember how, in the 1960s and into the 1970s, one could regularly hear the same laugh tracks showing up on sitcom after sitcom?)<br /><br />Honestly, I always thought that similar M*A*S*H storyline was just the series recycling the older plotline. <br /><br />I think BEWITCHED still holds the award for most remakes of old scripts. Which I guess is what happens when a show with a one or two season premise is a big hit and runs for eight years.Lanienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22694404162323148822010-07-26T21:44:15.560-07:002010-07-26T21:44:15.560-07:00Weirrrrd. I just saw my first-ever episode of MASH...Weirrrrd. I just saw my first-ever episode of MASH the other day. Guess which one it was? Preventive Medicine! And I didn't see the opening credits to know who wrote it, and I didn't know there was a similar episode until reading this post.<br /><br />I like JKChicago's idea that Hawkeye is now at the same place thtat Trapper was then. That's a beautiful way to explain it.<br /><br />As for not paying attention to continuity, The Simpsons is the all-time worst offender, but I think that's done on purpose, either for pragmatic reasons (the characters have to always stay the same age) or for the writers' own amusement. Homer and Marge met in high school in the early 80's, Bart was a toddler in 1985, then suddenly Marge is in college (and not married yet) in the 1990's. It's all in fun.<br /><br />Fascinating about Get Smart. I read somewhere that Don Adams didn't participate in a few episodes out of simple exhaustion from doing the physical comedy. This seems a more plausible explanation.<br /><br />DWWashburn: I like the handle! :)TomHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-25114155553704543922010-07-15T15:45:05.256-07:002010-07-15T15:45:05.256-07:00Thought of another one. When Get Smart went to CB...Thought of another one. When Get Smart went to CBS for its final year, they re-did one episode from one of the earlier seasons. This got Don Adams' ire up and he refused to film the episode. So it was slightly rewritten so that Bill Dana could play Max's part and filmed anyway. There is at least one example where a star caught on to a duplicate script.DwWashburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03057278992504418291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-38762966764689408072010-07-12T16:55:49.170-07:002010-07-12T16:55:49.170-07:00Thanks for answering my question, Ken. Haven't...Thanks for answering my question, Ken. Haven't been on the computer much this past week, and just now saw the post. Great LeBron tie-in.Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02155991693956178030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-23500383509531013472010-07-12T11:08:22.406-07:002010-07-12T11:08:22.406-07:00Just womdering: how is LeBron leaving a team any w...Just womdering: how is LeBron leaving a team any worse/different/more disloyal than a say, writer, leaving a big hit series (like, Cheers?) in the middle of its run?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77220366069404758952010-07-11T07:38:05.724-07:002010-07-11T07:38:05.724-07:00The "Odd Couple" continuity errors bothe...The "Odd Couple" continuity errors bothered me for awhile too, but as Mike Schryver said, it was so good that I looked at it as variations on a theme created and performed by incredibly talented people.<br /><br />It wasn't just the plot points either. They changed the actors who played Leonard and Edna seemingly with no regard for whether the replacements resembled the originals.<br /><br />Plus, they had Richard Stahl playing a different guest role seemingly every other episode. But he was good, and the show was good, so none of it mattered.Chalmersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-68538885870742532192010-07-11T02:15:36.936-07:002010-07-11T02:15:36.936-07:00Now that I think about it, I'm well aware that...Now that I think about it, I'm well aware that Ken&David only joined later in the show's run. And in those days you couldn't exactly pop in the dvd sets to catch up on missed episodes. So Ken & David have an excuse, but what about everyone else on staff?selection7noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-79541605638388672702010-07-10T18:49:38.439-07:002010-07-10T18:49:38.439-07:00I've actually noticed from video commentaries ...I've actually noticed from video commentaries that the people who actually made the show/movie sometimes seem to have about the level of knowledge (in terms of storylines and character background) of a casual fan. Then I saw your post, Ken, and still, I gotta say. You really think nobody on staff noticed?! By saying that you're basically calling everyone on the cast and crew blithering idiots too. <br /><br />And didn't you watch your own show? It wasn't like it was the 19th season of Bonanza or something. So it seems almost impossible to believe it wasn't commonly noticed. Perhaps people were being polite since the alternative is basically to criticize you for lack of originality.selection7noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14542332206701531412010-07-10T15:25:11.256-07:002010-07-10T15:25:11.256-07:00"I swear there are at least three episodes wi..."I swear there are at least three episodes with the first meeting between Oscar and Felix."<br /><br />And I love them all. I think The Odd Couple was one show where the continuity just didn't matter. Klugman and Randall were so marvelous that whatever had to be done to build a situation around them was fine with me.Mike Schryverhttp://comics.dannythestreet.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-88930835913583544362010-07-10T13:58:32.662-07:002010-07-10T13:58:32.662-07:00I loved Rhoda on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but I ...I loved Rhoda on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but I think it only got better after she left. I always found the office episodes more entertaining than the apartment episodes. (The Chuckles episode came after Rhoda left.) With Rhoda gone, it allowed Georgette and Sue Anne to rise to the fore.<br /><br />In a lot of old shows I guess they figured there'd never be DVD sets and they just didn't care about continuity between seasons. Some simply rebooted, like My Three Sons. But the sitcom that had the least respect for continuity was The Odd Couple. I swear there are at least three episodes with the "first" meeting between Oscar and Felix.<br /><br />Word verfication: anatrive. When Ex-Lax won't do.larrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-85766585510952965092010-07-10T13:49:41.881-07:002010-07-10T13:49:41.881-07:00Regarding I Love Lucy, they may have used a live a...Regarding I Love Lucy, they may have used a live audience ( as opposed to one full of cadavers, I suppose), but they planted professional laughers to amp up the chuckles. If you watch enough reruns you'll hear some of the same voices burst into hysterics over and over.<br /><br />I don't give a damn about basketball.Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12322875575522691322010-07-10T12:49:02.388-07:002010-07-10T12:49:02.388-07:00Dudley's Mom: In the latest Entertainment Week...Dudley's Mom: In the latest Entertainment Weekly, HOT IN CLEVELAND exec. producer Todd Milliner insists the live audience laughs aren't sweetened:<br /><br />"We keep the original laughs. In fact, when we don't hear a reaction--like when we thought something was funnier than it was--we still want to keep that, too, because it's a true response."<br /><br />Could be BS, of course, but there you go. Haven't seen the show myself.jbryantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-46239286652309631272010-07-10T05:43:29.590-07:002010-07-10T05:43:29.590-07:00I have always been awed by Larry Gelbart's tal...I have always been awed by Larry Gelbart's talent, so I certainly mean no sacrilege, but Preventative Medicine was a better version of the story. Hawkeye and BJ both want to do the right thing, but disagree so fundamentally on what that thing is. It's a universal argument, and it forces them, and us, to think about their friendship and their ethics.<br /><br />Again, not sucking up, but your take was better.Leenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55792785545544986692010-07-10T00:02:44.689-07:002010-07-10T00:02:44.689-07:00Regarding the James hullabaloo, I think the most e...Regarding the James hullabaloo, I think the most embarrassing thing about the last four weeks of 24 hour coverage was the fact that a station like ESPN would agree to James' ego request of a full hour for "the announcement" especially since their radio network had leaked the news about two weeks ago.<br /><br />On the subject of the MASH episode, I had always heard that there was not a satisfactory conclusion to the episode. Then Alan and Mike were sitting off to the side arguing about whether or not the doctors should remove a healthy organ and someone said "That's the resolution". During the Hawkeye Trapper episode there was no argument. They operated on Colonel Flagg even though there was nothing wrong with him.DwWashburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03057278992504418291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43016441392000408772010-07-09T22:57:55.717-07:002010-07-09T22:57:55.717-07:00Regarding continuity, I always liked STAR TREK'...Regarding continuity, I always liked STAR TREK's Walter Koenig's explanation of why the character of Khan remembered his Chekov character in WRATH OF KHAN -- after all, Koenig knew he hadn't joined the TV show when the original episode featuring Khan aired.<br /><br />He says Khan capturing and torturing Chekov gave him a bigger role in the movie, and he wasn't about to speak up to let George Takei or Nichelle Nichols or anyone else take those scenes from him!Dave Creekhttp://www.davecreek.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-24636810024090239422010-07-09T22:04:27.279-07:002010-07-09T22:04:27.279-07:00I remember being surprised by the second appendix ...I remember being surprised by the second appendix episode, but I always thought that it worked as a powerful demonstration of how the war affected Hawkeye. In the first one, he was arguing against the operation, while Trapper wanted to do it. At that time, Trapper seemed to take everything harder (he was the one ready to go AWOL to go home to his family). Time goes by, and as Hawkeye sees more death and destruction he gets to the same emotional point Trapper was at. BJ, who had been there for less time, takes Hawkeye's old role as the voice of reason. Logic in the front vs. logic at home. It even made sense that Hawkeye didn't remember, since by that point he wasn't the same person.JKChicagonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-2470850309627513022010-07-09T18:46:36.297-07:002010-07-09T18:46:36.297-07:00Like almost everything else, I think "The Sim...Like almost everything else, I think "The Simpsons" serve as the laugh track dividing line.<br /><br />Someone once explained this to me using "Homer the Heretic" after Homer is saved from a fire he accidentally set while blowing off church.<br /><br />Rev. Lovejoy and the volunteer firemen are there and Lovejoy stresses to Homer the goodness in men of all faiths:<br /><br />"Whether they be (indicating Flanders) Christian, (indicating Krusty) Jew, or (indicating Apu)...miscellaneous."<br /><br />Apu (indignantly): "That's Hindu! There ARE 700 million of us!"<br /><br />Lovejoy (sweetly patronizing): "Well that's just SUPER."<br /><br />With a laugh track/studio audience, "miscellaneous" would draw a big laugh and the rhythm would be thrown off, destroying the next two funny lines.<br /><br />But laugh-track free, "The Simpsons" advanced the dream of Larry Gelbart and others to pack more comedy into a show by ditching the reactions.chalmersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63015717603483567562010-07-09T16:50:49.612-07:002010-07-09T16:50:49.612-07:00Was your writing ever influenced by the show's...Was your writing ever influenced by the show's position in the schedule? For example, if the network told you the show would air at 10pm, would you write more mature situations? And would you write differently if your leadin were, say, Glee vs Matlock?Lou H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17611461956944372901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35654578765853196472010-07-09T13:47:32.413-07:002010-07-09T13:47:32.413-07:00Regarding the laugh track on "Hot in Clevelan...Regarding the laugh track on "Hot in Cleveland":<br /><br />Oops. I do remember now the Betty White voiceover stating the show is filmed before a live audience. But it's definitely been 'enhanced', and as I said, although it seems appropriate for the writing / performances, it feels very retro. I guess the fakeness of the laughter works against my suspension of disbelief. Just wondered what Ken thought.<br /><br />Thanks for chiming in, Brian.Dudleys Momnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-20794258970272315472010-07-09T12:44:23.794-07:002010-07-09T12:44:23.794-07:00Glad you noted the similarity between the two M*A*...Glad you noted the similarity between the two M*A*S*H episodes; I'd always wondered about that. The only difference I noted was B.J. Hunnicut's refusal to participate in the unnecessary surgery was written into the show at Mike Farrell's insistence, according to a later PBS documentary. Even then, no one said, "Oh, and when we had a similar six years ago, we didn't do that."Curt Alliaumehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05875046706746482871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32775376553631717282010-07-09T10:21:32.575-07:002010-07-09T10:21:32.575-07:00Sheesh! The way the fans are reacting in Northeast...Sheesh! The way the fans are reacting in Northeast Ohio you would think LeBron took his Hummer and ran over baskets of kittens, puppies, babies and Betty White. He's an overpayed, narcissistic asswipe...they all are. If the Cleveland press would have actually done their job instead of fawning all over him people would know this. Like going out and spending hundreds on meals and tipping the waiter/waitress one lousy dollar. Like berating people who dared to look at him when he walked into a business...."What are you looking at? You're not good enough to look at me!" I never really followed basketball and could care less where he goes but I don't think there are any professional sports players who have any class anymore. [I have friends who played ball with Lebron and were friends with him but no more...even they said he was an arrogant prick and they couldn't stand his BS anymore.YEKIMIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01921751875397071034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-42127085840912585422010-07-09T09:39:38.332-07:002010-07-09T09:39:38.332-07:00It was pink and it was perfect, and I took it out....It was pink and it was perfect, and I took it out.Dan Serafinihttp://serafinisays.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70197684092470529802010-07-09T09:31:31.565-07:002010-07-09T09:31:31.565-07:00Dudleys Mom, perhaps you are not making the distin...Dudleys Mom, perhaps you are not making the distinction and just mean we the TV viewers can hear the laughter watching the show, but Hot in Cleveland is shot with a live audience, not a laugh track. It may be augmented, that I don't know, but it's not all canned.GGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64505663442773951222010-07-09T09:31:25.234-07:002010-07-09T09:31:25.234-07:00Question:
1. When I first saw Mark Feuerstein in C...Question:<br />1. When I first saw Mark Feuerstein in Conrad Bloom, I found him to be a likeable actor. Then the show got cancelled and I don't remember seeing him again until Royal Pains where he's really found a niche. <br />You have any comments or reflections on his circuitous route to stardom? I also thought Conrad Bloom was a good show, what went wrong?<br /><br />2. I thought MASH was pretty good, but then I saw the film by Rob Altman and loved it. The film's jokes seemed very intrinsic and natural. I think with the TV show's laugh track, Hawkeye's one-liners seemed too gimmicky. I still liked MASH the TV show but did you ever consider Altman's approach and how much were you influenced by the film?sophomorecritichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14320637485303592977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-27195839067783360962010-07-09T09:07:55.189-07:002010-07-09T09:07:55.189-07:00Ken,
I have quite a few MASH scripts in my collec...Ken,<br /><br />I have quite a few MASH scripts in my collection and in reading through them, none of writers indicate Stage 9 vs. Fox Ranch locations. How did the production staff decide which location to shoot scenes (aside from the obvious: EXT. CHOPPER PAD - DAY).Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00107309396839340695noreply@blogger.com