Friday Questions

Happy Lincoln’s Birthday (although I’m sure he’d be horrified to see what’s happening now).  Here are some Friday Questions.

Mark Solomon asks:

Ken, I just watched on ME -TV an episode of “Wings” which you directed.
Given your extensive history as a writer primarily (including past episodes
of “Wings”), did you have the latitude during table reads and rehearsals to
suggest or even unilaterally execute script or dialogue revisions that other
episodic Directors-for-hire may not have been granted?

Sometimes yes and sometimes no.  I would always ask the show runner before I started whether it was okay to throw in a joke or maybe change a joke. Some were very receptive; others wanted to see the script exactly as written.  And by the way, that’s fine.  

But I would always check first.  And if the powers-that-be did give me latitude I would always give them a heads-up on any changes right before run-through so they weren’t caught off guard. 

Also, I was never defensive.  I'm there to serve the show runner.  So if he didn't like any of my "improvements," out they came with no push-back from me. 

However, on ALMOST PERFECT, where I also was a show runner, I’d change things left and right.  I’d even move things around in a scene on occasion.  But my co-show-runners were always fine with it since it saved us a lot of rewrite work later that night.  Some script and joke problems were already solved.  

But I would NEVER do that as a freelance director.  

blogward wonders:

I've just (from Scotland) been catching up with the Bob Newhart Show - which was never networked in the UK. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED Frasier, best sitcom of its era, but to my eyes, the production similarities with early 'Newhart' are uncannny - even the credits font is the same as Cheers (Cooper Black!).

As for a stuffy, middle-aged, balding psychologist conducting one-handed consultations on the phone - he's kind of Niles Crane crossed with Dick Van Dyke!

How much do you think that Frasier - and maybe its getting greenlit - initially owed to Bob Newhart? I'm not making accusations of plagiarism, it just never occurred to me that the Frasier style is part of what seems to be a (glorious) US sitcom tradition.

I can’t speak for the creators other than to say to my knowledge THE BOB NEWHART SHOW had no influence on the creation of FRASIER.  First off, Frasier was already established as a psychiatrist on CHEERS.  On FRASIER he doesn’t even have a private practice.  And the other characters and show dynamics are completely different.  Bob Hartley is married, Frasier is not.  Frasier lives with his father, Bob does not.  Bob does not have a brother.  There’s no nutty “Howard” neighbor on FRASIER.  

I love THE BOB NEWHART SHOW.  But I’m pretty certain it was not the inspiration for what became the premise of FRASIER.  

From Vincent Saia:

Ever get a freebee from a sponsor?

No.  Never did, which is too bad because Chevrolet sponsored MASH.

And finally, from Dan in Coquitlam:

Of the many guest star appearances on your TV shows, who made such an impression that you (or the show) wanted to bring back but for whatever reason never re-appeared?

Oh, that’s an easy one.  John Cleese on CHEERS.  He was absolutely hilarious.  We wanted to bring him back and even had a script assigned, but there proved to be a conflict in his schedule and he wasn’t able to do it.  We had to scramble and change the script.  

See that episode if you haven’t already.  It’s one of my absolute favorites.  Written by Peter Casey & David Lee.

What’s your Friday Question?  Happy Lincoln’s birthday and (Sunday) Valentine’s Day.