tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post113432695071913922..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: My Spec is EarlBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1160156717461725122006-10-06T10:45:00.000-07:002006-10-06T10:45:00.000-07:00HEY KEN! Thanks for the info! Come check out my ...HEY KEN! Thanks for the info! Come check out my website sometime for a laugh:<BR/>www.clevelandclowns.com<BR/>Let me know what you think!<BR/>Matt <BR/>warz65@yahoo.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1136294628571629402006-01-03T05:23:00.000-08:002006-01-03T05:23:00.000-08:00On the Urban Legend front, I also heard (from a fr...On the Urban Legend front, I also heard (from a friend of a friend etc etc) that someone got a job off a Mary Tyler Moore spec where Mary comes out of the closet.<BR/><BR/>Who knew?Piershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04682054203119052550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134834191830948972005-12-17T07:43:00.000-08:002005-12-17T07:43:00.000-08:00Hi , great advice but where can writers find out w...Hi , great advice but where can writers find out which shows are open to specs? <BR/><BR/>I guess I'm weary of wasting time, like querying agents (almost every hack book says to query agents out of the blue but a good, busy agent is unlikely read it).<BR/><BR/>THANKS!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134583652173932172005-12-14T10:07:00.000-08:002005-12-14T10:07:00.000-08:00Ughgh, laugh tracks... *shudder*What do they reall...Ughgh, laugh tracks... *shudder*<BR/><BR/>What do they really accomplish other than showing the audiences the jokes that bombed?CDP.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13320507169539240996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134432464182803542005-12-12T16:07:00.000-08:002005-12-12T16:07:00.000-08:00Does anyone even try to write 24 spec scripts? An...Does anyone even try to write 24 spec scripts? <BR/><BR/>And has anyone encountered any really bad Lost spec scripts? For some reason I think that one must be a gold mine for mind-shatteringly bad spec writing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134408928930986022005-12-12T09:35:00.000-08:002005-12-12T09:35:00.000-08:00Great site. What would I do without writers who bl...Great site. What would I do without writers who blog!?<BR/><BR/>I've always thought Scrubs was better than Arrested Development.<BR/><BR/>Both shows do well by eliminating the laugh track!<BR/><BR/>Should a spec ideally pick up from the most recent episode? Or is it okay to write a story during, say, Season 3 of Scrubs- when it was really good? (Season 4 wasn't so hot)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134374358554526182005-12-11T23:59:00.000-08:002005-12-11T23:59:00.000-08:00I don't know why SCRUBS doesn't more recognition. ...I don't know why SCRUBS doesn't more recognition. I know I'm spitting on the cross but I like it much more than ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT.By Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134373147890469442005-12-11T23:39:00.000-08:002005-12-11T23:39:00.000-08:00Hi Ken,As before, loving your blog.Just wondering ...Hi Ken,<BR/><BR/>As before, loving your blog.<BR/><BR/>Just wondering if you would be able to explain why Scrubs isn't a more popular choice as far as comedy spec's go? <BR/><BR/>Does it simply come down to always trying to spec the most popular shows in your chosen genre?<BR/><BR/>Many thanks if you are able to answer that.<BR/>cheers<BR/>Dave.Grubberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10435524784373114313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134371851480001962005-12-11T23:17:00.000-08:002005-12-11T23:17:00.000-08:00It wasn't a spec GOMER PYLE. It was MAKING OF THE...It wasn't a spec GOMER PYLE. It was MAKING OF THE PRESIDENT 2000.By Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134370516873480972005-12-11T22:55:00.000-08:002005-12-11T22:55:00.000-08:00Urban legend has it that a writer got an assignmen...<I>Urban legend has it that a writer got an assignment with a spec DICK VAN DYKE SHOW but no one can confirm that.</I><BR/><BR/>I think that's the one I heard. The other urban legend I heard was that somebody wrote a <I>Gomer Pyle</I> spec, though that might just be the rural version of the same urban legend.Jaime J. Weinmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15128500411119962998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134368583051014482005-12-11T22:23:00.000-08:002005-12-11T22:23:00.000-08:00Julie O,Please link me. Thanks. I'd thank you vi...Julie O,<BR/><BR/>Please link me. Thanks. I'd thank you via email but can't find your email address. <BR/><BR/>Jeff,<BR/><BR/>Seventeen writers in a room is usually thirteen too many. Good luck with your pitch.<BR/><BR/>Corey,<BR/><BR/>I wouldn't worry about the list. I'm sure it's not written in stone. Come up with something better and they'll use it. <BR/><BR/>Jaimie,<BR/><BR/>Urban legend has it that a writer got an assignment with a spec DICK VAN DYKE SHOW but no one can confirm that. It's tricky. The vintage show you pick has to be far enough in the past that it doesn't look like you've been peddling it for years, it has to have a similar sensibility to shows today, and it has to be recent enough that the young story editors are familiar with it. I bet if you did a great JEFFERSONS they'd take notice at EVERYBODY LOVES CHRIS.By Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134366449243785912005-12-11T21:47:00.000-08:002005-12-11T21:47:00.000-08:00I've always wondered -- though I would never actua...I've always wondered -- though I would never actually dare to do it -- whether a writer could get away with doing a spec of a "classic" show. Not an obscure one, just something like <I>Taxi</I> or <I>Cheers</I> or <I>Dick Van Dyke</I> that a sitcom producer is likely to be familiar with. If the test of a spec is whether a writer can capture the style of a show, then does it really matter that the show is off the air?<BR/><BR/>I know that in reality a spec must be of a current show (I've heard stories of people doing an older show and getting hired, but they're just stories); but hypothesis is way more fun than reality.Jaime J. Weinmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15128500411119962998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134359878634606992005-12-11T19:57:00.000-08:002005-12-11T19:57:00.000-08:00josh: Earl's list on the show's website is far fro...<B>josh</B>: Earl's list on the show's website is far from complete. The list is supposed to be around 262 offenses long, whereas the NBC site only lists about 42, and wikipedia, 50-something. That should give your spec plenty of wiggle room, especially since Earl keeps adding to the list.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00403073511546040088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134355026794384712005-12-11T18:37:00.000-08:002005-12-11T18:37:00.000-08:00And thanks for liking Volunteers. I'll have much t...<I>And thanks for liking Volunteers. I'll have much to say about that experience in future posts.</I><BR/><BR/>Right on. Thanks for writing it and I look forward to your stories. I hope the experience was a good one for you. Just remembering John Candy singing the fight song still makes me laugh. <BR/><BR/>Hell, it's gotta be at least a decade since I've seen it. Would I still love it? Would I still snort when Gedde Watanabe says, "You're an asshole Peace Corps guy?" <BR/><BR/>(Btw, mind if I link to you, Ken?)Julie O'Horahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16580655656385169632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134347601711418122005-12-11T16:33:00.000-08:002005-12-11T16:33:00.000-08:00Isaac, don't throw away your spec. That sort of t...Isaac, don't throw away your spec. That sort of thing happens all the time. Producers are more interested in whether or not you captured the show, have a flair for comedy, etc. <BR/><BR/>Jeff, what can I say? Happy to help or sorry you feel that way depending on what you meant. <BR/><BR/>Julie, you're way too pretty to be any girl I dated in college. That would be UCLA, by the way. And thanks for liking Volunteers. I'll have much to say about that experience in future posts.By Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134346999374786952005-12-11T16:23:00.000-08:002005-12-11T16:23:00.000-08:00Enjoyed reading your blog, Ken. Also, it's been y...Enjoyed reading your blog, Ken. <BR/><BR/>Also, it's been years since I last saw it, but VOLUNTEERS was very funny. A lot of the moments have stuck with me over the years.<BR/><BR/>(Huh. I just realized why your name seemed familiar -- I think I dated a Ken Levine in my freshman year. Once. He actually said to me, "C'mon, Julie, you're in college now." But I'm sure that wasn't you...)Julie O'Horahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16580655656385169632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134344528185067402005-12-11T15:42:00.000-08:002005-12-11T15:42:00.000-08:00See. Now this is exactly the kind of thing that dr...See. Now this is exactly the kind of thing that drives me insane. <BR/><BR/>I'm directed here by one of my friends in order to learn a little something at the virtual feet of one of the masters of a craft with which I am still wrestling.<BR/><BR/>So, I come. I drag my digital ass all the way over here and what do I get?<BR/><BR/>A stack of blogs each displaying an even more effortless way with humorous words than that I find to varying degrees in those pals of mine who are similarly employed.<BR/><BR/>Bastards, all of you. Really. just stop.<BR/><BR/>Funny can't be learned. Stop pretending that it can. It's just too cruel.<BR/><BR/>But keep with the jokes, please. I can still be a good audience.Geoff Thornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02459937797419646539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134344129223493402005-12-11T15:35:00.000-08:002005-12-11T15:35:00.000-08:00If you've written a spec for a show, and then some...If you've written a spec for a show, and then something major changes in that show's world - characters break up, move out etc. - is your spec useless? For many shows (particularly serialized dramadies) it seems like it's impossible to write a spec that lasts more than a few weeks before contradicting a story arc. Even if the spec avoids any revelations about the major mystery/season-long story, they don't remain relevant for long. Are showrunners more concerned with seeing that a writer can capture the tone and voice of a show, or do differences between a script and the direction of the show make a spec feel dated?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1134332844028166092005-12-11T12:27:00.000-08:002005-12-11T12:27:00.000-08:00One thing is interesting is that they have posted ...One thing is interesting is that they have posted Earl's list on the show's website - so on the one hand, you can pick something from Earl's list and write about it - on the other, sooner or later the show runners will write about the item on the list (and they are crossing them off as they do) - so do you stick to the list or make a chore for Earl off-list and hope show-runners don't notice?<BR/><BR/>What what should you spec if you want to write for Earl?<BR/><BR/>What should one do about new works, treatments, etc.?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com