tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post114990391867598034..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Do not try this at home!By Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1150135858686550182006-06-12T11:10:00.000-07:002006-06-12T11:10:00.000-07:00Didnt you already recycle this columns at least on...Didnt you already recycle this columns at least once in the last few months? Nice column, but don't start going all Lost on us...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1150104852282632482006-06-12T02:34:00.000-07:002006-06-12T02:34:00.000-07:00I was really interested in the point about product...I was really interested in the point about production costs, and I can see how a plain vanilla ep of MASH would cost a fortune. A jillion nurses and wounded, many who often get lines. I imagine you've got to spring for a safety guy on the set if you even have the blades of a chopper spin, and if you have one in flight the expenses skyrocket. Probably why the wounded usually came by truck. All of that even if you don't have visiting brass/journos/etc.<BR/><BR/>There are a lot of half hour comedys that are easy to do on one set with no extras. MASH seems like it would be the hardest show to reasonably budget and still look like a normal episode.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1150005027803925462006-06-10T22:50:00.000-07:002006-06-10T22:50:00.000-07:00Mary Tyler Moore attends her class reunion at Leif...Mary Tyler Moore attends her class reunion at Leif Erickson High. There, she runs into Howard Arnell, her goofy ex-boyfriend . . .Shimmyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04134984926357545516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1149994351964514792006-06-10T19:52:00.000-07:002006-06-10T19:52:00.000-07:00I stand corrected. Thanks for the clarification, S...I stand corrected. Thanks for the clarification, Stephen.<BR/>Does this throw everything Roddenberry said into doubt? Because 32 years ago I won a competition for which Roddenberry was one of the judges. Do I have to renounce my forgotten title? Rats!<BR/>As to the main topic, also about 30 years ago a partner and I wrote a spec script for "Happy Days". We had Fonzie getting his draft notice and the gang working together to help him dodge the draft.<BR/>It was read and rejected because "Fonzie is a role model for young people, and would NOT dodge the draft." Having at the time spent years protesting and trying to dismantle the draft, I saw Fonzie avoiding the draft AS Good Role Model Behavior. The show's reaction simply never occurred to me. Of course the show runners saw it differently. I forgot that my definition of Good and Evil wasn't the same as the network's. Good lesson though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1149971438973363622006-06-10T13:30:00.000-07:002006-06-10T13:30:00.000-07:00I'm actually a little surprised there weren't more...I'm actually a little surprised there weren't more cover letter snafus.<BR/><BR/>"I assure you gentleman, this radical departure is exactly where this series <I>should</I> be headed. All McBeal needs this sexual reassignment surgery to keep the character vital to today's changing world. Her change is a metaphor for the world's."<BR/><BR/>To be clear, I never wrote that spec. As for the letter...Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08225225580903672256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1149905913061033482006-06-09T19:18:00.000-07:002006-06-09T19:18:00.000-07:00GREAT POST! Really useful yet funny advice.A casti...GREAT POST! Really useful yet funny advice.<BR/>A casting director I knew, the late Bill Hudnut, once told some actors "Watch the shows you are reading for. If you read for 'Family Ties' (Okay, this was over 20 years ago) and they say 'You're talking to Alex Keaton', if you reply "Who's Alex Keaton?' All they'll say is 'Thank you for coming in. Goodby.'."<BR/>I read once where Harlan Ellison's first draft of "The City on the Edge of Forever" had the crew of the Enterprise staging a mutiny against Captain Kirk. Needless to say, this script was tossed out. The episode aired under that title still said "By Harlan Ellison" but it was by Roddenberry and was a sore point between them for years, though Harlan got over it eventually.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com