tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post2110979405437444998..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Friday QuestionsBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13595099842979531802019-11-16T20:37:58.184-08:002019-11-16T20:37:58.184-08:00Look at Thursday's overnights for CBS:
8:30 p...Look at Thursday's overnights for CBS:<br /><br />8:30 p.m.: "The Unicorn," 0.7 ages 18-49<br />9 p.m.: "Mom," 0.9 <br />9:30 p.m.: "Carol's Second Act," 0.6<br /><br />The "Mom" audience is not only <i>very</i> loyal, but it's tuning out Patricia Heaton. Not a good sign for her.VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22433753359022396532019-11-16T15:05:20.366-08:002019-11-16T15:05:20.366-08:00MikeN: I always wondered if "The Big Ear Fami...MikeN: I always wondered if "The Big Ear Family" was based on "The Widettes," a fourth season SNL sketch in which the one-and-only joke is that every member of the family has a ridiculously huge rear end. Not really funny at all, but they apparently liked it enough to include it in the 30-minute version that used to run on Nick at Nite all the time.Andy Rosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1438607362758789452019-11-16T13:22:41.432-08:002019-11-16T13:22:41.432-08:00I have not watched "Carole's Second Act&q...I have not watched "Carole's Second Act" but today there is drama. Blogmaster Ken can you weigh in on the news story regarding female writers quitting due to P. Heaton's husband's "hands-on" approach in the writer's room?<br />-----<br /><br />Two Writers Quit Patricia Heaton’s CBS Show, Carol’s Second Act, After Misconduct Complaints<br /><br /><br />Two female writers have quit the freshman CBS sitcom Carol’s Second Act, starring Patricia Heaton and a silver-fox Kyle MacLachlan, due to misconduct complaints against one of the show’s executive producers — who happens to be Heaton’s husband. Per the New York Times, writer Broti Gupta accused David Hunt of inappropriately touching her on two occasions, which included stroking her thigh and forcefully shaking her shoulders. When Gupta told the network’s human resources department about the incidents, she felt she was “penalized at work” as a result, and subsequently quit the show.<br /><br />Link to the entire article: https://www.vulture.com/2019/11/cbs-patricia-heaton-carols-second-act-sexual-misconduct.html?utm_campaign=vulture&utm_medium=s1&utm_source=tw&utm_campaign=vulture&utm_medium=s1&utm_source=twEdwardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03428768957017762182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44786928290844138692019-11-16T10:00:45.440-08:002019-11-16T10:00:45.440-08:00Growing up n both Los Angeles and Chicago I got to...Growing up n both Los Angeles and Chicago I got to hear Vin Scully, Jack Brickhouse and Harry Caray.<br /><br />Scully has said his calls were not loud and excitable because once a ball was well struck to the outfield, he would turn is attention to the outfielder. If the outfielder looked like he was positioning himself for a catch, he wouldn't do anything like "back, back, back" or the like. It was going to be an out and he'd call it that way. Balls where the outfielders never moved or gave it a half hearted effort to catch, his "it's gone" would be more emphatic.<br /><br />Harry Caray's Holy Cow was not something he said to signify a home run. Harry said Holy Cow if the ballgirl was cute or the beer was cold. His call was more along the lines of "it's a long drive, way back, it might be, it could be IT IS! a home run!" Then maybe the Holy Cows would come out. Jack Brickhouse did however employ "Hey! Hey!" to signify a ball was over the wall, preceded by something like "it's a long drive, deep left (or center or right) field" then the Hey! Hey!". <br /><br />All three announcers in my opinion are among the game's best.Don K.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-89002363083161159282019-11-16T05:36:01.595-08:002019-11-16T05:36:01.595-08:00I think “The Middle” is greatly underrated, but I ...I think “The Middle” is greatly underrated, but I only need to see a few clips of “Carol’s Second Act” to know that it is far below Patricia Heaton’s previous efforts. I’m sure she has enough money. But my guess is she loves her work, and doing series television, and she doesn’t want to give it up. Lucille Ball loved to do series work, too, and she continued with two successful series that followed “I Love Lucy”, even though those shows were not in the same creative league with her earlier work. And Dick Van Dyke tried several times for a follow-up to his classic 60s show before hitting on another long running hit. You can’t blame them for wanting to continue to do something they love.Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-48668538815961757252019-11-15T23:35:32.115-08:002019-11-15T23:35:32.115-08:00Well, I think CAROL is the best new sitcom of the ...Well, I think CAROL is the best new sitcom of the season. The writing is excellent (particularly the "Night Float" episode), the cast is terrific (really love Ito Aghayere) and with the plethora of hospital shows right now, it's nice to see a comedy that punctures their pomposity.<br /><br />This has been an opinion. It is no less valid than those that think it's a lousy show.mike schlesingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15824197221204862706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-41819069747481948812019-11-15T19:13:38.988-08:002019-11-15T19:13:38.988-08:00Ken: You mentioned the Charles Brothers removing i...Ken: You mentioned the Charles Brothers removing inappropriate audience laughter from a heartfelt scene in the CHEERS episode "Coach's Daughter," to preserve the emotional core of the episode.<br /><br />Last night I caught a re-run of the S1 episode "Let Me Count the Ways." In the climactic scene, Shelley Long knocks it out of the park delivering Diane's tearful monologue about her recently-deceased cat, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and what the cat meant to her. Sam tears up...and there's *laughter* from the audience (not uproarious, but it's there). It doesn't ruin the take, but it's awkward because it doesn't seem like the scene is played for laughs (at least not until Diane points out Sam's crying and he deflects with the excuse of being "allergic to cat stories").<br /><br />My question is, was the audience intended to think Sam's reaction was comical? The scene takes Diane's loss of the cat seriously and expects us (and Sam) to take it seriously, but the audience seems to be primed to find it funny. Was this reaction deliberate or surprising?Francis Dollarhydehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16974200244125077414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-20325114397725585192019-11-15T14:58:38.529-08:002019-11-15T14:58:38.529-08:00Ken: Sorry to be off-topic, but given your ties to...Ken: Sorry to be off-topic, but given your ties to my hometown, the Chiefs (now the Mets) and broadcasting, I thought you might have known this guy, or been familiar with his work, so I'm passing this along....<br /><br />https://www.syracuse.com/sports/2019/11/jack-morse-dies-longtime-television-radio-and-syracuse-chiefs-broadcaster.html?fbclid=IwAR0Q4km5g9CHL2wIZVgctX6_w-_ykgSNA-ebn9sLxKqbHS3rrMAhd8xufIYMark Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07463881222804863326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-6848762264699740172019-11-15T14:44:55.238-08:002019-11-15T14:44:55.238-08:001. Anonymous posters choose to post as anonymous ...1. Anonymous posters choose to post as anonymous for many fine reasons and <br />would prefer sharing as little info with Google, Facebook etc as possible. <br />Ask the whistleblower. <br />2. Great old baseball broadcasts - and homer calls- from 1934 onward, here<br /><br />https://otrrlibrary.org/OTRRLib/Library%20Files/B%20Series/Baseball%20Broadcasts/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-72341808141883830522019-11-15T14:36:05.724-08:002019-11-15T14:36:05.724-08:00Someone has to mention Hall-of-Famer Dave Niehaus ...Someone has to mention Hall-of-Famer Dave Niehaus of the Mariners. His home run call of "Fly away!" was good, but his grand slam call was unique: "Get out the rye bread and mustard, Grandma, it's a grand salami!" Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32737667566179207492019-11-15T13:38:28.860-08:002019-11-15T13:38:28.860-08:00"Many of Charley’s home run calls are caught ..."Many of Charley’s home run calls are caught at the wall."<br /><br />OMG, LOL! So, so true. When you listen to him on the radio, at least two, three times a game he'll totally fake you out. In either direction: excited, like it's a home run... and then it's caught, often well in front of the warning track (by his own words!);or he'll sound like it's a routine fly out... and then it goes over the fence.<br /><br />I actually really like Charley Steiner, but this is so NOT what a radio announcer is supposed to do.David Arnottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40992922314488573392019-11-15T13:08:15.651-08:002019-11-15T13:08:15.651-08:00Jaime Jarrín may have "borrowed" his cal...Jaime Jarrín may have "borrowed" his call from Bob Prince of the Pirates. I don't know who was first but Mr. Prince started earlier.<br /><br />Bob prince also popularized the "Green Weenie" (which was really a plastic pickle from the nearby Heinz factory tours) as a hex on opposing teams in the mid 60's.<br />JEDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07538398157297345338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55707412800673508292019-11-15T12:33:51.722-08:002019-11-15T12:33:51.722-08:00"the problem is that the sketch is built on o..."the problem is that the sketch is built on one joke."<br />Sean Penn celebrity roast had nothing beyond the premise.<br /><br />"Also, (I know this is more than two suggestions): shorter is better. Don’t let your sketch drag."<br /><br />Like 90% of SNL sketches over the last 40 years. The Simpsons made fun of this back in its fourth season with Krusty in The Big Ear Family.<br /><br />MikeNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13421569336017076702019-11-15T11:39:58.690-08:002019-11-15T11:39:58.690-08:00Freezing your ass off? That's not a Friday qu...Freezing your ass off? That's not a Friday question, but the following are. <br /><br />FRIDAY QUESTION #1: Directing. How would you handle a multiperson scene where the action/dialog is divided between different groups? A party scene is as good an example as any. In a multicam sitcom or play those off camera can't stop doing something until the focus is back on them. Do you give them specific blocking or do you tell them to just improv some pantomiming until it's their turn again? You need movement, but nothing too distracting.<br /><br />FRIDAY QUESTION #2: Writing.<br />In your opinion, how interconnected should A & B storylines be? Or do they need to be connected at all?<br />One of the things that was great about "Seinfeld" at its peak was the way all the stories came together either directly or under a single theme. However, on the last few seasons of "The Big Bang Theory" the storylines became so divergent that is was almost as if you were watching two different shows. You could name a couple of specific episodes from your shows as an example. <br />Thanks. <br />Break a coccyx.<br />M.B. Mike Bloodworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04755626259169126800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4973540695862535212019-11-15T11:20:46.655-08:002019-11-15T11:20:46.655-08:00In Chicago, Harry Carrey's "Holy Cow!&quo...In Chicago, Harry Carrey's "Holy Cow!" and Jack Brickhouse's "Back back ..back..HEY HEY!" are classics<br />Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16880646894752760905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14705830783233715632019-11-15T11:04:59.322-08:002019-11-15T11:04:59.322-08:00Best home run call: Jon Miller, worst: Joe AngelBest home run call: Jon Miller, worst: Joe AngelVictor Velasconoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8229426508559350692019-11-15T10:14:54.179-08:002019-11-15T10:14:54.179-08:00Love Miller's "Adios, Pelot-aaahh!" ...Love Miller's "Adios, Pelot-aaahh!" but I'm more partial to Duane Kuiper's "Hit well...high and deep to left...it...is...OUTTA HERE!!" Duane's kid brother Glen, who works across the bay calling A's games, has a call of "That baby is gone!" which comes off more like a last-minute "I need something cool to say here." <br /><br />Context is key though. Any of these calls become spine-tingling with the passion of, say, a bottom-of-the-ninth comeback behind them.Brother Herberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09176543368300371994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82552106049624093572019-11-15T07:55:13.587-08:002019-11-15T07:55:13.587-08:00Growing up in Chicago, we had "Hey, Hey"...Growing up in Chicago, we had "Hey, Hey" and "Holy Cow". And haters gonna hate, but I loved "Put it on the boarddddddd. Yes!"bensonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44860860452663489632019-11-15T07:39:22.336-08:002019-11-15T07:39:22.336-08:00How about Jaime Jarrín's "¡Se va, se va, ...How about Jaime Jarrín's "¡Se va, se va, se va, y despídala con un beso!” Or, "It's going, it's going, it's going, and you can kiss it goodbye!"<br /><br />More seriously, I think John Sterling's calls may surpass, in reverse, Charley Steiner's. But I also think of Jon Miller saying he grew up with Russ Hodges saying, "Tell it bye-bye, baby!" and Lon Simmons saying, "You can tell it goodbye," and hearing The Vin for the first time. He said, "It's gone," and Miller thought, "He'll never make it with that call."<br /><br />Then there's The Vin's successor. Someone asked Joe Davis what his home run call would be and he said, it should depend on the kind of home run. I like that.<br /><br />But isn't the greatest one, "It's gone! No, wait a minute!"Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01998867386294693956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-5864748806871941542019-11-15T07:19:23.914-08:002019-11-15T07:19:23.914-08:00We want Ken pictured with the Mary Richards statue...We want Ken pictured with the Mary Richards statue!<br /><br />And for the best home run call, no one's beaten Harry Kalas' "this ball's outta here!" (though as a Nationals fan, I'm partial to Charlie Slowes' "bang, zoom go the fireworks!").VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-86096548629419990192019-11-15T06:51:42.649-08:002019-11-15T06:51:42.649-08:00As soon as I saw the promos for "Carol's ...As soon as I saw the promos for "Carol's Second Act," I thought, "Doesn't Patricia Heaton have enough money these days?" Nothing I saw in the first couple of episodes led me to believe her heart is in it.<br /><br />Which is another thing I wonder about with big actors. Is their taste barometer off, or do they just plain go for the cash after a while? Dick Van Dyke can carry on forever about the virtues of "Diagnosis Murder." But if you were on that storied desert island with only one show to choose from, would you rather watch "Diagnosis Murder" or "The Dick Van Dyke Show" for the rest of your life?Steve Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07460010481523481647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4811807300000323262019-11-15T06:34:30.104-08:002019-11-15T06:34:30.104-08:00We love Pattie Heaton in my house.
But, Carol...We love Pattie Heaton in my house. <br />But, Carol's Second Act is not funny.<br />I'm not sure they know what they are trying to say and how to say it.<br /><br />Pattie is a little over the top (she's often shouting), and 2 or 3 of the secondary cast are just not funny, even with clever lines.<br /><br /><br />As a METS fan, we have 2 great homerun callers: Gary Cohen, and Howie Rose<br /><a rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRTwlGqGs4I</a><br /><br /><br />The Bumble Bee Pendanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11782074071758250824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-90848867286405037712019-11-15T06:26:54.342-08:002019-11-15T06:26:54.342-08:00Now that Disney+ is out, what is your list of &quo...Now that Disney+ is out, what is your list of "Must See Disney?"R. Larry Dummkopfnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16125452314668086482019-11-15T06:20:34.701-08:002019-11-15T06:20:34.701-08:00You're in Minneapolis? OK, here's a questi...You're in Minneapolis? OK, here's a question: did you make it a point to visit the <a href="https://www.minneapolis.org/honoring-mary-tyler-moore/" rel="nofollow">Mary Tyler Moore statue<br /></a> while you're there?Tommy Raikonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30705341223318376422019-11-15T06:20:05.009-08:002019-11-15T06:20:05.009-08:00I remember Ross's "moistmaker" if on...I remember Ross's "moistmaker" if only from the Binging With Babish Youtube series.Lemuelnoreply@blogger.com