tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post3262549906484503446..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: What sitcoms do I wish I had written for? By Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-6463804476716495072016-01-11T15:07:33.539-08:002016-01-11T15:07:33.539-08:00So far as I know the only teenager to get paid for...So far as I know the only teenager to get paid for comedy writing was Woody Allen (at age 18 - so said the two-part documentary currently available on Netflix). Would it be fair to say it was tougher to break in as a writer by 1967 than in the early 50s? Even if not, there's no shame in being "rejected" at age 17. Jahn Ghaltnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-48301590617313128542015-12-24T21:51:46.013-08:002015-12-24T21:51:46.013-08:00Between the shows you wrote and the shows you wish...Between the shows you wrote and the shows you wished you wrote you have most of the great sitcoms in TV history listed. <br /><br />On an odd note I have a question about a classic show I 'don't get'.<br />As someone in his mid-forties who never saw the show when it first aired, I'm curious about what I'm missing with the Mary Tyler Moore show. I've watched it and it seems like a pleasant show and I can tell it is well written, but I don't find it funny. I enjoy Dick Van Dyke and I listen to old time radio sitcoms every night of my life which should put me in the right audience for this classic sitcom. Of course as short-hand to explain my personality, I tell people I'm a life dropout version of Sheldon Cooper so that might explain some of the missed jokes about relationships.<br /><br />So what makes everyone but me laugh at Mary Tyler Moore?bigcathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13041708136294995117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55478156120960487102015-12-22T19:08:01.345-08:002015-12-22T19:08:01.345-08:00Ken, Nat HIken proved his comedy genius based on ...Ken, Nat HIken proved his comedy genius based on "The Phil Silvers Show", then he took it to the next level with "Car 54, Where are You?." I had never seen the show or heard of Mr. Hiken until a few years ago, when I saw it was on MeTV and tuned in as a lark, expecting it to be another early '60s silly sitcom. Having now seen every episode I can safely say no TV comedy I've ever watched gave me more laughs per minute then "Car 54". It was a crime that NBC cancelled the show after only 2 seasons. The story goes NBC tried to put the squeeze on Mr. Hiken to give them a piece of the show in exchange for its renewal for a third season and he refused.<br /><br />Also, although "The Dick Van Dyke Show" is near the top of my all-time TV comedy list, "The Andy Griffith Show" is right there, so there was at least one other brilliantly written '60s comedy. Heck, James Brooks himself wrote a couple of episodes. KCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30230620751404668302015-12-17T18:15:32.239-08:002015-12-17T18:15:32.239-08:00I was hoping Ken would've listed "Dobie G...I was hoping Ken would've listed "Dobie Gillis," the first prime-time series I can recall watching. Wonderfully subversive for the early '60s (I'm still amazed that two decades later, Pat Robertson aired reruns on his CBN network), its fast-paced dialogue made it a sort of sitcom equivalent to "His Girl Friday." And to me, Maynard G. Krebs remains the <i>definitive</i> Bob Denver role. (Sorry, Gilligan fans.)VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-66046873756457747472015-12-17T17:16:54.820-08:002015-12-17T17:16:54.820-08:00I think you dodged a bullet with season five of th...I think you dodged a bullet with season five of the otherwise brilliant TAXI -- it turned a great ensemble show into single character stories. Never understood why. Plus season one of CHEERS was the best of a great show. Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61032217021378525532015-12-17T14:24:56.621-08:002015-12-17T14:24:56.621-08:00Just for viewing pleasure...
Always liked a comedi...Just for viewing pleasure...<br />Always liked a comedian that I first saw on Ed Sullivan. <br />Finally decided to search starting with scraps first.<br />But I found his name. That's all it takes these days. A search engine and a name.<br />Never saw anyone who could slaughter the English language like Norm Crosby.<br />Here he is on the Dean Martin Show.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnX-EPaAIdUfredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13409641680161401624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12408687585020146782015-12-17T11:54:59.356-08:002015-12-17T11:54:59.356-08:00The illustration on your post reminds me of the da...The illustration on your post reminds me of the days when TV Guide ruled supreme. They had such fantastic covers that I used to collect them, and one time thought I had died and gone to heaven when my aunt gave me her collection of hundreds of TV Guides from the late 50's to the late 60's. I wish I still had those.thomas tuckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06241537308195762967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14730827891901113162015-12-17T10:54:16.531-08:002015-12-17T10:54:16.531-08:00Very interesting read…speaking of "Your Show ...Very interesting read…speaking of "Your Show of Shows," have you ever seen the movie "My Favorite Year" which is loosely based on the behind the scenes of this? Mark Linn-Baker plays the Mel Brooks role and Joseph Bologna plays King Kaiser, the Sid Caesar role. And of course Peter O'Toole playing an Errol Flynn type part.<br />Seems like such the Golden era of TV and a lot of fun.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17659178805318527428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-6252195141819365032015-12-17T10:20:00.218-08:002015-12-17T10:20:00.218-08:00If you could get one of the writing rooms you'...If you could get one of the writing rooms you've worked on before together again to do a new show, which would it be? Not going back in time, but the same group of writers as they have matured and grown in the years since.<br /><br />(This question inspired by the recent "w/ Bob and David" which reunites most of the writers from "Mr. Show", many of whom now run their own shows. Bob Odenkirk has said the main difference was "a lot less crying" than in the old days.)Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-39224918075511792562015-12-17T10:18:45.191-08:002015-12-17T10:18:45.191-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09378437954120779984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49651275112034822062015-12-17T02:21:30.766-08:002015-12-17T02:21:30.766-08:00CURB is pretty much The Honeymooners on acid with ...CURB is pretty much The Honeymooners on acid with 1950's Brooklyn transformed into 21st Century LA. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64147337151776631362015-12-17T01:02:39.320-08:002015-12-17T01:02:39.320-08:00Thanks, Pat Reeder. Thanks, Pat Reeder. Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61607998221030872602015-12-16T22:22:34.356-08:002015-12-16T22:22:34.356-08:00To Cap'n Bob:
This is just off the top of my...To Cap'n Bob: <br /><br />This is just off the top of my head, but I think I recall reading an interview with Woody Allen where he said that people often say he wrote for "Show of Shows," and then someone corrects them by saying he wrote for "Caesar's Hour," but neither is correct. I believe he said he wrote for a later special or series of specials that Caesar did, but not for either of the two original series. <br /><br />I can't affirm that my memory is perfectly accurate though. I'm not a robot. <br /><br />Personally, I want to write for "My World And Welcome To It." Pat Reederhttp://www.hollywoodhifi.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-5306516938020139882015-12-16T22:15:23.624-08:002015-12-16T22:15:23.624-08:00Consider this a premature Friday question:
I don&...Consider this a premature Friday question:<br /><br />I don't know the exact timelines involved, but when you were working on M*A*S*H, did you ever cross paths with a writer named Burt Prelutsky?<br /> For those who may not know, Mr. Prelutsky, who used to be a prolific scripter of episodic TV, has lately been one of the most rabid right-wing pundits in the press and on the net.<br />I just returned from his website, for which you now have to pay to get new stuff,<br />but enough of his archives are still there to send my acid reflux into warp drive.<br /><br />I believe that Prelutsky's time on M*A*S*H was a few years before your own, but what I really wonder is how Larry Gelbart handled him?<br />Just wondering, is all ...Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63162533022209892712015-12-16T18:12:02.797-08:002015-12-16T18:12:02.797-08:00Given Ken's past mentions of his appreciation ...Given Ken's past mentions of his appreciation of the charms of Liz Montgomery, I actually could see him and David writing an episode of "Bewitched" .... but only if it was one from the early seasons where the story focus was on Alice Pearce and George Tobias as the Kravitzes (who really were three-camera sitcom characters living in a single-camera show). <br /><br />You'd get to write for two characters with some bite to their lines, and you'd get to meet and write for Ms. Montgomery. A nice two-fer.Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-46646610488225440972015-12-16T18:01:53.259-08:002015-12-16T18:01:53.259-08:00I've read here and there that THE PHIL SILVERS...I've read here and there that THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW was the favorite of a young Larry David. How much influence crept into SEINFELD or CURB, I do not know.<br /><br />Ken, if you and David Isaacs could reboot any current show, what would it be (and what would you do differently)?Charles H. Bryannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-68720376941015704142015-12-16T16:56:56.163-08:002015-12-16T16:56:56.163-08:00How about adding a 40th episode to The Honeymooner...How about adding a 40th episode to The Honeymooners' Classic 39?Garynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-69883662408811327742015-12-16T14:34:38.907-08:002015-12-16T14:34:38.907-08:00Ken, I think you mentioned the Smothers Brothers&#...Ken, I think you mentioned the Smothers Brothers' story in your book "The Me Generation...By Me". I just finished reading that book today and enjoyed it very much.Ralph C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12488657064245017543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-48009200711481016132015-12-16T14:33:58.517-08:002015-12-16T14:33:58.517-08:00Not a bad resume, Ken. You should try writing for ...Not a bad resume, Ken. You should try writing for the Theatre. (wink-wink)<br /><br />Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Woody Allen didn't write for Your Show of Shows. <br /><br />Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65118875615103443452015-12-16T14:06:01.840-08:002015-12-16T14:06:01.840-08:00What?? Where's "My Mother The Car"??...What?? Where's "My Mother The Car"????Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08600688674236630281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-87463249291889262712015-12-16T13:08:55.523-08:002015-12-16T13:08:55.523-08:00What about WKRP in Cincinnati? Too close to the s...What about WKRP in Cincinnati? Too close to the subject matter? GS in SFnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71778679965495093402015-12-16T11:43:21.290-08:002015-12-16T11:43:21.290-08:00An entirely predictable list, though for an obviou...An entirely predictable list, though for an obvious reason. If one is going to fantasize about past series it would have been great to have written for, who isn't going to fantasize about writing for the best? Still and all, I have to admit it would be a novelty to see a list written by someone who regrets never having had the opportunity to write for THE REAL McCOYS or THE PATTY DUKE SHOW or THAT GIRL rather than THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW or ALL IN THE FAMILY or THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW.<br /><br />I've always felt a little sorry for comedy writers on variety shows that featured personalities whose forte was anything but comedy. It had to be tough to craft funny lines for, say, a popular singer who may have been great with a lyric, but couldn't negotiate his way through a punchline without a blueprint.Elliotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-24174861960038481602015-12-16T09:52:26.549-08:002015-12-16T09:52:26.549-08:00Selma Diamond played a bailiff on Night Court the ...Selma Diamond played a bailiff on Night Court the first season. Was very funny.<br /><br />Pam, St. LouisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70259042234554564442015-12-16T09:45:53.311-08:002015-12-16T09:45:53.311-08:00ABC's "No Soap, Radio" was hands dow...ABC's "No Soap, Radio" was hands down the "Ernie Kovacs" of early '80s prime time television... both the series and audience deserved FAR more than five episodes.<br /><br />The show's participants have always had warm regards concerning the show... then again, five episodes, there was no time for anyone to grow tired of it!<br /><br />"Job Interview", Basketball Head", "Man-Eating Chair" "The Day Everyone's Name Became Al", "Deer Hunting", so many memorable sketches in this brief series purporting to be a "sitcom".<br /><br />And, of course, "Yukon Dan", guess who THAT was supposed to be?<br /><br />They clearly tried anything and everything in this deliberately off-kilter project: what writer could ever pass up such an opportunity?<br />John Hammesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-69075463331129664182015-12-16T09:42:20.339-08:002015-12-16T09:42:20.339-08:00I think it would have been interesting if you had ...I think it would have been interesting if you had written for SEINFELD: many TV critics seem to like to credit that show for setting the standard of multiple storylines per episode (in this case, Jerry, George, Kramer, and Elaine each having their own individual plot that were intertwined), but we all know that it was M*A*S*H that pioneered it, and that you and David were an instrumental part in it.<br /><br />On an unrelated note, since TAXI was brought up in this post, the CAPTCHA just asked me to select images of taxis to prove I'm not a robot.Joseph Scarbroughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06851086150240380366noreply@blogger.com