tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post647170978401923421..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Some things you wanted to know about CHEERSBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1839831714618326102010-08-04T13:06:40.880-07:002010-08-04T13:06:40.880-07:00I find the relationship between Martin and his two...I find the relationship between Martin and his two kids on Frasier can be really touching even though they're so different and they often don't get along. In a couple episodes, I've been so moved that I got teary-eyed. So much of the emotional stuff in sitcoms is about the relationships between kids and their parents or kids and other kids. <br />What made you decide to mine the emotional territory between two adults and their adult dad and did you even have a roadmap (I can't even think of another sitcom that did that)?<br /><br />Also, part of the fun is that Frasier and Niles are so much different then their dad and they have to find ways to connect to each other in spite of that. In real life, how is the dynamic between the actors, different than the dynamic between the characters. They just might be really good actors but my theory is that John Mahoney is a regular blue collar guy in real life, and David Hyde Pierce and Kelsey Grammar are both a little more refined in their tastes and maybe it's a little bit of their real life personas carrying over to the screen?sophomorecritichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14320637485303592977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78355820710525568472010-07-30T20:19:27.210-07:002010-07-30T20:19:27.210-07:00Would love to know if any other actors read for th...Would love to know if any other actors read for the major roles - it's always fun to imagine how they would have created the character (Al Pacino as Han Solo anyone?).<br /><br />Was Ted Danson considered after his guest role as the hairdresser in Taxi?<br /><br />How did the outing of Sam's secret wig story come about.... was it met by resistance from Ted Danson?media_lushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02910717455951557487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16703214129897260812010-07-30T16:19:40.542-07:002010-07-30T16:19:40.542-07:00I think the pregnancy (and Maddie abruptly marryin...I think the pregnancy (and Maddie abruptly marrying a guy she met on the train and the "musical-comedy miscarriage)are what ruined Moonlighting.<br /><br />Oh, I could go on and on re: the Sam/Diane, Maddie/David, Maggie/Fleischman-type storylines.<br /><br />I've got a couple of scripts where there are other specific obstacles from the beginning, like Married to Other People (and would be really guilty about adultery). Or she's time Traveling back to college and the college boys are so ... young. <br /><br />(Those are from two different scripts. Altho' time-traveling adulterers cheating with college kids would work too.)amyp3https://www.blogger.com/profile/15749860471251983915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63586548848674738432010-07-30T15:32:25.805-07:002010-07-30T15:32:25.805-07:00I imagine you pretty well hash through all the sto...I imagine you pretty well hash through all the story's bits during the table reads - Cheers, especially, seemed very well polished - but did you ever make any last-minute changes to the script based on the audience reaction at the rehearsal or taping because something you thought would work didn't?Lou H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17611461956944372901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-20452078987613113502010-07-30T15:13:39.727-07:002010-07-30T15:13:39.727-07:00Ken, what was the first time you got paid for writ...Ken, what was the first time you got paid for writing something?Max Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07706524941272103444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-45829934349706451002010-07-30T14:34:43.714-07:002010-07-30T14:34:43.714-07:00A Friday question for you:
Why don't more TV ...A Friday question for you:<br /><br />Why don't more TV writers write comic novels? The only one that pops into my head is SHEILA LEVINE IS DEAD AND LIVING IN NEW YORK by Gail Parent, many years ago. I'm sure there are others but why so rare? Doesn't the quick pace of TV dialogue not transfer to the printed page? Is the challenge of the longer form not worth the trouble? Is there too much typing involved?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-18394710702981104022010-07-30T14:07:38.377-07:002010-07-30T14:07:38.377-07:00Justim H in MN
Yeah, sort of reminds me of Frasie...Justim H in MN <br />Yeah, sort of reminds me of Frasier. People think after Niles and Daphne came together it took away from the show, but by that point they also needed to get together.<br /><br />I wonder how The Office can go on with out Michael Scott?Annette Hnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-91409082267721853902010-07-30T13:45:38.286-07:002010-07-30T13:45:38.286-07:00There was quite a bit of talk about if shows die w...There was quite a bit of talk about if shows die when a will-they-won't-they couple comes together last year when Pam and Jim got married on the office. It seems like most people think the answer is no. In particular look at these:<br /><br />http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2009/09/what_really_happened_to_moonli_1.html<br /><br />http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2009/10/the_office_why_jim_and_pams_we.html<br /><br />What is really important is that the Moonlighting example is false because the show was already dead when they got together. More importantly to the question Ken was asked (and relates to Samuel.x.killer's point)- Sam and Diane first got together at the end of the first season- and the real issue is the longer term emotional arcs.<br /><br />And I think this is what makes COMMUNITY the interesting case going into season 2 (if you haven't seen Community stop here), as Jeff and Britta did hook up, but in the finale ended with Jeff kissing Annie (which plays into Joel McHale having better chemistry with Alison Brie than Gillian Jacobs). I can only hope that Dan Harmon, who seems to have a grasp of media tropes, uses this set up well.Justim H in MNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-87566167311449286922010-07-30T12:46:12.082-07:002010-07-30T12:46:12.082-07:00500: One player hits and the others spread out int...500: One player hits and the others spread out into a field. Catching a fly ball is worth 100 points, catching it on one hop is worth 50 and catching a grounder scores 25 points. First one to 500 wins and is next to hit. If you go over 500, you start over at zero.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71877640211902946612010-07-30T12:27:22.747-07:002010-07-30T12:27:22.747-07:00"Moonlighting". That show fell apart aft..."Moonlighting". That show fell apart after they sealed the deal.MrEdnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58931592815037889842010-07-30T12:14:21.275-07:002010-07-30T12:14:21.275-07:00Whenever I watched CHEERS at home and heard the la...Whenever I watched CHEERS at home and heard the laughter rolling through the studio and reverberating, I thought that they must have been filming on the largest soundstage in Hollywood... Well, I never did make it to a CHEERS filming but when I finally did get the chance to visit the studio, I couldn't believe how small it was -- maybe the second smallest soundstage I had ever been on! The reverb must have been due to a great extent to the mic placement over the audience and the post production mixing. So while I could tell it was obviously a live audience I was hearing, I always beleved it was much larger than they actually could accomodate. Maybe just another one of the Charles Brothers' attention to detail in keeping the show's level of excellence well above that of other sitcoms?Tom Quigleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12959628996361620134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-39900639588600364342010-07-30T11:07:03.833-07:002010-07-30T11:07:03.833-07:00Your screen time on the MASH 30th Anniversary Reun...Your screen time on the MASH 30th Anniversary Reunion was an eyeblink. Surely the group of writers shown had more to say than was shown. What did we miss that hit the cutting room floor?Randynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-91778546349157080052010-07-30T10:06:01.606-07:002010-07-30T10:06:01.606-07:00Ha that's too funny to hear about Sam because ...Ha that's too funny to hear about Sam because I always just feel like Sam is going WAY too far. But because it's Sammy, and television, I just let it slide.Annettenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74581411106458356942010-07-30T09:53:42.947-07:002010-07-30T09:53:42.947-07:00the two shows this past year with a season long wi...the two shows this past year with a season long will-they-or-won't-they romance - COMMUNITY and COUGAR TOWN - both had the leads together physically in the last few episodes of the first season though their emotional relationship is still largely undefined. while people may get together sooner, i think it's interesting that now there are so many gray areas in relationshipssamuel.x.killerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14864745416243476871noreply@blogger.com