tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post6959568242748487854..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Friday questions of the week (plural):By Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-47959492146794489142008-08-09T11:05:00.000-07:002008-08-09T11:05:00.000-07:00Regarding that picture of Katie Couric: I'm impres...Regarding that picture of Katie Couric: I'm impressed that Warner Brothers could get her to promote <I>The Dark Knight</I> in her spare time.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01288100796201737845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52510846322081645222008-08-08T19:27:00.000-07:002008-08-08T19:27:00.000-07:00Weird question I've always wondered- where exactly...Weird question I've always wondered- where exactly did those paintings from the opening credits of CHEERS come from?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75379739142533505602008-08-08T17:07:00.000-07:002008-08-08T17:07:00.000-07:00I find that picture of Katie Couric strangely comp...I find that picture of Katie Couric strangely compelling...Alan Coilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09049940361953267636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12723365992860148262008-08-08T15:08:00.000-07:002008-08-08T15:08:00.000-07:00Ah, yes indeed - I forgot that once in a while the...Ah, yes indeed - I forgot that once in a while they used the "sad" subdued snippet of the MASH theme over the freeze frame.<BR/><BR/>This is analogous to series that have a few minutes of story leading into the opening titles - sometimes they would use an alternate bit of transitional music, such as the occasional LA LAW that opened with a low hum instead of the usual 4-second sax solo. <BR/><BR/>For what it's worth, the original STAR TREK did a freeze frame at the end exactly once: the season-2 (intentional) comedy "A Piece of the Action."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-27594032411773132212008-08-08T10:46:00.000-07:002008-08-08T10:46:00.000-07:00Somebody mentioned MASH but the music wasn't alway...Somebody mentioned MASH but the music wasn't always exactly the same. Sometimes they played the 'sad' version of the theme to remind us that we'd just seen a 'sad' episode. Which probably plays more than a little hackneyed today. <BR/><BR/>Those Police Squad endings are brilliant.Mr. Peel aka Peter Avellinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10553482286909862975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-2018084040755175642008-08-08T09:38:00.000-07:002008-08-08T09:38:00.000-07:00I always thought Ken based Marty Crane on himself,...I always thought Ken based Marty Crane on himself, going by his 'Perfect Weekend'.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-67816718227826213212008-08-08T07:23:00.000-07:002008-08-08T07:23:00.000-07:00Ken, do you think you might do a piece on your tho...Ken, do you think you might do a piece on your thoughts of the UCLA basketball team during your college years? I watched a documentary on HBO, "The UCLA Dynasty" about the years when the John Wooden coached team dominated (between 1964 and 1975--10 national championships, 4 undefeated seasons, an 88-game winning streak, superstars Bill Walton and Lew Alcindor, a.k.a. Kareem-Abdul Jabbar). I don't even like sports and I was fascinated.<BR/><BR/>You certainly have as much right to comment as the Doors' Ray Manzerek...although not as much as Beau Bridges, who played for Wooden in the pre-championship years. But what impressed me most is Wooden himself--it was only produced last year, and he has to be in his 90s, but still all there in every reasonable way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-84038111241079949252008-08-08T07:00:00.000-07:002008-08-08T07:00:00.000-07:00The 'freeze frame' ending seems to happen when a s...The 'freeze frame' ending seems to happen when a series has been on a few years, and are probably running of good 'closer' gags. HOGAN'S HEROES is a great example of this - the last two seasons, when Ivan Dixon left the show, and they replaced him with a bland token black actor, and they moved from the Desilu/Paramount Culver lot to a lesser facility.<BR/><BR/>I know people put HOGANS down a lot, but darn it all, the thing is funny! They had a decent cast, they had decent writers and decent directors. What I always find interesting about it is that all the people who complain about it never realized that 3/4 of the cast were persecuted by the Nazis in some way....LouOCNYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16151395857835632917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14872739829307288732008-08-08T04:05:00.000-07:002008-08-08T04:05:00.000-07:00Oh boy :-)Yes that special effects bit is totally ...Oh boy :-)<BR/><BR/>Yes that special effects bit is totally hilarious and I love it every time I read it. If I were you I would re-post it _at least_ every two years.<BR/><BR/>So I guess I have my answer :-)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01936042470523695383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35938292280436131002008-08-08T02:49:00.000-07:002008-08-08T02:49:00.000-07:00Hey Ken,So I'm still wondering about stand-up comi...Hey Ken,<BR/><BR/>So I'm still wondering about stand-up comics who transition to sit-com writing. Generally speaking, what do they bring to the table that non-comics don't? And what are their weaknesses?<BR/><BR/>PPAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22858373625901106212008-08-07T23:47:00.000-07:002008-08-07T23:47:00.000-07:00My favourite use of the "freeze frame/credits supe...My favourite use of the "freeze frame/credits superimposed" was in Police Squad with Leslie Neilsen, where there was no pause, they just froze in place... usually while action in the background continued uninterrupted.<BR/><BR/>It was probably that use that showed other shows how stupid it was to do that, so they stopped.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-79043784954347214482008-08-07T21:59:00.000-07:002008-08-07T21:59:00.000-07:00With respect to sitcoms that "used to end their ta...With respect to sitcoms that "used to end their tags with a freeze frame over which the beginning of the end credits was superimposed": I always hated that MASH started to do just that in its last four or five years; even worse, the music over those credits was always the same. What possible good reason did someone come up with for ossifying the show in that way?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31816361484983621792008-08-07T21:22:00.000-07:002008-08-07T21:22:00.000-07:00So why is it you answer the Friday question on a T...So why is it you answer the Friday question on a Thursday night?Roger Owen Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05298172138307632062noreply@blogger.com