tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post7093211461957846126..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: The pilot you will never seeBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78548135298772127932016-10-02T23:38:46.167-07:002016-10-02T23:38:46.167-07:00Mike I had no idea. So his great acting job was a...Mike I had no idea. So his great acting job was actually Boss Hogg. The cast of that show is underrated. Just how seriously they own the roles. Will Ferrell in Elf is another example that so many would ruin.MikeNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26176746444146267282016-10-02T20:48:54.361-07:002016-10-02T20:48:54.361-07:00Don't feel too bad. Writers often have very li...Don't feel too bad. Writers often have very little to do with the final results. I haven't worked at the network level like you have, but I was once hired to write comedy bits for a local TV station to run as buffers between commercials and segments of a movie special. They had to be silent. Perfect; I'm a lifelong silent movie buff. <br /><br />Using Keaton as my model, I think I came up with some really funny bits and explained in the script that the guy doing them had to remain completely deadpan. Instead, the producer said, no, silent comedy has to "BE BIG!" He made the guy wildly overplay everything until he was mugging and flailing so outrageously, he was knocking over the scenery. Viewers didn't even notice the gags being pulled. Someone who worked on that show and didn't know I had written it later mentioned how painfully awful those bits were. I was too embarrassed to say anything, but I wanted to scream, "Believe it or not, they were funny when they came out of my typewriter!" Pat Reederhttp://www.hollywoodhifi.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-60696427615015921152016-10-02T18:40:47.268-07:002016-10-02T18:40:47.268-07:00Sorry, Ken. You're gonna have to kill me. I...Sorry, Ken. You're gonna have to kill me. I've seen it. Remember it well. Back in the 90s, I had a friend who had worked as an actor in the 70s under the name of Jim Scott. I once asked him what he had done and he told about this pilot called THE BAY CITY AMUSEMENT COMPANY. So I did some digging, found the name of the Executive Producer, called him and asked if he had a copy of it. He did and he loaned it to me so that I could make a copy for my friend. You and David were very brave to not only leave your names on it, but to fight to do so. And you are brave to write about it today. As for my friend, his reaction was, "You know, it wasn't as bad as I remembered it." So there. Someone liked it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08391741765393640657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35072825850413145682016-10-02T18:34:58.582-07:002016-10-02T18:34:58.582-07:00Sorry, Ken. You're gonna have to kill me. I...Sorry, Ken. You're gonna have to kill me. I've seen it. Remember it well. Here's the story. Back in the 90's, I became friends with a guy named Jim (Last name withheld) who had been an actor back in the 70s, working under the name of Jim Scott. I asked him what he had done and he mentioned a pilot called THE BAY CITY AMUSEMENT COMPANY. So I did some digging, came up with the name of the Executive Producer, called him and asked if he had a copy of the pilot. He did and he let me borrow it long enough to make a copy, which I gave to my friend as a gift. You are very brave to let people know your names are on this, Ken. What was my friend's reaction? Well, he was very grateful to have a copy of it and said, "It's not nearly as bad as I remember it." So there you go. Someone liked it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7040885050847642222016-10-02T18:07:42.947-07:002016-10-02T18:07:42.947-07:00I know I watched this show as I clearly remember t...I know I watched this show as I clearly remember the title and premise plus Pat McCormick being involved. I just can't remember whether I liked it or not as I was 10 when it ran and obviously got no memory reinforcement from reruns. I'd probably feel the same as you if it was truly that bad but, by saying something, you only got my curiosity up.KoHoSohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00457687879505057220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50642920969582215502016-10-02T17:12:42.567-07:002016-10-02T17:12:42.567-07:00JOHNNY LIZARD?!?!? Oh, that's RICH.....and we ...JOHNNY LIZARD?!?!? Oh, that's RICH.....and we now have a registered nom de plume that you will NEVER escape from.....Johnny.<br /><br />And to assuage your pilot grief, and to celebrate your opening, here's how wonderfully the (dreaded) SF Giants treated our man Vin today:<br /><br />https://twitter.com/SFGiants/status/782663103875997697<br /><br />Also gave him a standing O during "Take Me Out To The Ballgame", waving "Thanks Vin" signs; and Willie Mays visited the booth to present Vin with a plaque that will hang in their clubhouse commemorating the day. And finally this wonderful trib from all the Giants announcers:<br /><br />https://twitter.com/SFGiants/status/782689337544577025<br /><br />This has been so much fun.....gotta talk him into ONE MORE YEAR! ;^)<br /><br />PS: It's DrBOP, Google pass through not working right now, and I gotta run.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31937569120041461632016-10-02T15:52:52.835-07:002016-10-02T15:52:52.835-07:00Hey, if you have any more of the old 3/4 inch tape...Hey, if you have any more of the old 3/4 inch tapes, don't destroy 'em, digitize 'em and share 'em on YouTube. There's a whole bunch of us out there who watch that sort of thing just to see the network stuff: IDs, promos, newsbreaks, etc. And stuff from before the 1/2 inch tape era is gold, because there's so little of it.Jim Greyhttp://blog.jimgrey.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21056082658035587442016-10-02T13:42:20.779-07:002016-10-02T13:42:20.779-07:00Bay City Amusement Company is listed at IMDb and (...Bay City Amusement Company is listed at IMDb and (for some reason) TCM database (where it waits its first review). It also featured one of my favorite comedy actress, Barrie Youngfellow. michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17812924049258701715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-28254897475699672642016-10-02T11:58:01.877-07:002016-10-02T11:58:01.877-07:00The above DJ story reminds me...
Ken, don't f...The above DJ story reminds me...<br /><br />Ken, don't feel too bad. I think I was the world's worst DJ. In 1982 when I was 16, I joined an Explorer Post (affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America) on radio broadcasting careers, run by the kind people at KLON 88.1fm of California State University Long Beach, now KKJZ and IMHO America's greatest jazz and classic pop station.<br /><br />One of the group leaders had a regular overnight gig every weekend at UC Irvine's student station, KUCI, which then as now had a reputation as a VERY cutting-edge new music-and-grooves station, and he got permission to bring us kids over so we could broadcast in half-hour segments on a REAL radio station during one of his overnight shows.<br /><br />Being a pretty sheltered kid, my music was anything but exciting... I played some dull Top 40 stuff of the time, Fleetwood Mac's "Hold Me," "Caught Up In You" by 38 Special... stuff I'm sure did not mesh well with what was probably in KUCI's regular rotation at the time (early-era punk rock, Ramones, Siouxsie & The Banshees, etc). Practically ever other teen there had a more eclectic, exciting set of music to play, it seemed.<br /><br />And I just didn't have the rapport for DJing. I was so nervous, I even had trouble remembering to speak into the #@!% microphone; our leader, a great guy named Mat Kaplan, had to remind me the *mic was the audience* and never to turn away from it. I also once muttered 'scratch that' when I whiffed a simple song intro.<br /><br />I have the cassettes but am still too embarrassed to listen to them 34 years later. I'd bet if KUCI ever has 'blooper shows,' new generations of college students are still hearing my half-hour DJ debut and laughing heartily.Steve Lanzi (formerly known as qdpsteve)https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=19336675&postID=7093211461957846126&bpli=1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-86271058765765983822016-10-02T11:34:38.021-07:002016-10-02T11:34:38.021-07:00Ken, would you consider showing your pilot on a do...Ken, would you consider showing your pilot on a double bill with THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED?<br />Toby the Wonder Horsenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33299768925007502962016-10-02T11:18:51.221-07:002016-10-02T11:18:51.221-07:00Somebody break it (gently) to MikeN that Sorrell B...Somebody break it (gently) to MikeN that Sorrell Booke (aka Boss Hogg) was himself Jewish; indeed, for most of his career he rarely played anything else (and we're going back here to the New York-live TV days, late '50s-early '60s).<br />When <i>Fail-Safe</i> was made in 1963, the prototype for the congressman was obviously Sen. Jacob Javits, whom Booke resembled somewhat.<br /><i>Dukes Of Hazzard</i> was nearly two decades into the future.<br /><br />We might also point out that in the Strategic Air Command scenes, a jittery tech sergeant was played, quite seriously, by the then-unknown Dom DeLuise.<br />You can imagine the reaction that <i>that</i> gets nowadays ...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05527404061764217504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61292547484345565872016-10-02T10:49:12.532-07:002016-10-02T10:49:12.532-07:00"I bet it's not that bad"
Are you k..."I bet it's not that bad"<br /><br />Are you kidding? We're hoping it's at least that bad. Yes, we NEED to see this :)Eric Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10639837826294361383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12294282264437369392016-10-02T09:53:01.522-07:002016-10-02T09:53:01.522-07:00I think we NEED to see this :) (In all seriousness...I think we NEED to see this :) (In all seriousness it's good for struggling beginners to seethat writers don't go from nowhere to perfection. That fact that your first attempts aren't great isn't an indication that you should quit - quite the opposite, probably!)<br /><br />I bet it's not that bad!Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07157630082355224244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-84072033686619690402016-10-02T09:52:54.642-07:002016-10-02T09:52:54.642-07:00Share it!
Once upon a time at the radio station l...Share it!<br /><br />Once upon a time at the radio station later in my career, I dreamed up a small party for the DJ's...and the only requirement was for each jock to bring his or her first aircheck. Kinda like Failure Theater. Funny as hell to hear the lame, affected, pukin' adolescents give radio performing their first (or second) shot. Somewhere I found mine from KLA - (the ucla campus station where I first met Johnny Lizard...now Ken Levine, folks)<br /><br />So, share this awful, terrible head-on collision with all of us. It'll be sweet. :)<br /><br /> Barefoot Billy Alohahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04586870309250699505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-68232435156655792782016-10-02T08:49:44.133-07:002016-10-02T08:49:44.133-07:00Ken, after that description YOU HAVE TO SHOW IT TO...Ken, after that description YOU HAVE TO SHOW IT TO US.<br /><br />wgWendy M. Grossmanhttp://www.pelicancrossing.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4367423671971123972016-10-02T08:27:30.421-07:002016-10-02T08:27:30.421-07:00You will have to have the willpower of ... (somebo...You will have to have the willpower of ... (somebody with great willpower) not to make fun of 2 Broke Girls.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11777496001166356949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-24378912804130612662016-10-02T08:25:16.314-07:002016-10-02T08:25:16.314-07:00Maybe I'm a dope, but I like the 'chicken ...Maybe I'm a dope, but I like the 'chicken in blackface' line.<br /><br />seanhttp://www.sillywalkerproductions.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-85764487022070366262016-10-02T08:01:23.841-07:002016-10-02T08:01:23.841-07:00"And I will never say another bad thing about..."And I will never say another bad thing about 2 BROKE GIRLS ever again."<br /><br /><br />Yes, you will. And you should.Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-87295118310340450462016-10-02T07:52:47.813-07:002016-10-02T07:52:47.813-07:00OMG! Please show us that pilot! Then you can kill ...OMG! Please show us that pilot! Then you can kill me. Billy from Floridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78387897001894355122016-10-02T07:44:05.031-07:002016-10-02T07:44:05.031-07:00I'm sure Opening Night went a lot better.I'm sure Opening Night went a lot better.emilynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21503666150241932942016-10-02T07:40:55.129-07:002016-10-02T07:40:55.129-07:00Tough to criticize the casting decision for a Jew ...Tough to criticize the casting decision for a Jew character, after watching FailSafe, the serious Dr Strangelove, and the Jewish Congressman was played very well by<br /><br /> - Boss Hogg!<br /><br />Still nowhere near as bad as the Rob Lowe roast where one person commented on his dad dying on 9/11. (Get it, he was roasted too! )<br /><br />MikeNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26888303143475800232016-10-02T07:38:02.481-07:002016-10-02T07:38:02.481-07:00So...would you be willing to share your original, ...So...would you be willing to share your original, non-stinkburger pilot script with us? Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11394506162058527592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-48092264939804626982016-10-02T07:34:03.247-07:002016-10-02T07:34:03.247-07:00They spell your name right?They spell your name right?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16880646894752760905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1479156642889662832016-10-02T07:30:40.548-07:002016-10-02T07:30:40.548-07:00Your pilot was just one single horrible half hour....Your pilot was just one single horrible half hour. (Rewritten by someone else) Two Brike Girls is endless. Please never stop calling it the crap it is. Melissa C. Banczakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04953145515216692625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21592072334007442192016-10-02T07:24:25.248-07:002016-10-02T07:24:25.248-07:00Quit leading me on. As a K Levine fan I should, na...Quit leading me on. As a K Levine fan I should, nay, must! see this pilot. Maybe a bootlegger with a soul will post it on Youtube. Couldn't be worse than KEVIN CAN WAIT.B.A.noreply@blogger.com