tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post8429751575325113886..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Sitcom room termsBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54063305560858787592008-04-20T11:21:00.000-07:002008-04-20T11:21:00.000-07:00Personally, I always made a distinction between a ...Personally, I always made a distinction between a button and a blow. A button is a line that might provoke enough of a giggle from the audience to get you out of a scene (and allow the producers to tiptoe back into the shadows). <BR/><BR/>A blow, on the other hand, is a huge joke, provoking major laughter. Obviously, blows are harder to generate. Many shows don't even try for them.<BR/><BR/>Another room term is "Here we are in sunny Spain", applied to lines in which one character tells another character something they both know, but the audience doesn't, and presented in a particularly bald way. There's a lot of that going on in <I>John Adams</I>: "Well, Mr. Jefferson, we're all here to sign a declaration of our independence from England," etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44814557585964948422008-04-15T09:32:00.000-07:002008-04-15T09:32:00.000-07:00Say what now?Say what now?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-84581583670512637822008-04-15T02:51:00.000-07:002008-04-15T02:51:00.000-07:00The watching of reruns of "Cheers" when me feel ab...The watching of reruns of "Cheers" when me feel about Ted Danson about the boston bar.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-15719161826544554552008-04-14T19:09:00.000-07:002008-04-14T19:09:00.000-07:00I thought "Grammar police" were the traffic cops k...I thought "Grammar police" were the traffic cops keeping an eye on Kelsey after he crashed his Viper...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31578308508630326062008-04-14T17:57:00.000-07:002008-04-14T17:57:00.000-07:00Yes, annie, you tease - that was me. If you want ...Yes, annie, you tease - that was me. If you want to pick up where we left off, you can find my number on the curb outside Bennigans. I had just enough time to write it in blood before the cops hauled me off.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13402207411772469022008-04-14T16:20:00.000-07:002008-04-14T16:20:00.000-07:00jbryant - that was you? Sorry. But you seemed to e...jbryant - that was you? Sorry. But you seemed to enjoy being kneed. That's why I stopped.Anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12259951307196646436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-62251296221544437552008-04-14T16:07:00.000-07:002008-04-14T16:07:00.000-07:00Oops. I meant a 3 by 5 card. Maybe that should b...Oops. I meant a 3 by 5 card. Maybe that should be a card.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-784075925834528642008-04-14T16:06:00.000-07:002008-04-14T16:06:00.000-07:00Here are three more from my days in such rooms..."...Here are three more from my days in such rooms...<BR/><BR/>"This Week Joke" -- That's a joke that's topical and if may be hilarious but it probably won't be by the time show is rerun.<BR/><BR/>"Out" -- A line or event that feels like the end of a scene so that it can be the end of a scene, as in "We need an out here."<BR/><BR/>"A card" -- This was a cruel practice at some sitcoms of the seventies. Some writer would say something that was so stupid that even he or she would realize its inanity. Someone would yell, "That's a card" and then they'd roll a 3 by 7 card into a typewriter (this was back when we had typewriters), type out the quote and then the person who uttered the line would have to sign the card, after which it would be pinned up on the wall. Some writers were known to sneak in a few days later and quietly remove their card from the wall if they could do so without being noticed.<BR/><BR/>And I'll probably think of other ones.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-57866839603639503422008-04-14T14:04:00.000-07:002008-04-14T14:04:00.000-07:00I have a variation on pipe: a Jessica Seinfeld - e...I have a variation on pipe: <BR/><BR/>a Jessica Seinfeld - exposition hidden in a joke you ripped off from another writer.DougJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06471088083588521557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54682519103400870112008-04-14T13:32:00.000-07:002008-04-14T13:32:00.000-07:00Usually it's the actor the network forced you to t...<I> Usually it's the actor the network forced you to take.</I><BR/><BR/>Names. I want names.<BR/><BR/>Carla's ropeswings were some of my favorite lines on Cheers. As was Cliff's rejoinder to one them, after Carla came up to the bar, took a shot at him, and walked away.<BR/><BR/>"Can't we put a bell on her?"<BR/><BR/>Yes, I am a huge Cheers geek. And proud of it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-69008737502827960452008-04-14T13:11:00.000-07:002008-04-14T13:11:00.000-07:00Come to think of it, last time I was in a Bennigan...Come to think of it, last time I was in a Bennigan's on a Friday night and used sentences that included "Swinging on a rope," "blow," "pipe," "clam," and "throwing a bone," I was maced three times and kneed in the groin twice before the police arrived.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26819452950441822292008-04-14T12:09:00.000-07:002008-04-14T12:09:00.000-07:00Rats. Now I have to find someplace else to hang ou...Rats. Now I have to find someplace else to hang out besides Bennigan's. Thanks for blowin' my cover, Ken. ;pAnniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12259951307196646436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70928662541801695702008-04-14T11:20:00.000-07:002008-04-14T11:20:00.000-07:00Where does "Sheboygan" come from?Also, I'm confuse...Where does "Sheboygan" come from?<BR/><BR/>Also, I'm confused how some of these are used in a sentence. Like, how exactly does "House number" fit in? "This is just a house number, but..." or something like that?Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07064258361409535367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22464857134197060992008-04-14T11:06:00.000-07:002008-04-14T11:06:00.000-07:00I heard a great saver on Colbert Report the other ...I heard a great saver on Colbert Report the other night. He made a joke about San Francisco being an easy city to burn. The audience groaned, and Stephen came right back with, "too soon? Really?"Aprilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12051174636017409935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-84866149072161395142008-04-14T10:10:00.000-07:002008-04-14T10:10:00.000-07:00Wait, so there are women who hang out at Bennigan'...Wait, so there are women who hang out at Bennigan's who are into writers? Why am I just now hearing about this?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-11469585121366231832008-04-14T06:23:00.000-07:002008-04-14T06:23:00.000-07:00I've never met anyone more proud of their inabilit...I've never met anyone more proud of their inability to spell or use proper grammar than writers. And on behalf of all of us who make at least part of our living as proofreaders, I thank you.Jon88https://www.blogger.com/profile/16908049871851563389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56019940940378627002008-04-14T05:50:00.000-07:002008-04-14T05:50:00.000-07:00If Traci Lords is in Bennigans Friday can someone ...If Traci Lords is in Bennigans Friday can someone throw a few funny bones at her for me.<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>MontyWilly B. Goodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00227682391989010006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-519544198592461682008-04-14T01:56:00.000-07:002008-04-14T01:56:00.000-07:00I like the exposition in Back to the Future. It go...I like the exposition in Back to the Future. It goes on for at least half an hour, somehow stays entertaining and funny, and everything that is said or done is recalled later.Chris Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11114134372410384863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-85665497759170121682008-04-14T01:22:00.000-07:002008-04-14T01:22:00.000-07:00Hide it in a joke. Dole it out slowly. Try not t...Hide it in a joke. Dole it out slowly. Try not to do it all at once. Even when we used "Piper" we still gave her laughs.By Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-2278601256859794402008-04-14T00:53:00.000-07:002008-04-14T00:53:00.000-07:00Pipe, eh? Obvious exposition has a habit of throwi...Pipe, eh? Obvious exposition has a habit of throwing me right out of a story. Hey, remember when we did that thing we did? And so on.<BR/><BR/>What's the best way to hide exposition?Bitter Animatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06617537816971588380noreply@blogger.com