tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post8841355041482261833..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Friday QuestionsBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-67328179539400261682019-07-10T22:58:25.757-07:002019-07-10T22:58:25.757-07:00Friday Question-When a new character is introduced...Friday Question-When a new character is introduced to an existing series and becomes a regular, are the writers of the episode in question credited as creators of that character and given residuals or can a producer or someone else create it, assign them to write it, and take credit and any pay?Bryan Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03942472363470824138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-89138116465478609232017-06-12T11:38:50.482-07:002017-06-12T11:38:50.482-07:00Hope I can still get a Friday question in, but my ...Hope I can still get a Friday question in, but my girlfriend and I have been watching Cheers on Netflix. There is an episode from the second season that is giving us fits. The episode is titled, "Fortune and Men's Weight." At the end of the episode, Sam and Diane break up. Yet, in the subsequent episodes they appear back together. What's the deal? That seems like a big character development to just drop in the next episode. Colbynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-10593509859346451512017-06-12T07:17:32.873-07:002017-06-12T07:17:32.873-07:00I forgot to thank you, Ken, for answering my quest...I forgot to thank you, Ken, for answering my question.<br /><br />Obviously, Writers are usually the unsung hero of a show/film/play/commercial, unless the writer is also the director or a celebrity. But there are definitely cases where director and other cast (particularly costume and set designers and cameramen) make ever bit of difference between a good show and a great one. The Bumble Bee Pendanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11782074071758250824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77172339060550178532017-06-12T06:59:28.339-07:002017-06-12T06:59:28.339-07:00Thank you, Wendy! Wow, lesson learned.Thank you, Wendy! Wow, lesson learned.Andrewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22830851096250612212017-06-11T08:04:12.862-07:002017-06-11T08:04:12.862-07:00I agree, Sam and Rebecca as friends was better tha...I agree, Sam and Rebecca as friends was better than them hooking up, especially a long time relationship (maybe an accidental one night stand, but I'm glad they never even did that.<br /><br />POV was a good episode.<br /><br />Here's a Friday question - Did you like or dislike the "tone" that the later years of Mash took on. They were more serious and delved into Hawkeye's mental state. Lots of visits form Sydney. For example, in one episode he dreams that he's in a boat in a river full of severed arms. That episode especially bothered me.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00760229533287495672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63651169088815568062017-06-10T10:33:06.861-07:002017-06-10T10:33:06.861-07:00Ken, of course, is correct about those Oakland A&#...Ken, of course, is correct about those Oakland A's teams of the early 1970s. Reggie Jackson, the slugging right fielder of those championship A's teams, later brought his drink-stirring straw over to another team where there were teammates disagreements amongst themselves and the owner: the Bronx Zoo New York Yankees of the late 1970s/early 1980s. Sparky Lyle chronicled this in "The Bronx Zoo" and a later book "The Bronx Is Burning".Ralph C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12488657064245017543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21649550863883606852017-06-10T10:26:22.417-07:002017-06-10T10:26:22.417-07:00Good call on "Almost Famous". An excelle...Good call on "Almost Famous". An excellent, underrated movie, I think. Ralph C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12488657064245017543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-57051943898367020352017-06-09T22:16:07.126-07:002017-06-09T22:16:07.126-07:00NOT a comedy.
BUT.....Carl Betz. "Judd for t...NOT a comedy.<br />BUT.....Carl Betz. "Judd for the the Defense".<br />GREAT underrated actor and show???Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10404664474399382202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40572801775177506232017-06-09T21:36:46.301-07:002017-06-09T21:36:46.301-07:00Andrew: you might enjoy this commentary by a woman...Andrew: you might enjoy this commentary by a woman who briefly dated Aaron Sorkin and found their brief history presented on THE NEWSROOM: http://www.xojane.com/entertainment/mandy-stadtmiller-aaron-sorkin-newsroom-character<br /><br />wgWendy M. Grossmanhttp://www.pelicancrossing.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-86773378533470826702017-06-09T19:58:08.835-07:002017-06-09T19:58:08.835-07:00CBS has no ownership in M*A*S*H. It's owned by...CBS has no ownership in M*A*S*H. It's owned by Fox. It is currently in heavy rotation (10 episodes/week) on MeTV.<br /><br />Sam and Rebecca were better off as friends; they didn't have the wonderful romantic chemistry that Sam and Diane had. AndI believe NBC ordered Cheers to drop the Sam/Rebecca/parenthood storyline. Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7268652152308435992017-06-09T18:38:08.431-07:002017-06-09T18:38:08.431-07:00Just finished "Heaven and Hell," the aut...Just finished "Heaven and Hell," the autobiography of former Eagles' guitarist Don Felder. Shows how much money can corrupt a band. Don Henley and Glenn Frey were consumed with controlling the band in every aspect. Granted they wrote the majority of the hits, but they alienated and drove away all of the founding members. It got to the point that on the road they only saw each other at the venue at which they were performing. They were the soundtrack of my high school and college years. I saw them in 1976 and loved them (Boz Scaggs was the opening act). I saw them on their reunion tour and the performance lacked any emotion at all. It was apparent then, as it is now, the late Frey and Henley were only interested in cashing in.MikeKPa.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44038149242601289952017-06-09T13:13:21.866-07:002017-06-09T13:13:21.866-07:00My problem with the Sam and Rebecca dynamic is it ...My problem with the Sam and Rebecca dynamic is it felt like the writers had to make Sam dumber in order for many of the gags in the Rebecca episodes to work and I thought that was a bit of a come down for a character who manged to hold his own with Frasier and Diane in the first five seasons. It never really sat right with me.<br /><br />I do wonder though, on "Cry Harder," was there a decision to bring them together and then that was abandoned over the summer? In that episode, it felt like Rebecca had had an epiphany which then went out the window without ever really impacting her going forward.Mike Moodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11973643901495588545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-84072554101071997192017-06-09T12:23:18.660-07:002017-06-09T12:23:18.660-07:00Yeah, Sam and Rebecca were non-starters in a roman...Yeah, Sam and Rebecca were non-starters in a romantic sense, after the all-consuming epic tale of Sam and Diane (which I LOVED, btw). Better as friends/foils.Hazenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-25891695246383029112017-06-09T12:08:39.703-07:002017-06-09T12:08:39.703-07:00Though M*A*S*H isn't streaming anywhere now, i...Though M*A*S*H isn't streaming anywhere now, if you get SundanceTV, there are some episodes in their "On Demand" section...Bob Gasselhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04748728107349857332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-83362364411272089412017-06-09T10:55:12.136-07:002017-06-09T10:55:12.136-07:00I've heard you and many others say this is a g...I've heard you and many others say this is a golden age of television drama. What are the factors that have led to this golden age and conversely why is it not a golden age of comedy?Keith from Champlinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-87020763134158711072017-06-09T08:27:11.223-07:002017-06-09T08:27:11.223-07:00Yes, I think you guys made the right call re: Sam ...Yes, I think you guys made the right call re: Sam and Rebecca. To get them together would have invited comparisons to Sam and Diane. And I've never heard before that the 1970s Oakland A's hated each other. I guess that's why they all became free agents. I would imagine being made to wear those green uniforms didn't improve their moral, either. VincentSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13416779796047483492017-06-09T07:29:03.404-07:002017-06-09T07:29:03.404-07:00I agree with Chris G. The “have a baby story arc” ...I agree with Chris G. The “have a baby story arc” in Season 10 just didn't fit. It also seemed to weigh down the overall quality of the episodes it encompassed. Above all else, it made both Sam and Rebecca seem like sad characters. The magic of Cheers was it made you wish you could pull up a stool and hang out in the bar, but as that story arc unfolded, there seemed to be a pall of unhappiness cast over the show. Once the arc was closed, the fun returned, and some of the best episodes of the series (An Old-Fashioned Wedding, Heeeeeere's... Cliffy! and One Hugs, the Other Doesn't) ended the season.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17739863033232847142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-18923645875841100312017-06-09T07:07:25.217-07:002017-06-09T07:07:25.217-07:00>>Gazzoo said...
>>Netflix stopped st...>>Gazzoo said...<br /><br />>>Netflix stopped streaming MASH a long time ago....<br /><br />Seconded. (Don't worry, <i>Cheers</i> and <i>Frasier</i> are still there. It came and went pretty quick.<br /><br />I don't think the series <i>M*A*S*H</i> streams anywhere now (the movie is available on Amazon). When I Googled "mash streaming," the top hit is a spectacularly mistaken "What's on Netflix" page that claims CBS is shifting programming to its All Access site, so it's probably there.<br />Curt Alliaumehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05875046706746482871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-18714973027039460722017-06-09T07:06:58.867-07:002017-06-09T07:06:58.867-07:00To Not a robot... maybe a replicant; if you haven&...To Not a robot... maybe a replicant; if you haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend the film "Almost Famous" for an understanding of bands. The scene involving t-shirts is very telling about egos!<br /><br />Ken, did you ever get to play comedy records on the radio? Long ago, I'd stay awake nights because a local station had a comedy segment on at 10:30. The Bickersons, Bob and Ray, Hudson and Landry, Bill Cosby, George Carlin and pre-series Bob Newhart. Those were the good old days!Stoneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49456297896967325132017-06-09T07:06:53.493-07:002017-06-09T07:06:53.493-07:00@ Jim S,
I remember watching some interviews with ...@ Jim S,<br />I remember watching some interviews with the writers of Seinfeld, and I always winced when they said that one of Jerry's girlfriends was based on the writer's own bad dating experience. (The woman whose stomach "talked," for example.) I would have hated being exposed like that, although thankfully they didn't name names. But the ex-girlfriend (or ex-date) would have probably known who the writer was talking about.Andrewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-47262140613394706082017-06-09T07:00:44.168-07:002017-06-09T07:00:44.168-07:00I like that Sam and Rebecca slowly over time becam...I like that Sam and Rebecca slowly over time became friends in way that Sam and Diane never were. They both seemed to grow and benefit from the relationship, whereas the implication was that Sam and Diane were toxic together.Stephen Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03670422634319094941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56810409158980296002017-06-09T06:43:15.161-07:002017-06-09T06:43:15.161-07:00Ken,
New Friday question. I've read how write...Ken,<br /><br />New Friday question. I've read how writers mine their lives for material. Is there a protocol when said comedy vein includes another person.<br /><br />I mean if "John Smith the writer" got drunk at the prom and threw up in the punch bowl when he was young, I can see how that's fair game.<br /><br />But what if John threw up on his date Jane Doe, ruined a night she was looking forward to and humiliated her in front of her friends. Is it kosher for John to use that story 20 years later? Does he ask Jane for permission?<br /><br />This question came to me after reading an interview with a writer about how she used her son's quirks to define a character she created. If I were the son, I'd be pissed that mom outed my "funny" quirks to millions of people on national TV.<br /><br />ThanksJim Snoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-41872288987433175262017-06-09T06:41:36.951-07:002017-06-09T06:41:36.951-07:00I didn't mind that Sam and Rebecca never got t...I didn't mind that Sam and Rebecca never got together as a couple, but the let's-have-a-baby story arc really felt like it came out of nowhere, then ended suddenly and abruptly and was never mentioned again. Was there more to the decision to do that storyline or to drop it or both, beyond trying to find something new to do with Sam and Rebecca?Chris Gnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59721858616522641412017-06-09T06:39:53.888-07:002017-06-09T06:39:53.888-07:00Netflix stopped streaming MASH a long time ago.......Netflix stopped streaming MASH a long time ago....Bob Gasselhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04748728107349857332noreply@blogger.com