Friday Questions

Friday Questions for your social distancing pleasure.

Unknown starts us off (please leave your NAME):

 

OK, FQ, why is it I can see Gilligan Island, the Monkees, Dick Van Dyke, but not the Occasional Wife , "He & She" and "Love on a Rooftop"?

 

I guess the question breaks down to, is the rights to He & She too expensive? Or in big turmoil that you can't approach it?

 

The biggest factor is that there are only a limited number of episodes for these short-lived series.  Generally, you like to have at least 100 episodes before something can go into syndication. 

 

I’m sure in some cases the rights are an issue – the production company has been bought by someone then taken over by someone else, etc.  But that’s rarely the reason.  A bigger factor is that these series have faded into the mist of time.  So unless you’ve got a good memory and are of a certain age, there’s very little demand for OCCASIONAL WIFE. 

 

Sometimes one of the nostalgia channels will run old forgotten series, but that’s just random.  One airs the old JOEY BISHOP SHOWS and my question is:  Good God WHY? 

 

And speaking of OCCASIONAL WIFE, Jim has a question.

 

Vin Scully narrated ‘Occasional Wife’. He would have spoken your words (“...PLEASE stay on script, Mr. Scully...”).

 

Who most honored you by doing that, per your own list? One name, please.

 

Okay, this is going to surprise you because you know I’ve been blessed to have written for many sensational actors. 

 

But if I had to pick one name it would be a non-actor. 

 

I had a reading of one of my screenplays in New York one time for an audience of about 50 people.  And to read the stage directions I was able to get the great Dan Ingram of WABC radio. 

 

Dan, as many of you know, was my favorite DJ in all the world.  I idolized him.  He also had a fantastic voice and did hundreds of national TV and radio ads.

 

So for me, hearing Dan Ingram, read my words was practically surreal. 

 

Needless to say, he did a truly great job.  The organizers of the event said they had never heard stage direction read so well (and they staged these readings every week for years).  Big Dan was the man! 

 

Mike Bloodworth wonders: 

 

In your current plays, have you taken old ideas or plots that for whatever reason didn't make it into a show and adapted them for the stage?

 

Rarely, but it has happened.  I once took a basic idea from a screenplay of mine and adapted a stage version, but didn’t use a single line of dialogue from the screenplay and changed the characters, setting, and tone completely. 

 

My laughs come out of character and attitude and not “jokes” per se, so I rarely, if ever, just recycle jokes. 

 

Jerry Belson, a GREAT comedy writer, worked punch-up on CHEERS and pitched a joke one day in the room.  The Charles Brothers weren’t sold and Jerry said, “Hey, it got a big laugh on THE ODD COUPLE.”  (Jerry had written and co-created the TV version.)  Les Charles asked him why he would pitch a joke from another show, and Jerry said: “Hey, what’s gone before is good too.” 

 

And finally, from Don R:

 

I'm stuck in the house, watching Antenna TV, and I just saw a "Becker" you directed. Friday question: when directing a show in front of a live audience that's always switching sets between the diner, Becker's office and his apartment, do you shoot all the scenes needed in the one set, then move on to the next set and shoot all the scenes there, etc. Or, so not confuse the audience, do you move from set to set and shoot in chronological order?

 

We go in chronological order so the audience can follow the story.  Cameras move back and forth from set to set and the actors change wardrobe if need be between scenes.   It’s very much like watching a play. 

 

There are also times we’ll need to pre-shoot scenes.  When that occurs we have a hastily edited version ready to show the audience and we play it on monitors in the spot in the show where the scene will appear.

 

And thanks for watching BECKER. 

 

What’s your Friday Question? 

 

EP178: Meet Billy Van Zandt: Part Two

More hilarious and insane sitcom career adventures with writer Billy Van Zandt. Example: Creating, writing, casting, and filming a network pilot in two weeks. Good fun and angst this week.

Listen to the Hollywood & Levine podcast!

Dropping back in on Late Night Hosts

At the start of this pandemic (13 weeks ago?  Two years?  It’s hard to keep track.)  the late night talk show hosts were forced to do their shows from their homes, sans an audience.   I talked about how uncomfortable Stephen Colbert said he was without getting reactions to his monologue.  Kimmel seemed the most comfortable. 

 

How are they doing today?

 

Note:  I don’t bother with Jimmy Fallon.  The wide-eyed puppy who will do anything to please act leaves me cold. 

 

Trevor Noah seems to have adjusted.  To me, he’s getting better every week.

 

Colbert still seems really awkward.  He’s so clearly just reading off a teleprompter and at times he’ll deliver a punchline and do little dance moves that just look creepy.  Maybe it’s his way of holding for laughs, but it’s like your grandpa doing the Macarena at a Bar Mitzvah reception. 

 

Even the camera angle, which points down at him, makes it seem like he’s in a well calling for help. 

 

But when he steps aside from the monologue and just delivers straight social commentary he suddenly gets way better.  You just get the sense this is more in his wheelhouse.  He had a rant recently about how the government’s attempt to squelch the demonstrations won’t work that I thought was brilliant.   It was delivered with passion and eloquence and I want to say to Stephen Colbert:   “Do THAT every night.  We’ve heard your Trump impression to death.  Just be YOURSELF.” 

 

Or better yet, be Jimmy Kimmel.

 

Jimmy Kimmel does a spectacular job in this format.   Yes, he too is reading off a teleprompter, but you’d never know it.  It really feels like someone casually talking just to ME.   He’s clearly sooooo comfortable and so conversational that you yourself can relax and enjoy.    He’s the Mr. Rogers of late night. 

 

Kimmel also offers social commentary that often hits the mark, but he’s more like a guy you’re having a beer with than someone conducting a seminar. 

 

As I’ve said before, I believe a lot of that comes from Kimmel’s radio background.  He’s used to being in empty rooms talking into a microphone.  But I also think it’s just a natural ability.  You either have that comfort and warmth or you don’t.   

 

And I should say at this point that I don’t know Jimmy Kimmel.  Met him one time very briefly as we were both going through a TSA line together.  He seemed the way he appears on camera – low key and approachable.     

 

Is he as quick-witted as Colbert?  I don’t think so.  As intellectual?  If I had to guess I’d say no.  But under these conditions, I think Jimmy Kimmel stands head and shoulders above his late night competitors. 

 

I might even suggest that when the pandemic is over, to distinguish himself, he stay with this format.  Guests can come to his house.  Why not?   Do you miss the band?  I don’t.  Do you miss orgasmic ovations for everyone who comes out on stage?   Not me.    At the moment all three network late night talk shows are exactly the same.  Let Kimmel do something different; something he’s better at than anybody else. 

 

What do you guys think?

The second CHEERS Zoom reading is up!

Welcome to the second CHEERS Zoom reading!  This is an episode written by me and David Isaacs called "Death Takes a Holiday on Ice."   We were nominated for an Emmy for this (but lost).  Playing the parts are George Wendt as Norm and noted sportscasters as I combine my two worlds.   The full cast below.  Special thanks to Jason Benetti for organizing it with me.  Enjoy.

George Wendt as Norm

Ken Levine as Assorted Cast Members

Steve Physioc (Kansas City Royals) reads stage directions

Chip Caray (Atlanta Braves) as Sam

Suzyn Waldman (New York Yankees) as Carla

Mark "Mudcat" Grant (San Diego Padres) as Woody

Dave Flemming (San Francisco Giants) as Cliff

Alanna Rizzo (Los Angeles Dodgers) as Rebecca

Jason Benetti (Chicago White Sox & ESPN) as Frasier

Meredith Marakovits (New York Yankees) as Gloria

Sean Grande (Boston Celtics) as Darryl

Josh Lewin (UCLA/MLB) as Father Barry

Don't Fix it if it ain't Broke!

You may have noticed that the fonts and size of fonts have been a little funky at times lately.   That’s because Blogger, in its infinite wisdom, decided to change their template.  We’re told of course this is a big improvement and we can do more whiz-bang things.  But the things we’ve BEEN doing for years we can no longer do.   And good luck actually getting a Blogger tech person on the phone to assist you in this transition. 

 

So please bare with me as I continue to experiment and try to normalize things again.   If you happen to be a Blogger expert, please email me at HollywoodLevine@outlook.com.   I’ve always depended upon the kindness of strangers. 

 

And I only went to the new template because they said as of June 30^th the old one would go away.   So I had no choice.

 

When I do have a choice to upgrade, I’ve learned to say NO.

 

One time my smart phone asked if I wanted their free upgrade.  Sure, I stupidly said.   With the upgrade in place I discovered my phone no longer synced to the computer.   My operating system was too old for the new phone upgrade.  So I had to upgrade my whole operating system.  Now a lot of programs that had been running fine stopped working because the operating system was too new.  So I had to reinstall new versions of long running programs.   For months I wrestled with this bullshit.   And it all could have been avoided had I just not gotten the phone upgrade.

 

So phone upgrades continue to pop up and I say no.  They take me to upgrade pages anyway, and I’ve found the best way to make them go away is when they have boxes at the bottom for “Agree to terms” or “Disagree” – just click on Disagree and poof, it’s gone.

 

Yeah, I’m missing out of exciting new features.   I’ll live. 

Weekend Post

This is a re-post from eight years ago.  But bad erotic writing never goes out of style.  You'll see what I mean.

WARNING: SEXUAL CONTENT AND NAUGHTY WORDS!

With FIFTY SHADES OF GREY such a huge sensation, erotic fiction is the zeitgeist of the day (or is it night?. Not that erotica was ever out of favor per se (I’m sure Erica Jong still outsells George Will), but now more than ever the genre is selling through the roof.

I have never written this form of literature. Not even in an AfterMASH script. Every year some organization comes out with a list of the worst sex scenes in novels and they are excruciatingly uproarious. And it’s sooo easy to fall into that trap. You try to create this turgid mood and be descriptive, but you also try to be original – find new ways to convey sexual acts. Which can lead to a passage like this:

From Ed King by David Guterson:

"In the shower, Ed stood with his hands at the back of his head, like someone just arrested, while she abused him with a bar of soap. After a while he shut his eyes, and Diane, wielding her fingernails now and staring at his face, helped him out with two practiced hands, one squeezing the family jewels, the other vigorous with the soap-and-warm-water treatment. It didn't take long for the beautiful and perfect Ed King to ejaculate for the fifth time in twelve hours, while looking like Roman public-bath statuary. Then they rinsed, dried, dressed, and went to an expensive restaurant for lunch."

Yikes!  And major authors are not immune from writing truly klutzy sex scenes. The great John Updike: 

She said nothing then, her lovely mouth otherwise engaged, until he came, all over her face. She had gagged, and moved him outside her lips, rubbing his spurting glans across her cheeks and chin. He had wanted to cry out, sitting up as if jolted by electricity as the spurts, the deep throbs rooted in his asshole, continued, but he didn't know what name to call her. 'Mrs Rougement' was the name he had always known her by.

I’m not sure if I could write one of these passages without a voice in the back of my head saying, “This is the Springtime for Hitler of sex scenes.”

Erotica is definitely an art. A good sex scene can get you really aroused. More than just watching porn, written material taps into your imagination and can heighten the experience. Unfortunately, if not written well, you’re left with this.

Here are a few more samples of scenes that make me laugh, cringe, and worry I couldn’t write any better:

From Sashenka, by Simon Montefiore:

His hands pulled her dress off her shoulders and he buried his face in her neck, then her hair, scooping up between her legs. He pulled down her brassiere, cupping her breasts, sighing in bliss. 'The blue veins are divine,' he whispered. And in that moment, a lifetime of unease about this ugly feature of her body was replaced with satisfaction. He licked them, circling her nipples hungrily. Then he disappeared up her skirt.

From To Love, Honour and Betray, by Kathy Lette

I kissed his mouth ravenously, devouring his neck, earlobes, chest. He broke free with muscular ease, unhooked my bra with composed expertise, found my nipple and flicked his tongue back and forth until it went hard. His towel fell away. Sebastian's erect member was so big I mistook it for some sort of monument in the centre of a town.

And finally, from another not-too-shabby writer, Paul Theroux:

'Baby.' She took my head in both hands and guided it downward, between her fragrant thighs. 'Yoni puja - pray, pray at my portal.'  She was holding my head, murmuring 'Pray,' and I did so, beseeching her with my mouth and tongue, my licking a primitive form of language in a simple prayer. It had always worked before, a language she had taught me herself, the warm muffled tongue.

Friday Questions

Friday Questions have arrived.

Liggie asks:

Have you seen any of the Korean baseball games ESPN has been showing as a substitute for everybody else's lack of live sports?

I have because my friend, Jason Benetti of the White Sox calls the weekend games.  He’s the perfect announcer because he has a sense of humor and perspective (and calls a great game).  He does his best to fill in the viewer on some background, but who are we kidding?  No one gives a shit about KBO baseball in the U.S.   Especially in empty stadiums.  

There's a reason the games are carried live in the middle of the night.

We watch because we’re baseball junkies and just want to see baseball of any kind.  Happily, Jason keeps it entertaining. 

Someone unknown wonders (please leave your name):

Is there any room within sitcoms to address major social issues — I’m talking about beyond the bullshit 1970s “Tonight ... on a very special Blossom/Family Ties/Diff’rent Strokes”?

 

Let’s put it this way – no one’s stopping sitcoms from doing it.  MOM sometimes deals with social issues, BLACKISH does as well, I guess you could say THE NEIGHBORHOOD does if by social issue you mean one joke played out week after week.   I’d also give a shout out to ONE DAY AT A TIME.   And I’m sure there are others (and you will enlighten me in the comments section). 

 

But it’s not like the ‘70s where there was a real appetite for that.   I think people want more escape from their comedies now.  It’s pretty clear we’re not going to improve things by shedding light on social issues; we’ll improve things by voting out Trump and his despicable cronies in the senate.   

 

From Fed the Musez:

 

If you and David had started your writing careers ten years earlier (ca. 1966) what shows would you guys have tried to write for (knowing that the "Dick Van Dyke Show" wasn't an option as it had just concluded its five-year run)? I'm guessing something like "Good Morning, World" (because of your interest/experience in radio).

 

Definitely GOOD MORNING WORLD, also because it was created by Bill Persky & Sam Denoff who produced THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW. 

 

I would want to write for BEWITCHED (just so I could meet Elizabeth Montgomery). 

 

Beyond that, HE & SHE, LOVE ON A ROOFTOP, and OCCASIONAL WIFE.  And I list those knowing most people have never even heard of them.  But unlike the stupid GILLIGAN’S ISLAND fare, these were shows that tried to be romantic comedies about real people. 

 

And finally, from John E. Williams:

 

I've been watching the final season of Cheers and noticed that several times there were teasers filmed "outside" the bar, in front of Melville's. Were these all filmed in Boston or L.A., and were they filmed at the same time or were they separate shoots?

 

Filmed at the same time.  Someone took a home video of the shoot.

 

 

 

 

 

EP177: Meet comedy writer Billy Van Zandt

Billy Van Zandt has written on sitcoms for such stars as Bob Newhart, Don Rickles, Martin Lawrence, Richard Lewis, Andrew Dice Clay and many more.  It’s a wild journey I know you’re going to enjoy. 

Listen to the Hollywood & Levine podcast!

FAME isn't always what it's cracked up to be

Scrolling through upcoming movies I could record and watch during this quarantine siege I noticed that HBO was showing FAME. I always loved FAME. Great music, some wonderful performances, Irene Cara, and really evocative of those exciting days of starting out. I always thought it would be great to go to a high school like that. Only trouble is, I can’t sing, dance, play instruments, or act so what the hell would I do? They didn’t have a section for potential baseball announcers.

So when FAME showed up on my menu a few nights later, my wife and I sat down to watch it. First we were surprised to see Kelsey Grammer in it. I don’t remember him in FAME. And Kelsey has always looked older than he is, but here he looked really old. Then Bebe Neuwirth was in it. She looked great. But I never knew they worked together before CHEERS. How did that never come up?

The movie continued. The story and the steps seemed right, but I said to my wife, “I guess it’s been a long time since I’ve seen this movie, but I don’t remember any of this.” She felt the same.

And we were fifteen minutes into it and I was saying, “Where is Irene Cara?”

So finally I went to imdb and discovered we were watching the 2009 remake. There was a remake in 2009? I have absolutely recollection of it.

I also can’t recall ever watching ten minutes of a movie I thought I had seen but hadn’t.

Lesson learned. When setting up recordings, check the year.

We watched the rest of the reboot of FAME. Meh. I look forward to finding the original. But isn’t that true in most cases?

Other reboots to avoid:

THE HEARTBREAK KID
THE OUT OF TOWNERS
ARTHUR
THE IN LAWS
THE PRODUCERS

We're number 29!!!

ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE recently did an article rating all of Tom Hanks' movies from worst to first.  Did you realize he's made 53 movies?   Going down the list I must admit there are titles that either I've never heard, don't remember, or didn't know he was in. 

I, of course was holding my breath to see where VOLUNTEERS would fall.  

29. 

I'll take it. 

First off, I'm just thrilled it wasn't rated 52.  So it's in the middle of the pack.  The authors take issue with some of the un-PC elements, which is absolutely fair, but again, remember this was 35 years ago.  I think you'd find some objectionable lines and attitudes in THE APARTMENT today too. 

But getting back to this list.  Tom has made some brilliant movies, iconic movies, and he has some Oscars to show for them.  So I knew we weren't going to be in the top 10.  There are also animated films (TOY STORY series and SIMPSONS movie) so I'm not counting those.  Then there were a few of their higher choices I didn't agree with and a few I felt should have been rated higher. 

So when you eliminate those, let's say there were 15 of them, you're left with 38 of Tom's "other movies."  And in that list we're 14.  So in this list we're in the top 15. 

VOLUNTEERS kicks ass. 

Thank you ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE.   This was an unexpected surprise. 

The latest worst week ever

Like most people I’m sure, I’m at a complete loss for words.  The events and riots over the last week have been horrific, fueled by gross injustice, decades of building frustration, and an absolute disgrace for a president.  Calming a nation might hurt him politically so this despicable psychopath would rather stay silent and allow American cities to burn and be trashed.   (I’m turning off the comments today.  I have no interest in hearing any opposing views.) 

 

I always try to offer something you won’t find in any other commentary.  There’s really nothing I can say about this calamity you haven’t heard, read, or said yourself.  So to provide perspective I want to take you back to 1965.  This is not the first race riot I have witnessed.  That dubious distinction goes to the Watts Riots here in Los Angeles.  In my memoir, THE ME GENERATION… BY ME (GROWING UP IN THE ‘60S) I reference the Watts Riot.  I want to share it today, not to sell any more books, but for you to see how eerily similar that riot was to the ones we’re currently experiencing.   

 

You’d think we’d learn something in 55 years.  If we have, we won’t know until November. 

 

Here is that excerpt.  Stay safe.

 

In August, a California Highway Patrolman stopped an inebriated black man in Watts. When the cop tried to have the car impounded a crowd gathered and things escalated. The bottled up frustrations and oppression that had been simmering for generations finally exploded. Within 24 hours there was a full-scale riot.

For nearly a week, I watched on TV stunned and horrified as these people destroyed and looted their own neighborhood, the same neighborhood I drove through looking for Shindig. Storefronts were set on fire. Windows were smashed. The National Guard was sent in. It was insane. You’d see two kids hauling a couch down the street as bricks and rocks flew and fistfights raged on in the background. Not a movie, not a re-enactment. Live. Real reality television. In a place I’d been.

This was an utter shock to me. In my sheltered suburban life I had no real clue that there even was that degree of intense frustration. On those few occasions when I listened to something other than KHJ, one of my favorite stations was KGFJ. I’ve always loved Rhythm & Blues, and KGFJ was the soul station in Los Angeles. Watts, South Central, Compton – these were not ghettos; they were all just part of the “Big K Kingdom.” Now they were all on fire. And KGFJ was unfairly assigned some of the blame.

Their most popular disc jockey was the Magnificent Montague. When he played a record he really liked he would yell, “Burn!” Some rioters adopted that phrase and “Burn, baby, burn!” became the unofficial rally cry. Some later thought that Montague was inciting the crowd on the radio but, in truth, he was doing just the opposite. And I know because I was listening.

On the other hand, there was Joe Pyne.

Joe Pyne was one of the first belligerent radio talk show hosts. He discovered that you could get big ratings by telling callers to “go gargle with razor blades.” In the mid ’60s he also had a local Saturday night television show on KTTV. He sat behind a desk while a studio audience of Cro-Magnons grunted support. On this night he waved a handgun saying every citizen should have one and be willing to use it. He was not fired for this. And the next year NBC hired him to host a daytime game show.

By Sunday the riot had run its course, leaving about $200 million in property damage. Shockingly, public opinion polls at the time showed as many people blamed the Communists for the riot as those who blamed social issues and prejudice.

For six days I remained glued to my TV. The images were inconceivable.

 

Weekend Post 2

Every so often I’ll read an article or term paper or passage in a book that references a MASH episode my partner and I wrote. The piece is most always complimentary; sometimes overly so. But invariably the authors will analyze the episode. They’ll identify the symbolism, how when Hawkeye hangs up his laundry he’s really representing the Anti-Christ, and they’ll find all kinds of mythological parallel, subliminal messages, and odes to other works of literature. They’ll compare Klinger to Jane Austin, find significance in jeep license plate numbers, and detect hidden codes in Radar’s dialogue.

I’d like to be able to shrug my shoulders and say yes, all of that is in there. David and I write on many levels. Our scripts are challenging intellectual puzzles to be solved by only the most advanced sophisticated minds. Thanks for noticing.

I’d like to say that but it’s all bullshit! There’s no symbolism in our MASH scripts. There’s no attempt to send covert messages in Hawkeye’s Groucho routine. Sorry, we’re not that deep. We were just trying to write a funny show with substance and heart. Our goal was to entertain. Period. Even the Viet Nam comparisons to Korea – we never pointed to that. We didn’t have to.

There are series that do consciously employ symbolism. LOST did for example. MAD MEN for another. Pay attention because every detail has added importance. I love both of those shows. And I was always thrilled when I caught one of these symbolic nuggets. But don’t go looking for them in MASH, at least in our years. They’re just not there, folks. We used names of ballplayers, former girlfriends, and my family dog, but that’s about it.

People have deemed MASH a television classic and I’m humbled and grateful but at the time we were making the show we never for a moment thought we were writing a “classic”. We probably would have been paralyzed if we had. Or, at the very least, pretentious as hell.

And it makes me wonder -- all through school our teachers have analyzed and interpreted the crap out of great works of literature. We’re tested on intent and correct meaning. Well, what if the teacher has no fucking clue what she’s talking about? What if she has no idea what the author was trying to say? Or worse yet, has grossly misinterpreted it? If my personal experience has taught me anything it’s that books and plays and scripts and Billy Joel records may in fact be just what they seem.

I imagine if you asked Shakespeare about the ambiguity of HAMLET he might say, “Yeah, about that. I was really slammed for time. I figured I’d just clarify during rehearsals but something came up. The Globe needed some repairs and I had to interview a few contractors. Jesus, those guys will soak you. But people seem okay with the play as it is, so what the hell? Plus, I’m working on my next and that bad boy just does not want to fall into place.”

The next time you watch one of our MASH’s, trust me, I will be more than pleased if you just laugh at the jokes and enjoy the story. There’s something wrong when the viewer spends more time analyzing a script than the writer.

Weekend Post

Here's a fun video.  First listen to the Partridge Family with the actors singing, notably David Cassidy.  Then the same song after studio singers get done with it.   Where were they when I had to sing "Tumbling Tumbleweed" in the 7th grade? 

Friday Questions

Last FQ’s in May. Savor them.

Brian leads off by asking:

How soon before the networks, who are all putting out their own pay-for-streaming channels, transition slowly to streaming only and broadcast vanishes completely? (Or, if not completely, becomes the least desirable platform.)

I can’t even say for sure when it’s safe to leave my house, but I have the same prediction you do. At some point things will flip, and new shows will premier on the networks’ streaming channels and then re-appear on the broadcast network.

I think we’re a few years away from that, but this pandemic could easily hasten or slow that process by one or two years.

Seems to me it’s a safe bet though that five years from now television, as we know it, will be very different. I hope I can get out of my house by then.

RyderDA wonders:

On your advice, I've been listening to Rick Bro Radio and Great Big Radio; they're both awesome, so thanks for the recommendation! But a question regarding them: they are advertising free, and free to listen to. I don't understand the business model. If they are paying license fees for the music they play, that's gotta be funded somehow. So how does it work?

The honest answer is that both Rich Brother Robbin (richbroradio.com) and Howard Hoffman (GreatBigRadio.com) lose money. Their stations are a labor of love. And as long as the royalty fees aren’t too exorbitant, I suspect they’ll keep pumping out the hits. They do it because they love radio, love to entertain, and love the music that radio, in its futile quest for demographics, has forgotten.

Both Rich and Howard are providing a great service. If you would like to donate to either or both, I’m sure they’d be very grateful.

From cd1515 comes a baseball question. 

If you were still doing games, how tough would it be to do them now with no fans in the stands?

And what do you think about announcers doing games remotely from a studio?

It would be extremely hard to call games from an empty stadium. The crowd really provides the excitement, both to the announcers and the players. Players talk about “the tenth man” – they really do feed off the energy of the crowd.

Same with announcers. In the minors I’ve called games where the stadiums were essentially empty. It’s very difficult. You feel like you’re in a vacuum.

And if there are no people in the stands, why not call the game from home or a studio? Especially for the older announcers – why put yourself at risk? How well will stadiums be sanitized? Even with a reduced crew you still need stadium operations people, you still will be in close quarters in elevators, and small broadcast booths.

Then there are the other logistics. Will everyone be quarantined in a hotel? How sterilized is the hotel? Will hotel workers be quarantined? Will stadium operations crews be quarantined? What about travel? How sterilized will team buses be, and airplanes?

So if I’m an announcer and know that the background sound will be the same at my house as it would be in a stadium, then I’d rather do it from my living room.

Yes, I’ll miss daily interaction with the manager and players, but I can Zoom so I’ll still have my pipeline to the skipper.

Jason Benetti of ESPN is calling those Korean League games from his house and he sounds just fine. (Although he sounds great whatever he does.)

And finally, from -3- :

With everybody hunkered down to avoid the Trump Flu, is traffic going up on the archives? Or is it just old weirdoes like me reading through?

Readership is up, which sort of surprises me. A large percentage of my readers log on at work during business hours. Sure, many can still work from home, but quite a few can’t and have lost their jobs. I was expecting my traffic to go down. But happily it has not.

Podcasts, on a whole, have gone down during this lockdown. That surprises me too. You figure folks would now have more time to catch up on podcasts, but most people clearly must be listening during outside workouts or commuting under normal conditions.

Fortunately, my numbers on HOLLYWOOD AND LEVINE have held steady, and I thank you for that. I’ve got some nifty guests coming up – a comedy writer who’s had a very colorful career, and an eight-time JEOPARDY champion who won $228,000.

What’s your Friday Question? Stay safe. Wear your mask.

EP176: A Master Class in Directing Part 2

More expert advice in directing from Andy Barnicle.  Dealing with actors, the difference between TV and theatre, blocking, rewriting, lighting, interpretation, the technical part of the job.

Listen to the Hollywood & Levine podcast!

Entrance applause

If you’re a showrunner on a multi-camera show taped before a studio audience, one decision you have to make is whether to allow entrance applause.

In the theatre, when you go to see a performance featuring a star they traditionally get a huge round of applause when they make their first entrance. And usually that first entrance is with a flourish to allow for that adoration.

On Norman Lear shows in the ‘70s that became standard. Same with Garry Marshall shows. Watch an episode of GOOD TIMES or LAVERNE & SHIRLEY. J.J. or Lenny & Squiggy enter and you’d think we just landed on the moon.

Other shows like those done by MTM during the same period took out the applause.

The Lear/Marshall camp contends that the viewer knows there’s a studio audience and the show is being shot like a play. They’re not fooling anybody so why not include the audience’s appreciation of first seeing those stars they came to see?

The MTM camp contends that the applause is intrusive and takes you out of the story. They went so far as to tell audiences not to applaud during entrances. I was at a filming of RHODA where Vivian Vance was the guest star. You know her entrance would get a standing ovation. So the producers introduced her to the audience before they started filming. It gave Ms. Vance her entrance applause without affecting the show itself.

So where do I stand on this most controversial subject? I side with no applause. But for a different reason. I feel it’s self-congratulatory and I try to avoid that. If the audience spontaneously claps later in the show at a big laugh or a story turn, well that ovation was earned. But just to have the audience go nuts the minute the show starts when someone enters the house with the mail – that feels like we’re all patting ourselves on the back for no reason.

Also now, entrance applause sounds dated, retro, very ‘70s. At least to me.

I bet it’s something you haven’t thought much about, despite its incendiary nature. But we all have a lot of time on our hands these days, and many of us are binging – either current or vintage shows. Notice whether there’s entrance applause, and whether you like it.

Happy Birthday Becca!!!

Our granddaughter turns 4 today.  Wish we could be with you and hope next year and all the years after we can celebrate it in person.  Happy Birthday, Becca.  We love you.  See you on FaceTime. 

Memorial Day 2020

It always seems weird to me that a festive occasion should be called “Memorial Day.” The purpose of the day is to pay tribute to the men and women of our armed forces who have given their lives for our freedom. There is a national cemetery near my home and every Memorial Day American flags are posted in front of all the tombstone. It’s a startling sight – endless rows of matching white gravestones with American flags. When my kids were teenagers they helped plant the flags.

Having served in the Armed Forces Reserves, I've always considered myself incredibly lucky that I didn't have to fight in a war.  Back in those days we were drafted.  And it's all the more reason to give thanks to our current military personnel.  Not only are they there putting themselves in harm's way in awful hellholes, but they volunteered.

And this year is even weirder because traditionally Memorial Day signals the beginning of the summer season.  But most of us are still hunkered down at home.  I see all those people on beaches and the protesters and I'm reminded of my friend, Tom Straw's line for what they should write on their protest placards:

                                  Give me Liberty AND Give me Death 

There will be no summer traveling, no summer camps, no summer stock theatre.  But when you consider the sacrifice our servicemen are making -- not to mention the first responders, medical personnel, and folks providing essential services to keep this country even limping along -- all we can do is express our extreme gratitude to those brave men and women.  And that's what this Memorial Day is for. 

Thank you.  And stay safe. 

Ain't it the troooth

Weekend Post

This is very cool.  Top TV ratings from 1951-2019.  It's like a horse race.  Watch to see if your favorite show comes up in the backstretch.  Also, make note of network dominance.  CBS kicked ass for years, NBC had its day, ABC under Fred Silverman, rose briefly to the top, and Fox hit the big time with AMERICAN IDOL.  AMC even sneaks in there. 

Also, you'll notice how there are times when comedy rules and others when it's almost nowhere to be found.  Early on Westerns ruled.  Then disappeared.  And some shows you wouldn't think cracked the Top 10 like BECKER proved to be more popular than folks assumed.    The reboot of ROSEANNE goes straight to the top and then disappears in a blink.   All interesting stuff. 

And it's kind of mesmerizing.  Light up a joint and enjoy.