A Gene Simmons Halloween

This has always been one of my favorite holidays, especially when the kids were little. Taking them trick-or-treating and seeing them so excited and happy was one of the true joys of parenthood. And then eating the candy they collected was fun too. Of course there’s always that one eccentric house. We had a dentist who gave out toothbrushes. Thank goodness he wasn’t a proctologist.And where I live, near UCLA, there was always a second...

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The best CHEERS Halloween costume ever

   This gives me a great idea. How can I dress up in my BIG WAVE DAVE'S cred...

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My new book MUST KILL TV is now available!

Finally!  My first novel (with story by me and David Isaacs). The ebook of MUST KILL TV is now available. The price is only $2.99. Here’s where you go. It’s a comic novel about a beleaguered TV network president who can only save his career and primetime schedule by killing his big star’s ex-girlfriend. In Hollywood this is not an unreasonable request. The paperback version will be available soon. I’m very proud of this novel and...

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FREE OFFER (sort of)

 UPDATE:  The offer has expired.  I have given away my 100 copies.   Thanks to those who requested one.  But if you didn't get one, they're now available and only $2.99.  I’m giving away free copies of my new book, MUST KILL TV. Well… sorta free. Details after this story.One great thing about Amazon Kindle is that uploading your ebook is easy. Unless you’re me. You just follow the simple steps. Fill in the...

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The best show on TV just got better

Sunday night I watched THE GOOD WIFE and HOMELAND. Both are hour long dramas. Both star extraordinary actresses (Julianna Margulies, Claire Danes). I’m fans of both series. In HOMELAND this week the main character, Carrie is playing a dangerous game of espionage trying to capture a scary supervillain terrorist leader. Her life is in jeopardy every minute. She’s under constant surveillance. One tiny slip, one innocent misstep and thousands...

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7th time is a charm

SITCOM ROOM 7 is in the books (as baseball announcers would say).  Twenty scribes spent the last two days immersed in the world of TV comedy writing.  They learned a lot about creating sitcoms, themselves, poor nutrition, story construction, the Tango, network notes, spec scripts, and sleep deprivation.  We had quite an international turnout this year.   Three from Germany, one from Vienna, one from Norway, one from Peru,...

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Switched at birth of pilot

It’s not unusual for there to be major changes during the production of a TV pilot. I’ve helped out on many, coming in to do punch up, and I’ve seen pretty much everything. Characters change. On Tuesday the best friend suddenly becomes the sister. At the first table reading mom and dad are both present. By mid-week dad had died ten years ago and it's just mom. The scene at the coffee shop is gone replaced by one at a bank and the waitress...

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R.I.P. Marcia Wallace

So sad to hear of the passing of Marcia Wallace. She was 70. Marcia and I became good friends after working together… for one week. She starred in a pilot of ours in 1979. The project didn’t go, but I remained friends with her ever since. What a brave, courageous, funny lady. Depending on your age, she is best known as “Carol Kester,” the receptionist on THE BOB NEWHART SHOW or the voice of schoolteacher, Edna Krabappel on THE SIMPSONS.I’ve...

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It's that time of year again

This is the weekend for my annual SITCOM ROOM seminar. Twenty lucky participants will be split into four “rooms” of five and experience exactly what it’s really like to be on a comedy writing staff. They’ll fix a script, eat way too much junk food, and either form deep bonds or kill each other. They’ll learn a lot, laugh a lot, and sleep very little. They’ll see their work performed by professional working actors, and they’ll discover talents...

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People are not watching the World Series

Great essay by Keith Olbermann on the ratings decline of the World Series. ...

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Stealing jokes

Getting ready to hold my annual Sitcom Room seminar this weekend. Here are some Friday Questions before I go. One even involves Alf.  A recent post on Roseanne and her accusation that a joke of hers had been stolen prompted Kay to ask this: I'm not sure how a writer should handle that. Ken, what you would suggest? Do you abandon or re-write your own original joke, after you hear a similar joke, for fear someone will accuse you of having stolen...

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What's the best spec script to write?

The Friday Question I get asked more than any other is probably this one:Ken, if you had your choice of current sitcoms on air to write for, which show would you write a spec for and why? The real question is what show should YOU write for? There are several factors.Pick the show that best shows off your strengths. Are you a great joke person? Write a Chuck Lorre multi-cam show. Good with characters? Select a single-camera show that’s more...

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Cable sex -- how was it for you?

One advantage premium cable channels have over broadcast networks is they can show nudity. The most groundbreaking display of nudity on ABC was a quick glance of Dennis Franz’s ass on NYPD BLUE. Granted, that was still more arousing than a naked Lena Dunham on HBO, but the point is premium cable has more freedom when it comes to flashing skin. Basic cable is also allowed to get away with “brief nudity” but it’s usually too brief and not nude...

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Adventures in air travel

Took a quick trip to Phoenix last week. My dear friend Bobby Rich was being inducted into the Arizona Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame and I was there to introduce him. You’d think when you’re inducted into a Hall of Fame people would know you but I guess not. It was a lovely ceremony and a well-deserved honor. But it meant flying to Phoenix. For me that has always meant Southwest Airlines. At one time I loved Southwest. Just like...

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The TV character I currently hate the most

And I am not alone.HOMELAND faces the most dangerous plot in the series’ history – an insidious subversive plot more squirm-inducing than any of the Brody torture scenes, more chilling than national terrorist threats, suicide bombers, and unspeakable acts of senseless violence. I’m referring of course to the Dana storyline in season three. First let me say I do not blame Morgan Saylor, the young actress who portrays Nicholas Brody’s bratty teenage...

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What Britney Spears REALLY sounds like

This will make you laugh until you squirm. Britney's microphone is soloed and the results aren't pretty. What a fucking fra...

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Writing for BARNEY MILLER

BARNEY MILLER is one of those forgotten gem sitcoms from the 70s. I guess because they were taped and now look like crap you rarely see them pop up in reruns. Set in a detectives’ squad room in an NYPD precinct, BARNEY MILLER was a quirky character comedy revolving around the detectives and the nutcases that walked through their door (most in handcuffs).It was created by Danny Arnold who was a true character. Brilliant, unpredictable...

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75 years of Superman in 2 minutes

Cool animated video that celebrates Superman through his many looks and reboots. What more can I say other than, "Great Caesar's Ghost!"?...

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The time I rewrote Neil Simon

First off, let me just say that Neil Simon is one of my comedy Gods. I’ve devoured all of his plays, used them as a study guide. There was a period in the '80s and '90s that his new plays and musicals would open first here in Los Angeles before going on to Broadway (we were New Haven with palm trees). I would see them three or four times, watching to see how he revised and polished them… and often times marveling at the craft and ingenuity...

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Friday Questions

Hello from Phoenix where I’ve prepared some answers to Friday Questions and enlisted a special guest to help out on one.Ben Koch leads off: I know you hate 2 Broke Girls, but it brings up a question I've always wanted to know. Whenever Jennifer Coolidge comes on screen the first time, the studio audience goes wild with Ooohs. I remember this happening with Christina Applegate on Married With Children. I'm sure it happens with other shows too. Why...

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Following up on the state of radio

WARNING:  ANOTHER ONE OF MY RANTSA few months ago I wrote a post stating that terrestrial radio was heading towards its doom primarily due to all the commercials, lack of local programming, and ignoring the warning signs. New delivery systems – especially internet radio – will overtake the dinosaur AM & FM’s if they don't open their eyes.  Several days after the article ran, Tim Conway Jr., the nighttime host on KFI Los Angeles devoted...

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Green is the new black

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