I've killed a TV character too, y'know

So for the producers of THE GOOD WIFE, I know what you're going through.   Note to Michelle & Robert King:  We got nominated for awards. ...

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My take on THE GOOD WIFE

A lot of you have asked my thoughts on the shocking story turn on THE GOOD WIFE. I waited a week so you DVR folks could catch up, but if you don’t know by now – they killed Will Gardner. First, as a huge fan of the show, let me react personally. “NOOOOO!!!! HOW COULD THEY DO THAT?!! NOOOOOO!!!!! ANYONE BUT WILL!!!! Except maybe Alicia. Or Elsbeth. NOOOOOO!”Okay. Had to get that out of my system. Now my professional opinion. “NOOOOOO!”...

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What I read on my spring vacation

Spending three weeks in Hawaii gave me a chance to catch up on my reading.  Here's what I read:Shell Shocked -- the Howard Kaylan autobiography.Well-written, candid, and very funny.   The lead singer of the Turtles takes you through his remarkable career.  "What a life!" and "Why isn't he dead?" are the two statements you'll be making.Children of the Canyon -- by David KukoffA dark but engrossing novel about the kids who grew...

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Picture Day

All taken with my iPhone. Mostly sunsets. To go along with the photos and travelogue I posted earlier in the week.  (Sorry there's no place to click "like" but enjoy just the same.)A selfie with AnnieFrom Amasia.  Yum.That's a chocolate shell.  To die for. Matt & Annie, my humble childrenThis ridiculous feature at the Grand Wailea simulates being tossed in the waves.  Real waves are five yards away.Who the fuck wears fur...

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First music video...

...I was ever asked to give notes on. And they even took one. It's a great video for a GREAT song. "Girl You Look Amazing" by Nicole Atkins. I never caught the name of the guy who plays her boyfriend in this. Rock on....

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Friday Questions

Have you submitted your Friday Question yet? Here are four readers who have. Steve B. is first: How do you decide whether to make a sitcom pilot single or multi cam? It depends on the premise, the tone of the show, and how you want to tell the story. Some premises are no-brainers like MASH. You can’t exactly shoot that in front of a studio audience, so you’re pretty much locked into a single-camera format. But let’s say you’re doing a show...

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The HAWAII 5-0 I'd really like to see

Back from Maui. You’re saying, “Weren’t you just in Hawaii?” and the answer is “Yes, but this time our kids joined us, and so what if we were?” My wife arrived with a hellacious cold, I had a swollen cornea, and Annie was getting over bronchitis. There was so much coughing our rented condo sounded like a poker game at Elaine Stritch’s. Matt then arrived with a strained calf. So between us we couldn’t see, hear, speak, or walk. Let’s...

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The one word to watch out for

Now with YouTube, everybody makes videos. HD cameras are so inexpensive that full-length films can be produced on a shoestring budget. Recording an album no longer requires a million bucks. You can do all the engineering and processing on your iMac Mini. But what the new technology still can’t do is provide feedback. You still have to show it to your friends and get their reactions. But rarely, if ever, are you going to get an honest appraisal....

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Rookie mistakes

Everyone has to start somewhere. For me and my writing partner, David Isaacs our first paid writing assignment was for an episode of THE JEFFERSONS. Prior to that we had been writing spec scripts, schlepping down to the Writers Guild to register them for protection, and then we peddled them to anyone who would read them. Our spec MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW (which had already been rejected by THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW and RHODA) found its way into...

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Killing at a banquet can kill your career

I’ve never done standup, but I have done a lot of banquet speaking. Especially in baseball. I’d speak at Rotary Club meetings or emcee charity dinners, that sort of thing. If you think the crowd is rough at the Comedy Store on open mic night wait’ll you face an Elks Club after they’ve had their raffle and 99% of them didn’t win that grand prize power saw. Back in 1993 when I was announcing for the Mariners (that’s the “other” sports team in...

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Open All Night

I’m amazed and delighted that some of you actually remember OPEN ALL NIGHT. David Letterman did make a cameo in one episode. So did Joe Montagne, Elvira, David Paymer, and me and my writing partner, David Isaacs (playing two swinging lawyers trying to pick up female mud wrestlers at a mace class).For the other 99.9% that don’t recall the show, it starred George Dzundza and Susan Tyrell as owners of a 24 hour convenience store. Sam Whipple ...

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Oh, to be a "hot" screenwriter again

This is a typical story. In the mid 80’s my partner and I had a pretty good movie career going along with our TV work. (I think this was that honeymoon period between the time VOLUNTEERS was made and actually released…because that window was pretty short as I recall.) Disney wanted to meet us.We trooped down to Burbank, appropriately entered the Dopey Building and met with this very nice energetic young executive. If we had any movie ideas...

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My role in the Patty Hearst kidnapping

BBC Radio is airing a documentary tonight on the Patty Hearst case.  I was contacted and interviewed for that program.   Here's my involvement in that major international story:  Before I became a writer and blogger I traveled around the country like a nomad “spinning biscuits” as a Top 40 D.J. It was 1974. I was working at KYA, San Francisco. KFRC was the big station then. Throughout my disc jockey career I always...

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Friday Questions

Happy Friday Question day.  Get in on the fun.  Leave yours in the comments section.  Thanks.Anonymous starts us off (in the future, please list your name): Who are some of the stars that you have worked with who WEREN'T monsters? The ones filled with grace and dignity? Would love to see that list.I’ve been incredibly blessed. It’s a long long list. And it’s not complete. I apologize to those other actors I’ve worked with who...

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My comedy gods

Phoef Sutton, an excellent comedy writer in his own right, posed this question recently on Facebook: Who are your comedy gods? Here are mine… in no particular order.  Yes, there are a lot, but isn't it nice that so many people inspired me?   And I’m sure I’m forgetting a few.  If any of these names are unfamiliar to you, they're worth looking up. A few of them I have done posts on in the past and have provided the links. Larry...

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Too much of a good thing

There’s a prison in Maine where the inmates were given fresh lobster to eat every night. They eventually revolted. They pleaded for hamburger helper, shit on a shingle, anything but lobster. Too much of a good thing.Now Mae West may contend that: “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.” And I suppose in some cases it is. If someone complained that he was having too much sex with Selena Gomez you could justifiably shoot him. But generally...

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Another rant: in defense of "jokes."

As expected, yesterday’s post generated a lot of comments. I want to further the discussion by defending the use of “jokes.”   There are several definitions for jokes.  Here's one:  A joke is something spoken, written, or done with humorous intention.  In some cases it has a punchline, or just something you didn't expect, which amuses you.   Jokes have become uncool, passé, something to sneer at and scorn....

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My rant on the state of sitcoms

A recent article on Vulture.com by Josef Adalian argues that "Shrinking Sitcom Ratings May Be the Best Thing to Happen to Smart Comedies.” He points to the recent Fox pick-ups of NEW GIRL, MINDY PROJECT, AND BROOKLYN NINE-NINE despite their low ratings and thinks in this day and age, only niche comedies will thrive. Gone are the days of the big mass market sitcoms. Even mainstays like THE BIG BANG THEORY and MODERN FAMILY were introduced before...

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How we plotted stories on MASH

MASH episodes tend to be complicated and I’m often asked how we plotted out stories. So here’s how we did it.First off, we chose the best stories we could find – the most emotional, the most interesting the best possibilities for comedy. Plotting is worthless if you have a bad story. Chekov would pull out his hair trying to make “B.J.’s Depression” work. (Side note: stories where your lead character is depressed generally don’t work in...

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