the history of rock n' roll in 27 minutes

This is truly awesome.  It's like THE BIG BANG THEORY opening titles but with music.  WLS was the powerhouse AM rock outlet in Chicago  (and most of the country thanks to it's enormous signal).  At one time in the '80s my father was the General Manager so I have a particular fondness for the station.   AM music radio was struggling but Dad fought hard to keep it going.   It was a losing battle.  Shortly after he left the station flipped to news-talk.A WLS tradition during the thirty years they played...

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Happy Birthday, Annie

It's hard to write a birthday post for a comedy writer.   I'd say something sentimental but she's on staff of a sitcom.  I'd be setting her up for endless serenading of "Sunrise/Sunset."    I mean, it was fine to embarrass her when she was a teenager.  I used to do that all the time.  But that was on purpose. This time I just want her to know that I'm proud of her, love her, and she makes me laugh everyday. ...

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Friday Questions

Getting you ready for the six-day Labor Day weekend, here are some Friday Questions:Longtime reader and Sitcom Room vet Wendy M. Grossman leads off:Amazon is moving into commissioning its own streamed series, and has posted the pilots for public voting. What do you make of that as a way to eliminate some of the expense of failures?I like the idea but only as one indicator, not the sole determining factor. Only a small very vocal portion of the...

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Magic in the Moonlight -- my review

I don’t pay to see Woody Allen movies. There have been too many misfires. Most movie reviews help you decide whether it’s worth it to pay to see a particular film. In this case, it’s a review to help you decide whether to see the latest Woody Allen movie if you can see it for free. So why do I even go in the first place? Because every so often he’ll do a MIDNIGHT IN PARIS. It’s why I prefer the National League to the American League. Every...

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My 14 minutes and 12 seconds of fame

It’s always bizarre to be recognized. Celebrities get used to it and expect it (or demand it). But I’m not a celebrity. Even in my radio days, I was able to move about incognito. I did a few improv shows but always as part of a group. And I was the warm-up man on CHEERS so a few thousand people in total saw me do that. I’ve been able to lead a pretty stealth life. The first time I was recognized was a few weeks after I began broadcasting...

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My (sort of) 2014 Emmy Review

FULL DISCLOSURE: I didn’t watch a minute of the Emmys. I was teaching a class at USC. But that insignificant little technicality is not going to stop me.Here is my snarky review of the 2014 Primetime Emmy telecast. Let’s see how close my predictions came to what actually happened.Since the Academy clearly has abandoned any delineation in categories – shows enter not based on their genre but on which category they think they can win in – the...

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The Emmys are now on Monday

Unfortunately, I won’t be watching the Emmys this year. I teach a class in comedy at USC on Monday nights. I secretly think that’s why the Emmys moved from Sunday, to avoid my snarky recaps. Yes, I could DVR them, start watching when I got home at midnight then stay up all night writing but that’s the kind of stuff you do when people pay you.   So what I shall do instead is write my review BEFORE the show.  After all, you KNOW...

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Best News Anchor faux pas this year

So far, but it's early....

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Recommended comedy reading

Starting tomorrow I will again be teaching "The Foundations of Comedy" lecture course at USC.   I'll be surveying screen comedies, silent pictures, sitcoms, sketch comedy, stand up, improvisation, radio, screenwriting and playwrighting.   Some features I'll be screening include:  WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, THE LADY EVE, ANIMAL HOUSE, MIDNIGHT RUN, DR. STRANGELOVE, and BANANAS.   These are all films I recommend you watch...

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Me & Marvin Gaye

I'm still in a Marvin Gaye mood after seeing the tribute show Thursday night at the Hollywood Bowl.  So thought I would share my one personal encounter with him.  This is actually an excerpt from my book, THE ME GENERATION... BY ME (GROWING UP IN THE '60s) that you need to buy immediately.   An early version of this was posted a few years ago, but how often do I get a chance to slyly plug my book? 1964 Woodland HillsMust-viewing:...

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Friday Questions

Ready for some Friday Questions?    Robin gets us started: Say you're pitching an idea for a show and the network passes. Is it possible for you to move on--let's pretend you were able to get a different show on TV--and after you're a bit more well-known try to get your original idea made? Or is it the case that when it's gone, it's gone? Until someone buys your idea it’s yours. You can shop it anywhere. And even if everyone passes, if...

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The amazing Marvin Gaye

Last night I had the great pleasure to go to the Hollywood Bowl and see a tribute to Marvin Gaye. And we were in one of the boxes so the stage was in the same time zone. Just how amazing was Marvin Gaye? Check this out. It's Marvin's vocal track for "Heard it Through the Grapevine" in the clear. The man could si...

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Bonus Questions

As promised, here’s an extra day of Friday Questions. Keep ‘em coming.Marianne has been patiently waiting. She’s up first. I was just wondering why it wasn't until the later seasons that Cheers decided to film teasers in front of the actual bar in Boston? Also, were those scenes filmed in one hit or did the actors regularly go to and from Boston? A large factor was the budget. Once the series got into the later years and Paramount knew it would...

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The most ridiculous cop show currently on the air

If I were to write a spoof of a typical hour procedural I could not possibly come up with anything more absurd than TAXI BROOKLYN. This show has been airing on NBC on Wednesdays this summer although originally it was a French show. NBC has found a new way to not hire US writers – just buy shows from France and Sweden. I wouldn’t be surprised if next year they shoot AMERICA’S GOT TALENT in Belgium. In France TAXI BROOKLYN’S premier drew 5.37...

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TV sex

TV sex is not like real sex. Of course you generally don’t have Standards & Practice people hovering over the bed during real sex. But in an age where mainstream movies are more explicit, the number one best selling book is rated X, and internet porn is only a click away, television is somewhat handcuffed (but not in the fun way). There are conceits we are asked to accept. But in real life….What woman has sex completely naked except for...

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State of the Blog report

Every so often the home plate umpire has to step out and warn both benches to play nice. The comments section has become a little unruly. Generally, I don’t respond to specific comments. A) It’s your forum, and B) if I did I’d be chained to my computer all day. When could I watch MASTERS OF SEX? So better to just respond here. I’ve been getting more and more angry trolls. Yes, they point out all the myriad reasons why I suck, but my takeaway...

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Ken Levine -- a.k.a. Beaver Cleaver

Barbara Billingsley, who played June Cleaver on the classic 50s sitcom LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, passed away several years ago.  She was 94.  Not the star that Lauren Bacall was, but as a kid I marveled at how she cooked and cleaned and always wore a party dress and pearls.  My mom never did.   But for years it was an honor to be mistaken for Barbara's TV son. I guess that requires an explanation, huh? Okay, that means a look back...

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Next year we hope to be Number One!

Whoever is #1 -- West Virginia or whover -- we're coming for you!...

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One of the true idiots I've ever worked with

Early in my directing career I did a couple of episodes of ASK HARRIET for FOX. It actually was not a bad show and I worked with some wonderful actors like Willie Garson, Ed Asner, and Julie Benz. But one of the producers was maybe the worst writer I’ve ever encountered in the business. And he really stuck out because the rest of the staff was terrific. For purposes of this piece let’s call him Shecky because he pretty much embodied...

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Friday Questions

Let’s kick off the weekend with some Friday Questions:Cathryn leads off: How do you feel about the state of illegal downloading/streaming now? Do you think it'll inevitably get worse with younger generations doing it almost by instinct or do you see it being cracked down on harder than the war on drugs in the future? Some people may argue facetiously that if it's 2 Broke Girls or an Adam Sandler movie, it's less of a crime than downloading Almost...

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The hardest working reviewer in show business

Any critic can review movies everyone has seen. But to write reviews for movies that no one has seen and still make them entertaining, that’s a challenge. With GET ON UP I guess I accept that challenge. If I could see 3D or be willing to brave the teen texters and parents who bring screaming babies to the theater I’m sure I’d catch more of the popular ones. Most of my movie-going these days is membership screenings at the WGA and DGA. ...

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More thoughts on Robin and Lauren Bacall

I hate writing tributes. And this year it seems I’ve had to write more than ever. Some are more personal, some are bigger stars than others, but they all chip away at the soul. Some reflect the loss of an era or our childhood. Others are shocking because they’re so unexpected. But very few have the shattering impact that Robin Williams’ death has had on the entire world.  Every conversation I had yesterday at some point turned to Robin...

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My thoughts on Robin Williams

I wonder what kind of tribute Robin Williams himself would want. I bet he’d want it to be funny. He’d say, “downplay the genius!  What would a funeral on Ork be like"? At this point he would riff, going off in fifteen different directions. Instead of grieving, Orkians would go door to door selling vacuum cleaners. They would recite the Lord’s Prayer in a Scottish accent. Mourners would sing the hits of Gary Lewis and the Playboys....

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