Friday Questions

Even rehearsals for my play won’t keep me from answering Friday Questions. What’s yours?

Snoskred asks:

Did you ever listen to the official podcasts for Breaking Bad? Do people in the industry see these kinds of things as ways to engage fans, or as an annoyance?

Would you consider doing a similar podcast for a show you are involved in, even if it meant you had to organize it?

I personally don’t listen to any show podcasts, but if I had a show I would absolutely create a podcast. I would use every social media outlet I could to generate more fan interest in my show. Podcasts, live Tweeting, Facebook groups, Instagram, you name it. This is a resource showrunners never had before. We were always at the mercy of the network and studio to publicize our show. We’d live and die based on the number of promos we got and in which shows they were placed.

Now showrunners have other channels to reach their fans directly. I think you’re an idiot if you don’t take advantage.

That said, I would stop short though of naked pictures of my stars on the iCloud.

Mark B wants to know:

Is there a show you didn't like in the beginning but warned up to it and now think it's a great sitcom?

Avery queries:

You say that The Cosby Show hasn't aged well and I agree. And it seems shows that were shot on tape as opposed to film don't age as well in general. The first season of Newhart was shot on tape and to me it just stands out like a sore thumb. Would you agree?

Absolutely. Taped shows always looked cheap to me. Filmed shows looked rich and were way more pleasing to the eye. Whenever my partner and I had a series we always insisted it be on film. That was non-negotiable.

And at the time we weren’t even thinking about the preservation issue. Videotape does suffer over the years we have since learned. Is there a process that will restore taped shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s to their original sharper-but-still-cheesy-looking selves? That I don’t know. I also don’t know if it’s worth it.

Stoney is up next.

This question is for Beaver Cleaver, the D.J.: Do you agree with Gene Simmons that rock is dead?

Yeah, like KISS kept it alive.

No. Simmons is confusing death with music that just isn’t meant to speak to him. Each generation creates music that is relevant to that generation. The fact that Gene Simmons is not feeling the same emotions or dealing with the same issues as today’s teenager doesn’t mean the current music is any worse than when he was giving the world classics like “Love Gun” and “Christine Sixteen.”

Another "that said" -- I like Gene Simmons.  I find him amusing.  He's a showman and sure knows how to self promote. 

And finally, from Chris:

As far as I know, there's no high definition transfer of M*A*S*H* yet. What did you guys edit the show on, was it film or tape? If it's film, it should be fairly easy to just scan it and re-master. With tape, it's more complicated and we might never see it in HD.

We did it the old fashioned way, editing on film. Stan Tischler was our editor and we’d troop up to his office to watch something on the old moviologa with a screen the size of your iPhone. Meanwhile, there were little strips of film (like confetti) attached to hooks all over the place. The film was edited and a master was then cut from the negative.

Whether a HD transfer is in the works, I have no idea.  I hope so, though.  That would be cool.