Hollywood generosity (an oxymoron)

Not to be a name dropper but (okay I am a name dropper) I was having lunch with Shelley Long and grousing that I had to buy the CHEERS DVD set. Paramount didn’t give me one, which would have been nice considering I wrote a lot of episodes and my royalties from DVD sales are a fucking joke. I was amazed to learn that Shelley wasn’t provided a complimentary copy of the collection either. You’d think as just a common courtesy the studio would give...

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Come see a Levine & Isaacs pilot

The Whitefire Theatre in fabulous Sherman Oaks (the heart of the San Fernando Valley theater and auto repair district) is staging a night of three TV pilots that never made it to air. One is a pilot my partner, David Isaacs and I wrote called UNDER ANDREA. We’ve turned it into a one act play and I’m directing it. It’s very funny as are the other two (by Russ Woody and Rick Dresser).  The program is called DEAD PILOTS SOCIETY and will run for...

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Blow in her face and she'll follow you everywhere.

Are you having withdrawal symptoms now that MAD MEN is over?  Well, to help you through these difficult times I thought you might enjoy these actual magazine ads from Don Draper's day.   Noted without comment except to say, JESUS EFFIN' CHRIST!...

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How to sell a one-hour drama to USA, FX, A&E, TNT, or whoever

It's very simple.  I have discovered the basic cable one-hour formula.  Follow these steps and you premiere right after BURN NOTICE.  Start with a handsome likable actor. Heavy on charm, athletic, has a dimple, and can deliver a joke without needing a stunt double. For background, he was in some branch of law enforcement. Cop, U.S. Marshall, CIA, secret service, security guard at Warner Brothers. And we learn he’s a real...

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Friday Questions

Live from New York! It’s Friday Questions!Julia Littleton gets us started.Can you explain something about the art of the setup that won't, as it were, kill the frog in the process? Probably you've explained it before, but I can never get enough of this stuff. The setups on Frasier were so elaborate that the reward, when it came, was truly memorable. The key to the set-up is providing the information the viewer needs to make the joke work. A Donald...

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Striving for the BIGGEST laugh

The biggest laugh I think I ever had was from a joke on THE HONEYMOONERS. I must’ve rolled on the floor for five minutes straight.   If LMFAO is bigger than LOL, what is bigger than LMFAO because that's what I did? THE HONEYMOONERS, for many of my younger readers (and hopefully I have more than six), was a 1950’s sitcom starring Jackie Gleason (who was a guy) as Ralph Kramden, a New York bus driver who was always looking to get rich....

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The funniest movie of the year!

Finally I can recommend a Hollywood comedy that’s actually FUNNY. Go see SPY. I can’t remember the last time I watched a supposed comedy and laughed out loud repeatedly. Or at all.Thank you Paul Feig. It’s like you’ve taken the best of Judd Apatow and eliminated all the pretense, indulgence, bullshit, and Adam Sandler and crafted an action-comedy that is both smart and silly. And Melissa McCarthy is flat-out hilarious. With this role she...

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My thoughts on TRANSPARENT

Emmy voting has begun. TRANSPARENT is a wonderful show. It is filled with rich characters, novel situations, tremendous heart, superb performances, inspired writing, and it courageously tackles a delicate subject with compassion and conviction. It’s far and away the best new show of the current season. But I’m not voting for it. Why?Because it was submitted as a “Best Comedy” candidate. I’m sorry, but TRANSPARENT is not a comedy. There...

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Can comedy stand the test of time?

A Friday Question from last week sparked a lively debate on comedy and how it changes with each generation.   Comedy is a product of the times, reflecting our attitudes and sensibilities. Millennials have a different worldview than we Baby Boomers (or, if I want to lie about my age, we Gen-X’ers) have. On a Sirius/XM comedy channel recently I heard an old Steve Martin routine. All he had to say was “Ex-cuuuuse meeeee” and the audience...

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Happy Father's Day

Especially to my own father, Cliff, who is both my hero and role model. Note to those wives and kids planning to celebrate: no brunches. That’s Mother’s Day stuff. Let the old man sit in front of the TV and watch NASCAR or the WNBA.  Or watchFIELD OF DREAMSKRAMER VS. KRAMERMR. MOM PARENTHOOD  And now, as a public service, here are some movies NOT to watch on Father’s Day:LOVE & MERCYFEAR STRIKES OUTCHINATOWNSHINEWALK THE LINEOFFICER...

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My botched attempt at a summer romance

More from my book, THE ME GENERATION... BY ME (GROWING UP IN THE '60s).   By the way, it's the PERFECT Father's Day Gift.   And now take the Way-Back machine to 1969I started going out with Rhonda. She lived in Philadelphia and was just out here staying with relatives, one of whom was my friend Jay. Might this be one of those “summer romances” where you meet, fall madly in love, she goes home in September, you’re heartbroken,...

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Friday Questions

Get your Friday Questions answered here! VincentS is up first.Was it ever on the radar to make Bebe Neuwirth a regular on FRASIER? Since I’m not really qualified to answer that, I got one of the shows creators, David Lee to graciously respond for me.One always considers such things if for no other reason than trying to find areas that will open up stories. The problem with making the character of Lilith a regular on Frasier was both creative and...

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Let's introduce Tennesee Williams and the band

One of my pet peeves going to concerts is when the singer interrupts a song to throw in some patter or introductions. Songs tell a story and the illusion is destroyed once the singer steps out of the moment. It’s insulting to lyricists. What if performers did that in dramas? Imagine a production of STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE with Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh on stage. The play is barreling to an explosive finale when: Blanche: So, farewell,...

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Reviewing shows on NETFLIX

It can’t be done. Not without totally ruining them. Since everyone watches NETFLIX series on their own schedule there’s no way to review anything without being a spoiler. This is fine for me, but my heart goes out to poor TV critics. Some of the best shows on television are on NETFLIX (or AMAZON for that matter).  How often can you analyze EMPIRE? I guess the best you can do is say you liked one series or another. Or discuss in very general...

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Another one of my rants

As if they do any good.This is for all the showrunners of new multi-camera sitcoms (i.e. shows shot in front of a live studio audience) that the networks have recently picked up.   The format is much maligned, but hopefully this will help you avoid the audience complaints and ride your new series to success.  I have a number of friends who are on staff of various multi-cams . They report that the one note they now get incessantly...

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Cutting remarks

Here’s one of those Friday Questions that became a whole topic.   I talked recently about the exercise to thin down your scenes.  Well, what happens when you can't? dwgsp asks: I can imagine that you have been in situations where a script simply ran too long and you needed to cut something out, but the task seemed impossible because every line was integral to the story. Do you have any suggestions for how to identify what to remove? Would...

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The best music video EVER

THIS is how you rock Aret...

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The most difficult character to write for

Recently I spoke at a UCLA writing class and a student asked, “Of all the shows you’ve worked on, which character was the most difficult to write?” I had to really think. Finally, the answer I gave was Fay from WINGS.But first, understand that I love the actress who played her, Rebecca Schull. She’s both a wonderful person and actor and did a remarkable job with what she had to work with. But Fay, the character was hard to write for. Why?...

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Friday Questions

Have you asked a Friday Question lately? I try to answer as many as I can. Here are this week’s:Andreia leads off:Hi Ken, I was wondering if you could talk a little about character ownership. A character is created, fleshed out with catchphrases, quirks and backstory by a writer and then given to an actor to embody. In your opinion, who does that character belong to? Or, who *is* that character? Especially in a long running show where an actor...

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THE SEVENTIES

The ‘70s was a golden era of TV comedy. With groundbreaking shows like ALL IN THE FAMILY, MASH, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, and THE BOB NEWHART SHOW, American sitcoms were elevated from mindless madcap fare to sophisticated entertainment that explored social and political issues. They didn’t insult the audience’s intelligence; they celebrated it. Not every plot on every show was about “hooking up.” And they were extremely FUNNY. CNN premiers...

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Truth or lies?

Okay, yesterday we played Two Truths and One Lie.   Nobody got them all right, but some came close.  I love how most of you figured I couldn't possibly get kissed by a Bond Girl.  Anyway, thanks for playing, and let’s see how you did.I was on ABC-TV covering the National Elections when I was eighteen. – This is true with an explanation. I was covering the election for my campus radio station at UCLA. But at one point I cornered...

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