Colby starts us off:
If you had to sit down now and write an original episode of any of the shows you've worked on, (your actors are frozen in time, so no nursing home requirements for the characters) which do you think would be the easiest to write fresh content for?
CHEERS.
Don’t know why, but I never got tired of writing that show. Even after 40 episodes. I love those characters, love that setting, and could happily keep writing them for years.
FRASIER would be a close second.
But not MASH. So much of that show was based on research, and by the end those bones were picked clean. Because we were locked into a time and place and characters couldn’t grow, I think the show went on about two or three years too long.
Earl B asks:
Have you ever, in your writing, thought "This is a good, clever joke, but at this point in the script I need a belly laugh"?
All the time.
Especially if we’re looking for a joke to end a scene.
When I write a joke I always try to imagine a studio audience’s reaction. Will they really laugh at this or will they smile? Not every line in a script needs to be a belly laugh, but there are places where they are required.
Example: If you take a whole page to set up one joke, it better be a great joke.
In general, I try to shy away from “clever.” Word-plays or puns work better in prose.
But I’m always looking to “beat” jokes – in other words, replace them with better jokes. It's become an obsession. I do it sometimes with jokes that have already aired. I need therapy.
From PolyWogg:
I have a question about off-set escapades. Does scandal / noise / etc. from the stars affect the writing or is that someone else's problem and you stick to the writing?
Offstage distractions make it harder for all concerned. The audience will start blending the actor’s behavior with his character’s, which often distorts the character.
As a writer you do your best to maintain the direction and integrity of the show, but it’s tough when an actor’s behavior starts turning viewers against them and your show.
I would not want to be writing FRESH OFF THE BOAT right now given Constance Wu’s disdain for the show that launched her career.
Giving some actors Twitter accounts is like giving a monkey a gun.
And finally, from Jim S:
What is the protocol for using personal stories. I imagine it's OK for a writer to think, "I remember a time when I forgot my mother's birthday and there was Hell to pay. Let's make that a story."
But what if Mom objects? And say you remember an embarassing story where a friend or even family member did something that they might not like on national TV? How do finesse that? Or are the lines one doesn't cross?
That’s always an issue, and the writer has to take it on a case-by-case basis.
One way is to ask the person's permission.
Putting a spin on the story to hide someone’s identity is always helpful. Instead of your father who got drunk and drove his car through the living room, it’s a neighbor, or one of your regular characters. The world doesn’t have to know.
To me the tipping point is if you know it’s going to really hurt someone’s feelings. Then I would say don’t do it.
But here’s the interesting thing – let’s say you shield a family member by preserving their anonymity. But the behavior is clearly theirs. Often times the person in question will say, “I know someone just like that.” They won’t recognize that it’s them.
And I will say this, I have had arguments with my wife where she’s said in the middle of it – “This better not turn up in a script!” They never did. I'm not an idiot.
The best and safest way to go are to do humiliating stories about yourself.
What’s your Friday Question? Hopefully, you still have ten fingers to type because you didn’t lose three of them in a home fireworks accident.
from By Ken Levine
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