An unknown reader (who submitted this before I banned unknown and anonymous readers) asks:
How do you feel about studio audiences that go "Awwww!" when something sweet happens, or "Woooo!" when one character insults another or a hot woman walks in? Do any warmup guys try to discourage such behavior?
I hate it and will eliminate it from the audience track. Emotions need to be earned, not prodded by the audience. “Wooo’s” are distracting and in some cases rude.
I do tell my warm up people to ask the audience not to do that.
I also hate applause when actors make their first appearance. It takes the audience out of the show and it’s self-congratulatory.
Personal bias but I go to great lengths to avoid any hint of self-congratulations. Like I said, everything has to be earned. YOU decide whether the show is good.
DougG. wonders:
Would you like to have been a writer for Johnny Carson on THE TONIGHT SHOW?
No. I never had any desire to do that and never applied.
I like writing stories and having my humor come out of characters and attitudes. I don’t enjoy just writing “jokes.”
Having to sit in a room and bang out fifty one-liners hoping I get one in is not why I became a writer.
My first "writing" job was coming up with jokes for Joan Rivers. I think I got $5 for every one she used. So basically $5 for every twenty jokes.
Not for me.
Mike Reiss, on my podcast, also said that THE TONIGHT SHOW was a revolving door, and that it was not uncommon to get fired once or maybe twice.
Not for me.
That said, there were some brilliant comedy writers who did work on THE TONIGHT SHOW, several who are friends. I greatly admire what they did. It just wasn’t my strength. Or interest.
From Yakimi:
A radio question: In all your radio travels, did you ever work at a station that had horribly outdated equipment? I mean, consoles that Fred Flintstone would have been using long before you got there?
Oh yes. My first job in radio. KERN, Bakersfield. I think it said “Hail to the Kaiser!” on the transmitter.
But here’s the irony: The station also had the best Chief Engineer in John Barcroft. So even though everything was old and outdated, the station ran like a top. And it sounded fantastic on the air.
I’ll take that over new state-of-the-art equipment that breaks down, needs to be rebooted, has glitches, and sounds lousy.
And finally, from Buttermilk Sky:
Friday question: Commercials. As someone who has written for movies and stage as well as TV, do you find it difficult to remember to break down scripts into ten-minute segments because of the ads? Or does it help you to structure the show?
It helps to structure the show. When I construct a story I’m always mindful of act breaks and the best, most suspenseful way of telling the story. Even if I did a show for a streaming platform with no commercials I would still create my own act breaks.
What’s your Friday Question?
from By Ken Levine
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