Byron starts us off:
On Frasier, Glen and Les Charles received credit at the end of every episode for creating the character of Dr. Crane, as he debuted on their show. However, what if a character not developed by the original creators were to receive a spinoff? I know you and David created Eddie LeBec, and I know he was killed off, but hypothetically speaking…had Eddie received his own show, would you and David have received the creator credit, or would it have gone to the Charles Bros. since he originated on their show? Or would all four of you perhaps have received credit?
I don’t know the exact rules, but I believe if a writer receives character credit on someone he created who went on another series he would be entitled to some credit and royalty. A few readers posted examples. So had Eddie lived and gone on to a sequel I'd be very rich today. Just what the credit would be and whether we would have to share it, I do not know.
But that wasn’t always so. Jim Fritzell & Everett Greenbaum wrote an episode of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW that introduced a character named Gomer Pyle. They never got a cent or credit on the long running Gomer Pyle series.
C. Warren Dale asks:
This is about opening sequences. Some shows had more-or-less the same opening sequence for their whole run. CHEERS is an example, although I heard it was shortened as the show went on. Growing up watching CHEERS on syndication, it seems like I only ever saw the shortened version, but when I watched CHEERS on Netflix, it seems like they used the long version for the entire run of the series.
When shows go into syndication they’re cut down so more commercials can be inserted. Using a shorter opening credits sequence means another 15 seconds or so of content can remain in the show.
If I’m not mistaken, we used the shorter version occasionally on first-run episodes when we desperately needed every second of content we could get. I don’t know about today, but back then you couldn’t call the network and say “We need an extra 22 seconds please.” You could come in a minute or 30 seconds short but not long. And sometimes having that extra minute to cut out would improve a show considerably.
Chris Bernard queries:
Ken, do people in show business think it's ridiculous the adulation actors receive? Do they find it strange people don't separate the actor from the character?
Fame is bizarre. People are adored because they’re on television. I had a taste of that when I was doing TV games for the Mariners. I would always be amazed when someone stopped me at a restaurant and wanted my autograph.
But the reality is show and movies and theatre productions succeed largely because they contain actors the audience wants to see. So in a sense they are somewhat special.
The trouble comes when they think they’re more special than they are.
However, I’ve been fortunate in my career to work with a lot of big actors and most have a healthy perspective.
As for people confusing them with their characters, yes, that’s a problem.
I was at a Dodger Spring Training game a few years ago sitting with Kurtwood Smith. At the time he was a bad guy on 24. We went up to get some food and some clown standing in line with us yelled at him, “Hey, lay off of Jack Bauer, asshole!” Kurtwood shook his head and said he gets that a lot. (To which I said, “Well lay off Bauer.”)
Shelley Long told me she attended some church event and checked in. They gave her the name tag “Diane.”
I bet it happens a lot.
Chris Dellecese has a two-parter to wrap up this week.
As a viewer, which TV or movie death hit you the hardest?
Lady Sybil on DOWNTON ABBEY. I stopped watching the show after that. I thought her death was so unnecessary.
And as a writer, were you ever directly involved in a decision to kill off a character?
Earlier in this post we were talking about Eddie LeBec. David Isaacs and I killed him off. So let that be a lesson to the rest of you actors.
What’s your Friday Question?
from By Ken Levine
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