Kendall Rivers starts us off:
FQ: Always loved the Bar Wars episodes of Cheers. How did this initially come about?
NBC ordered one additional episode at the end of the 6th season. They needed the script over the weekend. So the Charles Brothers asked if we’d tackle it.
We met with them on Friday and worked out this Bar Wars story. At the time we never thought of it as the start of a “series.”
The plan was for us to turn in the script on Monday morning, the staff would polish it, and it would go into production that Wednesday.
Meanwhile, there were negotiations for a new WGA contract with producers. They seemed to be going smoothly. On Sunday evening we got a call from our agent saying negotiations had broken down and the Guild was going out on strike at midnight. So we called Les and said have a messenger pick up the script NOW so we’d get it in under the wire. And that’s what happened.
Indeed, the WGA did go out on strike that night. Studios were allowed to produce scripts they had already received prior to the strike, BUT…
They could not rewrite them. So our two-day dashed-off script was filmed word for word. Needless to say, shooting night was terrifying. I thought this was the night we’d be discovered as frauds. Thankfully, the audience loved it and it came out well. That said, it could have used a little polishing. At the very least it would have been nice to have three days to write the script instead of two.
From Theo:
Do you think critics (professional and armchair) have a tendency to be too hyperbolic these days? I wouldn’t mind seeing more objectivity and measuredness myself.
Yes. I think they like to see their name and quotes in blurbs for ads. Makes them seem important, as if their opinion really matters.
However, there are still some great critics. My favorite is Anthony Lane in the New Yorker. Great perspective and very funny when he wants to be.
Jeff M. asks:
I entirely agree with you that THE HONEYMOONERS is an all-time classic, but its circumstances were utterly miserable (As a suburban kid I simply didn't believe people lived in apartments that dismal) and Ralph is definitely not a happy guy - at least, not happy with his lot in life. Anyway, what do you think keeps it out of the realm of the "sad-com" (ugh, that term)? Was it just that the jokes came fast and furious? Ralph and Alice's genuine affection?
THE HONEYMOONERS began as a recurring sketch on THE JACKIE GLEASON SHOW. It was very funny and caught on. CBS approached Jackie (who starred in it) about doing a half-hour series based on that sketch.
They had several things going for it. One was very good, very funny writing. And the other was a spectacular cast. Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, and Audrey Meadows were comedy gold — one of the best casts in any sitcom for the last 70 years. And Joyce Randolph was fine.
It was not a show about the hardships of lower middle class America — it was very much a comedy about striving for the American Dream. And went for genuine laughs.
And finally, from Adventures in Radio:
I found your blog post from some years back about the time you were a DJ when you got a call from the SLA, who had abducted Patty Hearst. Amazing story. So my Friday question is have you crossed paths with Hearst in the years since and if you did, did you tell her about that night?
Nope. Never met her. If I do I will definitely bring up that story. It’s certainly a good ice breaker. “Hey, your kidnappers got in touch with me when I was on the air. Did they always listen to KYA?”
What’s your Friday Question? Be safe this weekend.
from By Ken Levine
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