So what do you think?

I’m exploring the notion of starting a podcast next year. Yes, I know. I’m very cutting edge. I thought I would do it while I still would be one of the first.

My idea is this: Once a week, an hour show.

Can you take an hour of me each week?  

The content would be very similar to the nonsense I put on the blog. Rants about the business, war stories, movie reviews, commentaries on stuff I want to talk about – mostly with a humorous point-of-view.

I also might do some version of Friday Questions.

Add to that, interviews from time to time (writers, actors, goofy people I meet), maybe a few snippets from my old radio days (disc jockey and play-by-play), and fun experiments like maybe improv scenes or script table readings, or who knows?

In time I may add some regular guests and features. At this point, it’s all up in the air. When I started my blog eleven years ago I had no idea what I was going to post everyday. Same with the podcast. I’ll be feeling my way along.

But the tone should be “fun.” I always wanted to do a radio morning show but never wanted to get up so damn early. This might be a way to do it. Also a way to communicate with you on a more personal one-to-one level.

So does this sound remotely interesting to you? Would you listen to such a podcast? I figured I’d start it in January. That’s when people make their New Year’s resolutions to get in better shape and join gyms. Most folks I know listen to podcasts while on the treadmill. So next month might be the perfect time because come February, 90% of these resolutions will be broken and these “gym rats” will be scarfing down Denny’s Grand Slams instead of hitting the Stairmaster.

Thanks in advance for your feedback. If you say you’d listen and I decide to do it, who knows? Maybe the idea of podcasts will catch on and others will do them too. Only time will tell.

Stay tuned for more possible announcements.  

Which show to spec?

Yesterday I discussed whether writing a spec script from an existing show was necessary.  You can find it here. I'll save you some scrolling.  Today I’m going to talk about which show to write.

Just as Friday Questions have become a feature on this blog, which spec to write could be a weekly feature as well. That’s because the answer changes almost hourly.

I’ve actually addressed this question before several times and all of those posts are now completely obsolete. Shows change, needs change, and time marches on. A spec you wrote two years ago could be completely useless today. (I told you not to write a spec MULANEY.) Hot shows cool off. Or worse, everybody writes specs for them.

So here are a couple of general guidelines:

Write in the style that you feel best shows off your strengths. If you’re a dramedy person, write one of those. If you can really pull off comedy then go for a show that is really funny. I will say that if you’re trying to get into half-hours, writers who can make you laugh on the page have a huge advantage. Dramedies are no easier to write than comedies. They just require different skills. So again, what genre best fits YOUR sensibilities?

Unless you’re trying to get a job in animation (which is a thriving field), I would avoid writing a spec animated series or at least also have a live-action spec. If someone writes a hilarious live-action spec I have no doubt he can also do animation. But if someone writes an uproarious animated spec that doesn’t tell me he can write real people and grounded situations.

Most new comedies today are talent driven. The star or stars also write the series. LOUIE, MASTER OF NONE, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, BROAD CITY, etc. Those tend to be difficult to write because you’re trying to mimic a very specific voice.

Another problem is some comedy series are serialized. How do you write one when you don’t know what the showrunner has in mind? For me the answer is just pick a spot in the series and go. Readers understand you’re not privy to the ongoing development of these shows. They’re more interested in the quality of your writing.

Pick a show that is on the rise. What shows are hot? Now is not the time to write a NEW GIRL. Or MINDY PROJECT. The shelf life of your script will be very short.

Some shows are considered sexier than others. LAST MAN STANDING and DR. KEN are not sexy shows. Unless that is the genre really in your wheelhouse, try to find something a little hipper.

Beware of new shows on obscure channels or streaming services. If the reader has never heard of the show you’re specing he probably won’t read it.

And finally, may I offer some advice that totally goes against what most people tell you? The general rule is you don’t write a spec for the show you really want to work on because the producers know that show so much better than you and every fault will stick out. Producers from other shows won’t be bothered by these flaws.

I say write it anyway. It’s the show you know best, the show you like the best, and probably the show you will write the best. Yes, the showrunner will detect minor inconsistencies, but if you can really capture the voice and spirit of the show he probably will be able to overlook the red flags.

So go for it. On the comedy side -- if you’re thinking mainstream and networks there’s BLACKISH, THE GOLDBERGS, FRESH OFF THE BOAT, MOM. MODERN FAMILY and BIG BANG THEORY may be on the downside. Probably best to avoid.

For cable and streaming there’s SILICON VALLEY, VEEP, KIMMY SCHMIDT, SHAMELESS. Edgier fare might be DIFFICULT PEOPLE, YOU’RE THE WORST (when it’s being funny), CATASTROPHE, and BASKETS (although a lot of people don’t think it’s a comedy).

And by the way, these are just SOME of the shows in these genres. If you want to write a MOZART IN THE JUNGLE, don’t avoid it just because I didn’t mention it.

It’s harder for me to suggest which is the best dramedy to write. Not my thing. But TRANSPARENT and ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK are always worthy.

I’m sure I’m leaving out ten good candidates. But you get the idea. At the end of the day, you have to feel most comfortable. And you’re the one doing the work. Do the spec you’d have the most fun with.

And as always, best of luck.   Someone has to break in.  Why not you?  

Do producers and agents require a spec script from an existing show?

Not really but YES.

(I know. What kind of answer is that? Hear me out.)

First of all, I’m only talking about comedy specs. The drama world may be different. I don’t know. I'm not dramatic. 

Back in the day, spec scripts were the required writing sample. These are episodes of existing shows that perspective scribes write on speculation. Producers and agents and studios and networks needed to see if you could write in the voice of shows currently on the air since any job you would get would be on one of these shows.

Spec pilots were frowned upon. Showrunners weren’t looking for original voices; they were looking for people who could write in the style of their series.

Something switched along the way. Now the preferred writing sample is a pilot. I think networks are just so desperate for anything new they want to see original material. And once that original material has sufficiently impressed everybody, the writer can get a job on an existing show writing in the style of that show, not their own.

Yes, it makes a lot of sense.

Personally, I think it’s a disservice to a young writer to make him write a spec pilot. Pilots are different animals, extremely hard to pull off. Veteran writers have a bitch of a time with pilots. Asking a newbie to do a pilot is like asking a songwriter who does thirty-second jingles to turn in a symphony. But that’s a rant for another time.

So if pilots are what everybody wants, why write a spec?

Because it’s always good to have several samples of your work.

Because it’s always helpful to have a variety of styles. In other words, if your pilot is single-camera, having a multi-camera spec would be a plus.

And mainly because once someone reads and likes your spec pilot they’re invariably going to say, what else does he have? So even though they don’t tell you this, a spec from an existing show is still mandatory.

Now the big question is, what show to spec?

I’ll discuss that tomorrow.

Last night's DICK VAN DYKE SHOW

I loved that CBS showed two classic DICK VAN DYKE SHOW episodes. I didn’t mind that they were colorized, although it was WEIRD. I don’t care how much they say they’ve improved the process, it looks strange.  Still, if that’s what CBS needed to do to air this classic series again and maybe introduce some new people to it, then fine. Whatever.

What I did mind was that the episodes were edited. I would have much rather seen the original black-and-white versions in their entirety than the razzle dazzle gimmick of color.

It’s just another reminder that when these shows aired in 1965 there were three or four minutes of commercials a half hour, and that’s it. Now there’s like twelve. Wouldn’t a better plan be devote 90 minutes to the two episodes, show them in their entirety, and fill any remaining time interviewing Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke, or writer Bill Persky? Instead, you’re seeing the hacked syndicated versions.

I’m in Hawaii so had to watch the show in real time, suffering through all the commercials. They were either drugs with horrific side effects (guess CBS figured no one under 80 would watch) or expensive candy or inexpensive jewelry you could give for Christmas.

That quibble aside, what a pleasure it was to watch an hour of premier comedy writing and acting. The era has changed and society has changed (how many cringed when Buddy asked Rob if he hit Laura for revealing on TV that Alan Brady was bald?), but the stories were just as relatable and the jokes just as funny as they were fifty years ago. What does it say about the state of sitcoms today when a show a half-century old is still funnier than practically anything currently on the air? That was particularly evident when CBS showed promos for the Kevin James and Matt LeBlanc shows.

I’m always afraid to praise shows like THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW too lavishly because people will automatically claim I’m just one of those old geezers saying “it was better in my day.” (Actually it was BEFORE "my day.")  But the truth is, they knew how to tell stories, they knew how to set things up to payoff big, they knew how to find funny situations along the way, they knew how to surprise you, they knew to get laughs from universal situations, and they knew how to get laughs from attitudes not formula “jokes”. (The Matt LeBlanc promo featured a hemorrhoid ring joke. Ha ha.) The comedy celebrated humanity. It was uplifting, not mean, not snarky, not smarmy.

Everytime I sample a new sitcom I want to laugh and love it. I really do. I’m just saying there’s tremendous value in studying these classic shows from the past. They can make today’s shows better.

God knows what delivery systems people will be watching content on fifty years from now. I’m fairly certain there won’t be broadcast networks. Streaming may seem archaic by then. But what sitcom that’s on today can you imagine still on in fifty years? THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW however, will probably still be going strong.

Final thought: How great that Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, and Bill Persky are still with us. I’m sure when they watched Sunday evening they’d never believe the night they filmed those episodes that CBS would still be airing them in primetime fifty years later. Talk about “classics.”

Black & Blue Christmas

It’s Christmas time in Hollywood and you know what that means – plastic surgery season!

Yes, it’s the time of year when stars or anyone over 28 can sneak off for a couple of weeks and get that face lift, tummy tuck, botox treatment, and boob job they’ve needed since October. Instead of Aspen or joining me in Hawaii they can spend the holidays locked away looking like raccoons or Mickey Rourke after a fight.

They need to be ready because in January the awards season begins!! A standard rule of thumb: an actress’ skin must be pulled tighter than the red carpet. What they don’t understand is that viewers don’t say, “Wow, she looks amazing!”, they say, “Wow, she looks like Barry Manilow.”

Lip enhancements are still the rage (as anyone who watches REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS knows). Here’s Meg Ryan. AMERICAN PSYCHO producer Clifford Streit said it looked like she installed a vagina on her face. Later, they actually did that operation on an episode NIP/TUCK. Meg would be so thrilled to know she's a trend setter.

There is a high rise hotel adjacent to Beverly Hills that reserves two floors exclusively for celebrities hiding out while recovering from their transformation to the Joker. Can you imagine how many poor room service guys are traumatized for life? “Here’s your club sandwich Ms Cox…AAAAA!!!”

It’s not just women of course who go in for these procedures. Here’s Burt Reynolds turning Japanese I really think so. And have you noticed that every local news anchor is starting to look like Warren Beatty, including the women?

One celebrity who doesn’t buy into this nonsense is MODERN FAMILY'S Julie Bowen (pictured right). And despite being somewhat flat-chested, she’s found you don’t need a boob job to be provocative while at an awards ceremony.

But the astounding thing is that it’s not just stars who flock to the knife and suction hoses. In L.A. a large number of elective surgery patients are…are you ready?…real estate agents.

That’s right. You’ve got to look young and glamorous if you possibly hope to move that tear-down in Mar Vista. Why is the housing market in Los Angeles so screwed up? Because there are now 5,000 Liza Minnellis running around with real estate licenses! No wonder everyone makes fun of us!

In the rest of the world Santa asks “What would you like for Christmas?” But here in the land of perpetual beauty, endless award shows, and a tight housing market Santa asks, “What don’t you like about yourself?”

The Dick Van Dyke Show in color

Tomorrow night CBS will show two colorized episodes of THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW.  Both are spectacular episodes, written by Bill Persky & Sam Denoff.   VanityFair.com posted a great article about the show, and even quoted me.  If you any interest in the show, it's well worth a read.   You can find it here.   I'll be curious as to your thoughts on the colorized episodes when you see them tomorrow night.   8:00 PM on CBS.