Film and Television

Channel Surfing

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THE WEST WING seems to be going out with a snore rather than a bang. The second-to-last-episode, which aired Sunday night, was a total snooze. I expected much more of a build-up to the series finale. Instead, this once-great show has just sort of petered out over the last few episodes. It’s sad.

Maybe that’s because a lot of John Wells’ best writers are now working on THE UNIT, my new guilty pleasure. It’s invigorating,  action-adventure silliness, and I’m loving every minute of it. The show is like nothing else on television… except perhaps DEADWOOD, in that it’s one of the few series today where the characters, as a group, have a unique voice, a distinct way of speaking (in this case, you could call it Mamet-speak). It’s the best show CBS has put on the air since the original C.S.I.

Speaking of DEADWOOD, I can’t wait until the third season premiere next month…I think I’ve come to enjoy it even more than THE SOPRANOS (Is it just me, or has THE SOPRANOS become more of a comedy this season than ever before?)

Dr. Who Taken Prisoner

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The long gestating remake of the cult TV series THE PRISONER is on the fast-track for the UK’s Sky One.  Zap2it reports that Christopher Eccleston, who starred in the first season of the revived DR. WHO series, is now taking on the role of Number Six, originally portrayed by Patrick McGoohan:

The new series, slated to run for six
episodes, would likely premiere sometime next year, 40 years after the
original debuted on ITV. Rumors of a new series have been percolating
for some time, but Sky One didn’t greenlight the project until this
week. Bill Gallagher, writer of the BAFTA Award-nominated series "Conviction"
(no relation to the NBC show) and "Clocking Off," will pen the scripts
for the new "Prisoner."

The Name is Poster, Bond Poster

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I’ve got all the Bond movie posters, which I started collecting when I was a kid. I bought most of them from the now-defunct
Cinema Shop in San Francisco and, later, from Hollywood Book & Poster Co. in LA. When I was single, I had them up all over my apartment. But for the last 16 years of marital bliss, the posters have
been relegated to my small office, where I rotate them in, two at-a-time. I
love those posters, many of which feature art by the legendary Robert McGinnis.
Posterwire reports that a NY gallery is hosting an exhibit of Bond posters from mid-May through July. The news of the exhibit coincides with
the release this week of the new trailer and the teaser poster for CASINO ROYALE.

Show Him the Money

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Robert B. Parker tells Zap2it that he has no hesitations
about selling his books to TV. 

The good-humored, Massachusetts-based Parker claims
"how much?" was his only question when the screen deal was made for
his Stone books.

"Seriously, somebody once asked me, ‘Why do you sell your books to Hollywood?’ I answered,
‘For money! What other reason is there?’ That’s not just for the television rights, but the books sell better. My latest Jesse Stone novel (‘Sea Change’) started higher and lasted longer on the New York Times best-seller list than any other. And gee whiz, Tom Selleck has done several Stone movies in the past year or so. I wonder if there’s a connection." 

That said, Parker is mightily impressed with the TV versions of his Jesse Stone novels. So am I. I’ve enjoyed all three of them and am looking forward to more.

"Selling your book is like selling your house," he
reasons. "You can go by it a year later, and they’ve painted it an ugly
color, but it’s not your problem anymore. In this case, when I saw the first
movie (last year’s ‘Stone Cold’), I actually got tears in my eyes. It was the
first time I’d ever seen stuff that I wrote come to life like that on the
screen. I think Tom has so nailed the character, it’s almost
breathtaking."

Mourning THIEF

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THIEF hasn’t been canceled yet, but judging by the way star Andre Braugher and everyone involved with the show is already mourning its passing today in the LA Times, the ax will be falling soon.

As soon as he glimpsed the ratings for the second episode early last
month, "I entered the grieving process," Braugher said by phone last
week.

Despite huge promotion, only 2.5 million viewers showed up for the premiere — we’re talking STRONG MEDICINE numbers — and barely half of those viewers showed up for episode two.

What happened? Braugher and others close to the show have their own
speculations. (Was there not enough action? Were Nick’s problems with
Chinese mobsters adequately explained? Were viewers turned off by
Nick’s ambivalent morality?)

[…]"Essentially, [viewers] didn’t like it," Braugher theorized. "The
audience saw something on pilot night that let them know they didn’t
want to come back."

Count me among them. I’ve only seen two episodes — and although I’ve recorded the others, I haven’t had any desire to catch them yet. If I don’t hurry, my Tivo is going to eat them soon.

There’s no question that Braugher is a compelling performer, but the serialized storyline is so ridiculously over-the-top that everyone comes across as annoyingly intense cartoon characters.  But what probably hurt the show the most was its complete lack of humor. A few laughs, or simply a smile or two, would have helped humanize the characters and make some of the more ridiculous plot moves easier to accept. One of the things that makes THE SOPRANOS so appealing is that it’s both a violent drama and a laugh-out-loud comedy. The same is true of NIP/TUCK.

The bottom line was that THIEF just wasn’t any fun. The same could be said of Braugher. I admire his intensity but it gets tiring and monotonous after awhile.  At least on HOMICIDE his humorlessness was off-set by an ensemble cast of eccentric characters (the rest of the characters in THIEF either blend into the scenery or are totally unsympathetic).  Braugher’s character  wasn’t someone you wanted to invite into your home every week. Or even spend an hour with.

Tony Soprano and Dr. Christian Troy may be sociopaths, but at least they are entertaining ones.

Good News For TV Writers

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The California State Supreme Court threw out a lawsuit by a writer’s assistant against the writers  and producers of FRIENDS. The assistant charged that the sexually explicit jokes and anecdotes shared among the writers in the writer’s room created a "hostile work environment." (You can read the full text of the decision here)

Because "Friends" was an "adult-oriented comedy show featuring sexual
themes," Lyle should have expected coarse language from writers producing jokes
and scripts for the show, the Supreme Court held in its ruling.

While the Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits conduct that creates a
hostile or abusive workplace for women, it does not outlaw "sexually coarse and
vulgar language that merely offends," the high court said.

The case raised questions of how far TV comedy writers can go in pushing the
boundaries of taste in their private joke-writing sessions, with supporters of
the writers and producers arguing that Lyle’s suit infringed on their freedom of
speech.

The high court declined to address the free-speech issues raised in the
case.

"We have no occasion to determine whether liability for such language might
infringe on free speech rights," the court held.

The show’s writers claimed Lyle was fired because she was a slow typist who
often missed the jokes she was supposed to transcribe.

You’re Not My Hero

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Today I came across two opposing views on the "re-imagining" of pop culture properties. First, my friend Javi says live with it — recasting is an inevitable part of an industry that recycles everything:

In a culture where everything is re-made and re-hashed over and over
again, i can understand why people would get so mad about daniel craig becoming the new james bond, or brandon routh the new superman or david tennant the new doctor who (any hartnell loyalists out there? c’mon – express yourselves!). People crave stability in their heroes and the values they embody – and re-hashing and re-casting takes that way.  I get it.  I can even understand the good-natured argument between friends about how the only man ever to really capture the spirit of superman was kirk alyn, and the occasional shocking revelation that someone who’s opinion
you respect actually thinks that george lazenby’s work in “on her majesty’s secret service” has been shockingly under-appreciated…

…what i don’t understand is the all-pervasive vitriol – why put up web pages full of heated invective about craig’s perceived shortcomings? why the long angry treatises about how “the character is named ‘starbuck’ – not ‘stardoe!’” why all the keening wails over how some callous money grubbing producer “ruined my childhood?” why the nasty public outcry over michael keaton putting on the mask and cowl? why all the death threats about how michael shanks was no james spader? oh wait – there weren’t any, moving on.

…but the fact is we live in a society where everything is re-made, re-hashed and re-packaged endlessly – which means your idols can be frozen in time indefinitely. no need to put up a protest site, i
can just curl up in a sofa and watch my dvd of “octopussy…”

John Kenneth Muir doesn’t agree. Despite all the accolades that the new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA has been getting (including a Peabody Award), he thinks they should call it something else.

To reiterate my stance on Galactica: It’s well-written and I can enjoy an episode any time in much the same way I enjoy the tense 24. However, my problem begins and ends with the fact that it’s called Battlestar Galactica. The original series has been used as a "brand name" by Ron Moore to do something totally new, something unfaithful, something he wanted to do. That’s fine, and some people obviously like what he’s done very much. But it shouldn’t be called Battlestar Galactica

Why not? It’s still BATTLESTAR GALACTICA…with a few tweaks (for the better, by the way). Roger Moore’s James Bond is still James Bond, whether you like the portrayal or not. I’m with Javi in this debate (I don’t know how anyone could look at the new BG and pine for the old one, but that’s another subject).

By the way, LIVE AND LET DIE was my first 007 movie, too, and I loved it (hey, I think I was 10 at the time). But then I saw GOLDFINGER and it was a revelation. James Bond became my hero (and still is). That said, I still eagerly awaited each new 007 movie — and enjoyed them –even as I was rediscovering the early ones (this was before home video…I had to wait for the Connery Bonds to show up in revival theatres or on TV).  I was able to see them as two distinctly different experiences — the Roger Moore Bonds and the Sean Connery Bonds — and enjoy them for what they were (not any more. I cringe watching the Moore Bonds).

I can’t wait to see Daniel Craig in CASINO ROYALE. But the truth is, I’d be dying to see it no matter who was starring as 007 (Clive Owen, Julian McMahon, etc.). Because I’m a James Bond geek. Even at my ripe old age, I’m still a little kid when it comes to Bond…

UPDATE 4-18-07: John comments at length on the reaction to his original post. Here are some excerpts:

Read more

A Cautionary Tale

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The LA Times reported today about the tragic downfall of screenwriter Eric Monte… a story that could serve as a cautionary tale for both TV writers and vanity press authors. The once high-flying comedy writer, who had a tumultuous relationship with the Industry even during his heyday, is now living in a homeless shelter. Two big lessons from the article — stay away from crack cocaine and don’t flush your money down the vanity press toilet:

A year of crack cocaine abuse robbed him of money,
dignity and a circle of Hollywood friends. Attempts to sell a
self-published book drained the last of his savings.[…]

With $10,000 from a "Good Times" movie option, Monte self-published a book, "Blueprint for Peace." In it he wrote that peace could be achieved if humanity followed seven basic principles: merge all  nations into one, stop manufacturing weapons of war, adopt one  universal language, eliminate money as the medium of exchange, abandon  the concept of land ownership, abandon the concept of inheritance, and  control population growth. Monte rented a booth at last April’s Los Angeles Times Book Festival,  but he failed to sell a single copy of his book.

"I just have to figure out how to market it," he says. "I know that as  soon as it starts selling, it will sell for 1,000 years."

Showrunning

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Another day and another brilliant blog post from Ken Levine, this one on the fine art of Showrunning. I’ve run a few series — including one that starred a guy who didn’t speak English and got all his dialogue transmitted to him through a flesh-colored earpiece. Showrunning is the greatest job in the world…and the worst. It’s the most fun you’ll ever have in TV…and non-stop agony. But I think Ken sums up the experience very well:

People ask me what’s it like to be a showrunner. I tell them “did you
see the end of BONNIE & CLYDE?” It is a constant barrage of
problems coming at you from all directions[…]You need to be a psychiatrist, an accountant, a CEO, a personnel
manager, a Drill Sergeant, a Jewish mother, and work well under heavy
medication. Once you’ve satisfied those requirements then you can add
talent…but that’s optional.

So You Want to Direct…

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Emmy-award winning comedy writer Ken Levine shares the hilarious story of his first directing assignment. Here’s an excerpt: 

You never forget your first. I’ve now directed over 50 episodes of
television but none stand out like that maiden voyage. It was an
episode of WINGS in 1995 called “Portrait of a Con Artist as a Young
Man” (written by Jeff Richmond & Joyce Gittlin). The premise was
that addled mechanic Lowell (Thomas Hayden Church) makes these large
twisted pieces of metal that a museum director considers art. Comedy
ensues (despite my efforts). Tommy is a gifted comedian (the fact that
the rest of the WINGS cast was on suicide watch when he was nominated
for an Oscar notwithstanding). But he never reads a line the same way
twice. Nor does he move the same way twice. Forget matching problems, I
had no idea what the star of the show was going to say or do the entire
week. Kind of hard to interject the patented “Levine Touch” when that’s
the case.

[…] Filming begins. It starts with a thirty second pause then Tim Daly
calling out, “Say ‘action’, Kenny!” Helen (Crystal Bernard) brings the
birthday cake with lit candles to the table for Casey. It slips out of
her hands and she drops it. Cut! Fire marshals run out to the set. It’s
a twenty minute delay. Then Tommy decides to really improvise. I go out
into the stage and tell him nicely to do the line as written. Take two.
He does another line. I repeat my request. Take three. Yet a third
line. I go out to the Oscar nominee and tell him I will punch his
fucking face in if he doesn’t say the line as written. He does the line
right. No one can say I’m not an “actor’s director”.