Rothman's Take On The 2014 Emmy Nominations. Part Four.

To wrap things up:

Best Comedy Series

"The Big Bang Theory"

"Louie"

"Modern Family"

"Orange Is the New Black"

"Silicon Valley"

"Veep"

 

Love "Big Bang".  Always have.

Never saw 'Modern Family" or "Silicon Valley"

Hate "Veep".  Always have.

"Orange is the New Black" is not a comedy, and became unwatchable for me in the second season.

I always dreaded going to prison, and always felt like I was serving out a sentence by watching it.

"Louie" has also lately not been a comedy, but when he goes for it, it's better than anything else.

It's so friggin' imaginative that it's better than anything else anyway.

For me, it's "Louie.  And long overdue.

 

Best Drama Series

"Breaking Bad"

"Downton Abbey"

"Game of Thrones"

"House of Cards"

"Mad Men"

"True Detective"

 

Never saw "Downton Abbey" or "Game of Thrones".

The rest of the category, for me, is loaded.

I love all of the other nominees.

And I binge-watched all of them.

Thank God for the Netflix.

"Mad Men" got weaker the later into the sixties they got.

I saw the British "House of Cards" before I saw the American version.

That made the latter rather predictable.

"True Detective"?  Terrific.

But "Breaking Bad" was unmatched.

Except maybe by "The News Room", which had better writing, but wasn't nominated.

"Breaking Bad", pulling away. 

 

Best Actress in a Drama Series

Lizzy Caplan, "Masters of Sex"

Claire Danes, "Homeland"

Michelle Dockery, "Downton Abbey"

Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"

Kerry Washington, "Scandal"

Robin Wright, "House of Cards"

 

The only ones I saw, and binge-watched, were Margulies and Wright.

Both about as good as each other.

Toss a coin.

 

Best Actor in a Drama Series

Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"

Jeff Daniels, "The Newsroom"

Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"

Woody Harrelson, "True Detective"

Matthew McConaughey, "True Detective"

Kevin Spacey, "House of Cards"

 

Boy, talk about loaded.

Cranston, and Hamm, and Hugh Laurie on "House" could have all played each other's parts.

Equally as well.

Spacey, as good as he is, can never make you care about him. 

All of them were exceptional.

But the way I cared about Cranston's character sets him apart.

He gets my vote.

And that's it for me and the Emmys.
Not very scientific, but perhaps quite revealing about my personal tastes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube, and my 4-hour interview at the Television Academy's Emmy TV Legends Website.
Here's the link: www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/mark-rothman

*****
 

Rothman's Take On The Emmy Nominations. Part Three.

Finally,  back to the Emmy nominations:

Supporting Actor, Comedy Series

Andre Braugher, "Brookiyn Nine-Nine"

Adam Driver, "Girls"

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, "Modern Family"

Ty Burrell, "Modern Family"

Fred Armisen, "Portlandia"

Tony Hale, "Veep"

 

Only saw a couple of episodes of "Portlandia"

It had that Lorne Michaels "We're just kidding around" stamp all over it.

I hated it.

Hated Armisen too.

The rest of it I didn't watch.

My opinion here is worthless.

 

Supporting Actress, Comedy Series

Mayim Bialik, "The Big Bang Theory"

Julie Bowen, "Modern Family"

Allison Janney, "Mom"

Kate Mulgrew, "Orange Is the New Black"

Kate McKinnon, "Saturday Night Live"

Anna Chlumsky, "Veep"

 

Love Bialik and Janney.

Didn't even recognize Mulgrew for the first few shows.

She was first-rate.

The girl from SNL was really good the few times I saw her.

It wasn't enough to keep me coming. 

I guess I'd give it to Janney, for displaying comedy chops I didn't know she had.

Best Actress in a Comedy Series

Lena Dunham, "Girls"

Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"

Julia Louis Dreyfus, "Veep"

Melissa McCarthy, "Mike & Molly"

Amy Poehler, "Parks & Recreation"

Taylor Schilling, "Orange Is the New Black"

 

Not much to choose from here.

Not a fan of Louis-Dreyfuss or Poehler.

Didn't catch "Girls"

"Nurse Jackie and "Orange" are not comedies.

I like McCarthy, but she's not nearly the best part of that show.

Still, she wins by default.

 

Best Actor in a Comedy Series

Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory"

Ricky Gervais, "Derek"

Matt LeBlanc, "Episodes"

Don Cheadle, "House of Lies"

Louis C.K., "Louie"

William H. Macy, "Shameless"

 

This category is loaded.

Parsons walks away with that show, and has already been amply rewarded for it, much to the chagrin of Johnny Galecki.

Gervais is doing stunning work on "Derek"

It certainly took balls for Matt LeBlanc to portray himself as a completely self-indulgent asshole, which he might actually be, on "Episodes".  And why isn't THAT show even nominated?
Didn't see Cheadle or Macy.
But Louis C.K. is in an entirely other league.
He's the best thing currently on television.
He owns my vote.

We'll continue on next time.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube, and my 4-hour interview at the Television Academy's Emmy TV Legends Website.
Here's the link: www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/mark-rothman

*****

Thank God For James Garner. Part Two.

It was the early 1980s.
In 1979, my former writing partner had broken up with me.
As he got the credit for everything we did as a team, I ended up being smelly fish in Hollywood.
At least for a while.
I had no idea how long this was going to last.
L.A. is a terrible place to be when you're not working.
So to avoid stinking up the town any further, I took my family and moved to the Midwest.
While we were together, my writing partner and I co-created "Laverne and Shirley" for Paramount TV.
We expected to get fairly rich from this, as we were given profit participation as part of our deal to produce it.
But we kept hearing stories about how the studios were regularly screwing stars and creators out of any profits.
Or out of most of the profits.
So my visions of sugar plums were tarnished with these fears that the same thing would happen to me.
I knew that I wouldn't see a nickel until "Laverne and Shirley" had ended it's network run.
That was a given.
From 1979 to 1982, I was only making a relatively modest income writing a handful of TV episodes.
And it was not keeping up with our expenses.
We were dipping deep into our savings.
My wife at the time even went to law school to eventually create a career for herself.
That lasted one day.
We considering selling our profit participation back to Paramount.
They were happy to buy it back.
At roughly ten cents on the dollar.
We refused their kind offer.
But even the fact that they were willing to offer us anything was a good sign.
It indicated that they would eventually have to pay us something.
But how much, and when, was something we were still in the dark about.
So we were still in the world of considering selling our house, taking out a loan, and even moving in with my wife's folks until the smoke cleared.
Then, all of a sudden, out of the blue, rumors started to float that James Garner was going to sue Universal Studios for the profits he never received on "The Rockford Files"
This gave us more than a glimmer of hope.
Enough so that we stuck to our guns, and attempted to ride it out.
Then, he actually filed suit against Universal.
It made the news.
This gave us more than more of a glimmer.
Soon, we learned that he made an out-of-court settlement with Universal.
And part of the conditions of the settlement was that he couldn't reveal the terms of it.
Which meant that he had them over a barrel, and they knew it.
And that he got paid off handsomely.
Pretty ballsy of him to do that in Hollywood, where the phrase "You'll never work in this town again!" is emblazoned over every studio gate.
But he did it, and he won.
And "The Rockford Files" was never nearly the big hit that "Laverne and Shirley" was.
So from that point on, I pretty much knew I didn't have anything to worry about.
And I wouldn't have to move in with my in-laws.
And pretty soon, almost like clockwork, I began receiving these huge profit participation checks from Paramount for "Laverne and Shirley".
But what if Garner had never made waves?
Or what if he sued, and lost?
What would that have meant for me?
But James Garner stepped up to the plate and did make waves, and he sued and essentially won, and that set the table for me, and gave me financial security for the rest of my life.
And that's why I thank God for James Garner.
And as I said before, he was a pretty swell actor.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube, and my 4-hour interview at the Television Academy's Emmy TV Legends Website.
Here's the link:
*****

Thank God For James Garner.

I contend that James Garner was perhaps the most underrated actor we've ever had.
I contend that he was the American Cary Grant, also one of the most underrated actors we've ever had.
Think about it.
Virtually any part that was right for Cary Grant, unless it was intrinsically British, like "Gunga Din",could have been carried off at least as well by Garner.
Both disarmingly handsome, disarmingly funny, totally likeable.
Can you imagine "North By Northwest" if it was Garner instead of Grant?
I think it would have been better.
But it doesn't work the other way.
Grant couldn't have played Maverick or Rockford.
The other difference is that Grant had to work at being Cary Grant.
It didn't come naturally.
Garner was who you saw.
Grant could have done "The Americanization of Emily".
But it wouldn't have been as good as Garner.
Witnessing Garner chew on Paddy Chayefsky's glorious dialogue in "Emily" was a feast on the eyes and the ears.
Thank God he got that part, and it's there to be seen.
Over and over again.
Garner was a trailblazer.
He was the first TV star to make the transition from series television to become a full-fledged movie star.
He broke the mold.
And he was not afraid to go back to TV.
And it didn't hurt his movie career when he did.
He just didn't seem to give a crap.
He just wanted to do good work.
And he didn't care what size screen it was on.
Maybe he realized that movies ended up on the small screen anyway, so it really didn't matter.
This made him smarter than most.
But none of this is why I personally thank God for James Garner.
I have my reasons, and I'll share them with you next time.
And at some point, I'll get back to the Emmy nominations, I swear.
There is just too much breaking news these days.....

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube, and my 4-hour interview at the Television Academy's Emmy TV Legends Website.
Here's the link: "http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/mark-rothman"

*****

The Original Trixie Norton.

I was going to write more today about the Emmy nominations, but that will have to wait.
Elaine Stritch only gets one day to die, and attention must be paid.
I've been trying to think about what I can add to the discussion.
So much has already been expressed.
Mostly by her.
Just last week, I watched the recent documentary about her, "Shoot Me".
And she pretty much said it all.
What I can add to the discussion is that she was the first actress to play Trixie Norton on "The Honeymooners".
I think it was only one episode, and then Gleason canned her.
She had the bad taste to try to be funny with it.
I saw it.
She was funny.
No clip from that episode made it to the documentary.
You can say a lot of things about Elaine Stritch, but "ordinary" is not one of them.
"Compelling" is one of them.
Whenever she was on stage, she owned it.
Even if you'd already bought a ticket, you still felt obliged to pay her some rent.
Kind of like landing on Indiana Avenue with three houses on it.
I saw her on Broadway four times.
""Company", "A Delicate Balance", "Showboat" and " Little Night Music"
Great, great, great, and forgetful..
In "A Little Night Music", she kept forgetting her lines, and the stage manager kept calling them out.
She was only forgetful in that sense.
Otherwise, she was great there too.
Her attitude was "So I forgot my lines.  Fuck 'em!"
This was a sentiment she actually expressed in her act at the Carlyle, when she blew the lyrics of one of her songs.
And the audience cheered.
She was somebody you probably didn't want to mess with.
But you sure wanted her to mess with you.
Another thing she was, was "Over the top".
Occasionally.
She performed her songs and shouted them for the most part.
Not the best pipes in the world.
But for the  most part, it worked.
In some ways, she was an enigma.
I can't imagine she was anyone's version of a raving beauty.
On the TV series "My Sister Eileen", she played the plain-looking older sister.
And it was good casting.
Yet, she had torrid love affairs with Hollywood's most handsome leading men.
Ben Gazzara, Gig Young......
Go figure.
Even JFK wanted to get into her pants.
She was a magnet for audiences, and I guess for men.
She died here in Michigan.
Not far from where I live.
If it's not a private service, or a private wake, I'm going to make every effort to find out where they are going to be held, and attempt to attend.
I can't imagine it would be dull.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube, and my 4-hour interview at the Television Academy's Emmy TV Legends Website.
Here's the link:  www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/mark-rothman

*****

Rothman's Take On The Emmy Nominations. Part Two.

I'm skipping past the reality shows, because they are all shit.
I'm ignoring children's programming, because once again, they have ignored Pinky Lee.
So today, we'll begin with.....

Variety Series

"The Colbert Report"

"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"

"Jimmy Kimmel Live"

"Real Time with Bill Maher"

"Saturday Night Live"

"The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon"

 

I'm not a fan of the Colbert Report.  He's very talented, but it's a one-joke premise that's worn way too thin on me.  I'm looking forward to see what he does with Letterman's time slot, though.

 

I love the first ten minutes of the Daily Show, then they usually settle in to sketches that I find unwatchable.   The rest depends on who the guest is..

 

Jimmy Kimmel is way too hit and miss.

 

Real Time With Bill Maher is the class of the field.

 

SNL, the less said, the better.

 

Fallon is too peppy and eager too please for my taste.  But I'll watch if there is a good guest.

 

A firm vote for Bill Maher.

Just glad that Letterman isn't on the ballot.

How the mighty have fallen.  (And in his case, Fallon.)

I've got nothing to say about the minseries categories.
I saw none of them

 Supporting Actor, Drama Series

Aaron Paul, "Breaking Bad"

Jim Carter, "Downton Abbey"

Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones"

Josh Charles, "The Good Wife"

Mandy Patinkin, "Homeland"

Jon Voight, "Ray Donovan"

Aaron Paul was great on "Breaking Bad", but this was as much of a lead role as Cranston's.
Of the others I've seen, I've always liked Josh Charles, and he has been a major asset to "The Good Wife".
But Jon Voight was something else completely.  What a commanding presence! What a display of versatility!
I'm in his pocket. 

 

 

Supporting Actress, Drama Series

Anna Gunn, "Breaking Bad"

Maggie Smith, "Downton Abbey"

Lena Headey, "Game of Thrones"

Christine Baranski, "The Good Wife"

Christina Hendricks, "Mad Men"

Joanne Froggatt, "Downton Abbey"

Loved Anna Gunn on "Breaking Bad".
Liked Christine Baranski and Christina Hendricks on their shows
Didn't see the rest.
Loved is better than liked.
Gotta go with Anna.

More next time.
 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube, and my 4-hour interview at the Television Academy's Emmy TV Legends Website.
Here's the link:  www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/mark-rothman

*****

Rothman's Take On The Emmy Nominations.

Since the Emmy TV Legends website has officially designated me as one, I feel entitled to put my two cents in about the nominations.
It won't be like my Oscar picks, where I saw just about everything nominated.
There are many things here that I haven't seen.
So it will be more like a commentary about what I watch, and what I don't.
We'll start with the back-burner categories, and work our way up.

Outstanding Guest Actor in Drama

Paul Giamatti as Harold Levinson in "Downton Abbey"

Dylan Baker as Colin Sweeney in "The Good Wife"

Reg E. Cathey as Freddy in "House Of Cards"

Robert Morse as Bertram Cooper in "Mad Men"

Beau Bridges as Barton Scully in "Masters of Sex"

Joe Morton as Rowan Pope in "Scandal"

 

I love Giammatti's work in general, but have never seen "Downton Abbey"

Dylan Baker plays this recurring creepy character on "The Good Wife", and does it to a turn.
Reg. E. Cathey in "House of Cards" was ,to me, one of the most unnoticed characters.
Robert Morse in "Madmen' was quite effective.  But he was a regular.  Not a guest.
Bridges and Morton are below my radar, as I've never seen their shows.

My ballot is going to be left blank for this  one.
 

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series

Margo Martindale as Claudia in "The Americans"

Diana Rigg as Lady Olenna Tyrell in "Game of Thrones"

Kate Mara as Zoe Barnes in "House of Cards"

Allison Janney as Margaret Scully in "Masters of Sex"

Jane Fonda as Leona Lansing in "The Newsroom"

Kate Burton as Sally Langston in "Scandal"

The only one I saw was Fonda on "The Newsroom"
She was great, so she wins by default.
 

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series

Bob Newhart as Arthur in "The Big Bang Theory"

Nathan Lane as Pepper Saltzman in "Modern Family"

Steve Buscemi as Marty in "Portlandia"

Jimmy Fallon as Host in "SNL"

Louis C.K. as Host in "SNL"

Gary Cole as Kent Davison in "Veep"

Don't watch "SNL", hate "Veep" and "Portlandia".
Never saw "Modern Family".  My bad.
Bob Newhart was FANTASTIC on "The Big Bang Theory".
He's got my vote.
 

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series

Natasha Lyonne as Nicky Nichols in "Orange is the New Black"

Uzo Aduba as Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren in "Orange is the New Black"

Laverne Cox as Sophia Burset in "Orange is the New Black"

Tina Fey as Host in "SNL"

Melissa McCarthy as Host in "SNL"

Joan Cusack as Sheila Jackson in "Shameless"

Watched a season and a half of "Orange is the New Black"
Started to find it unwatchable.  Gave up on it.
Really?  A Comedy Series?
The rest was unseen by me.
I got nothin'.

More categories next time.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube, and my 4-hour interview at the Television Academy's Emmy TV Legends Website.
Here's the link:  www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/mark-rothman

*****

We Have Last Week's, And We have Next Week's...

I have previously expressed that this is the Golden Age of Television.
And it is, in so many ways.
With the advent of YouTube, and DVDs, and Tivo, we are no longer at the mercy of the concept of "Least objectionable programming".
We can watch what we want, when we want.
We can stop the picture to go to the bathroom.
We never have to hold it in anymore.
So what's missing?
For me, it's the TV Guide.
I know that you can still find it at the checkout in the supermarket, but since it went Life Magazine size, rather than Reader's Digest size, all it is now is a glorified tabloid, with too much difficult to find information.
The old TV Guide had character.
Style.
And as I was growing up, it became more and more the highlight of my week.
Anticipating it's appearance, and receiving it.
And I'd read it cover to cover.
All the way from the first yellow page, called "New York Teletype", to the last yellow page, called "Hollywood Report"
If you subscribed to it, it would arrive in Wednesday's mail, for shows that would begin that Saturday.
My mother subscribed to it.
Because it was cheaper than if you paid retail for it in the supermarket or at newsstands.
I beckoned, yea pleaded for her to drop the subscription.
Because you could pick it up at the supermarket or at newsstands on Tuesday.
Or even Monday.
This would satisfy my Jones for it, and give me extra time to plot out my programming choices for the week.
The way it was laid out made it very easy to do that.
It also gave me more time, in our one-TV home, to plead my case for watching "Checkmate" instead of "Hazel".
With my mother's innate fondness for "Hazel", this was usually an exercise in futility.
But the TV Guide would occasionally provide me with the information that the coming week's episode of "Hazel" was a rerun.
I thought that might give me a fighting chance.
Nah.
It was "Hazel".
Rerun or not, it was her show of choice.
I was invariably screwed.
It also helped me plot my pleas to stay up past my bedtime I there was something I could convince my mother was worth it.
This occasionally worked.
She finally relented and dropped the subscription, leading me to my Monday hunts.
The TV Guide was still a great navigational device.
And it provided some wonderful stories and reportage.
It also provided a great ongoing discussion in my house.
See, once the week was up, and the current TV Guide became obsolete, nobody rushed to toss it into the garbage.
So early in most weeks, we usually had three TV Guides on the premises.
And the following conversation would usually take place:
My Father:(Picking up one of them) Is this the TV Guide?
Me: No. That's last week's.
My Father: (Picking up another one) What about this one?
Me: That's next week's.
My Father: (Frustration mounting) Okay.  We have last week's and we have weeks. Where's THIS week's??!!
This is what I miss most about the TV Guide.
I don't know if anyone else ever had that conversation.
But we had it constantly.
And I miss it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube, and my 4-hour interview at the Television Academy's Emmy TV Legends Website.
Here's the link:  www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/mark-rothman

*****

G'Bye Dere. Part Four.

There have been some really terrible comedy teams.
Olsen and Johnson, for instance.
At one time, in 1938, they had the longest running show ever on Broadway at that time.
Hellzapoppin'.
I was too young to ever see it.
But it was supposedly a laff riot.
They made a movie out of it.
It was Godawful.
And I think it gave me a measure of what Olsen and Johnson were.
They were totally corny, laughed at their own jokes, and Abbott and Costello left them in the dust, skill-wise.
Ed Sullivan foisted Wayne and Shuster upon us way too often.
And gave them extended amounts of time when he booked them.
Like about 25 minutes a pop.
I think this might have been the result of  Ed losing an election bet.
Wayne and Shuster, "From Canader", were never ever funny.
There's nothing prejudicial from me about Canadians.
All of the SCTV talent were from Canada.
I love them.
But Wayne and Shuster were relentlessly dreary.

Those aside, there were also some wonderful comedy teams.
Another pair fostered by Ed Sullivan were Stiller and Meara.
They were essentially actors who found a good hook for doing sketches together in a standup format.
They were funny individually and together.
I don't know if an act like theirs would fly today.
It seemed to be very much of it's time.
Transcending them on all levels were Mike Nichols and Elaine May.
They did the most intelligent, intellectual, and gut-busting funny material of all time.
They were brilliant performers.
If they had never existed and just now showed up, show business would certainly make way for them in a big way.
It's no surprise that they both went on to become substantial film and stage directors.
You got to catch glimpses of Burns and Allen's vaudeville routines on their sitcom.
And you can understand why it was so successful.
Burns tried to replicate the formula after Gracie retired, with Carol Channing and Connie Stevens.
And the formula worked.
Burns and Schreiber worked in the Stiller and Meara/ Nichols and May tradition, and were very funny.
Avery Schreiber died way too young.
Don't know what would have become of them.
Bob and Ray came out of radio, and virtually all of their routines were in the form of radio or TV interviews among their fictional characters.
I was fortunate enough to see them live on Broadway, and experienced a most unusual audience reaction.
The laughs didn't come on punch-lines, but rather in waves based on the overall premise of the routine.
I found it astounding.
Probably the funniest comedy duo of all time were Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks doing "The 2000 year old man.
Primarily because it found a framework to unleash Mel Brooks upon the public at large.
That still works any time that they choose to do it.
The only ones that I'm aware of that actively still pursue the form are the Smothers Brothers, who are still great, and we will probably never see their likes again.
For whatever reasons, comedy duos have gone the way of shock-jocks like Opie and Anthony and their like.
This can't be good for anyone involved.
That's it.
I've mopped up this subject matter.
Next time, something else.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube, and my 4-hour interview at the Television Academy's Emmy TV Legends Website.
Here's the link:  www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/mark-rothman

*****

G'Bye Dere. Part Three.

Laurel and Hardy were great artists, much in the way that Chaplin and Keaton were great artists.
The only difference was that there were two of them.
We must be grateful that they have been preserved at all on film.
It hasn't been made easy, considering that they did their most classic work for Hal Roach, who used the cheapest film stock available, and had them share stock music cues with the Our Gang comedies.
Laurel and Hardy made the easiest transition from silents to talkies.
They were equally adept at both.
Chaplin and Keaton were both really hamstringed by talkies.
But pretty much everybody remembers Chaplin and Keaton.
The saddest thing about Laurel and Hardy is that nobody knows who they are anymore.
I was attempting to cast a movie in which the two young male leads had a running bit where they did an impression of Laurel and Hardy.
I couldn't find any young actors in their twenties who had any idea who  Laurel and Hardy were.
I had to resort to showing them clips of them on YouTube.
The reactions ranged from "Oh, those guys!" to blank stares.
Even after they watched the YouTube clips, they remained unfamiliar.
Needless to say, this was distressing.

Abbott and Costello were not great artists.
They were two guys who were rather adept at doing stock burlesque routines.
They could never have made it in silent pictures.
They were all about verbal spins.
Any two modestly talented comics could have just as easily been Abbott and Costello.
It just turned out to be them.
Laurel and Hardy worked at a slow and deliberate pace.
Abbott and Costello, sometimes doing a variation of the same material, worked at a very rapid pace.
Both were funny.
Only one was art.
I didn't like Abbott and Costello's movies.
They slowed down their pace for their movies.
The only thing that made some of their movies bearable was that they contained the Andrews Sisters.
But when Abbott and Costello turned to TV, the pace was usually first rate, and showed them off very well.
Unlike Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello are remembered very well by all generations.
And it all  boils down to one piece of material they did.
Class?
That's right.
"Who's on First?"
One of the most idiotic premises for a routine ever conceived.
You've got to give them Brownie Points for pulling it off as well as they did.
When my daughter was about six, I'm talking thirty years ago, they ran Abbott and Costello movies on Sunday morning on one of the local stations.
One Sunday, after watching them, she approached me and said ""Daddy, I just saw the funniest thing I've ever seen.  You know Abbott and Costello?  They do this thing called "Who's on First?"
I said "Really?  I'll have to catch up with it at some point."
Every Sunday morning, somewhere, "Abbott and Costello movies are still being run, and every Sunday morning, new six year olds are discovering "Who's On First?"
So Abbott and Costello have immortality, and Laurel and Hardy have been consigned to oblivion.

Who was it who said that life was fair?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube, and my 4-hour interview at the Television Academy's Emmy TV Legends Website.
Here's the link:  www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/mark-rothman

*****