'The Crazy Ones' looks promising.

Well, I think it's too early at this point to make any definitive conclusions about The Crazy Ones, but based on those two episodes that I have seen, the show seems almost surprisingly solid.

Now, does this mean that it's going to be a good show or a great show? I wouldn't count on it yet. At the same time, The Crazy Ones is already probably the only show that can challenge Modern Family at the Emmys next year.

There are certain things that I like about the show and there are also certain things that I'm not sure about yet. We have to see more episodes before I can better assess the show.

First, let's start with those things that I'm not sure about yet. Like many others, I'm not sure I'm totally buying Robin Williams' act here. I personally like him more when he does drama. He's a fantastic dramatic actor and perhaps he should be more serious here.

Another thing is that I'm not sure whether this is a show that I'm going to care about. Will I care about the characters, are there honest moments on the show and is there enough substance? That's something that's going to be pretty crucial.

On the other hand, there are a lot of good things about the show. Unlike those others CBS sitcoms, The Crazy Ones doesn't have a laugh track. Also its production values are high enough and that's always a good thing.

When it comes to the characters, I especially liked James Wolk's character who has great chemistry with Williams. I had my doubts about Wolk being the lead on the show, but now that I've seen him, I'm not actually having problems with him anymore.

I also like Sarah Michelle Gellar. She seems to be a good person in real life and I think it shows here. Also, it was good to see Hamish Linklater. He was awesome on The Newsroom, so whatever he does here, I'm buying it.

Furthermore, this is after all a David Kelley show. Even though he hasn't had a good decade when it comes to winning Emmy awards, he probably still has that golden touch. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, as I wrote before, I wasn't really supposed to write any more television spec scripts, but now that I've seen this show, I might actually reconsider. It really doesn't take that much time to write one or two more.

Modern Family script: rewriting "What would Brian Boitano do?"

I decided to write one more post about my third and final Modern Family script because these posts seem to get most reads and also because as a writer I think there's a responsibility to share stuff as much as you can with others.

So, one of the most important things about rewriting a script is that before you actually start rewriting it, it's better to shelve it for at least a week or two. This gives you perspective and lets you look at it a bit more objectively.

In my case with 'What would Brian Boitano do?", I shelved it for four months because I didn't have any deadlines and there weren't any competitions that I knew of. So I was really able to distance myself from the script.

Once I finally managed to open the file - and yes, it can be very difficult - I was pleasantly surprised how emotionally honest the storyline with Luke, Alex and Haley was already.

Nevertheless, the biggest problem was with the storyline in which Jay and Phil come to Cam's rescue after Cam manages to break his toilet. This one didn't make enough sense and the storyline was too contrived to be honest.

The problem was that I didn't know how I could make it seem plausible that both Phil and Jay would come to help Cam (pretty critical stuff). I had to rethink a bit and had to come up with a solution that would make the storyline seem more believable and natural.

Of course the only way to know whether the solution worked was through rewriting it first and then by checking how good or bad it looked. There was no guarantee that it would work or that it would make sense - although in this case it worked, almost too well.

Anyway, the storyline that worked best is the one involving Luke/Alex/Haley. It was about Luke having a date and Alex being curious and wanting to know about it. To give some details about it, the storyline revolves around the idea that Luke gets so confused that he doesn't know who he is anymore.

As I wrote in an earlier post,  for this storyline I wanted to 'steal' from an old Simpsons episode in which Lisa's substitute teacher gives her the note that reads 'you are Lisa Simpson'. Since Alex is basically a Lisa Simpson herself, I thought it would be nice to do a role reversal and that in this case it's 'Lisa' who gives the note.

Naturally this whole thing required that I would come up with ideas of my own too. So, for example instead of Luke being happy about the note, he basically says to himself  "how is this going to help me?". In the very last scene we see that the note does help him after all.

But there was still one more storyline left and that was the one about Claire and Mitchell going to a skating rink with Lily. This storyline is the one where we get the title for the episode. We get to meet Brian Boitano, who - it turns out - feels inadequate about himself.

Yes, this was yet another serious storyline coming from me, but as far as I'm concerned, I think it was appropriate to treat a person like Boitano with dignity and respect and not try something that would make you roll your eyes.

I mean, he did win an olympic gold medal in figure skating with one of the greatest performances of all time. Therefore I think it was pretty obvious that since he gave us something awesome like that, my responsibility as a writer was to give something good back too.

I guess perhaps for this exact reason, I still haven't polished this part of the script. That is because it has to be good - even though it's a spec script and even though it will never be actually produced. It has to be good enough.

In any case though, hopefully I'll manage to finish this script soon and hopefully I'll also finish my first feature screenplay before the end of this year too.

Honest moments and honest emotions over 'funny' jokes.

One of the best moments in Bill Hicks' last interview (my post about it) was when he said that 'you never see honest emotions on tv' and that 'there's a voice of reason inside us that needs to be confirmed'. 

Bill, of course, was right and and what he said is something that I have wondered and worried about too. We just don't tend to see stuff on tv that's honest enough or real enough.

Well, most of the time at least. There are - or have been - of course some exceptions to this 'rule', but most of the time what you see on tv consists of entertainment that doesn't make you feel that good inside. Something just isn't right.

For example, let's take a look at a show that I think is the best comedy on tv right now - Modern Family. It's a well made show that usually manages to entertain me and makes me think that there are still pretty good people left on this planet.

At the same time, it's a show that also tends to disappoint. This is sometimes when it comes to having honest moments on the show. The jokes, those funny moments, are usually pretty solid, but there are moments when they manage to take the wrong route when it comes to story and drama.

I don't know if there's a better example than the episode 'Our Children, Ourselves' 2x12. For some reason I happened to re-watch it - maybe because The Cam & Mitchell storyline had all the potential to be a very serious, honest one. Something that at least I wanted to see.

It was about Mitchell bumping into a woman that he used to date when he wasn't honest to himself about being gay. Sounded pretty interesting to me. Seemed like it was going to be straight drama.

The way this storyline went is that there was a chance that Mitchell was the father of her kid - a high stakes situation if there ever was one. It could have been really touching and could even have included a 'Forrest Gump' serious moment.

Neverthelesss, in the end it turned out that not only was Mitchell not the father of his ex-girlfriend's kid, it was revealed that the kid wasn't actually a kid, but a grown-up midget that was her current lover. So much for having an honest moment and showing honest emotions.

Of course there was basically 'no way' that Mitchell could have been the father, but in retrospect the way they handled the storyline made me feel pretty sad. Especially when I think of what Bill Hicks said about lack of honest emotions on tv.

Honest moments really are that precious and sometimes a serious storyline and a serious moment simply works better than a supposed funny one with a twist. Sometimes serious needs to be serious. Sometimes 'funny' just isn't enough.

In many ways the world that we live in keeps getting more complicated and more superficial. Life just keeps getting harder and harder to understand. In that sense it's crucial that every once in a while we see something honest on tv that confirms the voice of reason inside us.

At least that's the way I see it. As an audience member, you have a right to experience something that is honest, real and genuine. Something that makes you feel that you're not completely insane after all.

Bill Hicks' last interview.

This is my one hundreth post here and instead of trying to say anything meaningful myself, I decided to post something that in my opinion is pretty awesome and profound - Bill Hicks' last interview.

Even though I'm a huge fan of the guy, the first time I heard about the late Hicks was about five years ago - when I had written a two-part Boston Legal spec, that mainly dealt with the JFK assassination.

I remember checking youtube back then if there was something interesting about the murder that I could find. Naturally there was, lots and lots of videos that I hadn't seen. After all, I had only read those damn books before.

So, one of the first videos that I found was titled 'Bill Hicks on the JFK assassination'. "Bill Hicks, who is this guy?", I was thinking. I had never heard about him before. Was he supposed to be a comedian or something?

Well, it took me like fifteen minutes or so - or was it five minutes - before I understood that this guy had mad insights. Not only did he know exactly what he was talking about, he also managed to be funny as hell. He was super-seriously super-funny.

Of course in today's world 'funny' can mean many things. We pretend that a lot of shows and a lot of people are funny, even though in reality they really aren't. We pretend that they have something meaningful to say - even when they don't.

Bill on the other hand was funny because he was real and what he said was the truth. When he opened his mouth, he did it because had something to say. What he said had meaning. What he said had value.

If you watch his last interview, it's pretty amazing how relevant everything that he said still is. None of the portions feel dated, even though the interview was conducted twenty years ago. In many ways it's one for the ages.

Spec script mistakes: outdating your script on purpose.

Probably the very first thing that you learn from tv writing books is that you should never spec shows that have already gone off the air. That is because nobody's going to read your outdated spec. Those scripts are goners.

 

At the same time, it seems that not enough attention is paid to the fact that just because you wrote a script for a show that still exists - a show that might exist for years to come - your script might already be pretty outdated.

But how can it be so? How can it really be a goner? I mean, it's just a spec and a writing sample from me. It's not meant to be sold. It's meant to be read. The show is still on.

The paradox in this whole thing is that even though spec scripts are not meant to be sold or produced, they're still supposed to be relevant and actual. It's much better if your script is up to date within the show's universe.

Every spec script gets outdated at some point - sooner or later - but there's no point in giving it a short life span. At least when you do it on purpose. The longer you can keep it 'alive' and in theory producable, the better.

Serialized tv shows are admittedly the most difficult to spec and die fastest. It's not fun to spec a show like 24 or Lost or Prison Break. There's not much point in writing a stand-alone episode. You have to write an episode that fits within its current season's story arc.

Therefore, "serializing" your script if you don't have to do it, is probably the worst mistake that you can make when it comes to your script's life span. No matter what you do, don't make your script about something that can't happen anymore.

If you want a good (bad) example, let's take a look at a show like Modern Family that gives you plenty of opportunities to keep your spec fresh and alive. It's one of the safer shows out there. (South Park being probably the safest).

Nevertheless, I managed to read a logline for a spec script that read like: "While Gloria is pregnant, Manny and Jay.." & "Now that Haley has moved out..". Lots of restrictions already in the logline for the reader.

Let's be honest here. This script was filmable for like three months at most when it comes to the pregnancy.. and perhaps for like two weeks before Haley was expelled and came back to the Dunphy house.

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't ever do something like this. At least for me it's pretty obvious that the longer I can keep my spec alive, the better. Making it unfilmable right from the start is just...

Best 'Save The Cat' moment ever?

To be honest, I haven't thought this much, but I watched Notting Hill again a while ago and thought that it was a very well made movie. Especially when it came to the script. Of course the acting was good too.

Now, as many are aware, Blake Snyder's Save the Cat book series is about deconstructing movie screenplays. His books deal with the structure of the movies and teach the readers to write scripts themselves.

Anyway, in his books there's this concept of 'saving the cat', which basically says that the audience needs to have a reason to root for the main character(s). There has to be something in the script that makes us interested in them.

It sounds simple, and it kinda is too, but you wouldn't believe how many movies manage to screw it up. Too many times the writers simply didn't get it.

Notting Hill on the other hand does it probably better than any other movie.

What makes this scene so great is that not only does it put Hugh Grant's main character into a tough and an awkward spot, but the way he sorts it out tells the audience that he's a really good person.

I don't know about you, but if I were Julia Roberts' character in that situation, I would be impressed as hell. Maybe it wouldn't make me fall in love with the person in question immediately..

..but it certainly would make me feel good about life - which is exactly what great writing is all about.

Storytelling based on kindness: Planes, Trains & Automobiles.

It's not a secret that John Hughes is one of my heroes when it comes to writing. I'm not sure if I know any other screenwriter who has been able to create as many memorable and relatable characters as he did.

In my opinion, Planes, Trains and Automobiles is one of the best examples, if not the best, on how to create likable, relatable characters. Both Steve Martin and John Candy really shine in this movie. It's their brightest hour (and 25 minutes).

The movie's storytelling is based on kindness - and yet the characters in the movie aren't nice all the time. In fact, this Steve Martin & John Candy vehicle is especially famous for its scenes where the characters don't act nice at all.

There's for example the confrontantion in the motel room, where Martin & Candy say awful things to each other. They both really get to the bottom of it and don't watch what they're saying. It's just brutal.

There's also the famous scene at the car rental where Martin's character Neal Page goes on an epic tirade in which he mostly uses the f word. The way he treats the chirpy customer service worker is mindboggling.

Based on these two scenes only, you wouldn't think that Plains, Trains & Automobiles could be a heartwarming movie. Nevertheless, it manages to be one and that's because the writer-director John Hughes knew what he was doing.

That is that already in the first scene that we see in the movie, the audience really identifies with the main character. When we see Steve Martin in the congress room, stuck in the meeting, one can't help but to think that we know exactly what he's going through.

The same goes also for us seeing John Candy's character when he apologizes for 'stealing' the cab. In order to make up for his mistake, he wants to provide Martin's character squishies, slurpies and stuff. Save the cat moment, I guess.

From the very beginning, the movie get its right, and the first scene is one of the best opening scenes in the history of movies. It's elegant in its simplicity, but it's also absolutely hilarious in an understated way. It gets the movie going.

I guess the movie isn't perfect, but yet in so many ways it's amazing that it's possible to create an experience like Planes, Trains & Automobiles, a film, that at the same time manages to be not only funny, but also honest and sad.

There are so many things to learn from it - but if there's one thing above others, it is that if you can create characters as immediately relatable as John Hughes did here, then pretty much anything is possible.

Anyway, here's the opening scene.. ..and the rest of the film too. I never seem to get tired of watching this wonderful, kind movie.