As creators, future creators, or even past creators, of television series, it behooves all of us to keep in mind the basic rule of TV success:
“It isn’t about creating a series that’s good. It’s about creating a series that works.”
Larry Brody
And by “works,” we mean, “gets high ratings.”
That’s it for now. Write in and tell munchilito what you’ve sold today. TVWriter™ can’t wait to brag to all your friends. (And, more importantly, enemies. Hehehe….)
Time now for the kind of English lesson nobody ever gave us in high school – but should have:
Every word you write is important. That doesn’t mean you have to write every word possible. Writing ‘tight’ is as important as pacing and freshness. A short sentence is more effective than a paragraph saying the same thing. Get to the point!
I know that when we naturally talk with others we have a tendency to wander here and there in conversation. But, don’t write your book that way. Let your characters talk – just don’t let them ramble on-and-on.
SPECIAL EDITION, OOH!
Somehow, yer friendly neighborhood munchcadero has managed to fall behind on this season’s development deals. That’s right, brothers and sisters, even with having gone daily on this subject I still haven’t been keeping up with all the richness of creativity exchanging itself for buckets full of bucks. Oh, those crazy, zany development execs, turning out all those deals so they can justify their jobs.
So today, in an attempt to catch up a bit, I’m going to reel out all the remakes and reboots and re-examinations I haven’t yet reported on. Brace yerselves:
I learned this morning from members of his family that my old frenemy Glen Larson, creator of dozens of classic television series, bon vivant, and, in the words of one of my agents, “evil genius,” died yesterday.
Glen was a complex and, to those of us who spent a lot of time with him, fascinating man. Multi-talented in the true sense of the word, he was a member of the Big Deal early ’60s pop singing group The Four Preps who turned from singing to writing and became the creator (or co-creator), writer-producer of more long-running hit shows than anyone else in the world, before, during or since. We’re talking Alias Smith and Jones, Switch, Quincy, M.E., The Hardy Boys Mysteries, Battlestar Galactica, B. J. and the Bear, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, Magnum, P.I., The Fall Guy, Knight Rider, Manimal, Automan, and a passel of others.
I worked with Glen on many of those shows, and the experience was colorful, to say the least. In fact, often it was truly mind-gobbling. Glen was a very controversial figure in his prime, punched by James Garner, sued by several others, richer than Croesus and possibly the unhappiest man I’ve ever known.