Month: April 2018

Cord-Cutting isn’t the Answer for Everybody

LB’S NOTE: I’ve been trying to cut the cord for eight years now, but something always gets in the way. All this time, I thought I was alone in not being able to  find a way to watch all the shows I love without having cable or satellite service. Now, though, I, and others like me, can take comfort in this:

7 Reasons Cord Cutting Might Not Work For You
by Justin Pot

Cord cutting—ditching cable or satellite TV and watching stuff online instead—is great. It’s also not for everyone.

Cable TV is expensive, which is why millions of people are opting to stop paying for it every month and subscribe to various online streaming services instead. People often save money doing this, and for most tech savvy people, we highly recommend it. read article

Larry Brody is writing away on his – OMG! – Chromebook?

by Larry Brody

LB’S NOTE: No, this is not a paid product review. It’s not even my attempt to see if I can match the style many writers use in the samples they send when asking if they can write for TVWriter™. (I almost always say no.) What this really is, is me trying to make myself give my full attention to what I’m writing and only what I’m writing, while I’m writing it, something all these years of blogging and editing and semi-retirement have enabled me to for the most part avoid.

There comes a time in every writer’s life when he/she/it/they sit down at their Windows-loaded PC, boot that baby up – and either it taunts you with the blue screen of death or, worse, tells them in much less positive terms that it’s time to go get a cup of coffee, or a beer, or have some tequila because another update that no one asked for has decided that right now is the best time to load, configure, and drive everyone mad.

The only writers I know who haven’t had this experience, with a great line of dialog left just hanging in their brain with no place to go are, of course, those who don’t use Windows. Like members of the Cult of Mac. Or Linux geeks. read article

Showrunning Women Discuss Contemporary TV

A couple of weeks ago, the WGAW put together yet another panel. This one spotted three showrunners, Lauren Gussis of Insatiable, which will be showing on Netflix soon; Barbara Hall of Madame Secretary; and Jennie Snyder Urman of Jane the Virgin. Aided and abetted by moderator Pat Saperstein of Variety (not a TV show – yet), had a lot to say not only about TV but also about women in showbiz in general:

3 Female Showrunners Shed Light on Process, TV Today, Diversity in Hollywood
by Allison Boron

On being a woman in entertainment.
Hall’s early experiences as a TV writer were heavily focused on sitcoms before transitioning into writing for drama. “Back then, things were quite different [for women], though they’re not different enough today,” said Hall. “I took twice as long as a man would take to leave and try to do my own show, because I felt like I had to really know how to do it. I felt like, if I made a mistake, I wouldn’t get another shot.”

Hall explained that when she first started to break into entertainment, there wasn’t a female showrunner in sight, so she adopted a “you have to see it to believe it” attitude. “I just sort of pictured myself as being competitive with these guys,” she said. “You have to have a little bit of a pioneering spirit if you want to do it and maybe make that your goal. Like, ‘Well, I’m going to be the person that shows people what it looks like.’ And just believe that you have a right to play in the game.” read article

Cartoon: ‘Stages of Work’

Grant Snider continues to awe us with his deep insight into the creative soul:

More of Grant Snider’s sensitive perception at Incidental Comics, HERE read article

LB: Untold Tales of the Animated SILVER SURFER TV Series Ep. 19 Teleplay

by Larry Brody

Over the past several weeks I’ve posted the scripts for Season 2 Episodes 1 through 5 of the FoxKids Network The Silver Surfer animated series I ran for those who wondered what all of us involved in the show back in 1998 intended to come if we hadn’t been cancelled.

Today it’s the turn of Season 2 Episode 6, Down to Earth: Part One.  This one never got beyond “First Draft,” status because the possibility of the series returning was becoming dimmer. It’s dated April 24, 1998 and features the supergroup that started the original “Marvel Age of Comics.” read article