Author: Dawn

“From “CHEERS” to “GRIMM” Bound by “FAMILY TIES”

couch-potato_cat-girl

Part III of “My Life as a Couch Potato: The Spuds Have Eyes”
by Dawn McElligott

On April 5th of this year, NBC renewed “GRIMM” for a 6th Season. The show has everything I like: shadows, surprises and romance but it has not done particularly well in ratings. Its April 15th broadcast only bought in 3.75 million viewers. With misgivings for my own future, I live vicariously through Grimm’s stars. Every year they’re surprised and grateful to see the series renewed and every year I vow to keep writing scripts that may become my own series.

My pursuit has been a long journey, beginning as soon as I could read the credits on “I Dream of Jeannie.” However, by the late 1970s, network TV was being criticized for poor quality and the death knell began to toll for the half-hour sitcom. Still a teenager, I began to wonder about my vocation. Yet, when I began college, two shows debuted, letting the world know that the sitcom was alive, well and— necessary.

I adored “CHEERS” from the beginning. It had Diane, the well-spoken lady, in an awful bind. Her education should have qualified her for a good job but the only work she could find was in the neighborhood bar. She didn’t fit in. Sam, the bar owner, was an athlete. Like most of the patrons, he lacked a college degree. For Diane to be accepted, she’d have to play down her education. Her family is revealed as cold, causing Diane to wrap herself up in education. In the new setting, Diane’s security blanket was causing her pain. read article

Writers – Don’t Be Discouraged!

My Life as a Couch Potato:  The Spuds Have Eyes, Part Two

by Dawn McElligott

James Komack
James Komack

The year 1974 found me California Dreaming most of the time.   I was eager  to begin my career as a TV executive.  I didn’t bother informing my parents of these ambitions.  I knew they’d weigh me down with the same arguments that have paralyzed so many aspiring TV showrunners before me:  “You’re nine years old; you have to finish fourth grade and you haven’t written a darned thing!”  Perhaps I hadn’t written anything because the times, they were a’changin’ and I didn’t know how to respond.

By the mid-1970s, all the supernatural shows that had inspired me to write had been cancelled.  The audiences wanted more realistic fare.  To create a sitcom,  realism would have to be balanced with humor.

Fortunately, a grownup TV executive, James Komack, had already been developing new material.   His efforts were undoubtedly informed by his experience as an actor, director, producer and standup comic. read article

Lessons From Late ‘60s TV

IDOJ

by Dawn McElligott

When I was a little girl, “I Dream of Jeannie” was THE show to watch. It had been conjured up as a competitor to ‘Bewitched” on ABC. But it was more fun. Jeannie was single, whereas Samantha was weighed down with motherly concerns. Jeannie was lively and enthusiastic. If her roommate, Major Nelson yelled at her she could turn into smoke and escape into her bottle. I loved her bottle. She felt safe there. The décor was exotic and uniquely her own.

The imaginative show inspired me to be a writer so I watched TV actively. I was always looking to see how shows were made in contrast to the children at school. They had lunchboxes advertising TV shows that I assumed they watched passively.

As soon as I learned to read I scanned the credits of “I Dream of Jeannie” and saw that it had been created by Sidney Sheldon. I inferred that for Sheldon’s name to be in the credits he had to have done much more than mutter “Why not a show about a genie?” read article

Dawn McElligott: Getting My 5-Minute Program On the Air

by Dawn McElligott

Fear of failure is often the biggest obstacle for a wannabe filmmaker. But MiND TV, a non-profit company, was asking its viewers to make their own 5-minute video for broadcast to millions of people in greater Philadelphia. How could I lose? By not even trying.

Last June I purchased a Canon Vixia HD camcorder for about $ 300. I saved money on lawyers by downloading standard photography and location release templates free of charge.

In my newly adopted hometown of Oxford, Pa, I started videotaping interviews with community leaders regarding their efforts to revitalize its downtown and surrounding area. read article