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More than short – brilliant! No matter how dark and serious your writing may be, you still need to know this if you want it to work:
When is something funny enough? That’s a little hard to say since every example is different and every case is subjective. But as a general rule, whenever I write a joke I ask myself two questions.
Is it funny?
POP Goes the Writing
Yep, pop is what you want to add to any story you’re writing. It’s what makes your story stand out. What makes producers and editors take another look and maybe make an offer.
And that’s really cool, but how do you do it?
When most people think of “classic” TV their heads are imagining scenes from the shows of the ’60s, ’70s, and sometimes even the ’80s. But then we, the millennial minions of TVWriter™, harken unto Classic Television it’s ’90s shows all the way. And one in particular is always – and we mean always – a topic of deep conversation when the topic comes up. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yore and CLARISSA EXPLAINS IT ALL:
by Pilot ViruetIn 1991, Mitchell Kriegman created Nickelodeon’s Clarissa Explains It All, a groundbreaking and charming sitcom with a female lead (Melissa Joan Hart) and an innovative visual style. Equally popular among boys and girls, the show would go on to become one of the biggest hits for the network. Twenty years after the series finale, the love for Clarissa has yet to die down. Kriegman is even keeping her legacy alive with a novel that picks up with Clarissa in her 20s. Flavorwire talked with Kriegman about the upcoming book, the importance of diversity on television, and the story behind the hubcaps on Clarissa’s wall.
Flavorwire: I want to talk about Clarissa Explains It All’s relevance because after we published this controversial interview with Mathew Klickstein, there were some “I can’t believe he said that Clarissa wasn’t a big hit” reactions. It was a weird, unfair comparison because different kinds of shows can coexist.
Back in the day, not only were TV characters very distinguishable from one another, but the colors of their wardrobe were also quite variant.
For example, let’s travel to “Gilligan’s Island,” created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz; not a show that many would consider “Masterpiece Theatre,” but in many quadrants of the industry, certainly to its millions of fans, the series is considered a masterpiece in its own way.
Firstly, no two characters are alike, in sight or sound: Gilligan (played by Bob Denver) was slight and skinny and dressed in vibrant red); the Skipper (Alan Hale, Jr.) was hefty, and garbed in big blue. The Professor (Russell Johnson) dressed in that cache beige; the brunette Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) in country-girl short-shorts; Ginger, the movie-star, a red-head, always dressed in elaborate gowns, etc.
It’s 3 weeks since the official start of this year’s National Hispanic Media Coalition Fellowship (sponsored by ABC and NBC). Time now for the latest in my ongoing series of reports:
We’ve been writing/reading/watch-aholic bees in the NHMC Fellowship program since our breakfast meeting with NBC and ABC Talent Executives. By day we’ve had Show Runners come in to speak: Lee Zlotoff (Macgyver, The Spitfire Grill) Ed Bernero (Criminal Minds, 3rd Watch, Crossing Lines), Network Execs – Lainie Gallers Tartar, Executive Director, Network Drama Series, ABC Entertainment Group, Cable Execs- Erika Kennair, VP of Scripted at Syfy,Producer Kevin Abbot (CRISTELA) We’ve gone to set to see a taping of CRISTELA- which is a Fox show.