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.