My Life as a Couch Potato: The Spuds Have Eyes, Part Two
by Dawn McElligott
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.