A Public Service Announcement if ever there was one. Here’s what going on, socially and professionally, at the Writers Guild of America West this month:
Until further notice, the Guild has suspended in-person committee meetings and events, member meetings, and screenings at the Writers Guild Theater. Virtual events are listed below. Members must RSVP in advance to receive access info to participate in online events.
Not about TV writing per se, but so what? Dick Tracy is one of my favorite comic strips. I’ve read it for over 70 of its 90 years, including a couple of years before I could actually read.
I don’t think it was Tracy or the violence of the strip that caught my toddler interest but the bizarre look of the members of the Rogues Gallery. I mean, who can resist this guy, for crying out loud?
Writer-producer-director Ken Levine, best known for his work on M*A*S*H* and Cheers, currently writes wonderful stageplays and what may well be the best TV writing oriented blog in the universe, …by Ken Levine – and, yes, I’m including TVWriter™ among his not quite as good competitors.
Today, Mr. Levine takes on “The current sad state of network sitcoms” and, as usual, hits the ball out of the park. If you love TV, writing, or comedy, and/or have a deep and abiding (or maybe even just a shallow) interest in showbiz itself, today’s post is a must-read.
Of specially importance is his conclusion, so I’m going to quote the entire last paragraph:
THE USUAL NOTE FROM LB: From the summer of 2002 to the spring of 2010, Gwen the Beautiful and I were the proud and often exhausted owners of a beautiful Ozarks property we called Cloud Creek Ranch.
In many ways, the ranch was paradise. But it was a paradise with a price that started going up before we even knew it existed. Here’s another Monday musing about our adventure and the lessons we learned.
Good morning! Welcome to another new month at TVWriter™.
Before we get to the Top Views, I’d like to share a few things. As of this writing, yours truly LB is only two months shy of my 77th birthday, and I’ve found myself evaluating my work and my life and all the things human beings end up evaluating when they face the fact that, “Hey! I’m getting older!”
I won’t bore you with the process (although truth to tell, I did find it fascinating), but here are some of the results of all that self-absorption…I mean self-discovery: