A question I’m always asked is:
If I’m writing a spec script for an existing sitcom, should it be in a two-act or three-act format.
Some backstory. For years sitcoms followed the two-act formula. There was a big commercial break in the middle. Then some networks decided it would easier to retain the audience if they sprinkled the commercials throughout. Thus there were two breaks during the body of the show, not one. And thus the three-act format was born (or hatched).
This is important information because it means that the template was changed not so that stories could be better told but because of commerce.
My feeling always was that if I did my job and constructed an act break strong enough, it would hold the viewer through the commercials. The great Carl Reiner had an expression when he ran THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW. He wanted his act breaks to be “Hey, Maes!” The husband is watching the show in the living room and the act break is so compelling he yells out to his wife who’s in another room, “Hey, Mae! You gotta get out here and see this!”
The two-act structure is clearly better for storytelling in such a brief period of time. Plays can be three-acts, but they can also be three hours. Sitcoms get about twenty minutes. The two-act format: In the first act you build to a peak problem. Then in the second you resolve it. Nice. Neat. Hopefully the animated promo for WHITNEY at the bottom of the screen is not too distracting and you can follow the storyline. In the three-act structure you work towards a problem in the first act, work towards a complication in the second, and then have only a few minutes to resolve it in the third. Sometimes the animated promos are as long as the acts.
So what do you do if you’re writing a spec for an existing sitcom and they employ the three-act model? First, I would always follow the format the show uses. Showing them how they could do their series better does not generally win points.
But I would hedge. I would make one of the act breaks very strong, preferably the first one. The second is a complication and I’d make it a funny one if possible. So you’re ending that act on a good laugh. This structure does have one advantage: It forces you to get right to your story and build to an act break quickly. Young writers often get lost meandering around at the beginning of their scripts, trying to find the voices of the characters and just get comfortable writing that show. This structure reduces that.
Here’s how I plot out sitcom episodes: I come up with premise, then decide the act break (or breaks), arrive at a conclusion, and then fill in from there. I don’t plot A to B to C to D. I plot A to D to F then fill in B, C, etc. And along the way I’m always looking for the funniest, cleverest, most surprising ways to tell that story.
One other point: You have to follow this three-act structure because that’s what your show uses. But agents are also going to ask you for original material. At that point it’s totally up to you. It’s your pilot. You set the format. See how the story works best for you. Or, if you write a one-act play, it can be one-act.
As always, best of luck. Someone has to break through. Why not you?
Note: Longtime readers of this blog know that whenever I can't find an appropriate photo I post one of Natalie Wood.
17 Haziran 2012 Pazar
Advice for young writers
I will be on a podcast
Today at 7 PM EDT/4 PM PDT I'll be Stu Shostak guest on his weekly podcast. We'll be talking MASH, television, and my new book THE ME GENERATION... BY ME. (Kindle version here. Paperback here.)
Anywho, here's the link to Stu's site. Should be fun. Hey, the man's had Betty White on his show. And from I hear, she's going to be really pissed if you don't buy my book. 
MAD MEN season 5 review
Okay, I gave you a few days to catch up on the MAD MEN finale. If you still haven’t seen it, then SPOILER ALERT. But if you have, or don’t care then read on.
I’m very curious as to your opinion of this season. A number of critics I admire and who analyze the shit out of the show every week took issue with the fact that this year they (and by they I mean Matt Weiner of course) spelled things out more than ever before. In the final episode Pete tells the new love of his life (who has no idea who he is after her recent shock treatment – there’s always some little complication between young lovers) everything that’s wrong with his life. And Don reveals to Peggy his fear that important people in his life always leave him. There are four or five other examples along the way.
The critics contend that these admissions are quite bald and very uncharacteristic of MAD MEN. The show (and by the show I mean Matt Weiner of course) always prided itself on its subtlety. The writing staff (and by writing staff I mean Matt Weiner, of course) seemed to give the audience more credit in the past – that they could figure out these attitudes and emotions themselves. They didn’t them to be spelled out. 
And that’s true. MAD MEN at its best uses behavior, originality, and surprising story turns to convey the most complex emotions and ideas. No explanations are needed. How the characters react to situations informs us of who they are and what they want. No one does that better than Matt Weiner (and by Matt Weiner I mean Matt Weiner of course).
But that subtlety comes with a price. The audience has to WANT TO put in the time and effort to gleam the themes and decipher the intended messages. When they do it’s great! You have real watercooler television. People taking the time to debate your show. It doesn’t get any better than that (except for awards and money and fame). But if the audience isn’t as invested or loses interest and doesn't want to play then there’s the danger of losing them completely.
For that reason I didn’t really mind the more overt explanations. I worry that the show may have a bigger problem. I wonder if fans are starting to get tired of these characters’ dilemmas. To me the common theme was that nobody was happy even though everybody should have been happy. Whatever they had wasn’t enough. After awhile you start feeling you’re watching THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF MADISON AVENUE. As a writer, this has always been my test: If the audience might say, "I wish I had that problem" then construct a different problem.
If I could respectfully make one suggestion for next season it would be to make the characters’ plight more relatable and sympathetic. I think back to the first season. I even loved Betty.
That said, I thought there were some brilliant episodes and moments in this year’s shows. The Richard Speck installment was riveting. I love Ginsburg. Can’t get enough Sally. Roger on LSD should be his permanent state. Joan can do no wrong even when she does. You can’t punch Pete enough. And Peggy going all “Lou Pinella” on Don after the botched presentation was maybe the best scene of the year.
But the competition is getting tougher, it’s harder and harder to top yourself, and Matt Weiner has his work cut out for him (and by Matt Weiner I mean Don Draper, of course).
Is it worth it to go to film school?
Here are this week’s Friday Questions. What’s yours?
Gareth Wilson asks:
Actual working screenwriters seem very skeptical about the relevance of film school to screenwriting employment. I gather that a diploma from even the best film school is meaningless when trying to get work. So is it possible to design a course that actually teaches you to write salable scripts, and what would it look like?
It really all depends on who your teacher is. My partner, David Isaacs, teaches screenwriting at USC and is terrific. USC has a very prestigious program but if David were teaching at the DeVry Institute I would say go there instead.
To me the real value in going to a noted film school is that they provide better networking opportunities when you get out. The UCLA, USC, NYU, Yale, Harvard, Northwestern mafias do exist.
As for a class teaching you how to write salable scripts – at the end of the day you have to have the talent to write scripts anyone would buy. Courses can provide the guidelines but ultimately you’ve got to have the chops. 
If I may be immodest for a moment, I think the best single course for learning how to write sitcoms is my Sitcom Room seminar that I offer every fall. It’s the only course that really simulates what a working environment is like and gives you a chance to write for actors then see your work performed. To my knowledge it’s the only class like it. There’s only so much theory you can digest. You learn by being given a solid foundation and then asked to do it.
Ger Apeldoorn queries:
Joe Keenan once said, that although the farces were hammered out in the room just like any story, he preferred to take them home to work out the plot points. Are there any other things that are hard to do in a room?
Uh, yeah. EVERYTHING. Breaking stories is particularly tough. The good news about doing them in a room is you get different ideas. But the bad news is often times these ideas coming from every direction only creates more confusion.
For the same reason, it’s often hard in a room to write a detailed argument. Too many voices. Can you imagine room-writing an episode of WEST WING? Heads would explode.
From ao:
Who decides on which pilot to pick up? What happens to the ones that were not picked up? Just shove into the dark space of pilot black hole? And will TV networks ever air pilots that were never picked up for us (the audience)? At least show it online. I would love to see it.
Network top brass make the final decisions. You’d think they would simply pick up the best shows, but it’s much more complicated than that. Other factors include testing, commitments, whether they own the show or not, license fees, desire to be in business with a certain piece of talent, target demographics, need, time slot, compatibility with other shows, trends, etc. There’s a lot of horse trading that goes on behind-the-scenes.
It used to be if a pilot didn’t get picked up the network would gladly sell it to another network. They are then off the hook financially. But when NBC picked up THIRD ROCK FROM THE SUN after ABC passed and it became a big hit, ABC was very embarrassed. So for a long time if a network passed on a pilot they would rather just eat the cost then chance that someone else could turn it into a big hit.
But that was in a different economy. Today networks are again happy to have studios shop failed pilots around. Recouping their investment is worth more than possible embarrassment.
There was one case where David Frankel took his failed pilot, sold it as a short film and won an Oscar for it. And from time to time in LA, a small theater will stage failed pilots as if they were one act plays.
You’re welcome to come by the house and I’ll show you my failed pilots.
Liggie wants to know:
Friday question, professional advice edition. How do you prepare your voice for the long baseball broadcasts? I've started a job in the travel industry where I have to talk for four hours straight (ticket counter, line organizer, direction giver), and my throat's shot when I go home.
First, learn how to use your voice. Learn how to breathe and how to speak from your diaphragm and not your throat. The best vocal teacher in Los Angeles is Darlene Koldenhoven (I know. Great name, isn’t it?).
Protect your voice. Avoid loud rooms and clubs where you have to shout to be heard. Don’t have dairy products before a broadcast. It causes phlegm. So stay away from ice cream.
Air conditioning is also an enemy of the voice.
If possible, do some vocal exercises before your shift. Always have plenty of water. Stay hydrated. Keep your vocal chords lubricated. Hot tea and honey is also good. Alcohol is not.
Suck hard candy. That’s what Vin Scully does. 
And finally, relax. Tense voices are strained voices. Here again, breathing is key. Pace yourself, do the necessary preparations, breathe right, and you should be okay. Unless you’re calling hockey. How does Doc Emrick do it???
The Best of Batman
I imagine people are already getting in line for the opening of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, the new Batman movie that opens July 12th. As a way to climb on that batwagon and plug my book -- THE ME GENERATION... BY ME (GROWING UP IN THE '60s) I thought I would include the passageabout "our" Batman and feature some examples. The Kindle version is available now as is the paperback. There are no ads on this blog you'll notice. The way you can support this site is to buy my book. Hey, you'll get a lot more enjoyment out of it than a PBS tote bag. Here's where you go for the Kindle. And this link'll get you the paperback. Thanks so much!
...January 12, 1966
That’s the night Batman premiered.
It instantly became my new favorite show. Me and everyone else under 20. “Camp” and “kitsch” were the zeitgeist of the day and the Caped Crusader was its superhero. Fight scenes were punctuated with on-screen comic book words POW! BAM! ZONK! The Caped Crusader was played by an actor who had the agility of a hunchback. But Adam West’s goofy sincerity struck just the right chord and this tongue-in-cheek comedy was an instant smash (Sorry. I meant SMASH!).
You look back at those old Batman episodes and think, “What schlock!” And in fairness, by season two we thought that too. By the time Otto Preminger played a villain, we had moved on.
On this Father’s Day (the most sacred holiday of the year) I’d like to wish a happy one to my dad, who also happens to be my hero, mentor, and best friend.
Here are some pithy Father’s Day quotes:
“To be a successful father… there’s one absolute rule: when you have a kid, don’t look at it for the first two years.” -- Ernest Hemingway
“A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father.” -- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
“If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right.” -- Bill Cosby
“It is a wise father that knows his own child.” -- William Shakespeare (especially if the mother is Anna Nicole)
"When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." – Mark Twain
“By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong.” -- Charles Wadsworth
And finally, a salute to Screaming Jay Hawkins. Screaming Jay was a r&b/blues singer. His big hit was “I Put a Spell on You” in which he came out of a coffin. The man was a crowd pleaser. And also a lady pleaser it seems. Upon his death when it was time to divvy up the estate it was discovered he had 57 children. Screaming Jay will not be saluted on Planned Parenthood day.
Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Note to wives and daughters: Dad wants copies of my new book, available in Kindle version and in paperback.
Disconnecting Nielsen
"Even though we represented 60,000 households of viewers, Jericho was still canceled. Moonlight was still canceled. I’m not convinced my Nielsen vote helped at all there. But I watched faithfully and always made sure Devoted Spouse and I were both logged in on the remote."
"Nielsen, the fumbling audience measurement company notorious for snapping up the competition instead of building a better product for market, is doing the print industry a favor and promising not to get involved in measuring its audience. Even though its new “anywhere/anytime” initiative promised to be able to measure all media consumption, David Calhoun’s band of incompetents won’t be treading on FAS-FAX territory.
Not only that: Nielsen is looking to get out of print entirely."
More Anger At Nielsen
"New York's television stations are mad as hell at Nielsen Media Research. And after years of complaints about the monopoly that provides ratings data, local TV executives say they aren't going to take it anymore.
Blaming a ratings slide on the company's measurement system, the stations have begun talking to potential competitors about services that could supplement or eventually replace Nielsen's local people meters, which made their controversial debut in 2004.
But now, stations say they have no choice but to find other measurement sources. They insist that the company simply doesn't sample enough homes to provide accurate ratings for a market as big as New York.
Nielsen's critics argue that in a multichannel universe, the people meters' sample panel of 800 households is insufficient to measure a marketplace of 7.4 million television households. Those figures add up to a ratio of one sample for every 9,000 households.
“The sample size for the local people meters is too small, and it is destroying the market,” gripes a station executive. “Everybody is looking at alternatives.”
All of the executives interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity because of agreements with Nielsen not to criticize it in the press."
Nielsen: Still Struggling
"NBC Universal and Nielsen have decided to collaborate on new sales measures using data from TV ratings, online video streaming and consumer activity based on specific industry categories. It's just the latest step by a TV network to cobble together information for advertisers that goes beyond the typical reach-and-frequency ratings that have been the benchmark of the business for decades.
"The pact comes as more advertisers are demanding measurements which take into account the new ways consumers are getting their entertainment and information. As more homes secure broadband connections, consumers' ability to watch TV programs and other forms of video entertainment online is increasing. So media outlets are looking for ways to measure viewing across different media venues, not just that taking place in front of the big screen in the living room. Marketers, meanwhile, are eager to discover just which ads lead consumers to purchase their products."
More Ladies Of Supernatural
One of my favorite ladies from Supernatural is Loretta Devine who portrayed Missouri Moseley in the episode of "Home". I'd enjoy seeing her again.
"Welcome to A Great Thief, a fanlisting for the character Bela Talbot from the series Supernatural. A fanlisting is exactly what it sounds like: a place to list bring together as many fans as possible for the subject. If you want more information, see the site section, otherwise, please join!"
"Fanlisting for Supernatural's Ruby. A fanlisting is a list of a particular subject's fans and the countries they come from. It's a neat way to see the general geographic distribution of fans worldwide, and a nice way to show your love/support for the subject of the fanlisting. If you're a fan of Ruby, why not JOIN and show the world!"
The Jericho Store
Have you been to the Jericho Store?
New E-Bay Jericho Items Auction
MaryP and AlasJericho are at it again. This time they are trying to raise a few bucks to create a press kit and a secure a substantial quantity of nuts to try and bring some attention to our fantastic billboard! More details on this initiative will be posted soon, but have a look at our e-Bay auctions and consider bidding early and often to help us raise the money for this phase of the Sell Jericho initiative!
Jericho Online: The Game
"You are the mayor of a town that survived the attacks. It's your job to keep your people safe. Provide them with all they need to survive but beware, there are other towns who survived, and some of those towns out there will do anything to get your supplies. Make sure you provide your people with their needs and build up defences so you can fight any other towns who wants to steal from you. Whatever you do, keep your town on the map."
Hallmark and CBS
"Jed Clampett of the Beverly Hillbillies could be a Hallmark ornament hanging on Christmas trees this year.
Hallmark will get access to CBS Consumer Products' entire television library thanks to a licensing deal that will be announced this week.
The new agreement not only opens the doors to more than 150 properties including Beverly Hills 90210, Happy Days and Rawhide for greeting cards, but also for party goods, collectibles and other gift categories.
The deal could be lucrative for venerable CBS as it will receive a portion of online sales and purchases in more than 43,000 retail outlets, including Hallmark Gold Crown stores.
"There is an emotional connection with these shows, and there's nothing more emotional than having your brand used as a social expression," said Liz Kalodner, evp/gm of CBS Consumer Products, New York.
CBS' TV icons have been grouped under an umbrella dubbed Television City. A Television City logo will be included on Hallmark products and in upcoming marketing outreaches.
Television City shows are in the process of being licensed for use in other categories and already have been tapped by University Games for board games and Steve & Barry's and NTD Apparel for T-shirts and other clothing.
CBS and Hallmark, meanwhile, are preparing anniversary promotions this year for The Twilight Zone (50th), Rawhide (50th), The Brady Bunch (40th) and Happy Days (35th)."
The Upfront Market
"When it comes to the $9 billion-plus upfront market, it's easy for marketers to get distracted by the horse race of TV networks trying to outdo each other in terms of price increases or volume. Do that this year, and you'll lose sight of the dangers that may lie ahead when it comes to getting your ads on TV.
"Lost in all the numbers, however, is a serious consideration of the ramifications advertisers are bound to face come fall. With more viewers getting entertainment and information from the web and other emerging venues, the networks' supply of ratings is dwindling -- and so is a marketer's ability to get ads on TV without advance planning.
"The question that really remains is: What will be left later on in scatter?" asked Gary Carr, senior VP-director of national broadcast at independent media buyer TargetCast TCM, referring to ad time that is purchased closer to a show's air date. "Are [the networks] going to higher sellout levels, and only a little bit will be left later on?"
BSG and Jericho
"Welcome to the weekly So Say We All: The Battlestar Galactica Blog Carnival.
An excellent penultimate episode of the first half of the last season. Wow. That was a mouthful.
Yes, I am extremely sad to say, this Friday’s episode, Revelations, is the mid-season finale. No word yet on when the second half will be aired, but conventional wisdom has it at next spring. I might have an aneurysm before then."
"Series: Jericho: The Complete Second Season comes out on DVD next Tuesday, the show itself having survived numerous corporate assaults, a premature cancellation and then a second cancellation after CBS gave fans seven episodes to tie up most of the loose plot threads. I was a late bloomer to the series but having watched it last year in the form of the boxed set I reviewed (Jericho Season One), I found it much more appealing than the intermittent schedule it was placed on by the network. Before I go into detail about this upcoming set where the entire season was compressed into a mere seven episodes on two discs, here's a recap of my comments from before to set the stage for newcomers (because if you're a fan of the show, you'll already have several copies pre-ordered to send out to your closest friends)."
Supernatural Fun
Thanks Taylor.
"I have been chatting with a couple of people lately, Jessica and LisiBee and how I haven’t been able to watch the season finale of Supernatural yet. Well I finally did! And thank goodness I know Jensen Ackles‘ character comes back…poor Dean hanging on those hooks all summer!!
On another note…I have to tell you all I won a Supernatural comic book/graphix (that’s the right term for it right?) book…it’s signed by Eric Kripke. And the person who created the book. I will give you more details when I get it in the mail!
So because I love Jensen so much here are some awesome screen caps I found from the shows in the past."
What does the future hold for you and Jensen or you and Jared? Here's a way to find out.
Mash Game: Predict Your Future at eSPIN-the-Bottle
"SUPERNATURAL fans have been going crazy since the season finale of the show this past May.
Since the cliffhanger of SUPERNATURAL Season 3 ending with Dean (Jensen Ackles) being sent to Hell, fans of the CW series have many questions on their minds. Questions like - how long Dean will be in Hell, what will he be like when he comes back, will he come back, and how will his time away affect his relationship with Sam (Jared Padalecki)?
On the set of Friday the 13th this past weekend, Jared Padalecki spoke about the upcoming season to the IESB."
Blackjack Fairgrounds Blog Carnival Returns
"Blackjack Fairgrounds, the Jericho Blog Carnival started by Amy Vernon at Remote Access, is back open for business. Amy has agreed to let JKI take over the operation of Blackjack Fairgrounds.
For those of you who have not heard of a Blog Carnival, it is a collection of links about a particular subject. Blackjack Fairgrounds is looking for submissions that are of interest to Jericho fans. These submissions can be announcements, articles, blog entries, discussions, fan fiction, humor or anything else that might interest a Jericho fan. As long as you can provide a link you can submit it! The submission deadline is June 25th, and the current edition of Blackjack Fairgrounds will open on June 30th. Submissions can be made here or you can e-mail blackjack@jerichojki.com.
Blackjack Fairgrounds is also looking for hosts. If you want Blackjack Fairgrounds to come to your corner of the Jericho fandom, then offer to host one of the road show editions. Our host for the June road show edition is The Monster."
Nielsen: Reading Online
"Print is having some issues at the moment, which may be like saying New Orleans took on some water. Insults fly, playground-style, about how long one published entity or another will be alive. Microsoft's CEO says no ink-on-paper newspapers or magazines by 2018; someone else says there'll be no Microsoft by then either. Newsweek will be gone in five years, predicts a columnist willing to bet dinner on it; I prefer steak, the magazine's editor shoots back.
A study released last week by the Internet research firm Nielsen Online revealed a part of the problem: People in the computer age are probably reading more than they ever have, so it's difficult to convince them to do more of it. It's the same 24-hour day that's always existed, recalling Mark Twain's quote about the wisdom of investing in land because they're not making any more of it.
People on average spend two hours a day, or more in many cases, reading online at work or home, according to the latest Nielsen study involving about 30,000 users.
Little wonder that they have less inclination, or time, to read apart from that. If my job required me to go to the gym for two hours a day, I'd probably have less need, and even less desire, to go before or after work."
Hulu
"IN A very short time, Hulu has rocketed from nothing to being one of the top video destinations on the Internet. We've all heard the years of trade-show claptrap about television-Web "convergence," but Hulu has come as close as possible to turning your computer into a TV without actually sending a tech to monkey around with the hardware and wiring.
Maybe more important, it's also shaping up as a key proving ground in the ongoing philosophical debate about what people want from Web-based entertainment.
How do you Hulu? You don't have to pay anything, download a special player or even register your name or e-mail address. The site, which went up in mid-March, is free; in exchange for watching relatively brief ads, you get access to complete high-resolution episodes of top TV series such as "24" and "30 Rock," as well as impressively cataloged clips from "Saturday Night Live" and other shows. (The movie roster is somewhat less formidable, unless you consider "The Payaso Comedy Slam" or "Snake Eater" the apex of cinematic art.)"
Look Out Nielsen
"The Microsoft-Google war has moved from the web to the TV. Microsoft today announced it will buy Navic Networks, an addressable advertising technology provider that enables marketers to dynamically target and measure audiences based on patented technology available in 35 million set-top boxes nationwide.
Scott Ferris, general manager of Microsoft's advertiser and publisher solutions group, told Ad Age the Waltham, Mass.-based Navic allows the company to "take advantage of new-media formats through interactive TV and the measurement of TV viewing for the purpose of having a more efficient marketplace for buyers and sellers." Neither company could disclose specific financial terms of the acquisition.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer believes that all media will be digital within the next 10 years -- and that means TV content will be delivered over IP networks.
"Within 10 years, no consumption of anything we think of as media today -- print, TV -- will in fact be delivered over internet technology. It will all be digital," said Mr. Ballmer at the Association of National Advertisers' annual conference in October."
Actors Strike
"Reuters reports as Hollywood recovers from a tumultuous writers walkout that ended in February, U.S. TV networks are bracing for a possible actors strike that could delay the upcoming fall TV season. Jitters over renewed labor unrest have mounted in recent days as contract talks between the Screen Actors Guild and the major film and TV studios have grown increasingly rancorous with little or no sign that a settlement is near.The three-year labor pact covering film and prime-time TV work for 120,000 SAG members is due to expire in two weeks. "
Supernatural: The Ride of Your Life
What a wild ride it has been watching my Supernatural DVD's. I usually hate starting a show then trying to catch up but I didn't mind doing that here. I watched the last few episodes of Season 3 on TV and knew I had to buy the DVD's. (Thank you, LisiBee)!
If you aren't watching this show then you are missing the best series on TV today. The writing is the best and there are no characters elsewhere like the Winchester boys. Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki are excellent actors and they make Dean and Sam come to life. Well, I'd better not talk about them or this post won't be about the show.
What I do want to mention is that everyone who has a role on this show does an amazing job. Look at Samantha Ferris who plays Ellen. Ellen is a strong woman who isn't afraid to say exactly what she thinks. There's no nonsense about her. You may remember Samantha from the 4400. The only problem here is that Ellen is not in Season 3 and we never know what happened to her.
Ellen has a daughter named Jo who is played by Alona Tal. I admit I wasn't too impressed with Jo in the beginning. Maybe it was because of her interest in my Dean? I did come to like Jo and I think Alona was perfect for that part. Once again, though, there's that nasty disappearing act where Jo just isn't seen again and we arent't told what happened to her. Kripke, that's a bad habit. Could we get some closure here?
You just have to love Ash. Chad Lindberg does such an outstanding job. You'll have to watch him to believe how he pulls off Ash to perfection. He's just brilliant!
What can I say about Jim Beaver who plays Bobby Singer? Another fine actor. Not only is Jim loved for Supernatural but he's a man of many talents. Read more about him here.
Last but not least is the yellow-eyed demon. Well, his real name is Fredric Lehne and I enjoyed his role a lot. Fredric has appeared in over 200 films, mini-series, and television shows plus many stage productions.
This is truly a great show and I can't wait for Season 4. Give it a shot and I think it will surprise you. It has definitely surprised me. I love this show.
Who could possibly not fall in love with Jensen and Jared?
P.S. Mr. Kripke, may we please have the Roadhouse back? And Ellen, Jo, Ash, Bela, and Meg?
Supernatural: Kripe and Padalecki
"Supernatural executive producer Eric Kripke has scored an overall deal at Warner Bros. TV.
According to Variety, in the two-year exclusive pact, Kripke will continue to exec produce and showrun CW's Thursday staple Supernatural, which enters its fourth season this fall.
Kripke also will start to develop new projects under the deal. There's no word if one of the new titles might be a Supernatural spinoff; Kripke has said in the past that he's interested in doing a prequel of sorts that takes place in the Old West and centered on the show's mythology."
"SUPERNATURAL star Jared Padalecki is feeling a little snug in the pants. His bags were misplaced en route to Australia and he arrived without even his undies.
As a result his first stop when he arrived in Sydney was to pick up some new underpants, but for a guy who spends most of his time battling the paranormal on the Network Ten hit show Supernatural as Sam Winchester, buying grundies proved quite a challenge.
"I had to go buy clean underwear with the crazy Australian sizes that I didn't understand," he said in Sydney today."
"Episode five already? Wow, time is flying toward September, er October, er we really don’t know. Just to keep everyone in the loop about the latest controversy, we don’t know exactly what date Supernatural will be back in the fall. Initial reports had it the same week as when all the other CW shows premiere, the first week of September. Then, TV Guide reported last week the date for Smallville and Supernatural was actually TBA. Now Spoilerfix and The Futon Critic have it listed tentatively as October 2nd."
Jennie Sword In The Basement
The lovely and talented Jennie Sword visited Margie and Edna's Basement and a great time was had by all. It's not the usual kind of interview so please check it out.
"Marketers are already scrambling to figure out how best to adjust their 30-second TV spots for viewing via the web and on iPod screens. But as the nation prepares for the big shift from analog to digital TV on Feb. 17 next year, what could be a major conundrum has opened up for advertisers who love to make use of the wider high-definition screen.
While "standard definition" -- read "old-fashioned" -- TV sets have for decades featured a 4:3 screen-size proportion, high-definition sets and the programming created for them have a much more rectangular 16:9 scope. Thus, ads crafted for high-definition broadcasts that show up on standard-definition sets could have their right and left sides digitally sliced off."
Nielsen Employees: Oldsmar
"Nielsen Media Research warned its Oldsmar employees Tuesday that more layoffs are coming as the company continues to shift technical work to contract companies abroad.
Through 2009, the TV ratings giant will shed 170 technical support and software jobs in Oldsmar, moving the work to TATA Consultancy Services, an Indian-owned global services company that has taken over local positions at Nielsen.
"What we're trying to do is enlarge our capacity and strengthen our cost effectiveness," said spokesman Gary Holmes.
The cuts come on the heels of Nielsen and the City of Oldsmar last week ending an economic development deal that gave Nielsen incentives for adding jobs in the region — a deal that helped secure Nielsen's operations in the area.
When that phase of job cuts is complete, the company's local employment will drop to 1,300, from about 1,500 this spring. There are about 235 contract employees on the site as well."
The Boys and The Demon
"The Winchester boys over on the CW's Supernatural sure have some good taste in demon hunters, as our pics of today's Babe of the Day can attest.
Katie Cassidy is one of the prettiest faces on television, and even though she will no longer be cross-bowing hell demons alongside Sam and Dean anymore, we're sure we haven't seen the last of this prime-time starlet."
"If you're unfamiliar with SUPERNATURAL, the fan adored CW show which ?revolves around two brothers, Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki), who are nomadic demon hunters that ride from town to town in order to investigate and vanquish supernatural evil? then I suggest you catch up by either renting Season 1 and 2 right now, or checking out this article I wrote a while back for theTVaddict.com. This article will be here when you get back. I?ll wait.
Those who are familiar with SUPERNATURAL may think it a bit strangely cyclical to want a movie of a TV show that initially advertised itself as a weekly horror movie. Because the show has maintained and perfected that high concept, cycling through many of the urban myths that have been already covered in movies, it might even seem a redundant suggestion to ask for yet another derivative horror/supernatural movie to subject ourselves to on the big screen."
Blackjack Fairgrounds: Jericho Blog Carnival
The Monster is proud to present this carnival and many thanks go to Amy Vernon and Gwen for allowing it to continue. Thank you to all those who have participated. Let's go!
Phil from New Film Dimension gave permission to post about his blog entry:
Jericho: Still Strong and Supporting It.
This was a nice message of support and a wonderful collage of Jericho photographs.
The Jericho Online Crew gave permission to post about the Jericho Online game.
There is a description of the game on the home page. I played this game in the last round and it's a lot of fun. The next round starts on August 18th. The game staff are very responsive to questions and suggestions. Improvements to the game are made between the rounds. They recently added a forum, so you can talk to fellow players.
Wes at the Wycliffe Papers gave permission to post about his new story.
Wes e-mailed this about his story:
"Jericho -- The Third Event aims to provide, in narrative form, a pseudo-third season for the beloved television series. Characters from the first season will make surprise appearances, obscure and mysterious players from the second season will come into play, and new personae will also be thrown into the fray. The Third Event involves the course of the Second War Between the States, or The Second American Civil War, and consists of the military campaign between the ASA and the USA as well as political intrigue on the national and international level. The adventures involving characters from Jake Green to President Snowden and Valente to President Tomarchio promise to bring a justified extension to the story of Jericho."
Gwen is submitting these three links:
There have been two wonderful articles on Lennie James
Lennie James's Open Letter
Fallout: Damilola was just the beginning but I also stumbled upon this rare treat a video of Lennie James performing a speech by Brutus in Julus Caesar.
Gwen is submitting an article from Naples Daily News on American values in TV shows
AMERICAN VALUES.
Gwen is submitting an article from Helium
Jericho: Fiction or our possible future?
Jane and Beth of Margie and Edna's Basement present:
Exclusive: Jennie Sword Visits The Basement.
Amy of Remote Access submitted:
Jericho keeps making the news.
Terocious from Jericho Junction submits:
Jericho: Small Town on the Big Screen?
Debby submitted this entry from Jericho Junction: The Great Jericho Rewatch
The next edition of Blackjack Fairgrounds will be published on July 30th, with a submission deadline of July 25th. Submissions can be e-mailed to blackjack@jerichojki.com
The Blackjack Fairgrounds thanks you for your patronage.
Supernatural: Sera Gamble
"US paranormal drama series Supernatural has become a cult hit since it first hit TV screens in 2005.
Sera Gamble is the supervising producer and writer on the show.
She discussed what it is like working to a TV budget, the impact of the writers' strike - and why writing horror is so much fun.
Warning: This story contains plot spoilers."
"The drama around the possible defection from Paramount of the cinematic powerhouses behind DreamWorks is headline-grabbing - but it's only a distraction from what must really be driving Sumner Redstone crazy: In tough times for media giants, Viacom and CBS are doing even worse than their peers.
And yet, even if you conceded that Redstone was right strategically, you'd have cause to wonder if he got the timing or execution wrong. (As Redstone knows better than most, the market can't only be right when you are winning.) You'd also wonder how much of a cloud episodes like the intense scrutiny of Dreamworks' future cast over Redstone's empire, perhaps overshadowing other bright spots such as the improved year Paramount is having overall."
City of Oldsmar: Nielsen
"Nielsen doesn't deserve support
Once again the City Council of Oldsmar has given in to big business rather than support its citizens who elected them.
Of course, the Chamber of Commerce/Horrors has entered the fray and you know who they would support. Sure wouldn't be labor. They're one of the reasons Florida has such a low wage structure in the first place.
Now as to Nielsen being the largest employer in the city, how can that be when they're firing their longtime employees? Having Tata Consultancy Services supply employees from India does not make Nielsen an employer, only a renter of bodies.
How can anyone in their right mind justify giving such backing to such a bad citizen as Nielsen?"
Lotta Nuts
"The Hollywood Reporter received a whole lotta nuts on Monday.
About 1,050 pounds of nuts flooded the THR mailroom, causing rampant chaos -- if "rampant chaos" can be defined as annoyed mailroom employees having to maneuver around 42 boxes of shelled nuts.
"Jericho" fans famously bombarded CBS last year with about 50,000 pounds of nuts to help persuade the network to pick up the show for a second season. CBS executives -- displaying a mix of pride and annoyance -- donated the nuts to charitable causes.
THR, however, is not a fancy broadcast network with a private commissary and neighboring Grove, but an oft-frantic Mid-Wilshire newsroom. When you're on a daily deadline and have skipped lunch because Tim Russert died, you need a desk drawer stocked with protein. Deliveries of free snacks, in other words, tend to be attacked like a UNICEF airdrop. So one of the 25-pound boxes of nuts that was brought to the newsroom was well-received, and by Tuesday several other boxes had vanished from the mailroom."
Antiquated Nielsen
"Of course, earlier I touched on the dangers that television programs face in the relevance of the soon to be antiquated Nielsen system as more and more shows are DVR’d and downloaded from iTunes, as Jericho showed. After Jericho got trashed in the ratings for it’s beleaguered 2nd season, it was the most downloaded show on iTunes. The math (logic) just doesn’t add up, but the advertising dollars do, as far as network execs are concerned, and their fat paychecks are dependent on!
Despite the disparities that we, the viewers are suffering when quality content gets dumped, they say that studios are trying to get ahead of this technological deficit. (Great, then bring back Jericho and Journeyman!)
Despite putting shows online with limited advertising, the revenue from those efforts is only a small fraction of what they make. They say it’s due to the smaller internet audience, and that might be true."
14 Haziran 2012 Perşembe
Sam Lionberger Jr. in Wins Tech's Highest Honor
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| Sam Lionberger |
Lionberger’s long record of service to Virginia Tech and his community began while he was still enrolled. He was president of the Class of 1962 and was a member of various campus military organizations, as well as the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership fraternity.
After earning his bachelor’s of building construction in 1962, Lionberger served in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, where he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal in 1964 for construction management work on the largest Corps of Engineers project in the world.
Later that year, he returned to Roanoke and joined his family’s commercial construction business, Lionberger Construction, as an estimator and project manager. He later became president of the company, and held the title of chief executive officer from 1975 until his retirement in 2010.
Lionberger’s many years of active participation in the university community includes serving on the Virginia Tech Foundation Board of Directors, the National Campaign Steering Committee of The Campaign for Virginia Tech: Invent the Future, the W. E. Skelton 4-H Educational Conference Center at Smith Mountain Lake, Board of Trustees, the Virginia Tech Alumni Board, and the advisory boards of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the School of Building Construction. Along with his wife, Lorinda, Lionberger is a member of the President’s Circle within the Prosim Society, a select group of Virginia Tech’s most generous supporters.
He also has been active in his community, with service to the Roanoke Corps of the Salvation Army, the Military Family Support Center, and numerous other college and business boards. Lionberger has received numerous honors throughout his career and was inducted in 2008, along with his wife, into the Southwest Virginia Business Hall of Fame.
Ridenhour Wins Top Tech Council Award
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| A record crowd of 460 people in the technology sector showed up for Technite. |
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| New Director Derrick Maggard with Lisa Soltis of Roanoke City. |
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| Consultant Melinda Cohan (left) Banker Gretchen Weinnig. |
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| Lawyers David Cohan (left) Keith Finch talk ... law. |
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| Mary Jane and Ray Pethtel (left) with Stuart Mease, both of Virginia Tech. |
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| Ed and Katherine Walker accept Ruby Award. |
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| Sen. Mark Warner talks about a dysfunctional Washington. |
Ridenhour's award was especially significant given the strength of a field that included such luminaries as Ed and Katherine Walker (CityWorks Xpo), Ken Ferris (Brookewood Management Advisors), Sam English (Science Museum of Western Virginia), Bob Summers (TechPad), Richard Hammer (Interactive Achievement) and Jim Flowers (VTKnowledgworks), any one of which could have won.
The other winners included ADMMicro for Entrepreueur; PowerHub Systems, Innovation; and Lujure, Rising Star. MoGo Mobile won the People's Choice Award and the education awards went to Stephanie Crawford of Montgomery County and Linda Gooding of Roanoke Valley Governor's School.
--Dan Smith, story and photos
JJ Ramberg To Appear at Regional Forum Event
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| JJ Ramberg |
Rambergis the host of MSNBC’s Your Business,a TV show dedicated to issues affecting small business owners. The program hasprofiled thousands of small business owners and offered advice from countlesssmall business experts and investors. Your Business guests have included Senateand House Small Business Committee members, the head of the Small Business Administration,and members of the Cabinet. She has received several awards including SelfMagazine’s “Women Doing Good” and Jewish Women International’s “Women toWatch.”
Rambergis a contributor to The Today Showon small business and financial issues. She is also MSNBC’s small businessexpert and occasional on-air news anchor. She was a financial columnist forCookie Magazine, Conde Nast’s parenting magazine, and a contributor toEntrepreneur Magazine where she focuses on social entrepreneurship.
Forticket information, contact Judy Chambliss at 540-983-0700 x221 or roanokeregionalforum@gmail.comor register online at www.roanokeregionalforum.com.