A New Segment

In Tina Fey's book Bossypants, Fey dedicates a chapter to responding to some of the comments from haters she found on the internet. That chapter was probably my favorite of the whole book because she did not take cheap shots at them. She made very smart and clever remarks that were very sarcastic and hilarious. Recently I read a nasty article about Jimmy Fallon. As most of you know already, I am a big fan of Fallon. So I decided to start a little segment, named after the chapter from Bossypants, entitled "Dear Internet." My next post will begin this segment. I will probably not continue regularly because there aren't really that many articles that make me that angry. I'm obviously not famous, so there aren't people commenting about me on the internet like people did for Fey. Plus, it doesn't have a ton to do with actual TV. Just the people who are associated with it. But because I wanted this to have a good name and explain what exactly it was, alas I am beginning this segment anyway. Just for fun, I'm going to include one of my favorite Fey responses. If you would like to purchase Fey's book, check it out here!

Posted by jerkstore on PerezHilton.com: "In my opinion Tina Fey completely ruined SNL. The only reason she's celebrated is because she's a woman and an outspoken liberal. She has not a single funny bone in her body."

Fey's response: Dear Jerkstore,

Huzzah for the Truth Teller! Women in this country have been over-celebrated for too long. Just last night there was a story on my local news about a "missing girl," and they must have dedicated seven or eight minutes to "where she was last seen" and "how she might have been abducted by a close family friend," and I thought, "What is this, the News for Chicks?" Then there was some story about Hillary Clinton flying to some country because she's secretary of state. Why do we keep talking about these dumdums? We are a society that constantly celebrates no one but women and it must stop! I want to hear what the men of the world have been up to. What fun new guns have they invented? What are they raping these days? What's Michael Bay's next film going to be?

When I first set out to ruin SNL, I didn't think anyone would notice, but I persevered because, like you trying to do a nine-piece jigsaw puzzle, it was a labor of love.

I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I feel safe with you, jerkstore, so I'll say it. Everything you ever hated on SNL was by me, and anything you ever liked was by someone else who did it against my will.

Sincerely,
Tina Fey

P.S. You know who dose have a funny bone in her body? Your mom every night for a dollar.

Quoted from:
Fey, Tina. Bossypants. New York: Little, Brown and, 2011. Print.

Internet & TV: A Future of Minimal Difference

Today, the internet has become everyone's new best friend. Whether you're checking Facebook or sending an email to a colleague, the internet has become a dominant aspect of everyone's lives. What does this have to do with television? As internet and television have both advanced over the years, they are gradually becoming one.  That's right, I'm talking about sites like Netflix, Hulu, even Youtube! Let's not forget the sites of networks as well, NBC, ABC, etc. These sites show clips and even full episodes of many of our favorite shows. And this number is growing. More and more people using the internet alternative.

Television is a medium that I don't think could ever be replaced with a simple computer screen. Watching TV on a computer is a completely different experience than watching it on an actual television set. I all honesty though, that is mostly what I do. In fact, I watch pretty much all my shows on the computer. But I would never want the normal television to leave! I watch TV on the internet because it's more conventient. I can choose when I want to watch it. I can watch when it best fits my schedule. But there is just something truly amazing about our plain old television sets. How would live shows work? How would we turn on our computers to watch the daily news? How can a family sit around a computer screen to watch their favorite show? Yes, there are some flaws to this trend.

But what if all of those questions could be answered? They can be and someday they probably will. I have a feeling that in the future, a lot more shows will look to the internet to get their viewership. Yes, there will still be live TV, but most of it will be news and reruns. The best part is that TV will become apart of the internet. When you want to watch your favorite show you can simply watch it immediately from your TV at any time.

How will people learn about new shows? Of course there will still be commercials occurring, and the live TV will still be showing these shows. TV and internet will no longer be separated. Television will be internet. This is obviously just a guess, but I have a very large suspicion that this will most likely be our future. It's kind of scary, but kind of exciting as well. I can't wait for the day when I don't have to wait for the episode I want to watch to be on the internet. I can't wait for my favorite TV shows to be more accessible to  more people. Television as we know it will always be changing. This is truly why I love TV. With new shows, more technology, and changing audiences, it will never be the same.

Women of SNL

For the past few months I have been learning a lot about Saturday Night Live. It began with one book, Live From New York by Tom Shales and James Miller. This 600 page book is filled with interviews of anyone who has ever touched SNL in any way. It was so interesting to read and I have learned so much from it. So for AP Lang, we has to write a book review essay that talks about a topic and incorporates a review of the book we read.

Although this may sound like a somewhat easy task, it. was. not. The hundreds of interviews I read from the book were helpful, but very hard to compile together in an essay that actually made a point. Think of all the random facts about the show that are floating around in my head. The names of every cast member in 1975, the story of how Victoria Jackson was hired, what happened after Lorne left, and soooo much more. These facts that have accumulated in my mind are pretty much pointless unless I can put them into my essay with a purpose. So that's what I attempted to do. Of course, not all fo them were actually put in, but I did try to put in as much detail as I could.

So what is the point of this blog post? A question I often have to ask myself.Well nonexistent readers, I will tell you! One very interesting aspect of the book, that was also included into my essay, was the misogynistic actions of cast members and writers on the show. That's right. When the show was conceived in 1975, there were three female performers and very few female writers. Not a huge deal right? Wrong! Those women were not treated well. Many of the men on cast thought they were "unfunny." John Belushi, a well known cast member, is less well known for his acts of sabotage against sketches written by women. As Jane Curtain, another cast member, said: "Their (women on SNL) battles were constant. They were working against John, who said women are just fundamentally not funny. So you'd go to a table read, and if a woman writer had written a piece for John, he would not read it in his full voice. He felt as though it was his duty to sabotage pieces written by women." 

Why did men act this way? Why did they treat women like they were inferior? Well, it has a lot to do with the time period. Apparently this is theme week because my last post was about Mad Men in the 60's, and now I'm talking about 70's where there was also discrimination against women. Although definetly not as much. Although not all men can be put into this generalization, a large portion continued to be in the mindset that women were inferior. Women continued to be paid less and on SNL had a tougher time getting sketches onto air. Did they give up? Heck no! As Geneane Garafola put it, "Life is a boys’ club. So SNL is a reflection of that. But Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer and Cheri Oteri and Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey kicked ass. They came in and would not be denied." She was reffering to a later period of SNL, when some really heavy hitters came in and changed how a lot of people thought about women comedians. 

In all honesty, I hate having to even talk about this. The fact that this even happened, and that it still happens today, really disturbs me.  I will say that I am so very grateful for the very strong women that have paved the way for my generation. I don't know if I would've been able to do the same. It's so comforting to know that women before were able to pull off successful working lives. Thank you to the women on Saturday Night Live, and to any other woman who as persevered through the male-dominated world with grace.

My Weekly Wonders: Mad Men

Last weekend I came down with a flu that stuck me in bed for the majority of the Easter holiday. Although my sickness was not happily accepted, it did give me an opportunity to continue a long lasting tradition. Whenever I'm sick, whether it's a few days or a week, I feed into my guilty pleasure and begin watching a new show.  This probably sounds like an unhealthy obsession that contains no productivity, but honestly when I'm sick there is no way I can be productive. So, in order to follow my past tendancies, I began watching Mad Men, a show I have been meaning to watch for quite some time. Here are my thoughts.

Although I wish I could say I would have liked the show regardless of the buzz around it, I'm not sure.  If you haven't lived in a cave for the past few years, you know that Mad Men is a widely successful show that has won numerous awards and hearts of audience members around the world. Whether you needed that cliche introduction or not, there you go! Anyway, the show is based around a 1960's advertising agency in New York called Sterling Silver. As it's genre title would alude to, the show holds much drama. Their office consists a lot of drinking, smoking, and of course a few a lot of jokes thrown in about women and Jewish people. But hey! It's the 60's. It's what they did back then apparently.

The main character on Mad Men is Don Draper, sort of the head honcho of the advertising agency, but not the main boss. I definetly don't know any terminology for what his position is, sorry! Anyway, I really enjoyed the pilot for this show because Matthew Weiner (the creator of the show, name pronounced wy-ner!) introduced Draper in a really intriguing way. He showed him in the various stages of his day, a visit to an old lover, meeting a new secretary, coming up with a pitch to a tobacco company on the spot, and having a drink and flirting with a female client. By the end of the show, Draper drives back to where we realize is his home and all of a sudden he is greeted by his wife and he kisses his children good-night. Although not something that makes you gasp exactly, I thought it did have an innovative shock value because of Draper's player-esque personality traits that we watched throughout his day. From the first episode Weiner sets up a relationship of Draper and the audience. We know about the many lives he lives, and gradually crave to see more.

So who is this Matthew Weiner, and why do I keep talking about him? Although I have never mentioned him on my blog, he has always been one of those people I have admired and wanted to learn about.  He worked on Sopranos, another hugely successful and very well done show. He's kind of become my obsession, especially after I started watching Mad Men.  I think this is partly due to my envy of his position. Getting to work on a show is one thing, but an amazing one is another. And it's not like he "got" to do anything, he truly has the talent and amazing writing capabilities that have gotten him there.

Anyway! Sorry for the creepy fan-girl paragraph... You might be thinking, "why is she so late on watching this show that has been wildly successful for four years?" Or maybe your still wondering "who the heck is this Weiner guy she keeps talking about?" Either way, Mad Men has always been on my list of shows to watch. It's not like I have an infinite amount of time to watch shows! Okay, summer doesn't count. In all honesty, last weekend I saw Mad Men on Netflix and got really excited. I have wanted to watch the show for a while now, but I wasn't sure if it was on the internet somewhere (sadly I never have time to watch anything on actual TV). We'll see if I actually have time to continue watching the show, or whether I will have to painstakingly wait until summer to continue it. In summary, the show is great. I love the writer. Yes, I'm slow on trends.

When There's Nothing Left to Say...

As I sit here trying to think what to blog about next, I realize that I have never really had writer's block for this blog.  I know, I know, it's crazy. How can one girl have so much to say about her mere 17 years experience with television? I wouldn't go so far to say experience. It's been more of an exposure. Anyway, how can I always have something to talk about? Isn't there only so much I can say? Well, I'm starting to realize this. A problem that most of my classmates have been facing for quite sometime while writing on these blogs, is something I am finally taking on. So where am I going with this blog post?  I'm bringing up a topic that really is pushing its relevance to this blog. It may still have to do with TV, but let's face it, I just want to watch videos of this on Youtube. What is this supposed topic? Bloopers!

What are bloopers? Well, bloopers are are scenes actors acted out but messed up. You know, once and awhile this sort of thing happens. No, this happens frequently. Those amazing actors you see on your TV set are not perfect. I think in comedy especially, bloopers are a given. Think about the scenes that make you laugh in a TV show. Those scenes are funny to the actors too, probably even more so because they are experiencing it in real life.  So maybe they laugh, or mess up a line. The camera is rolling. Of course that footage is not put into the show. So where does it go? The fans want to see it! No worries. The bloopers we all want to see go on the show's DVD extras, or something I enjoy even more, Youtube.

And now what you've all been waiting for. Here are some of my favorite bloopers!

The Art of a TV Show Finale

Today as I was reading various articles, I came across an interview with David Shore who is the executive producer of House. I found this article to be very interesting because he talked about how difficult it was to bring the show to end.  It got me thinking. Show finales, if you think about it, must be the most difficult thing to pull off.  Everyone will be watching with critical mindsets.  It's no wonder finales are always such a big deal. They have to be.

Shore made a point about season finales that really stuck with me. The fact that they have been making one hundred and something quality episodes and yet a lot more people are going to analyzing their last.  This is not just him justifying the final episode, it's an honest point. A point showing that audiences should appreciate the long creative run the show had, and not so much on how it ends.

But it's so hard not to! Finales are always the shows that end with a big bang! I always look forward to the first and last episode of a season because it's then that the writers really try to give the audience an impression.  Take Dexter for example. Pretty much every season finale has ended with a cliffhanger. Something for the audience to look forward to in the next season. But when a show is coming to an end, that's a whole different story.

Not only does it have to have season finale type writing, but it also has to bring the story-line to a reasonable the end. An end that the viewers will be happy with (remember you can't please everyone). Any questions about the characters, plot, anything, has to be resolved or at least addressed in some way.  Take Lost's finale for example.  The writers actually did a really good job answering all the lingering questions in the audiences' minds while also keeping the Lost-esque (aka confusing) writing.

Ultimately, we have to remember that finales are very difficult. They might not end how you want them to. They may not be as good as previous finales. You just have to remember that the shows that are having major finales are the ones that already put out good content and have been working hard for years and years to please the viewers. Don't set out to just judge a show by the end. It's like judging how good an athlete is by seeing them score the last point in the game. It doesn't give you the whole picture.

Click here for the full article with David Shore.

Saturday Night Live: 1980-85

The years 1980 to 85 are known in SNL history as some of the worst years with horrible ratings.  Why did this occur? Well, we all know that Lorne Michaels has been the executive producer of the show, but did you know that he left for these 5 years, and was replaced by two different producers?

It's true, the first was a woman named Jean Doumainan who literally only lasted one year. Sadly she was very inexperienced in producing the show and the ratings dropped dramtically.  Many people think nothing good came out of that one year, but that is not completely true. In fact, one of the most well known comedy actors of our time came out of the Doumainan Era. This actor, the amazing Eddie Murphy, has gone down as one of the few people that legitamtely kept Saturday Night Live on air. With out him, who knows if it would still be on today.

After Jean's one year reign, a much more strict Dick Ebersol came to take over.  He helped create SNL and was much more experienced in producing than Jean. It's true that SNL did gain better ratings when Ebersol was producing, but it wasn't by much. The show was still hanging by a thread, and it had completely lost it's "coolness" it had gained in the "Golden Age." Also, many of the cast members did not like Ebersol. He did not have a very good sense of humor, and many of their sketches that they believed to be very funny were rejected.  Ebersol also replaced all the cast members except for Piscopo and Murphy who were doing very well on the show. 

Overall, these five years of plummeting ratings proved more than just the fact that it was possible SNL could end.  These years showed that SNL, even with conflict and turmoil, could survive. With hardworking writers, performers, and crew, this show could survive anything.  There may have been close calls, but Saturday Night Live still lives today.

Here's a favorite Murphy character named Buckwheat. So popular, they had to kill him off.