This journal documents the author's experiences as a television writer. To read the story from its inception, go to the beginning.

September 28, 2001

Didactic wonderings
The new television season is five nights old and for five nights I have been watching crappy new sitcoms recycling jokes that were already old when Three's Company was at its apex. Inside Schwartz featured a plot where the main character's "wacky" father hires a prostitute who pretends that her willingness to date his lovelorn son is kismet. The Ellen Show has the title character return home to find a new life (in and of itself the theme for at least three other shows currently airing) surrounded by a "wacky" sister, who � surprise, surprise � always enters into relationships with the wrong men. And Emeril was so bad, it devoted its first five pointless minutes to having Emeril's "wacky" co-workers tell jokes poking fun at "fat people."

The problem with these shows, and others I've watched this week, is not their plots, but rather their characters. They use comic foils just for the sake of pushing jokes rather than having the comedy come from relationships and character foibles. When Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show did something outrageous, it was because he was a highly insecure celebrity who would cover his lack of confidence with false bravado. Howard Borden on The Bob Newhart Show was a lonely, forgetful divorcee who compensated for his lack of companionship by frequently mooching off his neighbors, Bob and Emily. And every main character on Friends has a rich, detailed personal history that allows the comedy to come from highly textured relationships with the other members of the cast.

So I sit in my little apartment watching these shows. Wondering why these writers can't see how flawed and unfunny their work is. Wondering why my agent hasn't returned my calls these last three days.

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