http://www.idkfa.com/v3 idkfa: syndicated http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1129 Hey, weirder things have been pitched in the past. I think The Office is maybe a good example of what we're talking about. I'm not sure if that show intended things to be self contained from ep to ep, but even when there are huge plot points (someone leaves, someone is promoted, someone has a baby) it still feels like each show is basically the same. They may change position or something, but generally the show doesn't change from episode to episode. Wilber@idkfa.com (Wilber) Language; Literature; Writing Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:06:54 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1129 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1128 When writing this, I had a lengthy part about how I disliked the format and "each episode an island unto itself" philosophy. However, it started ballooning to be longer than what I actually wanted to talk about, so I took it out. I'll venture that if sitcoms can't let us guess at plot progression by context clues, then they're making the same mistake by thinking viewers are too stupid to know when to laugh at something. We all know my ideal half-hour show would be like "The IT Crowd," except less British, and actually funny. However, its penchant for slapstick, dripping awkwardness, and stereotype don't really sit well. What they need is a show like "Iron Chef," except for "Iron Programmers" (or a hopefully more marketable title). Tempers rise as Google engineers challenge N brilliant computer programmers to make what can't be made, to prove their worth to the world. If they win, they get a job working at one of the greatest software companies in the world. If they lose, they go back to their mother's basement. The stakes are high! The drama! The intrigue! Ok, I'm done. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Language; Literature; Writing Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:02:41 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1128 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1127 I think it is called Tom's, but you're right, upper west near Morningside park. And this phenomenon of people just yelling things while you talk to them is not unusual in New York. Wilber@idkfa.com (Wilber) Language; Literature; Writing Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:01:25 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1127 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1125 Tony's in the upper west side, right? near columbia? good food, at least, when i was there anyways. eight years ago. it was owned by an italian family, and all of the waitstaff and cooks would talk to each other in italian. when the waitstaff would ask you for your order, without looking away or turning away they start yelling your order in italian at the top of their lungs. kitacek@idkfa.com (kitacek) Language; Literature; Writing Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:55:53 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1125 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1124 The most important thing in serial TV comedy, especially popular comedy that is potentially multiseason and has a future in syndication, is to maintain homeostasis. When you watch a Seinfeld episode from season two it looks and feels the same as one from season five, and this is intentional. Even when the characters experience great emotional and interpersonal growth, we forget about it and start from scratch the next episode. Any advances potentially breaking the status quo, like in the story you describe, have to be nixed last minute so that the next episode can make sense. Then when they are all aired out of order in syndication it isn't weird. Have you watched a Seinfeld recently? I tried a few months ago and it wasn't doing it for me. I mean, the laugh track and look of the show make it look so dated. Watching the 30 Rock live show with the laugh track in it made for a very strange show compared to a normal week's viewing experience. I didn't even know there were shows on that still had laugh tracks. Also, back to Seinfeld (although no one is talking about Seinfeld besides me, so I don't know why I'm talking about it), the humor on that show is pretty dated too. Either that, or it became such a cultural zeitgeist that what was funny and outlandish then is just par for the course for our generation. In other news, I happened to walk past the diner that is the exterior shot of the diner they hang out in. Weird. Wilber@idkfa.com (Wilber) Language; Literature; Writing Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:40:39 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1124 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1118 [...] kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Language; Literature; Writing Wed, 27 Oct 2010 14:58:00 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1118 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1117 Hmm, I think the only way I could possibly compete with your ability to mess with people would be to infect people with some horrible disease for which the treatment really really sucks balls. I have access to TB and at least three types of tropical parasites. Also a shit ton of rodents infected with said diseases. Not nearly as comical as floor drain geysers. MrFood@idkfa.com (MrFood) Language; Literature; Writing Wed, 27 Oct 2010 14:29:14 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1117 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1116 a geek strike, yknow, just kind of a reminder, "hey, we run the world, are you sure you want to fuck with us?" kind of thing. Or maybe not a strike, but more pranks on the scale of things we can control. Sort of like the MIT Hacks, but writ even larger. Like, I've always wanted to place grossly undersized air diffusers over where an executive's desk would be, so they've got this jet of air blazing on their desk, and no papers will ever stand still without multiple paperweights. That'd be a pwn. Or boost the pressure on floor drain trap primers, that way every time someone flushes a toilet in a bathroom, water shoots up like a geyser out of the floor drain nearby. yknow, fun little things. kitacek@idkfa.com (kitacek) Language; Literature; Writing Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:11:54 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1116 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1115 It's not a bad show, just a hard show to watch. Don't worry, I'm getting my regular fashion porn and sci-fi intake with Mad Men and Fringe, respectively. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Language; Literature; Writing Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:05:46 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1115 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1114 I am surprised that you have watched as many as you have. I've only ever managed to get through an episode. J_Maru@idkfa.com (J_Maru) Language; Literature; Writing Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:52:25 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1114 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1112 Geek strike? Ha. My issue was that the character, upon experiencing emotional distress at dealing with more "real world" problems, immediately reverted to denial and childhood fantasy. In later episodes, however, the same character gets the girl by making a well-placed reference to Schrodinger's Cat. The show won back a few points on that, but now there's a subprocess in my mind constantly scanning for computer science terms that would have analogously successful results. So far, I've only come up with dirty NP-hard jokes. (sigh) (laugh track) kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Language; Literature; Writing Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:23:37 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1112 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1108 Nice to know the writers think we should "change" in order to "move ahead" in life. Maybe we should all stop working for a month just to remind them of how much we do. kitacek@idkfa.com (kitacek) Language; Literature; Writing Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:02:51 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1108 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1107 New Escape Characters article, "Nervous Laughter", Oct 24, 2010. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Language; Literature; Writing Mon, 25 Oct 2010 03:32:17 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1107&msg_id=1107