Blog Archives
Fishism. Bygones. : My Thoughts on Ally McBeal
I don’t know what compelled me to do so, but I have started watching Ally McBeal on Netflix (to my husband’s chagrin). The first 15 episodes were basically amazeballs. Seriously. Peter MacNichol is stellar (and he remains so throughout the series).
And then the show fell into this weird ebb and flow of creativity, cringe-inducing moments, and oddness. In either case, I think this show is an interesting case study in how a showrunner’s point of view can clearly dominate, and evolve as a show goes on.
Know thy audience
Two things happened this fall, that made me further understand who I’m writing for, and what I’m writing exactly.
1. I was talking to my mom about my docket of script ideas I want to tackle in the coming year, and I said, “Basically, none of my protagonists are male or over the age of 30.” Interesting, since my mom is an acclaimed young adult writer who focuses a lot on young women and girls. The legacy lives on!
2. My husband and I were brainstorming the b-story for the next screenplay I’m going to be working on after I finish my current script, and then my television pilot. In doing that, I realize that almost all of the projects I’m most driven to are comedies with dark elements to them: corruption, death, addiction, and unconventional relationships between people.
Both of those epiphanies happened in one week. It’s inspired me to go on an in-depth journey to further understand my audience: females ages 15-30. It’s such a large span while still being an often neglected or misunderstood segment of people. And what’s great is that there are so many different life events within this group: high school, college, first grown-up job, getting married, having children, first love, getting your license, the dreaded quarterlife crisis, your first apartment, all-things-dating, learning about who you are as an individual, and so many other things we all experience. And among all of that, we’re so varied in our lives, beliefs, experiences, and tastes.
One of the serious lessons I learned from my summer at UCLA was that defining your audience is part of defining your personal brand. One of the reasons I’ve become more motivated toward this career switch is that I’m fed up with the kind of programming that’s out there for young women. So, starting this December, I’m going to work on a little extended research in understanding who young women are now, what they want, what they don’t want, what entertains them, and what motivates them. Hopefully out of that, will come some badass awesome material and a better understanding of my own people: people with vaginas, and the men who roll with them.
I think I want to make comedies….
somewhere between this…
and this
Not that there really is “an in-between” for me. Just judging by these trailers, and what I’ve heard, I have to see these movies because they are essentially what I want to make. In fact, Bridesmaids is basically how I pitched the vision of my own production company last spring to my producing class: “comedies with Judd Apatow-like humor that actually understands women past a one-dimensional shrew or one-dimensional psycho.” Because as much as he’ll give a woman a funny line, his women are still pretty flat or succubus-ish.
Murphy Brown: Mary Tyler Moore, 20 Years Later
I watched the pilot and a few episodes of Murphy Brown, Season One. One of the first things to capture my attention was the (expensive!!) use of music in this show. Murphy Brown does not have theme music for its opening credits. Instead, each episode title is based on a Motown song, or the theme of the episode is based on the song, which acts as an opening theme. Like the episode where Corky and Murphy wear the same blue dress, the opening sequence is Corky getting ready for work as “Devil In A Blue Dress” plays, and then arriving to work wearing a rather cute blue dress that could actually work today. Murphy walks in wearing the same dress. The episode then launches into a situation where Murphy has to bring Corky along to work on an assignment with her; despite her dingbatty-ness, Corky ends up busting down the door on a big story.
I figure this is the reason why this show has not seen any syndication: licensing music can be pricey. I’m sure KTLA doesn’t feel like forking over millions of dollars each year just so Murphy Brown re-runs don’t start without music.