Homer for President... again!
Wednesday evening we went to the library to see what turned out to be kind of a talk... really more of an 'appearance' by one of the writers of The Simpsons, Joel Cohen. Bob Ethington, the head of pop culture at the Summit County Library, a dear friend, bandmate, and all around good person, hosted the evening. As Soledad O'Brien was speaking at the University that night, my wife thought there might be a poor turnout at the library, so in support of Bob, we attended. We were wrong. It was exactly 87 people short of a throng.
The Simpsons are certainly historic. In many respects, the most successful prime time show in history. Certainly one of the most important, as a lot of folks would argue that The Simpsons singlehandedly kept the fledgling Fox network afloat... just as Professional Rodeo from Mesquite Texas was an important staple for baby ESPN... but more.
Joel Cohen is a funny, clever, sweet, geek of a guy who simply came to tell some anecdotes, and show a couple clips. No real insights. He offered a little auto-bio, and a not quite TV 101, telling us how many writers there are, talking about how smart they are, and how long it takes to turn out episodes. The most interesting thing is that, while entertaining, and again, very likable, he wasn't scary hilarious, he didn't tell us any great state secrets, he didn't send us off with much of anything more than we came in with.
But here's the interesting thing: the evening DID give me a hint of what a Trekkie convention is like. There were Simpson dolls for sale outside the auditorium. A friend we sat with, had a doll for Joel to autograph. There weren't any real crazies manifesting themselves in the Q&A but there was that odd query here and there by a questioner who clearly had studied every episode, knew the guys who wrote, animated, and voiced shows on a first name basis. This questioner clearly 'knew' some of these folks in an intimate way far longer than Joel had.
Point is, Joel knew his audience. He knew that the actual engine was the audience and his role was to provide something the cartoon characters of this show can't, a warm body from the Simpson's household to get close to, hear, and interact with. Demystifying details would actually be a bad thing. This wasn't by any means an educational event. This was for the fans.
So when the talk ended, me still not grasping the nature of this beast, we agreed that if everyone wandered off, we'd go hang a bit with Bob and Joel during their meet and greet. No need. As a matter of fact, I don't know how long it would have taken to even get to them by the time we filed out. Lots of dolls to autograph, lots of "Whatever happened to Joe Blow, one of the colorists that was credited for four episodes of the third season only, then disappeared from the credits?" querries. Pretty interesting pop-culture experience. Nice booking, Bob.
For my part, when Joel talked of the crazy creativity of writers meetings, it brought back sweet memories for me of working with Michael Patrick King , Jon Stewart, Louis CK, Suzie Essman, and Dave Attell on a series I did for A&E. Funny recollections came back to me of pitch meetings with host Colin Quinn and his 'Goodfellows' fixation, or later host Richard Jenny who would shrug and say "I don't get it" so very many times when pitched, EVERY time Jonathon Katz opened his mouth. Jonathon was given a writing gig for the show, a nice gesture for a really sweet and incredibly smart man, but... writing for Richard Jenny, the Crown Prince of the Lowest Common Denominator? I SO endorsed releasing Jonathon from his obligations when he got the Dr. Katz offer!! But hanging in a room and set with people who came up with vignette series like "Clown Therapy," "Viking Fun," and "Elevator Fears" is a remarkable experience.
When Joel mentioned writer Dana Gould, I turned to my wife and whispered "I know him," to which she responded, "Of course you do." I adored working with comics and comedy writers, which is, in essence, spending time with supremely talented, funny 12 year olds. In fact, I was surprised that Joel, when asked how to become a writer like himself, didn't point out that being a stand-up was one way to get seen, heard, and noticed. Later she said that if we're talking comedy on TV, I appear to know, in one way or another, 95% of everybody. As I've been back in Akron for 5 years, however my percentage of is probably down to about 80% now... so the evening made me a little wistful, and I probably laughed a little more often and a little harder than the average bear, as I was reminded of a 'home' I had in a smoky comedy club or 10 in a different life, one where the talent made me constantly crazy and the order of the day, every day, was laughter... and a percocet.
The most significant information of the evening, of course, was this: Because it takes so long to produce Simpsons episodes, they are seldom, if ever, topical, which makes them pretty Evergreen. The Simpsons, therefore, in theory, can live forever. Good news for those of us who haven't been regular viewers. There are gonna be over 400 of them for me to catch up with, if I live long enough.
Cool.
The Simpsons are certainly historic. In many respects, the most successful prime time show in history. Certainly one of the most important, as a lot of folks would argue that The Simpsons singlehandedly kept the fledgling Fox network afloat... just as Professional Rodeo from Mesquite Texas was an important staple for baby ESPN... but more.
Joel Cohen is a funny, clever, sweet, geek of a guy who simply came to tell some anecdotes, and show a couple clips. No real insights. He offered a little auto-bio, and a not quite TV 101, telling us how many writers there are, talking about how smart they are, and how long it takes to turn out episodes. The most interesting thing is that, while entertaining, and again, very likable, he wasn't scary hilarious, he didn't tell us any great state secrets, he didn't send us off with much of anything more than we came in with.
But here's the interesting thing: the evening DID give me a hint of what a Trekkie convention is like. There were Simpson dolls for sale outside the auditorium. A friend we sat with, had a doll for Joel to autograph. There weren't any real crazies manifesting themselves in the Q&A but there was that odd query here and there by a questioner who clearly had studied every episode, knew the guys who wrote, animated, and voiced shows on a first name basis. This questioner clearly 'knew' some of these folks in an intimate way far longer than Joel had.
Point is, Joel knew his audience. He knew that the actual engine was the audience and his role was to provide something the cartoon characters of this show can't, a warm body from the Simpson's household to get close to, hear, and interact with. Demystifying details would actually be a bad thing. This wasn't by any means an educational event. This was for the fans.
So when the talk ended, me still not grasping the nature of this beast, we agreed that if everyone wandered off, we'd go hang a bit with Bob and Joel during their meet and greet. No need. As a matter of fact, I don't know how long it would have taken to even get to them by the time we filed out. Lots of dolls to autograph, lots of "Whatever happened to Joe Blow, one of the colorists that was credited for four episodes of the third season only, then disappeared from the credits?" querries. Pretty interesting pop-culture experience. Nice booking, Bob.
For my part, when Joel talked of the crazy creativity of writers meetings, it brought back sweet memories for me of working with Michael Patrick King , Jon Stewart, Louis CK, Suzie Essman, and Dave Attell on a series I did for A&E. Funny recollections came back to me of pitch meetings with host Colin Quinn and his 'Goodfellows' fixation, or later host Richard Jenny who would shrug and say "I don't get it" so very many times when pitched, EVERY time Jonathon Katz opened his mouth. Jonathon was given a writing gig for the show, a nice gesture for a really sweet and incredibly smart man, but... writing for Richard Jenny, the Crown Prince of the Lowest Common Denominator? I SO endorsed releasing Jonathon from his obligations when he got the Dr. Katz offer!! But hanging in a room and set with people who came up with vignette series like "Clown Therapy," "Viking Fun," and "Elevator Fears" is a remarkable experience.
When Joel mentioned writer Dana Gould, I turned to my wife and whispered "I know him," to which she responded, "Of course you do." I adored working with comics and comedy writers, which is, in essence, spending time with supremely talented, funny 12 year olds. In fact, I was surprised that Joel, when asked how to become a writer like himself, didn't point out that being a stand-up was one way to get seen, heard, and noticed. Later she said that if we're talking comedy on TV, I appear to know, in one way or another, 95% of everybody. As I've been back in Akron for 5 years, however my percentage of is probably down to about 80% now... so the evening made me a little wistful, and I probably laughed a little more often and a little harder than the average bear, as I was reminded of a 'home' I had in a smoky comedy club or 10 in a different life, one where the talent made me constantly crazy and the order of the day, every day, was laughter... and a percocet.
The most significant information of the evening, of course, was this: Because it takes so long to produce Simpsons episodes, they are seldom, if ever, topical, which makes them pretty Evergreen. The Simpsons, therefore, in theory, can live forever. Good news for those of us who haven't been regular viewers. There are gonna be over 400 of them for me to catch up with, if I live long enough.
Cool.
posted by H. Harvey at 11:21 PM
0 comments
