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[bk]

A question for our most esteemed BK:

In writing your new book, since as you've already told us is a mystery, were you working from an outline this time, with a solid idea of where you wanted to go?

And (second question): Do you have any idea when the new book will be ready for other trusted readers (such as our DR Charles Pogue and Panni) to point out the plot loopholes to you, so that you can hone your new tome to perfection?

I don't like outlines - I find them constricting and annoying, at least formal ones.  I have found, having done them for a couple of screenplays, that I never think outside of them, I do strictly what's on the outline.  What I did on this book:  Like the Kritzer books, I made tons of notes about certain things I wanted in the book that have to do with the period in which it takes place.  I also thought out the major plot points so that they made sense to me, so I knew where the major story points were going at every turn (one of the reasons I think it went faster than I'd expected).  Plus, as I wrote each day, I would go back to the previous pages and make fixes and additions.  Again, I have to now read it to make sure I haven't fudged anywhere, but I think I'm probably okay on the major things.  Like all three Kritzer books, I had the ending already totally sketched out in rough form before I began.  Certain details that occur just prior to the ending I left open, because I wanted that part of the book to just come at the time, and having done that worked really well for me.

Pogue is going to read it, hopefully in the next week or two.  My friend Margaret, who was my muse on the Kritzer books, will also read it.  She hates mysteries, hates the genre, so I feel she's a good person to slog through it because she doesn't know the conventions and will question things more carefully (which she did when I gave her the first half of the book).  She won't like it, but her comments are always helpful.  But I'll be making additions and doing honing on my own for the next week or two.

[Matt H.]

Watched all 149 minutes of SHIP OF FOOLS yesterday. Another Columbia full frame transfer, of course, which was a little infuriating (looked very good, though, I must say), but isn't it amazing how that rear screen photography was used so often back in the day. This movie looks to have been done about 98% in the studio. Wonder if Stanley Kramer got that huge star cast to take less than their usual fees to do the film?

[bk]

BK, I was completely fascinated that you had something like the recording record player when you were a kid.  I would have killed to have something like that.  Were the recordable disks themselves relatively expensive back then or were they bought in quantity and tossable like recordable CDs today?  Were your "recording sessions" carefully rehearsed or free-wheeling?  What happened first:  did the recorder break or did the they stop making the recordable disks?  And most importantly, do these disks still exist today and are they playable?

I don't think the blank discs were that expensive.  They came in albums, like 78s would.  I don't think we rehearsed for those recordings (unlike when I got my tape recorder), I think we just "did" it.  Sadly, I don't have any of those records now, although my Aunt Lily might have.  I did get a portable version of the machine on eBay several years ago - it seems to be in working order, but I've never tried it out.  I also got a bunch of blank discs at the same time, so maybe one of these days I'll give it a whirl.

[bk]

For Ask BK Day ---
According to THE RICHARD RODGERS READER, there were many problems with Act II of CAROUSEL on the road and songs were cut.  In doing your research for the LOST IN BOSTON series did you ever come across any of these songs and if so (1) what were they and (2) why didn't you use any of them in the series?

I was never shown any cut songs from Carousel at any point.  I did see several from The King and I, one of which we recorded (the others really were not interesting or long enough), I think we saw cut songs from Allegro and Me and Juliet and maybe one or two other shows.

[bk]

I actually have a question for Mr. BK. I don't think it's been answered in the interview from last week.

Is Soon It's Gonna Rain still your favorite song from The Fantastiks?

Yep, absolutely.

[Lulu]

MBarnum: To answer your question, I would like the following shows released to DVD:

SCTV (a continuation of the NBC first-season set being released in June by Shout!)  I want all these babies on DVD.

Family  For my '70s fix.  Plus, Kristy McNichol was one of the most talented child/young adult actors EVER.

James at 15/16 Ditto the '70s fix thing - also, the show (or what I've seen of it: the 2-hour pilot and first episode) is exceptionally well-written.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker  You've gotta love McGavin, Oakland, and the best bizarre-tertiary-characters-you'll-never-see-again that have ever been on prime-time network TV.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show  ITA with whoever said that the superlative first-season box set should (someday, please, God!) be followed up with the succeeding seasons, which were even better.

I'd actually really like much more ephemeral stuff from the '70s available on TV, too...specials like Battle of the Network Stars and Circus of the Stars and TV movies starring the likes of Ben Gazzara, Charles Nelson-Reilly and Cloris Leachman, for example?

[Lulu]

Oh, yes...has anybody else here ever seen a TV movie (circa '80s?) starring Lynda Carter, titled Hotline, featuring hotline operator Lynda stalked by a homocidal maniac, whom she finally triumphs over in a truly wacky denouement (I won't get specific so as not to spoil it for anyone who hasn't yet seen it)?  I would LOVE for that to come out on DVD!  Also KISS in The Phantom of the Park, just so I can know FOR SURE that I didn't dream it.

[bk]

For BK:  I recently acquired the CD of Sherry--with the video extras.  I am fascinated by the story of how the score was lost for thirty years until (Sondheim scholar and LoC Curator) Mark Eden Horowitz mentioned off-handedly that it was all sitting in a trunk in the Library of Congress.  Presumably next to the Ark of the Covenant and the arms of Venus de Milo.

Oh, my question.  When you recorded the title song to the show, was it before or after the reappearance of the missing trunk?  How did you acquire it?  And what about the lyric, "You could see the lights of lower Broadway" on your version, which is, "You could see the Promised Land quite clearly" on the new CD?

The score wasn't "lost" the orchestral parts were "lost".  I got the music for the title song directly from the composer and we did the lyrics that were on that music.  Perhaps they revised it later, although I like "the lights of lower Broadway" better.  I didn't really love any of the other songs from the show, which is why I never went back to record them for future volumes.

[Joy]

And Welcome Back, DR Joy!  Nothing against your DH DR Noel, but your face is much prettier to look at.  When will you know about 42nd Street?  If you get it, will you travel with DH in tow?  Vibes, of course.  Many vibes.

Thanks, WFO!  I think DH Noel would agree with you on the face thing.  

As for 42nd Street, I guess I'll know by the end of the month.  DH Noel had an audition for Asst. MD, so hopefully if I get it he will too; otherwise, no, I will be on my own in the strange and wonderful world of Asia.  Thank you for the vibes, thank you ALL for the vibes!

[Stuart]

I'd actually really like much more ephemeral stuff from the '70s available on TV, too...specials like Battle of the Network Stars and Circus of the Stars and TV movies starring the likes of Ben Gazzara, Charles Nelson-Reilly and Cloris Leachman, for example?

I have to agree here as well.  The three things that I can think of wanting on DVD were all from the 70s, and all TV-movies of what I recall to be exceptional writing and acting:

The Gathering:  Used to be able to catch this at least every other year around the holidays.  Ed Asner, Maureen Stapleton and just some good, all-around holiday tears.

The House Without a Christmas Tree:  Jason Robards and Mildred Natwick as the father and grandmother of some girl (Glynis O'Connor?  The girl who played Bess on MTM/Phyllis??).  They were a depression era family, he was a mean father, she was a kind-hearted grandmother.  Only saw it the once, but remember it being very good.

The third film was the Thanksgiving companion piece to the above referenced HWACT.  I think it might have been called "The House without Thanksgiving."  And I actually think it might have been broadcast first.  But maybe not.

Having grown up watching the exploits of Adam West and Burt Ward in eternal reruns, I can't say I would turn down a full series compilation of BATMANs. If only to catch the likes of Ethel, Joan and Roddy as special guest villains.

[Jed]

TV for DVD...

Well, the one I've been waiting for is about to finally happen.  Season 1 of Quantum Leap comes out in June (same day as Lulu's SCTV set).  I hope seasons 2 through 5 follow soon!

[Jane]

JRand53 and Joy-LOL.   I’m sorry I signed off so soon last night.

TCB is that a self photo?

[Jane]

Tomovoz, just because I wasn’t there last night to second Dear Reader Laura’s request, doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have.   Great picture!  Thanks.

Sadly we had to stop feeding our birds since the migrating ones have a tendency to fly into the windows.  We have silhouettes of hawks, remenisant of THE BIRDS, on many of our windows along with various stained glass trinkets.  All of which have helped the situation.

[Dan (the Man)]

With all of the TV series that are being released on DVD what series would you most like to see released,on DVD, and of the ones that already have come out on DVD what has been your favorite series DVD release so far?

I'm really trying to hold back on buying too many of these DVD sets.  I have little enough time to watch current shows, let alone whole seasons of past shows.  So as much as I would like to buy the Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Fraiser and Barney Miller sets, I just don't for sure if I'll ever really sit down and watch them all.

What I would most probably buy would be sets of Johnny Quest, The Man from UNCLE and Walter Conkrite's weekly look into the future, The 21st Century.

What I have bought and have watched and enjoyed have been the sets from Lost in Space, All in the Family and Laugh-In.

[S. Woody White]

I am looking forward to AMERICAN IDOL tonight even with Quentin Tarentino as guest judge...

Is Fantasia going to perform with a samuri sword?

[Jane]

Tomovoz, just because I wasn’t there last night to second Dear Reader Laura’s request, doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have.   Great picture!

Sadly we had to stop feeding our birds since the migrating ones have a tendency to fly into the windows.  We have silhouettes of hawks, remenisant of THE BIRDS, on many of our windows along with various stained glass trinkets.  All of which have helped the situation.

Dan (the Man) where does your mother live?  I know there were Cardinals in Bucks County where we were.  It wasn’t so far from the city.

[MBarnum]

I'm really trying to hold back on buying too many of these DVD sets.  I have little enough time to watch current shows, let alone whole seasons of past shows.  So as much as I would like to buy the Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Fraiser and Barney Miller sets, I just don't for sure if I'll ever really sit down and watch them all.

Yep, I hear ya! When I look at the pile of DVD movies that I have yet to even open, and that I am actually considering buying the DVD sets of MR. ED and GILLIGAN'S ISLAND...holy moly! But I find that is is nice to have DVDs with half hour shows that I can pop in an watch while eating dinner or lunch or something...so I find myself picking up DVDs of THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES or U.S MARSHALL or SERGEANT PRESTON OF THE YUKON or other shows that I can enjoy without investing too much time in watching.

[PennyO]

Hello, wags! Just checkin' in before heading off to the Parents for another joyous day of surreptitious throwings out of stuff like scented talcum powder from 1961, and bits of string and old yarn... and carefully wrapping old heirloom chatchkes from greater-than-great grandparents, so the movers won't smash the family DNA to smithereens. Got to wrap some smitereens, too, today. Oy, what accumulates in a house in only 51 years...

Touching and heartbreaking, all of it.

Off to work I go. And the sun is shining, and always another Spring...

[PennyO]

Oh, and Bruce my dear, congratulations on finishing your first draft of the new book! You are such an inspiration to the more procrastinatory of us (ME, I mean...)

Hey, Jane - did you and Keith keep those two downloads - the headshots and resumes? I have lost them, or maybe never downloaded them. I'm going ahead with the casting of the show, and those guys looked promising.

See how BK inspires me to get on with it???

[Dan (the Man)]

Dan (the Man) where does your mother live?  I know there were Cardinals in Bucks County where we were.  It wasn’t so far from the city.

Mom lives in the house we moved to when I was 12 in Pennsauken, New Jersey (home of the famed Pennsauken Fire Trap Mart.)  There are plenty of yew bushes around the yard that produce berries which, in turn, attract the cardinals.  The berries also attract bluejays that, for some reason, see my blond head of hair as a threat and constantly dive bomb at my head (though my blond-headed mom never has this problem.)  There are also doves in the neighborhood and sometimes a chicken hawk can be spotted.  And when we first moved in, there were owls, too.  But they seemed to have vanished over the years.

In which part of Bucks did you live?  One of my sisters currently lives in Doylestown--it's beautiful there.

[William E. Lurie]

Is Fantasia going to perform with a samuri sword?

Alas there will not be another FANTASIA.  With the departure of Roy Disney from the Eisner company, plans for FANTASIA 2006 have been cancelled.

[Jane]

SWW your mac & cheese recipe looks very good.  Mine has less seasoning and sour cream, which is probably why young children liked it.  

Jenny, hope your first day back at school went well.

Lisa Gerritsen played Bess.  Glynnis was the daughter of producer Daniel O'Connor and actress Lenka Peterson.  She struck out for a performing career even before graduating from State University of New York. As a teenager Glynnis did time in the role of Dee Stewart on CBS' warhorse soap opera As the World Turns, and in 1974 she was starred in the prime time sitcom Sons and Daughters, a period piece more than a little reminiscent of Happy Days. O'Connor costarred with John Travolta and Diana Hyland in the 1976 TV movie Boy in the Plastic Bubble, and she was featured in such theatrical films as Baby Blue Marine (1974), California Dreaming (1979), Those Lips, Those Eyes (1980) and Johnny Dangerously (1984). In 1973, O'Connor was professionally paired with Robby Benson in hopes of fostering a screen romantic team; they worked well together, but the "union" lasted only two films, Jeremy(1973)  and Ode to Billy Jo (1976).  

[S. Woody White]

Currently, my favorite show that is on DVD is Good Eats.  As a bonus for each show, Alton reads questions that have been sent in, and answers them.  As an extra bonus, some of the Q&A sessions has him sporting a goatee.  Woofers!

Only, we just have the first nine discs (three eps per disc).  There are nine more that have been released.  And I'm getting impatient.  GRRRR!

Elsewhere, I'm hoping the Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle get beyond their first season release.  There's some restoration going on with this project, however, so I'll just have to learn to be patient.  (This series was probably key in the development of my sense of humor.)

[Jane]

Hey, Jane - did you and Keith keep those two downloads - the headshots and resumes? I have lost them, or maybe never downloaded them. I'm going ahead with the casting of the show, and those guys looked promising.

You mean on our computer?  I will have to ask Keith.   If it was done, he did it.

[Jane]

Doylestown is beautiful and not far from where we lived in Ivyland.  My boys went to Richboro Elementary School, which is no longer a school.  The area was originally farm land and when the school was first built it included all grades.  Parents of my children’s friends spoke fondly of going all through school there.

[Jennifer]

Does anybody else see those infomercials on ABC all the time for Pilates.  They are with Daisy Fuentes (sp?).

I actually have the videos, and for some reason whenever I see that infomercial it motivates me to do them!

I've decided I will do the video EVERY DAY.  And so far I've been good this week.  I'm also trying to bike (but it's been so cold).

[Jrand73]

DRJOY it is BRAVO so it will be on several times, I am sure....particularly rerun on the weekend.  Check the Bravo website.

DRLULU I don't remember the Lynda Carter tv movie you wrote about, but I do remember Valerie Harper in Night of Terror being chased across the country by a killer....  It was scary....and she bested him as well...in a gory manner.  Go, Rhoda!

[elmore3003]

Good afternoon, all!  I was on earlier this morning to finish reading yesterday's posts and Dear Friend BK's thoughts for today. but I couldn't think of a question for him!
So I went down to the office for the Recording Project, and did some editorial work.
Now I'm back, and still don't have a question!  I may have to come back with one later.

As to DR MBarnum's TV show inquiry, I'd like to see the Eric Close-Margaret Colin series "Now and Again" on disc, and since we don't seem to have the Good Life (Good Time?) Network on Time Warner New York Cable, I'd like to see some of the Warner Brothers series from the 60s released:  77 SUNSET STRIP, ROARING TWENTIES and SURFSIDE SIX for me, and the westerns for my Father, who forced us all to watch them when they first were broadcast.

[Joy]

Okay, I am really hating this job.  The only thing I'm supposed to do is answer the phone, which I hate (which is why I always say no to receptionist jobs), and every instruction I have received for transferring a call into voicemail has FAILED.  I have hung up on at least six people by now.  This is like a bad comedy sketch -- the receptionist who hangs up on everyone.  "One moment, please."  And....dial tone.

Grrrrrr....such is the price I pay for having a life in the theatah.

Anyway, to answer MBarnum's question:  I would love to see all of "V" released on DVD.  If I remember correctly, there was a miniseries, and then there was a short-lived regular series.  I was addicted to it in 5th grade.  My friends and I used to play "V".  It was so cheesy and 80's.  The miniseries was on Sci-Fi channel several years ago...maybe 7 years or so.  Haven't seen hide nor hair of it since...not that I've been looking.  Anyone else remember "V"?

[Ben]

I would love to see all of thirtysomething released on DVD and that should bring us one post away from page 3.