Tag: M.A.S.H.

No Endings Just Reruns

Endings is one of those interesting happenings in life that can either be good or bad. Life changing or life improving. Sometimes both.

Some endings are a good thing. Such as getting over a sickness or out of a bad relationship.

Many are sad.  Losing those we love, getting fired from a job we like, break ups.

Yet there are many endings in life more benign yet still bring a sense of loss.

Not any that you would notice any big difference, just a bit of sadness. That passing sense of loss that sweeps over you like a chilly Autumn breeze.

So many human beings are addicted to the familiar. Many of us need a certain sameness about our existence. Things we can count on and over which we feel a sense of control.

A morning routine, daily workouts; I wouldn’t know about that. A morning coffee and muffin; that I would definitely know about.

Among these are television shows and movies. Yes, we seem to attach ourselves to certain characters. We soon look forward to returning to a certain place to see people we’ve come to invest in and like. It just feels comfortable being in their presence.

There is absolutely a certain sadness finishing a movie that has completely captured your attention. We’ve become a part of these character’s existences, adventures, pain and happiness.

The ending seems so final and television is no different. Years ago, before the advent of streaming we would wait an entire week to revisit Andy and Barney and travel to Mayberry.

We had questions, most of which remained unanswered.

There was a sense of anticipation about what might happen to the Friends each week. Would Ross and Rachel get together?

Would Joey Tribiani explode from eating too many pizzas?

Would Mr. Phelps accept the mission?

Did Captain Kirk wear a girdle?

Would they ever make room for Daddy?

Would Kramer slip running into Jerry’s apartment or Elaine learn to dance?

Did Columbo ever wash that raincoat?

Would Zelda Gilroy ever catch Dobie Gillis?

Would Ozzie Nelson ever put on a suit and go to work?

How the hell Samantha stayed married to Darrin!

These shows became part of our daily lives and formed a commonality with friends and family.

How often we’d go to parties where the discussion centered around, who killed JR? Or were Ross and Rachel on a break? It as common and something shared on which to agree.

Many would merely say television became part of our culture. I believe it transcended entertainment. We came to depend on these shows each week. Much like visiting Grandma and looking forward to her amazing cookies hot from the oven.

There was a definite sadness at the end of Friends when they walked off toward Central Perk. A moment of what-the-hell-was-that when the Seinfeld cast sat in prison or an Oh-My-God moment when the lights came on and Suzanne Pleshette was in bed with Bob Newhart.

Of course we moved on after these characters left our lives, but it wasn’t without a tinge of sadness.

When something familiar and comforting leaves us, there is suddenly a void that must be filled.

We wait for a new show to catch our attention. One that will fulfill the loss left by the ones that disappeared. I suppose that’s why so many sequels and characters that move to new shows become hits. We are already familiar and relaxed with these individuals. Eager to follow their activities.

You may be thinking, this is no big deal, shows come and go and moving on is easy.

Of course we’re built to move on. But these places and people stay with us as repositories of our memories. We forget so much in life, but hearing “Hi Ho Silver” conjures up a time or special memory about our childhood.

A show shared with a grandparent or the way your father laughed when Jackie Gleason barked, “to the moon, Alice.”

We can actually experience emotion remembering something that happened in an unforgettable film.

Bambi’s mother, Old Yeller,  the shower scene in Psycho, “Luke, I am your father,” Planet of the Apes Statue of Liberty  on the beach ending, Dead Poets, Titanic, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Love Story (Yes, I know pure soap opera, but memorable), The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects, Colonel Blake’s death in M.A.S.H., The Fugitive, or who would win the American Bandstand dance contest?

The Sopranos (another what the hell ending) and any ending on the The Twilight Zone.

There are so many more that evoke memories or another laugh or tear.

Things have changed with the advent of streaming in that you can binge watch episodes without a break. Still, I’m not quite certain if part of the fun of the watching was in the waiting. The anticipation of how something would turn out and conjuring up your own scenarios.

Reruns are popular no doubt. Do we revisit these shows because we love revisiting them, like old friends? Or is it that they evoke precious childhood memories? Remembrances we so need to keep those gone from our lives with us?

Probably a bit of both. Nobody should knock nostalgia as it serves a valuable purpose.

Well, gotta go watch a Gilligan rerun. I thought of a way for them to finally get off that island.

Why Is Laughter in the Jewish DNA? Just Ask Sid Caesar.

I am often asked, “Why are there so many Jewish comedians?”

I’ve never done an assessment of the numbers in line with other ethnicities, but yes, Jewish people have always found it helpful to rely on laughter to lighten the load.

I’ve also found that unlike many other groups Jewish people seem to have no problem when it comes to laughing at themselves. This probably contributes a great deal to their ability to spawn so many funny people. If laughter is allowed then many will embrace its healing effect.

And lately that load of problems seems to have increased to the size of a mountain. So how are we going to plow through and laugh enough to ease the pain?

Comedy is king when it comes to lifting one’s spirit and television was my go-to kingdom for laughter.

So, what happens when you put the funniest comic writers in a room together, add top acting talent and a boss who wouldn’t settle for anything less than perfection? You get Your Show of Shows.

Of all the shows on television I remember as a child Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar set the bar the highest. The man knew funny and recognized it others. It was the best example of what happens when you put some of the funniest Jewish writers and comics on the planet in the same room and let them soar. Caesar let his writers take risks and then his genius added the rest.  Just perusing the list of talent on that writing staff is a who’s who of the legendary comedians of our time. Probably of all time.

No one could ever deny Sid Caesar was a great comic and actor who knew how to take a joke over the top. He also had a cast of legends including Imogene Coca, Howard Morris, Carl Reiner and Nanette Fabray. But having great material raises comedy to a whole other level. And that level was astronomical.

Your Show of Shows was created and produced by, and many of the writers discovered by, a man named Max Liebman, a producer, director and composer who worked on Broadway. He made Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca stars and helped launch the careers of Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Nanette Fabray and the writers Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, and Mel Tolkin.

Looking at the list of accomplishments of Caesar’s writers, I am in awe. Even the ones you might not immediately recognize just make me say “Wow, I never knew that.”

So here’s some wow moments starting with someone who surprised me.

Mel Tolkin isn’t a household name but I guarantee he delivered a whole lot of laughter into your home. As head writer on the show, he reined in all the comic geniuses and egos in that room. Tolkin went on to write for All in the Family, Archie Bunker’s Place, Dickens and Fenster and Bachelor Father among others. He won an Emmy and numerous WGA (Writer’s Guild of America) awards.

Joseph Stein wrote and received a Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Author for Fiddler on the Roof.

He was also awarded the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, Screen Writers Guild Award for the screenplay and the Newspaper Guild Award.

Among his other hits was a gem called Zorba the Greek and he also wrote and produced Mr. Wonderful starring Sammy Davis Jr.

There was also a guy named Mel Brooks you may know. Is there actually enough byte space on my computer for this guy? We needn’t even mention all the Tony, Academy, Bafta and Lifetime achievements awards this man has won. Suffice it to say his awards could fill a room.

I highly doubt you can find anyone on planet earth who hasn’t laughed at The Producers, Blazing Saddles, The Twelve Chairs, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, A History of the World, Part I, Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights or Dracula: Dead and Loving It.

He also produced critically acclaimed dramatic films through his company Brooksfilms, including David Lynch’s The Elephant Man and The Fly.

Brooks began his career on the show of shows where he wrote the 2000-year-old man with Carl Reiner. He went on to create Get Smart which won seven primetime Emmy awards.

It’s not just that Mel is funny. He is the kind of laugh-out-loud funny that makes you laugh so hard it actually hurts.

Moving on to Carl Reiner, one of my all-time favorites, his list of achievements is also admirable. The Dick Van Dyke Show, still one of the funniest and best written shows ever to fill a television screen.

His movies include The Jerk, Summer School and Dead Men don’t Wear Plaid among others.

I have always been impressed with his sheer ability to write great comedy that is not only funny, but intelligent.

Neil Simon wrote 30 Broadway hits that featuring some of the wittiest and most prolific dialogue ever produced. His plays starting with Come Blow Your Horn, Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple Plaza Suite, The Sunshine Boys: Chapter Two, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound and

Lost in Yonkers, for which he received a Pulitzer Prize. 

The Sunshine Boys, California Suite and the Goodbye Girl were among his plays that found their way to the big screen. In his career he received numerous Tonys, WGA and other awards for his voluminous body of work.

Larry Gelbart left Caesar to co-write the Broadway hit A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He moved on to his television mega hit M.A.S.H. and hit movies Tootsie and Oh God.

Gelbart’s work garnered him 14 Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, six Golden Globe Awards, seven Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards, and seven Writers Guild of America (WGA) Awards.

Selma Diamond was highly recognizable for her raspy voice and Dorothy Parkeresque wit.  Her unique voice and personality led her into acting and she was well known for her work as the Bailiff on Night Court, and role on Too Close for Comfort. Some say she was the model for the character of Sally Rogers on Reiner’s Dick Van Dyke Show.

Danny Simon, Neil’s older brother wrote material for comics like Buddy Hackett, Jan Murray and Phil Silvers. He and Neil began by writing for various radio and television shows including Broadway Open House and the Red Buttons and Jackie Gleason shows before as Your Show of Shows.

After they stopped writing together in 1954, Danny became head writer on The Colgate Comedy Hour and Danny Thomas’ Make Room for Daddy.

He also wrote for My Three Sons, The Carol Burnett Show, The Mac Davis Show, The Kraft Music Hall, The Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes as well as Joan Rivers.

Lucille Kallen was the first woman hired on the show. After Show of Shows she went on to write the popular C.B. Greenfield Mysteries book series.

Your Show of Shows morphed into Caesar’s Hour with some of the same staff, but also added writer’s like Woody Allen who went on to become Woody Allen.

The list was comedy royalty. The enormous body of work these writers went on to produce is legendary. I doubt I have ever, or will ever see such an illustrious and talented group of comedy geniuses in the same room again. Sad, when it seems now more than ever we need laughter.

If anyone ever wonders how Baby Boomers got their sense of humor, they need only watch reruns of Your Show of Shows.