a chinese-canadian met a jewish-american on the set of everybody loves raymond

Last weekend, I finished reading "You’re Lucky You’re Funny" by Phil Rosenthal. He’s best known for not being known as the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond. He’s the head writer and showrunner for the show, and he intermingles his own life with Ray’s life to come up with stories for episodes of the show. He’s a brilliant writer with a great radar for what’s funny. He wrote Raymond as a throwback to classic family comedies, and I’ve realized that classic elements are missing from today’s television shows.

A family show needs strongly defined characters, real yet crazy stories, and the love that permeates every family. What’s more, the love isn’t excessive or obvious. What real family constantly says that they love each other? The few times that it happens are truly memorable, because it’s so rare.

The writing staff at Raymond is a well-oiled machine. They planned months in advance, so that they had time to iron out the scripts before taping, instead of rushing to create something on the same day that they film. The writing staff spent time at home, so that they could experience life and gather material for the show. And the stories are almost entirely true, and have happened to one of the people on the writing staff. Write what you know. Laugh because it’s funny, cry because it’s true.

It’s a joy to read books by good writers. It’s more than being able to choose the best words to describe something. Good writers also permeate every word with an underlying tone. Sometimes you read a story that expertly describes the surroundings, the wardrobes, the relationships, and it feels like reading a science textbook. Sometimes you read a book that is heavy on emotion and feeling, but doesn’t have a clue about plot or structure. That’s why it’s great when a story has both structure and tone.

The tone that I got was that growing up, Phil was a creative person who enjoyed different things than others. Interestingly, the things that he enjoyed are the same things that I enjoy. Not only do we enjoy similar things, we describe them in a similar way. When I was reading his words, I thought, "That’s close to how I would have said it!" It’s really strange when you read someone else’s work, and it’s close to what you would have written.

Maybe that’s what happens when you read from another creative person. Creatives look at themselves in a certain way. They look at their family in a certain way. They look at their relationships in a certain way. And this certain way is usually not the same as most people. That’s why it feels great when you have another creative person who ‘gets’ you. He had a team of strong writers who ‘got’ each other. Even though I’ve never met Phil Rosenthal, after reading his book, I think he’d ‘get’ me.

Of course, it’s the nature of entertainers to get people to relate to them. Songwriters thrive on writing materials that audiences will relate to. “That’s exactly what I’m feeling right now.” And as I write this, I realize that maybe Phil wrote this book the same way he planned an episode of Raymond. He provided enough material so that you recognized something real and familiar in his story. That’s good writing.

I hope we’re nearing the end of the WGA strike. More than ever, I appreciate good writers.

steve martin, the writers' strike, and the underpants

I haven’t been watching television lately. It’s partly because the library strike ended, and I resumed my devouring of literature. It’s also because of the dearth of well-written shows. The shows that I do watch are great entertainment. Among my favorites is The Amazing Race. The Asian father and daughter team are in the final three! At the beginning of the race, I cringed at the father-daughter dynamic, because it strongly reminded me of the stereotypical stubborn and domineering parent and the stereotypical frustrated and misunderstood child. It’s every Asian-American rite-of-passage movie brought to reality television. But as they learned to work together and with each other’s differences, I found myself rooting for them to win each leg of the race. If they can work together, maybe other parents can get along with their children too!

Another show that I enjoy is Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares. Gordon works with an underachieving restaurant, and helps it to succeed. The owners are smart enough to ask for Chef Ramsey to visit, but are stubborn enough to fight most of his suggestions. How can these owners run a business, if they cannot see its obvious flaws? As an observer, you can’t wait for Chef Ramsey to rip a new one into the owners. The owners are always surprised that Chef Ramsey would rip them so intensely. As the restaurant evolves and survives (usually) you realize that Gordon really wants these owners to succeed.

I haven’t been watching television lately. It’s because of the dearth of well-written shows. My favorite shows are now reality shows. My favorite well-written show is House, which was on hiatus after House selected his new diagnostics team. But other than House, my favorite shows lack the wit and direction of top-grade writers.

Since the Writers’ Guild of America went on strike, many shows stopped producing new episodes. The writers will eventually get their four cents per DVD set, but more importantly, their strike has shown the public how important good writers are to the creative process. The pretty faces say the lines and look great on magazine covers, but the writers give depth of character and unity of narrative. It’s the writers that make me want to watch the next episode, not the charming smiles (the smiles are a welcome bonus).

I haven’t been watching television lately. It’s partly because the library strike ended, and I resumed my devouring of literature. Good literature is my opiate. A clever turn of phrase is a mini-symphony to my ears.

I read Steve Martin’s autobiography, “Born Standing Up.” The book details his childhood and early stand-up career. It took him many years to perfect his act, and he became the highest-grossing stand-up comedian of his time. He was unique, off-beat, weird, unpredictable, wild and crazy. After he became famous, he got bored of his stand-up comedy show, because it became routine. He perfected his show, but he was no longer excited about it. It became a job instead of an adventure. At the height of his popularity, he retired his stand-up comedy show.

Steve Martin started writing literature. His first play, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” was smart, quick and entertaining. His other plays, “Zig-Zag Woman”, “Patter for a Floating Lady”, “WASP” and “The Underpants” showed that he has not abandoned his off-beat and adventurous nature, and that he continues to seek a higher form of comedy. His books made me realize how important it is to develop your talent and your creativity, even if you are already reaping the rewards of your work. Who knows how much better you can become, and how many more insights you can unravel?

I haven’t been watching television lately. It’s because I want to do something else with my time. I want to flex my creative muscle, I want to be challenged, and I want to see where it takes me. This year, I want my creativity to take centre stage.