If not essential, Show Me the Funny is highly recommended. It’s a uniquely entertaining and informative book more than worthy of a spot on the screenwriter’s bookshelf.
The innovative, yet simple premise behind the book is to present professional television writers and executives with a sitcom idea having each of them flesh it out in their own way. Seeing the creative process of the minds behind Everybody Loves Raymond, Frasier, and so many other successful television shows and movies is profoundly beneficial for anyone aspiring to find success as a writer of motion picture or television scripts.
Educational in themselves, the breakdowns of the generic premise aren’t the highlight of the book. It’s the insider revelations and insights that provide the most value from Show Me the Funny. What better way to learn how the television industry works than directly from the horses’ mouths?
And that’s the best part. The authors of this book, Peter Desberg and Jeffrey Davis, do a wonderful job of starting discussions, but they step aside and let Peter Casey (Wings), Ed Decter (There’s Something About Mary), Bob Myer (Roseanne), Leonard Stern (Get Smart) and 23 other successful Hollywood writers handle the teaching. But the authors bring credibility, too, with Davis having writing credits on shows including The Love Boat and Night Court and Desberg being a licensed clinical psychologist.
Show Me the Funny is a thick, dense, lengthy read. But the beauty is that it can be picked up and put down and then picked up again months later without losing its familiarity. Each of the 22 interviews can be read independently of one another in any order. There’s no need to go cover-to-cover, though it’s hard to stop once you start.
Comments