THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW

INDULGENT MUSINGS:

The Dick Van Dyke Show holds up. I could pretty much end it there but I'm super self conscious about the attractiveness of this blog and I think a mega short second post would make people gag. But in my humble opinion, the show holds up in large part because of its...

1) Pace
2) Sensibilities

Let's talk about number one: The comedy on this show MOVES. The writers packed in a joke-per-second ratio that rivals that of 30 Rock, The Simpsons, and a hypothetical pretty-funny auctioneer. This was a hard thing to mimic in this exercise. Even a relatively green comedy writer like myself knows that it's WAY EASIER to write comedy with other people and even WAY EASIER-ER to do it in more than one week.

Number two! The Dick Van Dyke Show had modern sensibilities. There's a female in the writers room! The wife character wears pants! And they cast a lanky Cartoon American in the lead role! This show was progressive, man. But beyond that, it was steadfastly optimistic without ever feeling childish or naive (to me).

One of the great episodes is the premiere of season 3, "That's My Boy??" (Ugh, thank god we all collectively decided two question marks next to each other looks gross. Three works. A "?" followed by a "!" can be fun. But two? Get real. Also, why did we all collectively decide to stop saying "get real??") This episode is a television milestone, however, an outdated one. Rob and Laura share the story of when Richie was born. Rob thought they brought home the wrong baby, he contacted the other affected couple, and it all culminated in a political punchline that rocked the nation! There are two black characters at the door... *crickets chirp*. That's their punk rock middle finger to 60's society. Again, context is EVERYTHING here and this represented a loud endorsement for integration and equality on a primetime TV show. In fact, it's such an important episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show, I wanted to do a spiritual sequel.

SEED OF THE IDEA:
What if Rob Petrie had a teachable moment about race relations that still rings true today?

HONESTY CORNER: 
Alright, listen: I am not (and never will be) equipped to write about what it's like to be a minority in this country. I look, dress, eat, and live like most of the other oblivious pasty people in the country. I do, however, strive to be a better ally and listen to that ongoing conversation which is why I felt equipped to tell this story. This is a script about being mindful and listening and giving a shit. With that said, it would be totally hypocritical of me to discourage feedback on how I handled this thing. I did my best to write a cautious but meaningful piece about this topic and I would love for you to share any criticisms on where I might've gone astray. I'm personally torn on the indulgent monologue at the end. Part of me feels it lines up with the tone of the show but another part of me is afraid I'm using that excuse as a crutch. 

On a general note, I've decided that no matter what modern or subversive aspect I add to these specs, my aim is always to make them FEEL like an episode of the show they're based on. That means no slasher episodes of M*A*S*H* or teen romance storylines in Golden Girls. No matter how incredible those ideas sound. It kinda seems like cheating to me. 

Again, hit me with your feedback below!