the dog & pony show

Lots of exciting news this week – first of which is the launch of “The Dog & Pony Show“!

The Dog & Pony Show is a hilarious new series about two very different best friends who choose to leave their magical world behind and move to the not-so-magical big city!

D&P was developed for Discovery Kids and should be appearing on Canadian and Latin America TV any day now.  This Red Knot/Little Aiplane production is the second LA project I’ve been involved with over the last few years and it was an utter delight to work on.  It’s aimed squarely at the 4-7 age crowd (think Spongebob on the slightly younger side) and the storylines are fast, funny and extremely smart.  The last LA show I worked on (P. King Duckling) quickly ended up on Netflix, so I expect to hear where this one will be streaming in the U.S. pretty soon.

p. king duckling on netflix

I was extremely excited to learn that P. King Duckling – the Disney Jr./Little Airplane show that I worked on – is now available for streaming on Netflix!  My only access ever to the show had been via the Disney Jr. app – and then it was whatever episodes they happened to be releasing at a given time.  (And mine – which were at the tail end of the first season – took forever to show up.)  But!  On Netflix, of course, you can stream the entire series over and over and over!  And why not?!

I’ve got two episodes – #20 “Hills ‘n Thrills” and #26 “A City Under the Sea” – and I can’t tell you enough about what a phenomenal job Little Airplane and their production partner UYoung did on this series.

If you have toddlers and you’re looking for something that’s essentially Spongebob-Lite, look no further.  It’s a terrifically awesome, funny, and actually quite emotional show that focuses on the importance of friendship at any age.

PKD is a great series for sampling – there are tons of excellent episodes – but my favorite is the tether ball episode (#12) where P. King discovers he can’t lose at tether ball.  Funny.

p. king duckling

Very excited to announce the launch of P. King Duckling on Disney Jr. which I’m writing for.  My episodes don’t air until the tail end of the season, but I’ve seen the current ones and they are phenomenal!  It’s pre-school but with a major Spongebob vibe to it.  If you haven’t seen it, check it out.  The folks at Little Airplane did a terrific job.  Thrilled to be part of the launch!

Here’s the theme song.

the brittany clarke interview

My piece, The Brittany Clarke Interview is now up at the extremely well-named Back Hair Advocate.

 

The Brittany Clarke Interview

The Tawny Rumaine Show in progress. TAWNY plays host to BRITTANY CLARKE.

TAWNY: We’re back! So. Brittany. Brittany Clarke!

BRIT: Yes.

TAWNY: This was it. This was the year that Brittany Clarke took a second rate character – Joan Johnson – on a completely forgettable show – Still Married! – and turned her into an icon.

BRIT: Well – it wasn’t just me –

TAWNY: (to audience) Did she not revolutionize television!? Yes! Yes, she did!

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downton abbey – breaking bad mash-up

DABB1

Scene – Lord Grantham, in breakfast tuxedo, wanders about the first floor of the house, squinting and covering his eyes.  He looks for his wife, worried.  Elegantly dressed servants and family members rush about, bewildered.  A peculiar smoke and an awful odor permeate the manor. 

LORD GRANTHAM
Cora!  What’s that awful smell?!  Is that from the kitchen?

Mrs. Padmore, the cook, covering her head, runs out through the back door.

LORD GRANTHAM
Mrs. Padmore!  Mrs. – is that mustard gas?!

There’s a tremendous BOOM that rocks the house.  Debris falls everywhere and blue crystals float about the air like snow.

LORD GRANTHAM
My God!  Was that an explosion?!

Lady Edith, Lady Crawley, and Lady Mary – all in elegant morningwear (except Lady Mary who wears elegant mourningwear) – rush in, panicked and cower behind furniture.  They are quickly followed by two men in gas masks and yellow Tychem hazmat suits.

LADY MARY
Daddy!  I think we’re at war again!

Hazmat Man 1 raises his hands apologetically.

HAZMAT MAN 1
Sorry!  Sorry!  Does anyone have a phone I could borrow?

John Bates – Lord Grantham’s valet – rushes in brandishing fireplace tongs.  He faces off with Hazmat Man 1.  Lord Grantham hiding behind a priceless grecian statue calls to Bates.

LORD GRANTHAM
Are these more friends of yours, Bates?!

BATES
We’ll know in a minute, milord!

Hazmat Man 2 goes over to the women hiding behind the furniture and holds his arms open to them excitedly.

HAZMAT MAN 2
Yo yo yo!  swanky, turn-of-century bitches!  ‘Sup!

breaking bad – the flynn phone

Waltphone2a

INT.  WHITE LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
SKYLER, tearful and distraught, speaks on the phone to WALT.  POLICEMEN, nearby, listen in on the conversation.

INTERCUT

EXT.  STREET
WALT, angry, bleeding, and distraught, talks emotionally to Skyler.

SKYLER
Just come home.

WALT
I’ve still got things left to do.

Walt hangs up and attempts to rip his cellphone in half, but – surprisingly – it doesn’t break.  Ferociously, he twists and twists and twists at it.  He smashes in against his car.  It still doesn’t break.  Angrily, he throws the phone to the ground and jumps up and down on it.  He pulls out a gun and shoots it.  He picks the phone up and stares at it, wide-eyed.  It’s in perfect condition.

MONTAGE of Walt trying different methods to destroy the phone.

* METH LAB – in yellow, Tychem hazmat suit, Walt holds the phone – via pincers – over a vat of bubbling, smoking acid.  He dips the phone, then brings it back up.  The phone is perfect.
* BEHIND GARAGE – Walt tries to pull the phone apart via gigantic electromagnets.  A nearby RV shakes uncontrollably.  The cellphone doesn’t move.  Walt reacts, impressed.
* LARGE CONCRETE BUNKER – Walt flings a piece of crystal at the phone, which causes a massive explosion.  The phone remains unharmed.  Walt stares, agog.  The phone BUZZES.

A text message appears:    CAN I PLEASE GET THE DEMO PHONE BACK?  IT’S MY ONLY COPY!!! – SAUL

Walt stares at phone.  A devious idea comes to him, and he grins.

INT.  SAUL GOODMAN’S OFFICE – DAY
SAUL, recently killed, lies in a pool of blood in his office.

EXT.  SAUL GOODMAN’S OFFICE
Walt rushes out of the office, gun dangling by his side.

EXT. HIGHWAY
Walt with giant barrel of money and bags waits to be picked up by SAUL’s NEW IDENTITY MAN.  A van pulls up, Walt gets in.  The van zooms off.

TITLE        ONE YEAR LATER

INT.  LIVING ROOM SET – DAY
A cheery INFOMERCIAL.  Walt, poorly disguised, with dark full head of hair, muttonchops and a skewed Dali-esque moustache, sits on a large couch next to his cheerful young new WIFE who cradles their newborn baby SON.  They look very familial and sit across from JOAN RIVERS.  Joan holds up a bright, crystal blue cellphone and addresses the camera.

JOAN
You can smash it, bash it, crush it, drop it out of a plane, poison it with Ricin!  This phone will work!  What’s it called again?

WALT
(proudly) The Flynn.  Made from my own special sauce!

JOAN
And if billionaire Whitey Waltzenberger –

WALT happily points to himself.

JOAN
– and his family believe in it, you should too!

WALT and his new WIFE joyfully hold up their phones.

JOAN
Thank you, Whitey!

WALT
Thank you, Joan!

JOAN
Can I keep this?

WALT
I would advise against it.

They all laugh.  Walt starts to cough – and coughs up some blood into his hand.

SUPER
The FLYNN
$39.99 for the next 20 minutes!
May not be available in New Mexico