DktrShe's Open Salon Blog

A Dear Jane Letter

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:09:02 -0400

Dear Open Salon Community,

Thank you for welcoming me into such a gracious community of thinkers, writers, creators, comics, and pundits. I have enjoyed crafting up pieces to amuse, or in some cases, confound you. I have also enjoyed reading your own insights and ruminations on everything from retro-bundt cake recipes to the health care bill.

I am moving the bulk of my writing to a new website called Citizen Dame: http://www.citizendame.com/Site/Home.html

There I'll be writing humor and satirical pieces about trends and issues impacting women in news, media, politics, and culture. I invite you to drop in and see what you think. Leave a comment, keep it clean, pass the giggles along.

Thanks again for your readership and support! Keep at it!

Cheers!

DktrShe

Syked-Out: FOX Nixes The Wanda Sykes Show

Fri, 14 May 2010 15:05:43 -0400

It looks like comedienne Wanda Sykes can add "former host of late-night talk show" to her resume. Punchline Magazine reported today that FOX cancelled The Wanda Sykes Show. Saddled in an impossible time slot, 11 p.m. on Saturday nights, the show seemed doomed from infancy as it underwent format tweaking over the course of the year and suffered poor ratings.

Sykes joins the ranks of FOX late-night orphans, Arsenio Hall, Magic Johnson (cringe), and I'm-Chevy-Chase-Thank-God-You're-Not. Not exactly a stellar group of alums. However, her departure from late-night, at least on this network, raises the question: Why haven't women faired better in late-night programming over all?

It is a question I raised on a post months ago when Conangate broke and bears repeating in light of Sykes television flub and the rise of figures like George Lopez and Chelsea Handler on different networks. Arguably there were many factors that contributed to the lack luster response to The Wanda Sykes Show such as the afore mentioned time slot, the awkward and not always consistent format, that her show aired one night a week when other late-night shows typically air for all five, and that Sykes might lack the same energy, charisma, persona, or comic sensibilities as Handler, Lopez, and others like Jimmy Kimmel or Craig Ferguson. Not everyone can pull off the talk show gig, daytime or night.

That Wanda Sykes was able to stay in the boys club of late-night talk as long as she did is admirable and offers inspiration for women working their through the ranks of the comedic arts industry. But it also serves as a cautionary tale to networks, the power brokers in so many comediennes' careers, that the failure rate of women in late-night is too high, the risk not worth taking.

So Long Silverman: Comedy Central Chooses Dicks Over Chicks

Thu, 13 May 2010 10:05:15 -0400

In three short seasons she dated God (rumor has it He's quite cheap), tackled terrorism one hit and run at a time, introduced the world to homeless chic, accidentaly became mentally disabled, almost married her dog, and single-handedly poured a boat load of lemon juice in the historical, leaking chest wound that is the Holocaust. Sarah Silverman did television her way, which was often tasteless, unihibited, crass, crude, inappropriate, and sometimes, ok, most of the time, completely self-indulgent. It was also smart, edgy, playful, provocative, silly, and endearing, much like Silverman herself.

This week Comedy Central announced it would not renew Silverman's show for a fourth season, citing the following reasons: because and umm, so there. The network has not released a statement about their decision to axe the show, only alluding to an issue with earlier negotiations for the show's third season hinging on cost, which almost forced Silverman to walk. A deal was struck between Silverman and the network, but the show's mid-season move to a 12 a.m. timeslot signalled its death knell. Who in comedy would know anything about those politics? *Ahem*

The Sarah Silverman Program was a refreshing departure from the starchy, greasy, male-centric, dorm room humor clogging up mainstream network time slots. Like it or hate it, Silverman strove to innovate with her comedy, pushing the limits of characters, stereotypes, and forcing us to take on her twisted, ironic, absurdist perspectives on big issues like hypocrisy, racism, and religion. That Silverman achieved her level of television success for three season is remarkable, that she did it as a female comic is even more significant, proving that women are more than capable of driving content and sustaining creative, original, and marketable material.

The cancellation of Silverman's show leaves an aching gap in comic programming for women, an absence made more palpable by the announcement of Comedy Central's prospective 2010-11 line-up. The shows include "Big Lake" with Will Ferrell and Adam McKay about buddies who dream up wonky schemes to save their hometown; "Nick Swardson's Pretend Time" starring stand-up Nick Swardson and featuring irreverant, perverse sketch work that includes a recurring piece about a gay robot (it will probably feature a lot of scenes involving getting hit in the crotch too); and "Workaholics" about a group of office drones played by Adam Devine, Anders Holm, and Blake Anderson described on TheWrap.com as "a three man spring break." Awesome. I mean totally, wicked awesome, bro. I can hardly wait to see who they will get to play the "hot" secretary, the "hot" but aloof chick from accounting, and the "hot" Latina cleaning woman.

Sarah's exit from Comedy Central underscores the lack of support at the executive level around women in the business. It also illustrates a depressing reality that viewers would rather watch a low-production show of a comic snarking on internet trends (Tosh.O) than an inventive, risky, and unsettling program that made them laugh and think.

Then again, maybe this is a blessing in disguise for Silverman and for women comics who, released from the constraints and bullshit of corporate showbusiness, can finally get around to doing great, original, exciting work on networks or other media platforms that recognize their value and worth (Yes Oprah and your shiny new OWN enterprise, I'm talking to you). And who knows, they might actually get the acknowledgement and success they deserve in the process.

Sarah Palin Talks About God and Democracy, God Talks Back

Mon, 10 May 2010 14:05:27 -0400

Setting: Interior, bedroom, nightfall. SARAH PALIN kneels at her bedside praying.

SARAH: And please, God, doncha know, just do something about Nancy Pelosi's hair. I find it very anti-small government. Also, please make Martha Stewart return my calls. Amen.

GOD: Sarah.....

SARAH: What? Tripp? Trapp? Troop? Which kid is that, now?

GOD: Sarah, you know who this is!

SARAH: Oh Jimminey, is that you Letterman?

GOD: (sighs) No Sarah, it is I, the Supreme Creator!

SARAH: Nuggets! How long have you been listening?

GOD: The whole time, Sarah. It's how I roll.

SARAH: Well, isn't that just yankee-doodle-dandy! What can I do for you, God?

GOD: Sarah, I know what you said the other day. (pause) On FOX "news?"

SARAH: You just did air quotes around the "news" part, didnja?

GOD: Stick to the subject, Sarah. You said the Bible was the basis for American law and should further influence legislation. Ring a bell?

SARAH: Now how didja find out about that? I've said a bunch o' other more importanter things since then! Just this morning I said that Elana Kagen sounded like some kind of exercise move from the 70s.

GOD: I get the Huffington Post on my Twitter feed. I'm "hip" to social media, you know.

SARAH: Jammers!

GOD: That's right, Sarah. You know you can't go around making those kinds of statements. We're a diverse society now. There are many ways to worship me in all my forms. I'm even ok with South Park invoking my likeness. Though, I had hoped they would use James Earl Jones for the voice...

SARAH: But I only wanted to show them Democratic fat cats that they can't keep taxing Americans and Joe the Plumber while the no-brain leftist media continues to erode our right to have guns and drill over there in Russia--

GOD: Sarah! Sarah! You're trying to distract me with your dizzying chain of non-sequitors.

SARAH: Jeepers!

GOD: Who do you think gave you the ability to do that? Hmm?

SARAH: Sorry, God. I just think that we should honor the founding fathers' design to have a republic based on values like integrity, morality, and mutual respect for all human beings as long as they don't knock up your daughter or make you look dumb in interviews. That's what the Bible is all about, right?

GOD: Look, I haven't read that thing in epochs, really. I am in talks with Trump about a reality show based on some of it...but the point is, Sarah, if American law were based on the letter of the Bible....

SARAH: What?

GOD: Just take my word for it.

SARAH: Tell me, God! I can take it, doncha know!

GOD: You would have been burned at the stake faster than a Biden gaffe makes the internet rounds.

SARAH: Jiggers!

GOD: I'm afraid so. Let this be a lesson to you, Sarah.

SARAH: Okey dokey God. You know best! But, um, maybe there's a loop hole in there? Something about how it's ok for us to declare war on hostile nations like Mexico or Los Angeles?

GOD: Sarah---!

SARAH: Jackity-jeckets. Ok.

GOD: Good. I've gotta go, Sarah. I promised Jay Leno I'd contact legal about getting his soul back. (sigh)

The Bedwetter, The Beantown Loser, and The Old Betty

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:04:34 -0400

Sarah Silverman tanked on Saturday Night Live after only one season. I find it helps to say this out loud, several times in fact, and especially on days when you are having a particularly hard time squeezing those lemons for the proverbial thirst quencher that is lemonade. If the gravity of that sentence doesn't sink in, try this one: Conan O'Brien lost the Tonight Show, his dream job. Go ahead. Out loud please. You might annoy some patrons sitting around you in Starbucks, but just ignore their tongue *clicks* of distaste and the glow from their hipper-than-thou iPads. Say it again. Add a "wow" or "holy crap" if it drives the point home. Hmm. Still nothing? Then how about: Betty White has no right being the popular comic octagenarian badass that she is. Ok, this might earn you some hate mail on Facebook, but trust me, it is totally worth it.

Before going any further, let me say how much I adore and revere all three aforementioned comic icons. Let me also say that those statements are point of fact, true as your Fruit of the Looms. And let me finally say that these truisms are maybe some of the most powerful gifts that each individual can offer to us. Recently (so recently I can still feel the wind burn) I was met with some unfortunate news relating to my state of unemployment. That is to say that State of Unemployment, population me, remains unwilling to stamp my visa and approve my stint over the border into Gainfully Employedsville. This came at the end of a very long job search and even longer and more grueling process being on the academic job market. For those of you in academia, you can relate. For those of you outside the belly of the beast, let me sum up: On a good year, the academic market is ranked only slightly less tortorous than being water boarded while listening to Bob Goulet Sings the Hits of Led Zeppelin. Let's just say that Bob Goulet couldn't hold a candle to this year.

Of course the ability to weather this kind of rejection and meet the general challenges that come with higher education is just another part of the professional field as a whole. Toiling away in obscurity while pinning your hopes on each packet of materials that leaves your desk or inbox takes its toll. The Zen-like calm of acceptance and embracing uncertainty goes out the window (along with a shoe and a mug full of coffee) when you feel that you've exhausted your options and yourself with, it feels like, little to show. Then I found myself thumbing through Sarah Silverman's new book, The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee, and my eye went to the chapter "Live From Saturday Night, You're Fired!"

Silverman talks with fondness, wit, and intelligence about her brief stint as a writer and featured performer on one season of the show. Like every other comic of her generation, Silverman dreamed of heading to SNL to take her place in comic history alongside legends like Bill Murray, Dana Carvy, and Gilda Radner. But her tenure was anything but magical (Al Franken might even call it "deadly) and at the end of the season, they did not renew her contract.

What was, Silverman admitted, a pretty big deal all the way around (both getting hired and fired by the show) at the time, boiled down to about five pages in a 200 page book. Moreover, it hardly marked the end of Silverman's career. If anything, her experience on the show enabled her to grow as a comedienne, to become more savy about the comedy business, and to connect with some truly brilliant people that shaped her career.

It also got me thinking about Conan O'Brien and what will go down in television history as one of the messiest broadcast divorces ever (including anything Trump, King, or Baldwin related). As Conan has talked about candidly in many pre-media-black-out-by-NBC-aka "God's"-decree interviews, taking over The Tonight Show was his dream from infancy and a major goal that factored into many of his career choices. The decision to give Leno back his favorite chew toy, also an historic comedy franchise, could have permanently destroyed Conan. Instead, he's risen above the personal and professional devastation to enjoy renewed adulation and success amongst his fans, and to revitalize his career on a new network.

And what can we say about Betty White? As a child of the 80s, who didn't want to perch at the table across from Rose, Sophia, Dorothy, and Blanche on those late, Saturday nights enjoying a slice of decadent cheesecake? (No Boniva for these robust gals! They got their calcium the old fashioned way!) But that was a storied time in sitcom history. These days, the roles for older performers, and specifically older women, are relegated to the eccentric or bitchy mother-in-law or the evil granny intent on altering a paternity test to keep the rightful heir from inheriting a fortune (Soap Operas, I'm talking to you). Betty White could easily have gone quietly into that good sitcom night, living her remaining years hawking pet control alongside Bob Barker or doing regularity commercials with Jamie Lee Curtis. Instead, she chose fun and interesting small roles in film and television that have propelled her back into the public eye as a beloved comic figure, new to a whole generation of viewers, and set to host Saturday Night Live this May.

Sarah Silverman tanked on Saturday Night Live after only one season; Conan O'Brien lost The Tonight Show, his dream job; Betty White should be a has been (paraphrasing there). I say these things to myself out of love and respect for three people who are teaching me, right now during what feels like career implosion, that there is opportunity in everything, that one person's professional disaster or evaporation is that same person's chance to move in a new, more fulfilling direction, that staying true to yourself and what you believe will never steer you wrong, and nice girls and guys don't finish last, they just choose to run in a different race.