Scripts
While
the bulk of my writing time is currently devoted to
Discovery Kids’ MYSTERY
HUNTERS, over the years I’ve contributed scripts
to a handful of other live and animated television serieses’s(s).
Scripts were once described to me as a house of cards
- you build the house, hand it in, then, for reasons
that range from budget restrictions, to time constraints,
to simple differences of opinion, people at every level
of the production start removing cards. Sometimes, depending
on which cards are taken out, the house will remain
standing, despite being moderately to grossly disfigured.
Other times, the house collapses into a scattered mess
on the floor that continues to bear your name (this
is uniquely painful).
One
of the notable exceptions to this I have experienced
is a wonderful show called POPULAR
MECHANICS FOR KIDS, produced by SDA Productions
and Jonathan Finkelstein. I wrote a multitude of segments
for the show during its final two seasons and the producers,
directors, actors and editors always tackled the material
with intelligence and enthusiasm. The series received
multiple Gemini nominations (the Canadian equivalent
of the Emmys), and is currently airing in syndication
around the world. In its first season, the show was
co-hosted by Elisha Cuthbert (star of “The Girl
Next Door”) and Jay Baruchel (from “Million
Dollar Baby”). Tyler Kyte replaced Jay from Season
Two on, and Vanessa Lengies (now starring in NBC’s
“American Dreams”) was added to the line-up
in the last season. Here’s a segment I wrote for
Elisha and Tyler from the “In Deep Water”
episode.
POPULAR MECHANICS FOR KIDS: In Deep Water Intro - click
here to view clip.
If
you’re interested in seeing more of the show,
a new, 24-episode box set has just been released. Click
on the icon below for information or to order.
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One
of my first writing gigs was on a short-lived animated
series called ANIMAL CRACKERS, based on Roger Bollen’s
popular 1980s comic strip of the same name. The series
starred Lyle (a lion), Eugene (an elephant), Dodo (the
last surviving Dodo bird), and various other animals,
all of whom inhabited a preserve and spent most of their
time trying not to get stomped, eaten, gored, mauled,
hoofed, stung or mounted. (on a wall…) Here’s
a thirty-second clip from one of two 12-minute episodes
I wrote (circa 1998)
ANIMAL
CRACKERS: Fountain of Youth - Click
here to view clip.
