Well, the slowest reader in America finally wrapped up another book. I only started it last December. I'm not happy about that and I still have almost a 6-foot tall stacks of other tomes. I sure do hope there's a reading lamp at the cemetary.
None of this is to say that the books I read are tough to get through. Indeed, most of them are light and airy. I just don't set time aside to do so, unless I'm on a plane. And even then there are a lot more movie choices now available on American Airlines.
But I did at last wind up James Burrows' memoirs and it was well worth my time. I think you have to be a fan of the multi-cam sitcom to understand a lot of this. And if you don't know what a multi-cam sitcom is, it's a comedy show shot in front of a live audience. Frankly, they're the only kind of sitcoms I will watch these days. Except, right now, they don't exist.
Well, James Burrows is the king of that genre and certainly one can't argue with his resume. From Mary Tyler Moore to Rhoda to Taxi to Cheers to Frasier to Will and Grace. He has led them all to one extent or another. And has the reputation for making shows classics.
Now, if you are looking for sleazy stories about Hollywood and TV, this is not the book for you. Burrows lays out his career in the most linear and formal of fashions. "I did this and then I did that and then I rested and then I did that." If you're a fan of the genre, you will appreciate the professional detail and intel he provides. And that would be me.
When I hung around the Murphy Brown set for a while a decade or two ago, the name "James Burrows" was often attached to the words "lucky" and "overrated." Perhaps there was a bit of envy there. Or maybe those two words are viable. Regardless, for a sitcom geek, this was an easy read.
Just not a fast one.
Dinner last night: Braised short ribs and pineapple fried rice at PF Chang's.
No comments:
Post a Comment