For those of you who missed the blatantly obvious floor-to-ceiling logo of color bars gracing a wall of Newhouse II (and smaller versions scattered every 3 feet) today’s symposium honored one of the most influential SU alumni in television and the only person to have overseen the programming of the all three original networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC): Fred Silverman.
The day’s events included a panel of note-worthy executives, producers, writers, and scholars who all shared in praising Silverman’s “golden gut”; his ability to select and nurture programs like ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ that changed the way we view single women over 35 and ‘Scooby Doo’, the first program to combine adventure and comedy to the Saturday morning cartoons we all grew up with.
Newhouse has striven to keep up with the ever-changing technologies of the industry, and succeeded today with the satellite conference during the second session with a panel of LA-based writers including Norman Lear, Allan Burns, and John Rich. Combined, their resume`s include such hits as ‘All in the Family,’ ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ and ‘Gilligan’s Island.’ Though it was an achievement to be amidst such talent, the satellite Q&A session quickly turned into a grandpa-reminiscing-the-good-ole-days as the witty 70-something-year-olds poked fun at the man of the hour and the shows they worked on.
Television has come a long way since Silverman. Let’s face it, most of us weren’t alive for MTM or Hill Street Blues. Not to mention, with multi-platform networks, programming requires much more than a ‘golden gut’ today than it did in the ’70s.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to join Mr. Silverman at the private luncheon after the morning sessions in Studio A. By ‘join’ i mean stare at from afar. I sat with Professor Bob Thompson, one of my former professors and next to writer Bill Carter. We discussed the prominence of reality television over Silverman Salad, as Thompson reveled in his ability to conjure a “Jake and the Fatman” reference.
My favorite moment of the day was during the session after lunch, in which the panel consisted of Professor Thompson, Bill Small (chariman of News and Documentary Emmys) , Marcy Carsey (EP of That 70s Show and The Cosby Show), and George Schlatter (producer of the first 5 years of the Grammy Awards), in which Carsey declared “I miss loud women,” referring to the larger-than-life characters of Rosanne and Lucy. “In comedy these days, women are all quiet and tentative about life…[they need to] put on some weight and get a voice.” For me, Carsey, in addition to this particular panel, was able to articulate that programming requires a storyteller’s eye, and is not just another network exec looking solely at shares and ratings.
Though the face of televsion has drastically changed since the Silverman Age, one thing can be taken by us young industry- hopefuls: proactivism. As Ms. Carsey explained, if something’s not on TV, go out, get it, and fill that spot.
I may be overly optimistic (especially in this economy), but I challenge you anyway: let’s go out, get it, and fill that spot, one pixel at a time.
