Greetings over your interweb devices
“Dean Martin’s on the jukebox, I bet
Or maybe it’s Tammy Wynette
The tearjerkers are jerking your tears
Salt water in your whiskey and your beers
You’ve got the Miller High Life bouncing balls
You’ve got the Utica Club waterfalls
I know where you are, oh ho
You’re down at the bar
You’re down at the bar.”
“They also serve who only stand and wait.”
To sell a 10/90 model production, one of the most necessary ingredients was the draw of a top TV star. It is said by some that there is no such thing as bad publicity — and “Anger Management” would put that aphorism to the test. The success or failure of the show rested squarely on the back of Charlie. The publicity he garnered from the end of his time on “Two and a Half Men” may not have been positive, but he was very much in the public eye, and the premise of his role (also called Charlie) in the new series took advantage of that. A successful public figure (in this setting, a baseball player) has a spectacular meltdown, loses his stature and goes into anger management therapy. The first twist was that Charlie finds that he has a knack for giving anger management counseling. The next is that he yearns to have a simple, monogamous life — in great contrast to the actor himself. A great deal of comedy was mined from that for nearly half the episodes, until the character, Charlie, has another meltdown when he is thrown over by his unattainable girlfriend and reverts to a more wild lifestyle — which put the actor back on more familiar ground for the audience.
Through it all, Charlie remained the main publicity draw, the center of most of the plots, and on screen for 60 to 80% of each episode with at least half of all the dialogue. The model also depended on producing two full episodes a week. Such a burden would be a tall order for any actor or actress — and Charlie felt all the pressure.
Which brings us to the four wonderful actors depicted in the photo. Together, they comprised the members of Charlie’s main therapy group, and they were involved in many plots with Charlie in and out of his home. Always prepared when they arrived, these actors often found themselves sitting and waiting, unfortunately, as Charlie was trying desperately to learn his lines. It was a frustrating situation in many ways — for the quartet, dutifully arriving at their appointed call times, only to have to patiently wait for an hour or two before taping could start — for Charlie, trying to memorize the lines for that scene and keep the plots straight given the disjointed order of the shooting schedule. Later in the series, there were times when our fantastic four spun out in plots of their own, but the writers couldn’t go to that well too often as much of the audience was tuning in for Charlie.
We also enjoyed a great group of actors who rounded out our fantastic rep company of players, including the members of Charlie’s prison therapy group. Actor Charlie’s father, Martin, played character Charlie’s father, Martin, in a number of episodes. Selma was the aforementioned unattainable girlfriend in the first direction of the series and Laura and Brian were his partners in mischief in the later iteration. Savannah played his ex-wife and Daniella his daughter. Many other characters recurred — but through it all, most of their scenes were still with Charlie.
We had a great deal of fun during the series, but one had to find very creative ways to pass the time. Tom, a cameraman took advantage of the books which set dressing kept at the ready for swing sets, and a few standing sets. By the hundredth episode, he managed to read nearly every one of them.
To sell a 10/90 model production, one of the most necessary ingredients was the draw of a top TV star. It is said by some that there is no such thing as bad publicity — and “Anger Management” would put that aphorism to the test. The success or failure of the show rested squarely on the back of Charlie. The publicity he garnered from the end of his time on “Two and a Half Men” may not have been positive, but he was very much in the public eye, and the premise of his role (also called Charlie) in the new series took advantage of that. A successful public figure (in this setting, a baseball player) has a spectacular meltdown, loses his stature and goes into anger management therapy. The first twist was that Charlie finds that he has a knack for giving anger management counseling. The next is that he yearns to have a simple, monogamous life — in great contrast to the actor himself. A great deal of comedy was mined from that for nearly half the episodes, until the character, Charlie, has another meltdown when he is thrown over by his unattainable girlfriend and reverts to a more wild lifestyle — which put the actor back on more familiar ground for the audience.
Through it all, Charlie remained the main publicity draw, the center of most of the plots, and on screen for 60 to 80% of each episode with at least half of all the dialogue. The model also depended on producing two full episodes a week. Such a burden would be a tall order for any actor or actress — and Charlie felt all the pressure.
Which brings us to the four wonderful actors depicted in the photo. Together, they comprised the members of Charlie’s main therapy group, and they were involved in many plots with Charlie in and out of his home. Always prepared when they arrived, these actors often found themselves sitting and waiting, unfortunately, as Charlie was trying desperately to learn his lines. It was a frustrating situation in many ways — for the quartet, dutifully arriving at their appointed call times, only to have to patiently wait for an hour or two before taping could start — for Charlie, trying to memorize the lines for that scene and keep the plots straight given the disjointed order of the shooting schedule. Later in the series, there were times when our fantastic four spun out in plots of their own, but the writers couldn’t go to that well too often as much of the audience was tuning in for Charlie.
We also enjoyed a great group of actors who rounded out our fantastic rep company of players, including the members of Charlie’s prison therapy group. Actor Charlie’s father, Martin, played character Charlie’s father, Martin, in a number of episodes. Selma was the aforementioned unattainable girlfriend in the first direction of the series and Laura and Brian were his partners in mischief in the later iteration. Savannah played his ex-wife and Daniella his daughter. Many other characters recurred — but through it all, most of their scenes were still with Charlie.
We had a great deal of fun during the series, but one had to find very creative ways to pass the time. Tom, a cameraman took advantage of the books which set dressing kept at the ready for swing sets, and a few standing sets. By the hundredth episode, he managed to read nearly every one of them.
To one and all, Be Safe-Stay Healthy