I have absolutely no idea what to make of a sitcom that the folks at CBS into a pilot episode. First of all I can't even tell you the name of the show. Well maybe I could but I really don't want the angry mail that we'd get if I did. The show is based on a big hit Twitter account and the closest I'm willing to come to the title is "STUFF My Dad Says". And no, stuff isn't the word in the original. Seriously, that's the name of the Twitter account. CBS is working on the pilot and the latest word has William Shatner in the title role as the dad.
So what's the story behind all this? Justin Halpern is a 29 year old guy who lives with his 74 year old father. Halpern apparently is an editor at the men's magazine Maxim and started a twitter account where he quoted his father's, shall we say, rather earthy witticisms. The word spread and he suddenly had a hundred thousand followers, then three hundred thousand, then seven hundred thousand and as of last week one point two MILLION followers. Not surprisingly he started getting mentions in all kinds of media including the Wall Street Journal and the LA Times. Next came a book deal (the book is scheduled for Father's Day) and now the TV show. It is the ultimate blogger's dream come true. You put your own personal little twist on the world out there and suddenly fame and fortune are yours. It should be noted that a lot of guys would have considered it a lottery win just to work at Maxim but hey each to his own.
So what do we do then with this show? I checked with my sources in Hollywood (yes, I have real sources in Hollywood. Believe it or not) and they tell me that obviously the title will have to change. To what is still up in the air. I wonder how much of the "franchise" of this concept is wrapped up in that title (by the way my sources tell me that "Stuff My Dad Says" is actually one of the alternate titles under consideration. I wrote that BEFORE they told me). The other problem is how do you translate the obscenity filled quotes to the small screen? Halpern's father is a cranky old man with a bit of a potty mouth. In fact we've already seen this character on TV. He's George Costanza's father from the Seinfeld show. I can see the concept working as a book, maybe as a movie where you have more lee way. But it's going to take some very clever writing to convey the spirit of Poppa Halpern when you can't use a quarter of his vocabulary. You also have to wonder just how long any of us are going to be willing to watch such a cantankerous character? Archie Bunker lasted a long time with a great supporting cast. On the other hand we have the old Dabney Coleman series Buffalo Bill that just became lame in very short order.
We'll have to see if this 21st Century version of Father really knows best.
Call that the View From the Phlipside.
"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY. You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010
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