Comedy, Comedy, Comedy, Drama: The Sunday Times bestseller

Product Information

I can’t think of another entertainer who has improbably morphed so many times, and all through real genius and determination.”—Conan O’Brien I suppose I just didn't know that it was going to be so Saturday Night Live heavy. I guess I didn't really know he was even a writer on Saturday Night Live so that makes sense that there would be so much of it. I was seriously dying when he was talking about how ridiculous Lorne was to the writers and the actors. I have read other books from comedians who have worked on Saturday Night Live who have all said the same thing. Honestly Lorne should just chill out considering he stole the show from another person.

Overall Thoughts: I thought this was great! Someone commented that this memoir wasn't funny and not to throw shade at that reviewer but since when do comedians even have to be ON in their own memoirs? Defining your script in a certain category assists anyone reading it in understanding your intentions, and therefore allows them to evaluate how effective the writing is in achieving these aims. So it will be worth asking yourself, is your script really a comedy drama, or would it be better described as a comedy or a drama? Equally you may believe that your desire is to create a comedy drama, but the script could be worked upon to strengthen one side if it feels somewhat imbalanced. So would it benefit from more humour or gravitas? Does a comedy drama demand more humour than you are comfortable delivering, or does it even begin to feel like an obligation rather than something you want to do? Sadly Chris was headed for tragedy with his drinking and drug use. Odenkirk notes, "The worst part of watching Chris's downfall....was the inevitability of the whole damn thing. His rise to fame, blazing moments, assured destruction - it played out just as everyone said it would. Said it to his face." I walked away from this book impressed and inspired by Odenkirk's work ethic, and now I just feel like I know the guy when I see him on the screen. So something about this book made him feel like a pal. He's honest about himself and the business, and he's such a mentor to others. I like that.As a middle schooler Odenkirk was mesmerized by the comedy troupe Monty Python, which took 'a hilarious, undermining, smart-silly swipe at humanity, at false dignity, and rules.' To Bob, this and other offbeat funniness was the best kind of humor. Bob's interest in comedy eventually sparked a compulsion to make it a career, and after honing his skills at comedy clubs - and meeting umpteen talented young comics (a literal laundry list of now famous entertainers) - Odenkirk got hired at SNL. Bob observes, "Everything I would learn about sketch writing and how to do it, everything that would someday help me write and produce the best show I had in me - all of that I learned in my three-and-a-half seasons at SNL. In contrast, Plato taught that comedy is a destruction to the self. He believed it produces an emotion that overrides rational self-control and learning. In The Republic, Plato says that the guardians of the state should avoid laughter, "for ordinarily when one abandons himself to violent laughter, his condition provokes a violent reaction." Plato says comedy should be tightly controlled if one wants to achieve the ideal state. Both of these examples point towards an intentional use of comedy drama and why the medium suits the idea, so when writing it is useful to think through why exactly you wish to use the genre you are writing. How does it allow you to explore certain ideas, tell your story a certain way or best utilise your skills as a writer?

comedy, type of drama or other art form the chief object of which, according to modern notions, is to amuse. It is contrasted on the one hand with tragedy and on the other with farce, burlesque, and other forms of humorous amusement. Odenkirk recollects, "Mr. Show was built for cultish love, and it succeeded. We wanted only the 'out-crowd,' the few, the proud, the misanthropes. Our greatest impact was in inspiring young performers and writers to like sketch a little more, and mislead them into following their passions." There are also examples which can potentially cross boundaries to the extent it could be a matter of personal perception. Is Fleabag a comedy series or a comedy drama, or even a sitcom? Personally I’d call it a comedy, but if someone else called it a comedy drama I wouldn’t drag them out of the room by their hair. Is Killing Eve a drama or a comedy drama, or a comedy? It feels safe to go with the middle option, but there could be arguments either side. With both of these shows the elements are so well integrated, emotion in the former and humour in the latter, that it never feels out of place, so however they may be interpreted, they remain strong, effective pieces of writing. Bob's writing style mixed with his comedic genius makes this book so much more entertaining. I could just imagine him saying some of these things out loud and I would bust out laughing... even in the middle of the library.Knowing what you want to write is part of strengthening your vision, which is a truly valuable aspect of writing. And remember that scripts can alter and evolve either as they are written or edited. You may think you are writing a drama but find yourself creating a significant amount of funny moments, or be aiming for a comedy yet wish to further explore the emotional aspects of the characters without the need for consistent humour. In those cases you can evaluate how significant those elements are, whether they redefine the piece, and if you wish to heighten them further to build a hybrid of the genres. The English novelist Henry Fielding, in the preface to Joseph Andrews (1742), was careful to distinguish between the comic and the burlesque; the latter centres on the monstrous and unnatural and gives pleasure through the surprising absurdity it exhibits in appropriating the manners of the highest to the lowest, or vice versa. Comedy, on the other hand, confines itself to the imitation of nature, and, according to Fielding, the comic artist is not to be excused for deviating from it. His subject is the ridiculous, not the monstrous, as with the writer of burlesque; and the nature he is to imitate is human nature, as viewed in the ordinary scenes of civilized society. The human contradiction Obviously a sitcom is not the only form of comedy, and a significant variation from that format is the comedy series. Again the tone is predominantly funny, but the biggest difference is a progressive plot that requires, or certainly benefits from chronological viewing. The best example of this would be Gavin and Stacey, although even here some might argue that it is a comedy drama. It’s noticeable that the concept is defined by the story of a long distance relationship rather than a situation, per se. When it comes to describing story types it can be tempting to say a drama is dramatic or a comedy is comedic and hope there’s enough inherent information there to not sound like you’re just stating the blooming obvious. But this is supposed to be an educational blog post, so let’s try to dig a little deeper.

Examples from United States television include: M*A*S*H, Moonlighting, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, [5] Northern Exposure, Ally McBeal, Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives, [6] and Scrubs. The term "dramedy" was coined to describe the late 1980s wave of shows, including The Wonder Years, Hooperman, [7] Doogie Howser, M.D., and Frank's Place. [8] In Indonesia [ edit ] Odenkirk credits Janeane Garofalo with this comedy reinvention. He writes, "Off-the-cuff, real, impromptu, personal, disarming, sloppy, meandering, intimate....she did it first. She made it cool." The drama of comedy drama is not always determined by emotion though. The Wrong Mans is a comedy drama which takes the dramatic premise of two men becoming accidentally involved in a crime conspiracy. This very serious situation is juxtaposed by the inept characters who are thrust into it, and this contrast manages to create real tension alongside lots of humour. I’ve known Bob Odenkirk for more than 30 years, and yet I had to read this book to believe his stunning career arc.” (Conan O’Brien) Bob Odenkirk’s career is inexplicable. And yet he will try like hell to explicate it for you. Charting a “Homeric” decades-long “Odyssey” from his origins in the seedy comedy clubs of Chicago to a dramatic career full of award nominations and including a side-trip that is baffling to all who know him, into the action-man world, it’s almost like there are many Bob Odenkirks! But there is just one and one is plenty.In his introduction, Odenkirk writes, "I will attempt to identify the 'big breaks,' wormholes of opportunity that allowed me to move ahead five or ten spaces, or that simply sent me in the right direction." It wasn't all breaks though. Bob admits to numerous projects that didn't succeed: pilots, outlines, presentations, stumbles, misfires, dead ends, etc. Projects that failed, but taught Bob valuable lessons.

In Hollywood, Bob demonstrated a bullheadedness that would shame Sisyphus himself, and when all hope was lost for the umpteenth time, the phone rang with an offer to appear on Breaking Bad - a show about how boring it is to be a high school chemistry teacher. His embrace of this strange new world of dramatic acting led him to working with Steven Spielberg, Alexander Payne, and Greta Gerwig, and then, in a twist that will confound you, he re-re-invented himself as a bona fide action star. Why? Listen to this and do your own psychoanalysis - it’s fun! All readers who enjoy truth telling and satire will find Odenkirk’s memoir engaging, as will all his fans who want to know why and how this famous comedian transformed himself into a serious actor.” — Booklist When it comes to writing, there are several big questions, such as where did I leave my pen? How do you spell exeunt? And the biggest question of all, what is a comedy drama? Well, maybe it’s not the biggest question, but it is an interesting one.

About the book:Bob Odenkirk's career is inexplicable. And yet he will try like hell to explain it here, because that is what memoirs are for. Charting a "Homeric" decades-long "Odyssey" from his origins in the seedy comedy clubs of Chicago all the way to a dramatic career that is baffling to his friends, it's almost like there are two or three Bob Odenkirks...but there is just one and one is enough, frankly.Bob embraced a life in comedy after a chance meeting with Second City's legendary Del Close, which eventually led to a job as a writer at SNL. As he weathered the beast that is live comedy, he stashed away the secrets of sketch writing--employing them in the immortal "Motivational Speaker" sketch for his friend Chris Farley, honing them on The Ben Stiller Show, and perfecting them on Mr. Show With Bob and David, which inspired an entire generation of comedy writers and stars. Then his career met the hope-dashing machine that is Hollywood development. But when all hope was lost for the umpteenth time, Bob was more astonished than anyone to find himself on Breaking Bad. His embrace of this strange new world of dramatic acting led him to working with Steven Spielberg, Alexander Payne, and Greta Gerwig, until finally re-re-inventing himself as a bona-fide worldwide action star for reasons that even he does not fully grasp! Read this and do your own psychoanalysis--it's fun!Throughout Bob's travels, his memoir preserves the voice he cultivated from years of comedy writing. Featuring humorous tangents, joyful interludes, never-before-seen photos, wild characters from his winding career, and his trademark upbeat but unflinching drive, Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama is a classic showbiz tale--and a moving story about what it's like to risk everything you think you know to make a change Bob Odenkirk (sp?) isan exceptionally and uniquely talented man who has had a huge influence on comedy for more than three decades. And now he’s given us his P.O.V. on that journey. This book is filled not only with lessons on ‘making it’ in ‘showbiz’ but also regular old life lessons as well (including his killer recipe for ‘Granny’s Sunday Loaf’).It’s funny, informative, and like the author himself, disarmingly honest.I look forward to meeting him one day.” —David Cross