Or – writing for TV – an exploratory monologue. 

At the gentle insistence of my agentfolk, I’ve been watching more TV and trying to figure out which show I might could write for. Apparently, it doesn’t quite fly to just say, ‘Oh, I don’t really watch TV.’  So I’m searching for inspiration for generating my own material, which is daunting! And strange! (To have one good idea: amazing. To have a idea with such a powerful conceit, such an irresolvable central problem that it could write it self for 5 years – dang near impossible.) But I gotta say – I’m pretty excited by even the prospect of this. I might really hate writing for TV or be superbad at it – but at least I will have tried. Also, I want to live in LA for a minute and wear white skinny jeans and I don’t know, eat celery or whatever.

So – Have you seen Weeds yet? I just started watching, I think with the latest season. It’s pretty freaking great and I’ll blog you why. A.) Mary Louise Parker, who has made an entire career out of being small and weird. In Weeds, she is smaller, weirder, and more adorable and poignant than ever. B.) The conceit. It’s classic fish outta water – but it’s suburban California housemom – selling weed. It’s Mary Louise Parker housemom wrapped in all sorts of situations with drug-selling thugs. Essentially – the jokes are endless. The show also walks this really brilliant fine line in terms of tone – TERRIFYING and hilliarious at the same time. I’d like to think that I’m totally capable of walking said line, and that I’ve walked it before. Though, I have a sneaking suspicion that I am far from ready to actually write for a show. Either way, it’s pretty great to lay on one’s tush, eat cookies, watch TV and call it work.