All right, so what are we going to talk about today? Well, I know writers and writers love writing about what they know. This is actually a writing adage. Which makes me think why are there not more shows about working on shows? We have had some wonderful shows about…well shows. There have been several, most of which I will think of after posting this. Isn’t that always how it goes? I think every episode I have published has led me to think of a volume two with all the shows I could not remember while I was researching and such. I always loved these little glimpses behind the scenes that we would get with these shows. I have seen several docs on the writers’ creators or just the shows themselves, and many have outright stated they were stealing from work and from their real lives for material to use. So, without further ado here are five shows within other shows.

This one was big in the nineties, and I have to say it really does not seem to hold up as well as I had wanted. I am talking about Home Improvement. This is the standard family comedy but updated from the Father Knows Best model for the modern age. Tim Allen had a wildly popular stand-up career and so many of us enjoyed it to the point that we would often to that grunting thing he would do. This is really, where you know Tim Allen. You may also like him in the Santa Clause movies. As well as buzz light year form toy story, but for my money I love him in Galaxy Quest. That movie does so well at marrying the real worldview of star trek and star trek fans with the more fictionalized world we all kind of wish was there. Tim Allen will be playing the dad, Tim “the Tool Man” Taylor. Over the course of the show, we learn that he was one of Binford tools top salesmen and was able to cash in on this and crate a local television show very reminiscent of this old house kind of thing. My issue here, as is with most family comedies from the nineties, is he is really shown as a dolt. Now I know men are not necessarily the brightest stars in the sky, and the do play with this as who he is even with the tools and such, but for me it now comes across a little aggressive towards men and dads. All right enough of putting modern sensibilities on to history. I warn my students about doing this all the time. Patricia Richardson plays Tim’s wife, Jill Taylor. Now again this is most likely where you know her. Yes, she was on the West Wing and starred alongside Peter Fonda in Ulee’s Gold, but Home Improvement is where most of us know her. She is a modern woman trying to balance career with motherhood. I will say this is probably the first to really tackle this issue in a positive light. In the pilot, she is off for a job interview and does not get the job. Very upset about it; Tim tells her you do not HAVE to work, but she WANTS to work. I believe she does finally get a job and is a working mom. This obviously leads to more instances of Tim trying to help but failing in the most hilarious ways possible. Next up we have our guru, our Yoda if you will, the neighbor, Wilson, is always there to offer guidance and advice for Tim. We never see his face as he is always behind the fence. I thought this was an awesome choice. I even saw the whole cast on Oprah or some show like that, and Earl Hindman had on a hat with a section of fence that hung down over his face. I thought that was funny. So where might you be able to glimpse the entire face of Earl Hindman you ask? he was in Parallax View, Taking of Pelham 123, the original not the remake, and Silverado. At the show, tool time, which is what we refer to this as in my house, was Tim’s partner Al. Al is played by Richard Karn. Most of us know him from this, but he was on Bold and the Beautiful and made some appearances on that 70’s Show, as well as Last Man Standing. Al is the knowledgeable one who actually works to make Tim look good. Now this is all what we have seen before. Typical family half hour comedy. We get some hilarious problem or issue, and we haphazardly solve it in twenty minutes. The extra here is Tim is able to adjust his cable access show to meet the needs of his family and show the solution for life’s little problems there along with whatever we are building this week. I have to say I feel like this happens in my class as well. I am always relating things to personal stories and such, so maybe this show has had a bigger impact on me than I realized. The jokes are there, and you get a sense that these people all do care for each other. If you are looking for a trip back down memory lane, or, like me, want to throw on something during dinner with the kids this one fits the bill. You can find episodes on for sale on VUDU, iTunes, google play and amazon. You might want to wait for this to appear on streaming instead of buying it. It is good, just really starting to show its age a little. 

Now this next one is really a wonderful experience. I will be honest I did not watch a lot of these. I enjoyed it when I saw it but was not actively seeking it out. It feels like I am back at my high school drama club. Old man alert!!!!

All right when I was a kid in theater, we did everything. We designed built painted the sets. We all acted and worked backstage. It was like a rotating thing. This show you were sound, or lights next show you were on stage. It really was a great experience and I miss it! We even use to do shows during the school day. I do not mean everybody comes to see a show during third and fourth period; I mean we put on the one act seven times in a row from start to finish. I know high school football will run “two a day” but try running a one act seven times through it will get you.

Why do I bring this up? Great question glad you asked. I bring it up because this show makes me feel like I am back in that drama club. I have spotted most of my friends there, even spotted myself a few times. It really is a great show, and you have to wonder how they got away with some of the things they said. I guess with a standard of “what a reasonable person would believe” you can have some fun with famous people and companies. All right so what am I actually talking about. 30 Rock is a show about a show; well duh, you know that part right. This is a Saturday Night Live style show, but we focus more on the backstage antics of all the cast, crew, and corporate peoples. You may get a glimpse of a sketch or hear a sketch be talked about, but we never actually see the show. The head of this crew is the wonderful Tina Fey. You know her from, well SNL, as well as Date Night and Mean Girls. Both wonderful movies. I show Mean Girls in class to cover adolescent development and cliques. Plus, a movie like mean girls is just so FETCH! I am fifty-year-old man and should not quote this movie as much as I do but I really like it. Tina Fey is Liz Lemon writer and producer. She is the conduit between talent and corporate. Somehow, she is able to juggle everything and make the show happen.  Speaking of corporate, we got Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy. Donaghy has just been moved into the entertainment division and just applies his corporate philosophy to everything. A suit through and through. Do I need to list Alec Baldwin’s resume here? Just to be fair you know Alec Baldwin from Glengarry Glen Ross, great movie about working in sales. He is also in Hunt for Red October, as well as The Departed. He also was on the Clerks animated show, which is great. In the writer’s room we got Pete, played by Scott Adsit who you may also know from The Terminal and Big Hero Six. He tries to help Liz with the writers but usually ends up causing just as many problems as he solves. Judah Friedlander, from American Splendor and Feast, plays one of the more eccentric writers. Always with some craziness. As for stars of “the Show” we start with Tracey Morgan playing the titular Tracey Jordan, the name of the fictional show is the Tracey Jordan Show. I always have to take a second and think is Morgan playing Jordan or is it the other way around? You know Tracey Morgan from SNL, Cop Out, which I like, and the comedy central show Crank Yankers. They would do crank calls record them and then have puppets re-enact the calls. I used to just laugh at that. He plays this outrageous star with crazy demands and adventures. Jane Krakowski plays Jenna Maroney. She is show biz through and through. Always ready with the song, and mic and spotlight, does she just hire someone to follow her with a follow spot? I would not put that past this character. If you have spent any time in theater, you know this lady. Now where do we know Jane Krakowski? She was on Ally McBeal, the movie Go, and if you are really paying attention, she was in National Lampoon’s Vacation back in the eighties. Now there is a movie I love and can watch almost any time. Jane Krakowski does an excellent job in this role. The entire cast is wonderful and does an excellent job here. Like I said this always takes me back to high school drama club. It also reminds me a little of when my dad worked in radio. I used to hang out with him at the station writing and recording bits, and many of these characters do crossover. a second reason it gives me a little of the ole nostalgia.

when I was I younger cable was not a widespread thing. When you happened to be home from school sick, you were limited in what you had to watch. Yes, like everyone else there was the Price Is Right. So funny trying to play along on show about buying things when you were an age that did not even understand money. In the afternoons it was usually soaps, and while I would eventually get into my stories, General Hospital being the big one for me, prior to that you would have to look at the UHF dial. Sometimes, if you were close enough, you could get that station without changing the antennae on the back. Moms were so nervous about you touching anything back there. This is where I would find most of my afternoon shows. I promise I am circling in on the show I want to talk about. I would watch re-runs of Bonanza, Andy Griffith, and Hogan’s Heroes. However, the one I really liked, the one I always hoped was on, was The Dick Van Dyke show. This was a great show from the early to mid-1960. Created by Carl Reiner, you know him from his work with Mel Brooks as well as being on Sid Creaser’s show and more recently the Ocean’s movies. This show was a family comedy but also had scenes at work. One of the first, if not the first, to show where dad went when he left the house in the morning. let us start at home. Dick Van Dyke plays Rob Petrie, father, writer, and husband. Dick Van Dyke is wonderful song and dance man you know him from Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Diagnosis Murder, as well as a ton of other stuff. He is married to Laura Petrie, played by the wonderful Mary Tyler Moore. I just love her and have from an early age. You also know her from the Mary Tyler Moore show, a great show that should be on this list but will definitely get pushed to a volume two or something, also starred in Ordinary People, and that Seventies show. She is the homemaker of the early sixties. Trying to balance motherhood with taking care of her husband as well. This is the days of showing up with the boss and trying to figure out how to make a fancy dinner with no notice. Wanda Vision did an episode like this that was spot on. If you have not seen, Wanda vision yet please do yourself a favor and watch it. If you are TV addict like me those early episodes are great. You really get a sense that Rob and Laura Petrie truly are a team. They are wonderful on screen together. These two light up the room and are equally fearless in their approach to the material. Now at the office we have Carl Reiner playing Alan Brady. Alan Brady is the star of the show that Rob Petrie is writing for. The first season or two you do not see his face, which I always thought was very funny. In the writer’s room Morey Amsterdam, the quick-witted Buddy Sorrell, joins Dick van Dyke. I always tried to emulate this character when I was younger. He was so quick witted, not mean but sharp. Those of us who know Morrey Amsterdam know him from this, but he was also in Beach Party, with guest appearances on Fantasy Island, Vegas, Adam 12 and Herman’s Head. Now the lady at the office who helps wrangle these two is Rose Marie’s Sally Rogers. I have to say this show is ahead of its time. She is not a secretary, or Rob’s Gal Friday, she is a writer, in the sixties. How many women were in these jobs then? Heck, how many women are in these jobs now? Sally Rogers was a great character. She could hang with the boys and gave as good as she got. They also played with her dating and looking for a man, all for a laugh, but she was a professional writer. As I got older and reluctantly gave up on being a space cowboy a part of me actually thought this would have been a great career, mostly because of how they showed the writer’s room. Please do not message me and break my heart telling me this is not even close to how a writer’s room works, I just could not handle the heart break. This show is excellent, and you need to see it. You can find episodes on peacock, and it is worth the watch. These are funny and timeless. Give it a watch.

Show of hands who loves Dabney Coleman? I know I do. He always plays the wonderfully self-assured characters, hear total A-holes, but he does it so well that I absolutely love hating them. This also tells me he must be a great person. Why would I say that? It seems that people who plays the characters this well are always so very nice in real life. I direct you to Larry Linville, major Frank Burns on MASH. Now, we all have seen the show and we all know that we cannot stand that character, however I have never heard anyone say anything except wonderful things about Larry Linville. I am assuming, and hoping I am not wrong, that the same will apply to Dabney Coleman. The show I am talking about is the Buffalo Bill show. This is a mid-day talk show set in Buffalo New York and the wonderful Dabney Coleman plays the title character “Buffalo” Bill Bittinger. You do not see too many of these anymore. Everything is corporate produced and packaged out, but back in the day each region, it seems, had their version of this. Like many of the podcasts out there except broadcast on local TV in the afternoons. You might get big local celebs and even some people may be out promoting a thing, but mostly local, or regional, human-interest stories. For those who do not know Dabney Coleman was also in a ton of stuff. He was in Modern Problems, Nine to Five, War Games, and my favorite, I am probably the only one on this one, Cloak and Dagger.  Just a wonderful actor. He is our star and most of the staff is running around trying to keep him happy. The cast here is wonderful. Max Right plays the executive producer; he was the dad on ALF, as well as All That Jazz and From the Earth to the Moon. He is clearly over worked and very under paid. This character always is on the verge of a breakdown. How could he not be? He is the liaison between Bill and the Network heads. This guy needs a raise and a lot of time off. There is constant conflict between him and Bill as they try to get this show on the air every day! We also have a young Meshach Taylor who I always love on screen. You know him from Designing Women, Mannequin, Damien the Omen II and a short stent on Criminal Minds. Wonderful actor. In addition, on the Bill show we get a young Charles Robinson, most will know him as Mac on Night Court, he did a couple of episodes of Casey undercover over at Disney channel as well as a ton of other notable projects. He is another actor I always love seeing on screen. Joanna Cassidy plays our director. She runs the booth and tries her best to keep the show on the air when Bill is going through one of the many rants or detours, he tends to take. You will know here from NCIS New Orleans, , and Falcon Crest. Next from the before they were household names files is a young Gina Davis. When it comes to strong female characters this is the actor you want to see. I have mentioned her in the Exorcist series, as well as Thelma and Louise, The Long Kiss Good Night, and The Fly with Geoff Goldblum. Here she is the sexy girl in the office, and this is played for the laughs. Now it is early eighties, not that that makes sexual harassment okay or even funny, but she is really the update to Rose Marie’s Sally Rogers. She can handle herself in this setting with Bill. He is always hitting on her and trying to get her to wear sexy revealing outfits etc. she always seems to come out on top and win those little office games. Now I have to tell you the running joke throughout the entire series, if I am remembering it correctly, is that every week was Bill’s Last Show. He was always on the verge of being fired for his behavior or just quitting because he did not get his way. And this was my favorite part. When I was younger, I lived with my aunt in the Orlando area. My bedtime was nine o’clock and this show was a nine o’clock show. I used to beg my aunt to let me stay up and watch. I would always tell her “But its Bill’s last show” and she would eventually relent and let me stay up to watch it. I used to think I was getting away with something here, but I now know I was not. She would let me stay because she knew my dad watched it as well. My dad would pick me up on Fridays and we would go to his house for the weekend. This was one of those shows we talked about. We talked about many shows. My dad lived about forty-five minutes outside of Orlando and in those days, it would take like two hours just to get out of Orlando traffic. Therefore, a forty-five-minute drive was more like a three-hour drive. We would sit in traffic and talk and laugh. I am sure other drivers would see us and wonder what was wrong with us. I mean who likes traffic. Who laughs in traffic? Of course, we would laugh that my aunt, his sister, would fall for the “It’s Bill’s last show,” and as I said I am sure she did not fall for that at all. Where can you find Buffalo Bill Show? Nowhere. I mean buy it on DVD on amazon or something, but I could only find two episodes on YouTube. It is as if I am the only one who remembers this thing. Well, my dad and me.

This is a favorite of mine. Short lived only one season. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is a great show! Now like 30 rock this is a behind the scenes look at a SNL type show. However, this is not a half hour comedy; this is an hour drama. I am not sure why it did not last. The writing was great on this show. Created by Aaron Sorkin, from the West Wing, Money Ball, and Newsroom, another show for volume 2. We focus primarily on the backstage drama of this fictional show. A huge cast of great actors and the writing is wonderful. The show opens with Judd Hirsh, Taxi, Numbers, and Without a Trace, is producing Studio 60. He gets push back from the network over a sketch that could cause problems with advertisers. He then has this breakdown, very reminiscent of the movie Network. This is the glorious manner, in which we all want to quit our jobs, but he does it and you really question what he is doing. This is the open of the show. You are now thinking you have no idea what is going to happen. We meet Amanda Peet who has just been hired to head up this department. It is not even her first day yet and she already has a crisis to solve. Is television really like this? You know what don’t tell me, I do not want to know. You know Amanda Peet from Identity, the Whole Nine Yards and The Good Wife. A young female executive is at a dinner party to welcome here on board, and this happens. Everyone is off to the studio. What a first day. Not even her first day more like First Day eve. To solve this problem. The first thing she does is hire back a couple of guys who left the show earlier in their career. Mathew Perry, Fresh off Friends, shows up as head writer. I love Mathew Perry. He just feels like a friend of mine. I thought that all the way through friends, while I cannot place exactly which of my friends it is he definitely would play one of my friends. He was also in Go On, a quirky half hour comedy that was excellent, and The Odd Couple. He is now in the office that was once his mentor’s, remember Judd Hirsch, and there is a countdown clock on the wall counting to the next show. I have a tough enough time with the ticking clock in education I cannot imagine having a weekly clock. he is stressed. Bradley Whitford plays his writing partner, more of a director, who is also hired on. They are team so if you get one you get both. Bradley Whitford is a wonderful actor you have seen him in Get Out, Cabin in the Woods, but my favorite from will always be West Wing. I loved Josh Lyman as a character. I really related to that character too. Whitford’s character is not able to direct movies for a while as he failed a drug test, and no one will insure him. He is now doing television, again. This comes out in the first episode during a press conference. He lays it out very matter of fact, which I think is just wonderful. The cast is full of wonderful actors you have seen and are still seeing in tons of stuff. First up Sarah Paulson, Nurse Ratched, American horror Story, and Deadwood, plays Harriet Hayes. She used to date Mathew Perry’s character and is the resident religious person, this plays to plot a little bit, and she does a wonderful job. She is always great in everything I have ever seen her in, and this is no different. Steven Weber plays a studio executive, another of those actors I love not liking his characters they tend to be a little bit of an A-hole. He is currently on Chicago Med doing a wonderful job, but again a character I love to not like. I did love his character on Wings, of course if I rewatch it maybe not. He was also on Ballers with Dwayne the Rock Johnson, and absolutely great on that as well. See the other characters I have already talked about for more insight. He plays those parts very well. They are not the same, but they have a vibe, and he nails it. D.L. Hugley plays another of the cast members. Graduated from Harvard drama almost thinks this might be beneath him but nails everything they throw at his character. This is where I found D. L. Hughley, then I saw his stand up and I think he is so funny. You may also know him from inspector gadget and scary movie 3. A wonderful actor and comedian I hope to see him a lot more moving forward. Timothy Bussfield plays the director in the booth on this one. Another West Wing Alum on this show. I love his character on west wing. A reporter with a conscience and a heart of gold. He was also on Thirty Something, Designated Survivor and where I first saw him Revenge of the Nerds. Now I know that one does not hold up in today’s world. Will not re-watch it I will just let it live in my head. I love this show. You get all the drama of a great workplace drama plus some of the funniest comedy writing ever. You need to check this one out. You can buy the entire series, one season, at the usual places VUDU Amazon iTunes. You know the places.

there are five shows in side of shows. hopefully I got your favorite, if not hang around for season two i am sure this will get a volume 2 treatment. Please be sure to check out That and a Dollar… where ever you listen to podcasts. also follow me on Instagram @a_guy_named_chuck. I am on twitter @thatandadollar. you can also find my Facebook group That and a Dollar podcast. if you want to support this one man show please leave a tip at http://www.buymeacoffee.com/thatandadollar . I am a guy named chuck and as always that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee.