After nearly a decade of kid-free programming like “Seinfeld,” “Friends” and (until recently) “Mad About You,” TV families are making a comeback. But is there anything familiar about these Tinseltown talkers? When it comes to the family chat, do actors say it like it is? Or is TV’s kid-to-parent dialogue way off base?
“That depends on the show,” says 13-year-old Doug W. of Ohio. “If I talked to my parents about farts the way the kids do in `South Park,’ I’d be grounded for the rest of my life. But my mom really likes `7th Heaven.’ That show is real.”
But 14-year-old Kerry H. of Colorado disagrees. “Real? `7th Heaven?’ Come on. They’re always saying things like, `Mom, I really learned a lesson from making that mistake.’ Who talks like that? Everyone knows `South Park’ is kind of exaggerated. But `7th Heaven’ comes off like, `this is how life really is.’ I just don’t buy it.”
“7th Heaven” producer Brenda Hampton says Kerry is right. “For some people, our show is as much science fiction as `The X-Files,’ because to them, the show is too good to be true. But writing for television is a creative process. We tend to write what we wish we had said in a given situation.”
Exactly, says “Home Improvement” writer/producer Bruce Ferber. “It’s a balance. We start with `real,’ but we know we have to make it funny. So we inject humor where it will work best. And it’s often our actors who let us know when it works and when it doesn’t work.”
Twelve-year-old Ann M. of Illinois says “Home Improvement” is the most realistic family show she has watched. “And I think it’s because the kid actors don’t go overboard. They seem real, so the show seems real.”
Ferber says Jonathan Taylor Thomas gives the show an advantage when it comes to getting real. “He is as smart or smarter than the character he plays on the show. So when this guy is doing the lines, he understands them. He adds a lot to them. The whole process is collaborative. Actors are not puppets in this day and age.”
Not puppets, perhaps, but some actors are animated. “Because our show is a cartoon, people are more forgiving if we depart from realistic behavior,” says “Daria” story editor and co-creative supervisor Glenn Eichler. “We have it easier than a live action show in that respect. If it strikes a familiar chord with people, that’s great. But we don’t have to worry as much.”
The bottom line, Eichler says, is that TV writing is built on the writers’ imagination. “The dialogue between Daria and Quinn and their parents is partly based on conversations I had with my parents, partly based on conversations I have had with my kids. But a lot of it is based on the traits we’ve given each character.”
For 15-year-old Jesse D. of Colorado, it comes down to this: TV doesn’t have to be about real life.
“I don’t think the way my parents talk to me will ever wind up on network TV,” Jesse says. “But isn’t that the idea? I watch TV to get away from real life. I mean, if it was just a bunch of home videos of my parents getting cranked because I didn’t get my homework done, what would be the point of turning it on?”
