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01/16/2006: WELCOME!!

Hello everyone! This is the inaugural entry in my brand new blog. Welcome!

If you've found this blog, you probably already know who I am. My claim to semi-fame is that I wrote for Buffy the Vampire Slayer for five of its seven seasons, leaving only when the show came to an end. The episodes I wrote included "Band Candy," "Harsh Light of Day," "Intervention," "I Was Made to Love You," "Earshot," "Superstar," "Storyteller," "Same Time, Same Place," and others. I also co-wrote "Conversations with Dead People," which won a Hugo Award. Writing for Buffy was unusual among TV writing jobs, in that it actually results in writers -- not just performers -- having fans. This is, I must say, lovely. It also resulted in other work, including writing assignments on Angel and Firefly, and a lot of comic book writing, which I have enjoyed a great deal. Joss Whedon changed my life and is every inch the genius you suspect he is.

Since Buffy, I've done a variety of different kinds of writing: more sci-fi, on Tru Calling, hour-long comedy on Gilmore Girls, procedural writing on The Inside, and now half-hour comedy on Jake in Progress. My goal is to stick my nose into every bowl in the buffet, tasting every flavor they've got.

So right now, I'm on Jake in Progress. Here's the latest. We had a table reading of a script that I wrote a couple days ago. Lori Laughlin is going to play the part of John Stamos' love interest in this one, and OHMIGOD, she's fantastic. It was a really tricky role and she nailed every moment of it. I hope the series stays around long enough for you guys to see this episode, because -- amusingly -- it's got a bit of a Buffy flavor to it. Can you believe we're doing an alt-universe episode? I was so delighted, you can't imagine. Anyway, I love how it turned out, and if the show survives long enough, I'll let you know when it's going to air.

Our offices for Jake are at Fox studios in Century City. A few weeks ago there was a lot of noise and teamster-style shouting outside our writers' room. Turned out, it was burly men taking down all of the Arrested Development sets. Terribly sad. Our other neighbors on the lot include Stacked, which shoots very near to our offices, and How I Met Your Mother, which shoots across the lot from us. That means Aly's right there... I should walk over and find her. Such a good woman. One of those comedic actors who's funny even when the camera turns off.

In other news, late last night I hit the "send" button and mailed the newest draft of my latest pilot script off to the appropriate executive. This is the funniest little project, my own personal brainchild and I'm desperately proud of it. Clap your hands if you want to see a half-hour comedy about the lives and loves of Las Vegas showgirls. I know I do. So I wrote one. If it doesn't go, and you still want a really interesting insight into a unique job that may not be around much longer (in my opinion), take the back-stage tour at Bally's Jubilee in Vegas. It's cheap and fascinating. If you watched E!'s reality series "Nearly Famous," you already know what I'm talking about. Great stuff!

In conclusion, you were promised you'd hear what I had for lunch. This is will indeed be a regular feature. My Latest Lunch was:

A hot pastrami sandwich!

Thank you. See you soon!