JaneEspenson.com

Last night there were localized brush fires around Los Angeles. I turned on the local news to hear a reporter deliver the following line:

Reporter: “The threatened houses are now out of the woods. The woods themselves, however, are still largely on fire.”

Oh my god. I love this. Genius! And I cannot decide on the degree to which she knew how funny these two sentences are. There was a certain halting and dour quality to it, combined with the fact that later in the report she referred to “the worst fire-danger year in recorded history in the last fifty years,” that makes me think it was completely unintentional.

I go back and forth on which is funnier, a character who is genuinely not aware of the humor in what they’re saying, versus one who is. Usually I come down on the side of smart and self-aware. And I adore a smart character who catches himself saying something stupid.

I think it’s the popularity of this combination that has led to this current virulent infestation of “that didn’t come out right.” (I saw it two more times this week, and I wasn’t even watching sitcoms.) Clearly, we need a new way for characters to react to their own ill-considered words. Personally, I favor the silent wince, but physical reactions don’t always work as well in a spec as they do on screen. Maybe just a defiant, chin-up, “Yes, I just said that.”

In other news, maybe you should all wait up on those 30 Rock specs I’ve been urging, until we see how this Alec Baldwin thing shakes out. Geez.

Lunch: soy-based sausage patties, tortillas and avocado