Podcast
TV Confidential with Ed Robertson
Hosted by ed robertson · EN
TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television brings you lively conversations every week with the stars, writers, directors and other creative people behind the scenes of some of America's most popular shows. An engaging blend of talk and entertainment, TV Confidential often compares today's programs with those of the '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s.
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Episodes
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David Spencer, author of The Novelizers
6d ago00:21:53Tap to summarizeTVC 736.1: Ed welcomes David Spencer, award-winning musical dramatist, author, critic, musical theatre teacher, and the author of The Novelizers: An Affectionate History of Media Adaptations and Originals, Their Astonishing Authors, and the Art of the Craft, a deep dive into the world of media tie-in writing—novels that are not only based on existing movies, TV series, made for TV movies, and TV miniseries, but which, in many instances (such as the Diagnosis Murder novels and the Monk novels written by Lee Goldberg), tell original stories based on the characters of those movies and TV series. David's book introduces readers to many of the people who have adapted film and TV screenplays into original tie-in novels, while also making the case that tie-in writing is an honorable tradition with artistry of its own. The Novelizers is available through Bear Manor Media as well as Amazon.com. Topics this segment include why the subject of TV tie-in writing is deeply personal to David, and why tie-in writing, in many respects, is itself a form of literature.
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David Spencer on the art of adaptation
1w ago00:18:26Tap to summarizeTVC 736.2: David Spencer, author of The Novelizers, uses Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962), the 1984 made-for-TV adaptation of A Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott, and Harry Sinclair Drago's novelization of The Champ (1932) as examples of the kind of choices that an adapting writer will make when presenting characters from the source material in a way that is unique to prose. The Novelizers: An Affectionate History of Media Adaptations and Originals, Their Astonishing Authors, and the Art of the Craft is available through Bear Manor Media as well as Amazon.com.
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David Spencer on the joy of reading aloud
1w ago00:13:41Tap to summarizeTVC 736.3: David Spencer, author of The Novelizers, talks to Ed about how writing, in some respects, is another form of acting, insofar as novelists or screenwriters will often inhabit the lives of the characters they create. The Novelizers: An Affectionate History of Media Adaptations and Originals, Their Astonishing Authors, and the Art of the Craft is available through Bear Manor Media as well as Amazon.com.
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Lee Goldberg on his series of tie-in novels based on Monk
1w ago00:20:10Tap to summarizeTVC 736.4: While we're on the subject of TV tie-in novels, we thought we'd bring you an encore presentation of our August 2011 conversation with New York Times bestselling novelist and Edgar Award-nominated television writer and producer Lee Goldberg (Spenser: For Hire, Diagnosis Murder, Monk). Lee's latest novel, Murder by Design, becomes available in bookstores everywhere on Monday, June 1 and has been described as "James Bond meets Adrian Monk." At the time we spoke to Lee in 2011, he had just released the latest in his series of original tie-in novels based on the Monk television series. Tony Figueroa co-hosts.
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Lee Goldberg on his original novels based on Monk and Diagnosis Murder
1w ago00:18:37Tap to summarizeTVC 736.5: From August 2011: New York Times bestselling novelist Lee Goldberg talks to Ed and Tony about the popularity of his Monk novel series; why he ended the Diagnosis Murder novel series after eight books; and how he and William Rabkin came to write Successful Television Writing. Lee's latest novel, Murder by Design, becomes available in bookstores everywhere on Monday, June 1 and has been described as "James Bond meets Adrian Monk."
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Raymond Burr wins his first Emmy for Perry Mason
2w ago00:08:30Tap to summarizeTVC 735.3: From May 2014: Tony, Donna, and Ed take us back to May 6, 1959, the night on which Raymond Burr won his first Emmy Award as Best Dramatic Actor in Perry Mason (CBS, 1957-1966).
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Emmy Award-winning producer Charles Floyd Johnson on his path to becoming a writer
2w ago00:19:46Tap to summarizeTVC 735.4: Ed welcomes Emmy Award-winning producer Charles Floyd Johnson (The Rockford Files, Magnum, p.i., Quantum Leap, JAG, NCIS, Red Tails, John Lewis: Get in the Way). Charles is also one of the six authors whose work is featured in A Gathering of Voices: The Longwood Writers Workshop, an anthology of vibrant, introspective, lyrical, and personal stories that provide a full, rich, and multidimensional look at life in Black America in the 20th and 21st century. All of the stories told in A Gathering of Voices resonate with memories of struggles waged, battles won and lost, and experiences that illuminate the collective wisdom learned by each author and their hard-won resilience. A Gathering of Voices is available through BookBaby.com, Amazon.com, and LongwoodWritersWorkshop.com. In this segment, Charles talks to Ed about the formation of the Longwood Writers Workshop, and how that eventually led to the publication of A Gathering of Voices. He also discusses some of his mentors in television (including Roy Huggins, Stephen J. Cannell, and Don Bellisario), and how his experience contributing stories for Rockford and Magnum early in his career reflected his longtime desire to become part of the "creative" side of television writing and production.
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Charles Floyd Johnson on learning how to become vulnerable on the page
2w ago00:20:44Tap to summarizeTVC 735.5: Emmy Award-winning producer Charles Floyd Johnson talks to Ed about his successful battle against cancer in 2020, and how his journey, in many ways, makes him a "poster child" for early detection. He also discusses the importance of learning how to allow himself to become vulnerable on the page when writing about other difficult moments in his life (which he does in each of the six stories that he wrote for A Gathering of Voices). A Gathering of Voices: The Longwood Writers Workshop is available through BookBaby.com, Amazon.com, and LongwoodWritersWorkshop.com.
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Charles Floyd Johnson, John Lewis, and Red Tails
2w ago00:14:55Tap to summarizeTVC 735.6: Emmy Award-winning producer Charles Floyd Johnson talks to Ed about how he came to work on the groundbreaking PBS documentary John Lewis: Get in the Way; why Red Tails, the award-winning feature motion picture about the Tuskegee Airmen (which Charles produced, along with George Lucas), took twenty-three years to make; and why Stephen J. Cannell remains a seminal influence in his life. Photo of Charles Floyd Johnson courtesy Military.com Charles Floyd Johnson is one of the six authors—along with Denise Nicholas, Denise Billings, Otto Stallworth, Jr., GW Williams, and Hattie Winston—featured in A Gathering of Voices: The Longwood Writers Workshop, an anthology of vibrant, introspective, lyrical, and personal stories that provide a full, rich, and multidimensional look at life in Black America. A Gathering of Voices is available through BookBaby.com, Amazon.com, and LongwoodWritersWorkshop.com
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How Movin' On grew its core audience because of its early time slot
2w ago00:10:07Tap to summarizePlease enjoy this preview of our upcoming conversation with Barry Weitz, co-creator and co-executive producer of Movin' On (NBC, 1974-1976), and Kathy Bird, author of Sundance Turns 50: The Amazing Legacy of Movin' On. In this segment Barry discusses his initial inspiration for Movin' On; how he originally envisioned the series as a 10pm show that would cater specifically for adults (and how NBC curtailed that strategy when it moved the show to Tuesdays 8pm); and the many ways in which the earlier time slot proved to be a blessing in disguise. Our complete conversation with Barry Weitz and Kathy Bird will air in a few weeks on TV Confidential.
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