http://www.columbiaspectator.com/authors/posts/26077 An authors posts... used for embedding en http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/30341 http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/30341#comments Opinion Perspectives Submission Swastika Symbols Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:03:35 -0500 Sandra Cariglio 30341 at http://www.columbiaspectator.com http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/28323 http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/28323#comments News Tue, 27 Nov 2007 02:22:27 -0600 Sandra Cariglio 28323 at http://www.columbiaspectator.com http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/54163 "I am not looking forward to doing your mom! " 32-year-old Glenn exclaims desperately to his best friend, 13-year-old Josh, the son of the only girl Glenn has ever kissed. This charming exclamation can be found in an episode of the Fox comedy The Winner, the new show from executive producers Seth MacFarlane and Ricky Blitt, co-creators of the hit Family Guy. The show follows the misadventures of Glenn Abbott, played by Rob Corddry of "The Daily Show." After years of a cosseted existence with his parents, Glenn is rather belatedly sparked to become an adult-and eventually the richest man in Buffalo-when his childhood flame Alison returns to town. The show is set in 1994, a background which is revealed with references to this time in our not-so-distant past. In the opening episode, Glenn's parents watch O.J. Simpson's pursuit by the police on the news, and Clinton-administration jokes pepper the dialogue. These comic reminders, however, remain peripheral in the show's world of small and self-absorbed characters. In a conference call with student journalists, Blitt and MacFarlane discussed their newest creation. Blitt has not decided on an ending yet, nor on an explanation of how exactly Glenn became the richest man in the neighborhood. He suggested the quickly dismissed idea of making the character affirm at the end "I'm a compulsive liar, did you really believe me? I'm absolutely broke." This lack of anticipation illustrates Blitt's organic, spontaneous and unpredictable method of writing, which, he believes, remains meaningful for the viewer as long as it is sincere. The choice of Corddry for the first role was unanimous. Out of four finalists, he was the last to put himself on tape, according to MacFarlane. But as soon as the producers watched him, they agreed that his "sweet and vulnerable air, which remained hilarious, was really perfect for the job," said MacFarlane. In response to repeated concerns about the intimate relationship between Glenn and Alison's 13-year-old son Josh, which was perceived, as Seth formulated, as "automatically sleazy," the latter said that "the irony lies in that what could have been sleazy is actually the sweetest part." Indeed, both characters share a low level of life experience and are treated as equals, in maturity and development. Their complicity in dreams of "growing up" is humorously touching. Moreover, the taboo is broached, and hence defused, in the second episode when the video store guy asks Glenn "Are you a pedophile?" before hiring him. Although the medium is very different, The Winner can be compared to MacFarlane and Blitt's previous show Family Guy, due to its momentarily shocking sense of humor, which seeks to push the limits of the acceptable. In Blitt's view, the quality of the show resides in the character and situation comedy and an autobiographical genuineness, in the tradition of shows such as Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm, rather than in any quest for an innovative camera concept. Both producers insisted on the importance of the multi-camera format for the show, which permits a certain intimacy and warmth to the scene. In Blitt's words: "I like the fact that there are no tricks or sixty distractions at the same time." When he first read the script, MacFarlane said he laughed out loud, thinking Glenn would be any guy who would watch Family Guy. What supplements the comedy is that Glenn is not, in MacFarlane's words, a "total virgin of life;" his nervousness and insecurity in his pretending to be an adult makes the audience connect emotionally. There is a "real life" quality in his relationship to Alison, who is completely out of his league and makes him go through a lot to be worthy of her. The idea of a late bloomer who through years of personal misery has achieved a certain happiness (which reminds us of the comedy The 40 Year Old Virgin), has something universal to it. "There is something common, relatable and noble about Glenn Abbott," said Blitt, who considers the character an extension of himself. Through the specific and the desperately human, both producers succeeded in hitting the universal, thus appealing to a public of all ages. http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/54163#comments Arts & Entertainment Sun, 04 Mar 2007 23:00:00 -0600 Sandra Cariglio 54163 at http://www.columbiaspectator.com