Chuck Lorre
At the end of every episode of every TV show, the producers have something called a "Vanity Card." It's usually a standard graphic that's the same every week, like the cat meowing like the MGM lion at the end of the old Mary Tyler Moore show, or "Sit, Ubu, Sit" at the end of Family Ties. But there is one writer/producer named Chuck Lorre (He was born Charles Levine) who does things a little differently. He is the current creator/producer of Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, and former creator/producer of Dharma and Greg, Cybill, and Grace Under Fire. His vanity cards are different every week. Each week he writes a note to his viewers, and that's his vanity card. Now, the notes are only shown for about 2 seconds, so it's impossible to read them completely on the screen. It used to be a sneaky little way to encourage people to record his shows, then pause the recording in order to read his vanity card. Well, when he was writing the vanity cards for Dharma and Greg (I believe that's when he started writing them), some fan named Henry started copying the vanity cards onto a web site, so it would be easier for people to read them. The site is Henrysworld.com, and I followed the vanity cards on that site every week (I love D&G and all of Chuck Lorre's shows). Well, apparently, Chuck finally caught on, because he created his own web site just to post his vanity cards. This comes in particularly handy when his vanity cards are censored by the network--he just posts the uncensored version on his web site. It's also convenient because Henry apparently is only hooked on the late great D&G, and has paid no attention to Lorre's amazing shows since then.
Here's the thing: You have to go to http://www.chucklorre.com/ and read his vanity cards. I promise you that they are addictive. They are usually hysterically funny, occasionally deeply profound. Sometimes both at the same time. He can get very political, but always in a funny way--sort of Doonesbury-esque. I have read vanity cards of his that made me laugh so hard, I cried! The cards are also deeply personal and impossibly honest. (Reading his cards is how I knew his real last name, for example.) One week he might write about some obviously real experiences, and the next he might write about something spiritual that he manages to make funny. They're always unique, and like potato chips (which are not as unique, but almost as delicious), it's impossible to stop at one.
The intriguing thing is that Chuck doesn't have to do this. He could just make a clever logo and move on. It's not as if a person producing two weekly TV shows is going to have loads of free time to write. These vanity cards take effort, and I'm pretty convinced that he's telling the truth when he says that he writes them himself. I think he uses them as a means of public self-expression, in which he is able to get more personal than he is in his shows' scripts. It's an outlet. Sort of like LJ is for me, although I'm pretty sure that more than two people are reading his vanity cards, which is a good thing. He's way more interesting.
So go to http://www.chucklorre.com/ and let me know what you think. And Chuck, if by chance you periodically Google yourself, and on the one in a million shot that this page should come up, I want you to know that I think you are without a doubt the most brilliant mind in entertainment today. And I say that as someone who has absolutely nothing to gain by sucking up to you.
Edit: I can't believe this! I just Googled Chuck Lorre on a whim, and found that two days ago, he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I had no idea! Certainly no one could be more deserving of one. I just find it kind of wild that I've been following his work for over a decade, and when I finally decide to blog about him it turns out to be the same weekend he gets this great honor. Mazel tov, Chuck!
Here's the thing: You have to go to http://www.chucklorre.com/ and read his vanity cards. I promise you that they are addictive. They are usually hysterically funny, occasionally deeply profound. Sometimes both at the same time. He can get very political, but always in a funny way--sort of Doonesbury-esque. I have read vanity cards of his that made me laugh so hard, I cried! The cards are also deeply personal and impossibly honest. (Reading his cards is how I knew his real last name, for example.) One week he might write about some obviously real experiences, and the next he might write about something spiritual that he manages to make funny. They're always unique, and like potato chips (which are not as unique, but almost as delicious), it's impossible to stop at one.
The intriguing thing is that Chuck doesn't have to do this. He could just make a clever logo and move on. It's not as if a person producing two weekly TV shows is going to have loads of free time to write. These vanity cards take effort, and I'm pretty convinced that he's telling the truth when he says that he writes them himself. I think he uses them as a means of public self-expression, in which he is able to get more personal than he is in his shows' scripts. It's an outlet. Sort of like LJ is for me, although I'm pretty sure that more than two people are reading his vanity cards, which is a good thing. He's way more interesting.
So go to http://www.chucklorre.com/ and let me know what you think. And Chuck, if by chance you periodically Google yourself, and on the one in a million shot that this page should come up, I want you to know that I think you are without a doubt the most brilliant mind in entertainment today. And I say that as someone who has absolutely nothing to gain by sucking up to you.
Edit: I can't believe this! I just Googled Chuck Lorre on a whim, and found that two days ago, he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I had no idea! Certainly no one could be more deserving of one. I just find it kind of wild that I've been following his work for over a decade, and when I finally decide to blog about him it turns out to be the same weekend he gets this great honor. Mazel tov, Chuck!