“Friends” creator sets Class rules
Here’s the way things work: When you are writing about a show, you tend to link the names to the project that people in the real world are going to recognize.
So when CBS’ new comedy series “The Class” was introduced, we all wrote about the seriesfrom the creator David Crane, who also did a little show called “Friends.” Crane co-created “The Class” with professional and life partner Jeffrey Klarik.
Klarik’s a swell guy with a sparse resume. So, of course, reporters linked Crane with “The Class” and left off Klarik in the spirit of saving some much-needed space.
Which caused the creators to bristle.
Which brings us to The Card.
Critics got a card from CBS this week with a picture of the cast of “The Class” and on the back, a nice little picture of Crane and Klarik. And a not-so-subtle line under the picture saying “created by David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik.”
Nice try. Bottom line is that there’s precious little space in the newspaper to list all the creators/producers and other people viewers don’t really care a flying Frito about.
So tag, Crane. You’re it. No matter how many postcards you send, we’re still going to say “The Class,” by “Friends” creator David Crane.
Just Wondering said,
August 30, 2006 at 2:38 pm
OK, if there is precious little space to mention one of the writers of the Class by name, why’d you waste a whole colume on THE CARD? How would you feel if your name let alone your picture was left off your colume?
Just Wondering said,
August 30, 2006 at 2:46 pm
Just wondering, if there’s no room to mention one of the co-creators of “the class”, how come you wasted a whole bunch of bitchy paragraphs on “the card”? Also, I couldn’t help noticeing not only your name, but your lovely picture at the top of your colume. Perhaps you’d have more room if you were remove them. After all no one gives a “flying frito” about what you look like.
Susan said,
August 30, 2006 at 11:21 pm
I’ll gladly put Jeffrey Klarik’s name in the blog, where there’s plenty of room. He co-created “The Class” and deserves credit for doing so. The blog item simply pointed out that when you have limited space in the print newspaper, you can’t list everyone involved in any given show. You can’t list everyone in an ensemble cast, and you can’t list all the producers. So you list the people readers know, hoping it will spark some interest in tasting the product.
If David Crane hadn’t created “Friends,” then he wouldn’t have been listed at all in the fall preview stories or reviews churned out by critics. It’s not to slight anyone.
If this promising show is a hit, then I suspect Klarik will be getting plenty of ink for his next project.