On Sun, Apr 1, 2012 at 2:00 AM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > > The more than I think about this, the more I think the whole thing must be a > joke - and that perhaps Tom posted this with a wink and a nod to the joke, > and I am the idiot for even considering the possibility that it might be > serious <pause her to check the internet>
For the record, I did not post it as a joke and as April Fools pranks had not yet started, I did not even consider that this story was not genuine. We all have our perception filters and right now one I use has to do with the idea of team effort versus individual talent. I'm sensitized to it both through my work with organizing and movement building and also listening to all those Marc Maron podcasts where he goes into the different mindsets behind standup and sketch/improv. So the idea of Chase having a problem with the show seems reasonable if not inevitable. Throughout its history SNL has always been successful only as a team effort. The only individual talent who can transcend the team is Lorne. In all the books and articles about the early years of SNL, the emphasis has always been on team building, mutual trust, and mutual responsibility. It is meaningful to me that Chase walked away just as the team was pulling together for its best work. I do not condemn Chase for it because not everybody can be a team player, but Chase never showed himself to have the voice or impact an individual talent needs to succeed. He needed, and needs, to be part of a team. In his book, Comedy at the Edge, Richard Zoglin recalls an episode of a Smothers Brothers summer replacement show where George Carlin and Richard Pryor were guests and joined the brothers wearing straw boater hats and singing In the Good Old Summertime. In a few short years both Carlin and Pryor could command a stage and do comedy with unmistakably singular voices. That never was Chase and that is not him now. So I do not know what is going through Chase's head right now. He has to be aware how rare of an opportunity he has been given to have regular work in show business at his age, but perhaps his resentment at not being the center of attention has gotten the better of him. Should Community go to a fourth season he will not be missed. Leonard could be added to the study group. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
