magellan333
08-07-2011, 05:30 PM
I just finished Reading Demond Wilson's "Second Banana" and it was worth the seemingly high price his website charges for it. It really does answer a lot of questions. I found this excerpt particularly interesting as Demond Wilson seems to agree with many of the show's fans.
Upon the entry of Saul Turtletaub and Bernie Orenstein as writers/producers:
"It appeared they were trying to reinvent the wheel. I was raised to believe, it it's not broke, don't fix it. We were (Fred and Lamont) being reduced to caricatures, while the storylines became more absurd with each episode. It appeared to me like we were doing a parody on ourselves. The lines were hokey and strained while the situations were the same. I've seen it happen before, a show runs out of fresh ideas and resorts to goofy formats. It's like some women as they get older their jewelry gets bigger. Don't look at me, I'm no longer beautiful; instead, look at this gorgeous jewelry."
"One insane episode had Fred telling war stories to his nephew. After falling asleep, Fred's dream becomes a German Word War II de farce. I thought this is as far as we can sink. My disillusionment resulted in my staid approach to the series. By this time (fifth season), the series was ingrained in the mind of S & S fans, they probably didn't care....I did. During rehearsals, the new guard stood around cracking up, I thought , <i>this material isn't funny, it's embarassing</i>. It would be okay if we were doing "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" or "The Flip Wilson Show."
He further writes:
"Redd went along with them because they allowed him to play his character (Fred Sanford) without restraints. One day Redd said, 'You know, Saul and Bernie are great guys, I like them a lot, but some of these scripts are awful.'"
"The critics were correct when they made the statement, 'Demond Wilson seems to be walking through his part.' What else could I do? I was the straight man to one of the funniest men in the business, and the show was becoming 'Looney Tunes'".
Sorry for the long post, but I thought some of the fans might enjoy reading this. If you have a chance to read "Second Banana", I recommend it.
Upon the entry of Saul Turtletaub and Bernie Orenstein as writers/producers:
"It appeared they were trying to reinvent the wheel. I was raised to believe, it it's not broke, don't fix it. We were (Fred and Lamont) being reduced to caricatures, while the storylines became more absurd with each episode. It appeared to me like we were doing a parody on ourselves. The lines were hokey and strained while the situations were the same. I've seen it happen before, a show runs out of fresh ideas and resorts to goofy formats. It's like some women as they get older their jewelry gets bigger. Don't look at me, I'm no longer beautiful; instead, look at this gorgeous jewelry."
"One insane episode had Fred telling war stories to his nephew. After falling asleep, Fred's dream becomes a German Word War II de farce. I thought this is as far as we can sink. My disillusionment resulted in my staid approach to the series. By this time (fifth season), the series was ingrained in the mind of S & S fans, they probably didn't care....I did. During rehearsals, the new guard stood around cracking up, I thought , <i>this material isn't funny, it's embarassing</i>. It would be okay if we were doing "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" or "The Flip Wilson Show."
He further writes:
"Redd went along with them because they allowed him to play his character (Fred Sanford) without restraints. One day Redd said, 'You know, Saul and Bernie are great guys, I like them a lot, but some of these scripts are awful.'"
"The critics were correct when they made the statement, 'Demond Wilson seems to be walking through his part.' What else could I do? I was the straight man to one of the funniest men in the business, and the show was becoming 'Looney Tunes'".
Sorry for the long post, but I thought some of the fans might enjoy reading this. If you have a chance to read "Second Banana", I recommend it.