Search

"It's a matter of manipulating the Nielsen meters and being smart enough and consistent enough to hold that second quarter hour, and that brings your ratings up. The teases before the breaks are so important. The minute you go to the break the audience leaves. Research tells us that. So we've just got to get them back."

"The robot and Will Robinson were like a boy and his dog." 

"No matter what I did to manipulate scenes, I was always conscious of trying to be true to the writer's intent."

"On New Year's morning, Soupy said, 'Sneak into your dad's room, go in his pants pocket and send me those small pieces of green paper. I'll send you a picture postcard from Puerto Rico.' Some lady complained that we were teaching children to steal and we got suspended for ten days!"

"The Golden Age of Television is now (2008). I mean, show me any kind of dramatic series of the past that have been the equal of 'The Sopranos,' of 'The Wire,' of 'NYPD Blue,' of the original 'Law & Order,' of 'In Treatment'. I can think of nothing in the past that equals those. This is a remarkable time."

"The most important thing for a talk show host is to listen. If they don't listen they're going to miss great opportunities. Try to make the guest look good, not necessarily make yourself look good."  

"When a show was live, it was live. That was it. Then the main thing was we all had to get it right."