TWY > Specials > Mark B. Perry > Tidbits
© 1997-2005 mp
Online since October 27, 1997
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A week before the chat took place we met Mark online to talk over the details. Further we were in contact via e-mail to organize the chat. Here are some excerpts.
about the Arnold's house
[21:36] <MPerry> and the inside of the house is a completely
different floor plan from the Arnold house set we used
[21:37] <MPerry> notice in the pilot of the show the kitchen and
house are differnet from in the series
[21:38] <MPerry> I'm a veritable fount of useless knowledge
about his work on "Picket Fences"
[21:40] <MPerry> I'd prefer you use WY and Party of
Five as my credits
[21:41] <MPerry> Picket Fences was a very bizarre experience
[21:41] <MPerry> David Kelley wrote every single episode of that
show
[21:41] <MPerry> The scripts I wrote he simply used as springboards
[21:41] <MPerry> so I left after the first season
[21:41] <MPerry> loved the show, wasn't crazy about the job
[21:42] <MPerry> Besides, I wrote for three seasons on WY and three
and a half on Po5
[21:42] <Manuel> what do you think about him/his shows (ie. PF,
Ally McBeal). Does he write anything on his own? I always thought he's
a brilliant writer...
[21:43] <MPerry> yes, he's a great writer, but like I said, he writes
everything himself, which is very frustrating for the writers who work
for him
[21:42] <Henry-S> did you write any law and orders?
[21:43] <MPerry> I co-wrote three L&Os if I recall... that was
also a bizarre experience.
[21:44] <MPerry> imagine going from adolescent agnst to cops and
lawyers... I was a fish out of water
about "Party of Five" and Ken Topolsky
[21:44] <MPerry> are you guys fans of Po5?
[21:45] <MPerry> you can be honest... i dont' work on the show anymore
[21:45] <schu> it's better than bh90210 :o)
[21:45] <Henry-S> it's all right, but in the very beginning it was
much better
[21:45] <Manuel> hehe. I saw it a few times. but I didn't start
to watch it regularly
[21:45] <MPerry> completely agree with both of you
[21:45] <Henry-S> with bailey on the football team....those are
good ones
[21:45] <MPerry> right!
[21:46] <MPerry> people always said I brought a real WY sensibility
to my Po5 episodes...
[21:46] <MPerry> like the one where Claudia wasn't happy with her
breasts not developing so she stuffed her bra with Kleenex!
[21:46] <Manuel> I already got a questions about Ken Topolsky and
you both working on WY and PO5
[21:47] <MPerry> Yes, the first time I ever met Ken he tried to
throw me off the set of my first episode...
[21:47] <MPerry> he didn't know I was the writer
[21:47] <MPerry> thought I was some crazed fan getting to close
to the actors!
[21:47] <MPerry> true story! And Ken's an imposing guy, so...
I almost actually left.
[21:47] <MPerry> that wasn't the first time somebody tried to throw
me off the set...
[21:48] <MPerry> but maybe I'lls ave that story for next week :)
how he stumbled upon "The Wonder Years"
[21:06] <MPerry> The first episode I ever saw was also
#2, Swingers.
[21:07] <MPerry> That's the episode that got me hooked on the show
[21:07] <MPerry> and led to me writing my first WY episode.
about the ongoing popularity of the show
"Last year, I spoke to a class of third graders here in the US -- and they were all huge fans as well. It seems that TWY has a timeless and ageless appeal. I'm very honored to have been a part of it and to know that the show still touches so many people."
about Edward Gross, the author of the WY book
"To tell you the truth, he created quite a stir because when he called to interview us all, he said he was writing a feature article about the show for a little newspaper called _The Long Island Ear_ (or something like that). Then, a few months later, this book showed up! As I recall, New World was none too pleased at the time."
what he did on "The Wonder Years"
"I'm not sure about the episode numbers, but I believe I have 18 writing credits (both shared, story, and single). I had an episode the final season "Reunion," for which I received a story credit but did not write the teleplay. It was a hold over from my final season on the show."
answering a question about a WY reference in "Party of Five"
("In this weeks ep somebody (I can't remember - a doctor
I think) asked Charlie what he was doing tonight and he said he had been
eyeing off a Wonder Years marathon on cable. I WONDER if Mark wrote that
line???????"):
"I wrote the Wonder Years reference into one of my Party of Five
episodes. Just an inside wink to people who know!"
© mp (http://twybook.cjb.net)
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