Taping

I've been hinting around it so now I can say it. I just filmed a segment of a new series that may be picked up by the TV One network. So the deal went down as planned.

This was my first time on a TV set in a very long time, or basically ever as an adult. As the deepest and most loyal Cobb readers know, I was up for the cast of Julia (yes that Julia with Dihanne Carroll) when I was kid. The last time I was on TV, I was about 10 years old. It was the Louis Lomax Show. Anyway, I showed up right about on time and there were wires and cables all over the place. The production crew had taken over a lovely house in the Valley high in the hills. As the sun set we had a gorgeous view of the Valley and we sank into the plush blue chairs to tape.

The producer and I hit it off almost immediately. It turns out that she attended St. Bernards and basically grew up in the old black classy Los Angeles. She is one of the People of the Dons. Of course she was bright and poised. We gabbed on for a bit about how things have changed in black LA as production assitants and crews ran around busily. Everything was smooth and very professional and suddenly I've gotten an inside view of the Business.

The assistants were very courteous and made absolutely sure that I had absolutely everything I needed. Twice. Ernest handed out backgrounders, Taylor handled the legal paperwork, Val did my makeup, a couple of other earnest young folks handled everything else. There was dinner too. It was delicious BBQ but I made sure not to eat too many beans.

Just like me, I over-prepared. I printed out my 'Don't Church' notes and took down names of the dozen people I was introduced to, and even with that I now know why a proper actor has to say "and too many people to name here, but I'm thankful to all of you as well". There's a lot of people involved and I couldn't possible name them all. Uhm let's see, there was the guy who mic'd me up. The guy who got me cold drinks. The wardrobe lady who called.. And the funny thing about it was that I never even felt like sucking up to the bigshots. I mean I may eventually, as that may be my ticket to get the Cobbian message out there, but I just marvelled at how they all coordinated and worked this thing.

The host of the show, David, looks like he could be the brother or cousin of Roger G. Smith aka 'Hollywatts'. He was especially gracious and at ease and made me feel very comfortable. Ernest kept everything snapping and right on schedule. So anyway, we get to taping time and I have met the other brothers in the show. But not really scoped out their positions on the topic 'Why He Won't Go to Church'. I got one of the brother's takes on paper, but not the other two. So there were some interesting spontaneous combustions which actually I think will make for a very interesting show.

The minister, Chuck, got a lot of deference through most of the show. I don't think anybody wanted to put him on too hot a spot. He did a good job of representing a voice of reason. 'Zo' Williams played the backwards hat skeptic. He was suspiciously coy but did some fairly good bogarding on the set. He was something of a wildcard and kept us off balance. That was a good thing. Trey, the youngest of us all, was the ingenue. He represented the most faithful and dedicated to God and his particular faith. Me? I was the one using the $50 words, patiently. I think I made some pretty good points, especially when it came to the political end and the separation of Church & State. Also in pointing out the differences between the Protestant and Catholic faiths. I wanted to take that further, but nobody wanted to touch Islam with a ten foot pole. I tried to drill home one theme which was the extent to which the black church has broken faith with the black community as the source of the problem we were talking about. Maybe it got through.

On the whole it was a very satisfying experience and I managed to keep my nerve. But I'm also understanding a lot more about what makes for good television and how that differs from making good blogging. In otherwords, I'm definitely recognizing the value of a soundbite. What's interesting is that the way I practiced for this debate was all wrong. I was monologuing in talk radio format which is something you can do when you have that kind of time, but the dynamic between four guests and a host is very different. What really works is the devastating quip that knocks everybody back.

I definitely expect this one to be a very good show and as soon as I get word on airdates I'll put it out here. I learned a lot about the format. Part of me wants to give a lot of the inside dirt like I remember Jimi doing, but this a well-run affair, and there's not much dirt to tell other than the fact that the clashes weren't just drama for TV. They did a good job of mixing up the personalities and it could have kept going on and on. Still we covered a lot of ground and everything that had to be said was said, really.

By the way, I thought everybody knew about Conjugal Sheets. But maybe I'm busted for confusing the fictional dystopia of The Handmaid's Tale with an urban myth about Orthodox Jews. But homeboy started it when he told everybody that he's been abstinent for six years and that sex is moral only for procreation in marriage. I was thinking about women in burkas too..

One more thing. I won the dominoe game.