If you’re thinking of tuning in while you make dinner, do your nails, or balance your financial books – you might have a re-think. With each episode featuring political maneuvering and subterfuge – you’re going to want to give the story your full attention.

Keri Russell delivers a standout performance. In fact, all the women in this series are bona fide kick-ass-take-no-prisoners complex characters. Well written. Well acted.

The series ends on a cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers. I’m talking about a four-wheel drive dangling at the edge of a mountain cliff by one inch of tire tread on the left rear wheel.

Created by Executive Producer Debora Cahn. She was also the writer and executive producer on the Showtime series Homeland, Grey’s Anatomy, and The West Wing. The Diplomat is a must-watch for anyone who enjoys political thrillers. I highly recommend it!

While making coffee I decide to check my symptoms on the phone. Apparently, Web MD thinks there’s potential for a stroke. So, I put my phone on the counter, grab two aspirins and then follow the websites’ instructions. It states that if I hold my arms out at shoulder level, close my eyes, and touch my nose with one index finger at a time, then I’m fine and there’s no need to worry.

I perform this quick ritual with no problems and pronounce myself clear of imminent danger.

While the coffee continues to brew, I pick up my phone and begin checking emails. Damn! Looks like major creative decisions were made at 2 am. And for a brief moment I think I should have been up to answer them. But before I get too unhinged, I pull myself back to the world of sanity and realize that answering emails at 2am is not normal.

There’s a reason I have these symptoms. It’s good old fashioned stress, brought upon by the wacky world of production.

Ah, finally, the coffee is ready. I take my first sip. Black. No sugar. The first taste is always the best and I spend the rest of the day chasing that sensation, drinking cup after cup until I’m so high on caffeine there’s nowhere to go but down. And that’s when I have a small niggle in the back of my head that says, Maybe I should make some life style changes.

I immediately dismiss the notion. After all, what would I do if I wasn’t in this crazy, constant-heart-pounding profession?

Hmmm…. I wonder if it’s too late to become an accountant?

Whether you’re on location, in the studio or sitting at your desk prepping for the next shoot – here are some handy ‘must-haves’ for your bag, satchel, knapsack,  or briefcase.

1. Phone.  Seems obvious, but I’ve had to turn around more than once because I left it on my kitchen table, in my refrigerator, on my desk, in the ladies room, sitting on (fill in the blank). Be prepared because you will never find a pay phone that works or is clean.
2. Phone Charger for wall and car. Do not leave your home without your phone being fully charged and with a charger for the wall and the car.  Just don’t.  You’ll be on your phone all day– texting, making and taking calls, searching for a heart shaped birdcage the production is sure to need at the last minute.  Be prepared, because a dead phone is not a phone.
3. Paper and pen.  Yeah, yeah, we live in a world of technology.  Everything is done on the phone or computer.  But what if you’re on location and need to leave a note on a door, leave the location owner some written information, have a quick production meeting for the next day and need to take notes,  write down a very large coffee order,  whatever… your thumbs just don’t move that fast and you need all the information, not half of what you can remember.  Be prepared, because you’re human not a robot with a memory chip.
4. Folding umbrella.  Even if you have the greatest NASA weather app and it indicates blue skies for the next 20 days – bring an umbrella – when has the weather report ever been truly correct?  I’ve known it to say warm, sunny temps and suddenly found myself standing in a snowstorm. Be prepared because mother nature can be cruel.
5. A small USB flash drive.  You just never know when you’ll need to do an emergency transfer of files.  Be prepared because  you won’t always be near a 24-hour Walmart.
6. Post-it-Notes and a Sharpie.  Sometimes line producers just need to put notes on things, tag items and write with a marker that will stand out. Be prepared, because little notes will fly away without an adhesive backing.
7. Extra sweater or sweatshirt.  You may unexpectedly find yourself  in a house, trailer, studio, or in the elements where the temperature has dropped twenty degrees..  Be prepared, because it’s draining and difficult to think when your feet and toes feel like ice pops.
8. Extra socks.  If you step in a puddle, the cooler turns over on your feet, or there’s a sudden downpour, there’s nothing worse than spending your day in wet socks.  Be prepared, because wet socks suck. (Say that fast 7 times.)

What’s in your bag?

It’s me, Jane. I know, I’ve neglected you horribly, but I was on vacation. Tropical breezes, the smell of early morning sun-tan lotion, and the sound of waves rolling in and rolling out. I was at peace with the world.  I had no complaints. But now, I’m back at work. I’m on a new series. And I could use a friend, and you’ve always been such a good listener. You never judge.

It’s true what everyone’s been saying behind my back, I’ve developed an attitude. I’ve gone back to my roots, The Bronx. The only borough with a preposition. Also, the only borough that can be used as an adjective. “You’re so Bronx.” “Don’t make me get Bronx on you.”  These are terms I’m familiar with because whenever I’m really super-duper pissed off, my first reaction is to go Bronx. And it’s not pretty.

Right now, I’m sitting at my desk with the door closed pretending to work. I’m pretending because I’m too furious to concentrate on anything of substance. I’ve been asked to get the ungettable get. And there’s no room in the budget. Another long night. Seems to be a constant state with me these days.

The Bronx girl in me is banging down the wall of my skull and she wants out. If I let her, she’ll say a horrid curse word. And my father always told me cursing was for those with a limited vocabulary. But I swear to all that is holy in this universe, sometimes when I let out a ‘motha-fucker you all quit it,” well, it cures what’s ailing me.  Sometimes I need that kind of release.

Diary, I know I really ought to curb the foul language. I’ll be better next time. I promise.

This series highlights a woman devoted not only to her own children, but the children she teaches, bringing to the forefront subjects not easily tackled yet handled with ease and grace in this one-hour drama.

Fortunately, all 3 seasons are available for binge worthy watching.

20 Feet From Stardom
This Oscar winning film looks at the unsung voices behind some of the biggest superstar legends. From Sting to Springsteen and Michael Jackson to Jagger – they’ve all been backed up by voices you’ve heard but never really seen.

This bittersweet, touching and very dynamic documentary takes you into the lives and careers of the women who helped shape popular music.

Wallander

My husband is a fan of Henning Mankell, the Swedish author whose Wallander novels have been produced for television in Sweden and the BBC. I haven’t read the books or watched the series – not really my cuppa – a bit too depressing for me. I’m in my “tra-la-la” phase. Looking for happy endings and all that.

In any event, the BBC’s version stars Kenneth Branagh who took home the BAFTA award for his portrayal of the brooding inspector Wallander. I’m told this is not your usual crime/mystery fare. This one is well written, well acted and I’m told totally binge worthy.

When it premiered in 2001 I hadn’t seen anything like it on television. As a viewer I was spun around, once, twice and then a third time – after that I was a ‘lifer’. The plot included spies from all over the globe searching for mysterious 15th century artifacts that would change the world. At its core it was a race between good and evil – figuring out who were the good guys kept the audience guessing and lead to plot twist upon plot twist. There are five seasons of this series and where it might fall short is where I felt LOST fell short… the ending… but don’t let that stop you from enjoying hours and hours of exciting, mind scratching television. This is certainly binge worthy watching.

Araon Sorkin’s West Wing.
As the title indicates its about the President of the United States, his senior staff – and all the drama, political intrigue and life and death decisions that happen in the White House. Coupled with the quick, witty, thoughtful dialogue by Aaron Sorkin –you too will be sucked into the what’s happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

I’m a particular fan of Season 6 featuring Jimmy Smits. This was the season that somehow foreshadowed what happened in our 2004 Presidential elections.
Mr. Sorkin clearly has opinions and a leaning toward one side of the political aisle, but his characters are ones that stay with you. Binge worthy? For. Sure.

When I work with interns I make sure I give them some one-on-one time and the benefit of my years of production experience.

1.     Never, never let an intern sit idly.  Yes, it’s tempting, with the pace of production, it can have the apparency that it is easier to do it yourself than to take the time to teach a ‘newbie’ to do it.   In fact, it takes more time for you to continually do a task that is so far out of your job description, than it does to just spend the initial 30 or 45 minutes to give the data to an intern.  So, take the time, give them a little bit about the business and let them get on with it.  They’ll surprise you.  And if they perform the task and it’s not quite right – don’t accept it.  Don’t assume the viewpoint that you might as well do it yourself. That is so not the point. Thank them for their effort, point out what was right about it, and then tell them what needs to be changed and why.

2.    Take time each week to teach your intern something they don’t know.  Even if they’re not ready to do that particular job.  Give them something to look forward to, or something they can work on during their own time.  For example, show them how to research, give them a list of all the vendors you use, and have them check out their websites so they’ll know in the future who you order your lights from, where props can be rented, who are the food services people you use, etc.  Let them get familiar so if they do happen to be the only person back in the production office while you’re on a shoot or in the edit session, they’ll be able to help you out without too much preamble.  Seriously, who has time for preamble when you’re on location?

3.     Put your intern in a centrally located spot in the production office.  Stuffing him or her to the outer Siberia of your office will teach them nothing.  Put them in the middle of the fray where they’ll be able to hear and experience everything.  They’re working for free- if you can’t give them money then show them the love- put them in the middle of what’s happening.

4.    Once your intern has proven s/he has the staying power, include them in meetings, invite them to outside office functions and they’ll feel like they’re part of team.  Morale will be boosted and we all now, boosted morale equals increased production.

5.    Give them different things to do.  If you’ve got a ton of transcriptions from tapes you’ve shot – don’t give them ALL to the intern.  It’s tempting; after all they’re a warm body. But if you take the internship seriously, you’ll want to help develop a well rounded production person who can crawl they’re way up the ranks like the rest of us.  Give them a sense of all areas of production.  Not just typing up transcriptions and answering phones.  Have them log tapes, type up production schedules so they can see the logistics and maneuverings that go into creating a production schedule, have them create crew call sheets and then go over it with them.

There’s lots more an intern can and will do – but it’s up to you as the producer to take time out of your hectic schedule each day to give them some guidance and show them the love.  And on a final note, there can never be too much of “what goes around comes around,” – remember we all had to start somewhere.  Make their first experience a good one.

The Biggest Loser put the bull’s eye on the back of obesity in America.  While millions of people watch the show, I think there are far too many of them lying back on their couches shoveling handfuls of cheese popcorn into their mouths and throwing back a few beers all the while cheering their favorite to lose 100 pounds.  If you look through the window of any fast food restaurant in the nation – it’s not typically the slim and trim set staring back at you.  It’s usually the people whose body mass index is wacked out of proportion.  So it seems appropriate that reality TV would reflect a reality that needs attention and a change.

Jamie Oliver has created a show and a movement with Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.  Produced by Ryan Seacrest Productions, well known British chef, Jamie Oliver tackles schools and their idea of what consists of the basic food groups.  We’ve sunk pretty low, when schools consider french fries a vegetable – I’m just saying.

The Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels, has a new series premiering this Tuesday.  She’ll temporarily move in with families and attempt to get them to live healthier lifestyles in Losing it with Jillian.  I believe they’ll either lose weight or lose their minds.

In August, The Style Network tackles the issue with a new docu-series, Too Fat for 15: Fighting Back from Daisybeck Productions. The series will highlight the emotional journey of four obese teens and one pre-teen who attend a weight-loss boarding school in North Carolina.

Obesity wasn’t a problem on the frontier.  If you wanted to eat butter you had to churn it (great upper body strengthening), if you wanted steak, you had to ‘hunt’ it before you threw it on the grill.  And bread, was a whole ‘nother matter.  You had to grow and harvest the wheat (back breaking work) before you could even think about turning into dough.   People worked hard, they didn’t eat preservatives and candy was a luxury.  We’ve become complacent, and we’ve become excessive.  Seriously, it’s time for a reality check when it comes to thinking MacDonald’s or Taco Bell can be anything close to a nourishing low calorie meal.  I’m happy to see that producers are creating shows that tackle tough issues and hopefully prompt a change.

Having been through six months of licensing deals with that production – I developed a keen ear whenever I watched a show featuring lots of music.  In the back of my mind I would think, “Oh those poor bastards at the production company, their heads must be spinning around like the exorcist child trying to make deals for the music.”

I had those same thoughts when I saw the TV show GLEE.  The FOX hit about a group of misfit high school Glee Club singers.    Each week the show features at least four songs.  I’ve come to discover that the show producers and Sony Music made a deal.  When the execs at Sony Music saw the pilot they jumped at the chance to partner with GLEE. And that was a very, very smart move.  The songs from the show have already generated over 200 million iTune downloads and the number grows weekly.  Can you hear the ‘cha-ching’ at the music publishing company?  A gold mind is being created and the show is giving re-birth to songs that were no longer bringing in the big bucks.

I don’t think many music publishers, labels or recording artists thought much about GLEE when it premiered – but Sony Music was insightful enough to see that this show had legs and would be advantageous to their publishing division.  When the show featured Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” the track went gold with over 500,000 digital sales.  Those sales figures are attracting attention and there are now many musical artists offering their songs, including Brittany Spears – all with the hopes of cashing in on the phenomenon that is GLEE.

The basics of Marketing 101 are to get your product known and get it sold.  Therefore, it would seem obvious that the purpose of a commercial is to sell the product.  It doesn’t matter how many Clio awards one wins for best ad of the year, what matters, or what should matter is moving the product into the hands of the consumer.  I know, as creatives, we don’t like to hear words like sales, profit, and bottom line – but as a producer or client, those words are almost lyrical.  The message, while wrapped in a creative package, should make the viewer want to pick up the phone, log onto a website, or grab their car keys and buy, buy, buy.

Consumers buying lots of products is what every company hopes for when they put money into advertising.  So why be ambiguous, ethereal, or vague with the ad?  Why be so clever that you hurt the bottom line?  I think that’s exactly what the Droid did with their initial ad campaign.  The Droid is a smartphone from Verizon, Motorola and Google.  This seemingly unbeatable trio had a one million dollar ad campaign to introduce the Droid as the answer to Apple’s iPhone, and yet I don’t think they hit the mark.   The results are in the numbers – the iPhone sold over 1 million phones during the first weekend of its release, and the Droid will potentially sell 1 million during their first quarter.  How could this be?  Verizon is a superior network with more customers, Motorola makes good products, and Google is ubiquitous.  I think it was the ad campaign.  You just didn’t know what the heck they were selling.

The iPhone ads tell you exactly what you’re getting.  They even tell you it’s a phone.  The Droid’s announcement was a commercial called “The Stealth.” It featured several stealth bombers dropping “bombs’ on remote locations throughout the U.S.; in the middle of an ocean, on a deserted highway, in a forest – and finally in the front yard of a desolate ranch. It was beautifully shot and very reminiscent of the “Independence Day” movie trailer.  The last shot features two older men walking toward the crater that is now the front of their ranch while the ‘bomb’ opens up to reveal something we can’t identify.  The older rancher says to his companion –“What in the world is that?”  A question, I say needs an answer, because the commercial told me nothing.  It didn’t even tell me it was a phone.  And furthermore, it is highly unlikely that two ranchers in the middle of nowhere are interested in a phone that will give them a wireless connection to the internet, a convenient way to watch YouTube, a built in application to keep all their contacts straight and the ability to take photos at a moment’s notice to send to friends and relatives.  Here was an opportunity for Verizon a better network, with more customers to steal the thunder from the iPhone.  More people own PC’s than Macs, more people use the Verizon network than AT&T and they’re showing me stealth bombers and remote locations in the US.  I think they were too creative for their own good.  And I believe that’s why the Droid’s sales didn’t crush the iPhone.

What about you – any commercials you’ve seen that were so creative the message didn’t reach you?