A Writer's Life

Writing Guest Shots for Actors

My friend Ken Levine has an amusing post -- heck, he always has amusing posts -- on writing episodes with a particular actor in mind for the key guest-star part. It's a very risky move. 

When Bill Rabkin & I were doing DIAGNOSIS MURDER, Fred Silverman and our star, Dick Van Dyke, always wanted to snag Mary Tyler Moore or Julie Andrews for the show.  And every season, Dick would run into them at a party or something, corner them about doing a guest shot, and they would always assure him that they would love, absolutely love, to do the show.  

So we would write an episode for Mary or Julie and they would always pass, without even reading the script, as we knew they would. They just didn't have the heart to say no to Dick's face, to tell him they had no interest at all in doing an episode of DIAGNOSIS MURDER. So we'd end up with Piper Laurie, Holland Taylor, Kathleen Quinlan, Stephanie Zimbalist or some other actress instead. It was the same when we wrote, at Dick's insistence, our annual guest part for Carl Reiner...who also always passed. We knew they would never do it...but Dick and Fred wouldn't give up. 

We also had to craft episodes for Dick's neighbors, George C. Scott and Rod Steiger, knowing damn well they wouldn't do the show, either. Scott got out of doing the guest shot brilliantly...he told Dick that he wanted to do the part, then asked us for such an outrageous amount of money that it simply wasn't possible. 

That said, we wrote an episode at Dick's behest for his friends Tim Conway and Harvey Korman and, much to our surprise, they actually agreed to play the parts...and were terrific. The funniest part though, never made it on screen. Tim Conway ad-libbed some hilarious stuff during Dick's reveal of the killer at the end of the episode...but the studio nixed it because it killied the drama. What drama? It was a flat-out comedy episode. (Yes, I am still bitter about it after all these years). 

On the other hand, Bill and I got a lot of press, and mighty big ratings, for our stunt-casting episodes, which we didn't write with particular actors in mind (with the exception of the MANNIX revival, but rather a TV genre -- like TV spies, TV doctors, and TV cops. Our TV spy episode -- with Robert Vaughn, Robert Culp, Patrick MacNee, and Barbara Bain as "Cinnamon Carter" -- was especially memorable for me (and Larry Carroll & David Carren did a fantastic job writing it). 

But Bill and I also stunt cast out of sheer folly, just to amuse ourselves. For no reason whatsoever, we cast an episode only with stars of Garry Marshall sitcoms. For another, we only cast leading actors from different versions/spin-offs of M*A*S*H (we snagged Elliot Gould, Loretta Swit, Sally Kellerman, Chris Norris, Jamie Farr, and William Christopher). Those episodes were so much fun for everyone -- the writers, the cast and the crew --- and were far less risky than tailoring a role for a specific actor. And the network, the critics and the viewers seemed to like it as much as we did.

Scooby Doo, Where Are You?

William Rabkin talks on his blog about the animated and the live episodes of DIAGNOSIS MURDER that we almost did...and the reasons why we didn't end up producing them. Here's an excerpt from his discussion of our animated episode idea:

Then someone had the idea — and I’m pretty sure it was me, because I’d been watching a lot of Dennis Potter at the time — that we should team Dick up with the greatest sleuth ever to grace a television set… Scooby Doo. After a long bout of giggles, the story fell into place almost immediately. Dick’s character, Dr. Mark Sloan, would witness a crime, but before he could get away the criminal would attack and leave him in a coma. While the rest of the team searched for his attackers, Dick would be solving the crime in a series of hallucinations… with the help of Scooby Doo. There was one little problem, of course — we didn’t really have a lot of money in our budget for animated sequences. Fortunately, Lee can pull up TV trivia faster than Google, and he remembered that an animated version of Dick had “guest starred” in a Scooby Doo episode back in the 70s. All we’d have to do was get the rights to the footage, then write new dialogue, with our supporting cast doing the voices for Shaggy and the rest.

I don't know whether the episode was Bill's idea or mine...but my memory of how we were going to use the cartoon in an episode is a bit different than his.  At first we considered having Dr. Sloan imagine himself in the cartoon...but realized he was too old to be a fan of SCOOBY DO.  It made no sense for his character. So we decided instead that his young protege Dr. Jesse Travis (Charlie Schlatter), while doing some sleuthing for Mark, would get bonked on the head and tossed of the Santa Monica Pier...and while unconscious, and fighting for his life in the hospital, that he'd imagine Dr. Sloan, himself, and the rest of the gang investigating a similar crime with Scooby-Doo (with Jesse as Shaggy, Steve as Fred, Amanda as Velma, and Jesse's girlfriend Susan as Daphne). Once Jesse awoke, he'd tell Mark the story and unknowingly give him the vital clue he needed to solve the real murder mystery.

It would have been ridiculously cheap and easy for us to simply revoice the cartoon with our own actors and dialog...and come out of it with an episode that was 50% animated and far less than our usual episodic budget (we could have used it in place of one of our dreaded six day shows -- episodes shot over six days instead of seven -- that we did each season to save money). As I recall, even Dick was excited about the idea...in retrospect, maybe it wasn't so much the idea, but rather the notion of having so many days off that he liked. Charlie was already doing lots of voice-over and cartoon work at the time, so he was also game for the idea. 

I still remember Bill & I writing the letter to Warner Brothers, trying to convince them to let us use the footage. As I recall, Fred Silverman signed the letter, too, and even made a few calls trying to convince the studio to grant us the rights.

Warner Brothers asked us for an outline, so we even went so far as to pick the clips we wanted to use and sketch out the story in broad strokes...but we weren't about to plot out the whole thing until we got the rights. Alas, it didn't happen, for all the reasons Bill goes into on his blog.

Here's a clip from the Dick Van Dyke episode of SCOOBY DOO...

Very Sad News

My friend Barbara Parker has died.  I worked very closely with her for the last few years on the MWA's membership committee and admired her humor, her intelligence, and her good-nature. Now I know why it's raining in Hawaii today.

Ripped from the Headlines

If I was still writing DIAGNOSIS MURDER novels, this would be the next one: 

The scars on Craig Buford’s abdomen hinted at the shooting that almost took his life 35 years ago in Denver.[...]But the shooting resurfaced last week when the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office ruled Buford’s Dec. 29 death a homicide, stating that it was caused by multiple organ failure due to complications from his wound.

The Word on The Last Word

I have been getting lots of emails about THE LAST WORD, the final DIAGNOSIS  MURDER novel. I would say that 95% of the response has been positive...the rest, well, far less so. Here's a small sampling of some of them:

From Patrick Casey:

I finished reading "The Last Word" last night and I must say that it is a spectacular book.  I enjoyed how you brought back a lot of the old enemies of Mark, and giving him his greatest challenge yet.  As I was finishing reading the last chapter of the book at tear started to roll down, knowing that this is the end for the characters.  The last line of the book is exactly what this series was about.  Thank you for giving us fans a wonderful ending for this wonderful TV show.  I hope that one day down the road you will revisit the books and give us more of Dr. Mark Sloan and family.

From Patty Kavaitis:

I just finished it. It kept me so enthralled that I literally could not put it down-read it at one go.  You did not let us down, you kept the family together, and left the door open for new adventures. Sweeney's insidious plan was so intricate I almost felt like pulling out pencil and paper to keep track of who did what and who knew what--and to connect all the dots of the not so coincidental connections...

From Betty:

If it wasn't for Dick Van Dyke's photo on the cover, I'd have sworn I was reading bad fan fiction. 'The Last Word' lives up, or should I say down, to its name by completely destroying the lives and careers of the characters. I particularly hate the characters being subjected to the state-sponsored kidnapping also known as wrongful arrest and imprisonment; without the slightest hint of any form of redress at the end. For me this book caused tears and a nightmare. This series could have ended in style with *satisfactory* resolutions; including other, positive reasons for Mark and Steve to decide it was time to quit medicine and solving murders, respectively. And by the way, destroying the characters means that the baddies win after all. What kind of a message is that to send?

From TommyH:

I enjoyed The Last Word, and think you have done a great job in taking the characters from the TV series and making them more 3 dimensional and interesting. While the TV show was entertaining, the books blow the series out of the water, because they expand on familiar characters/plot and make them more realistic. The books have improved on the television series, and I just hope that The Last Word is not the last book

From Maria:

I’ve just finished reading The Last Word.  This tied in very well with #5 and #7.  I like the ending, which leaves you with so many possibilities to continue the story in so many different ways, if so required/wished to do so. Only one problem…I lost a few hours sleep in finishing reading it...>really a great read, great story and a great ‘ending’.

From William Simon:

I have to tell you (for what my opinion's worth), you blew me out of my chair.  You scared me at about the 3/4 mark; how the F*** was Mark going to get out of THIS jam?  Usually, I'm a little better than average at figuring things out (a legacy from being raised on Ellery Queen I suppose), but you took me by surprise all the way around.  My compliments, amigo.  A well done novel, a nice tribute, a fitting end to the series.

From  Nwolynetz :

The critics were right it was tooooo dark.  I don't think it was a fitting end to the series, you made Dr. Sloan and his "family" and his past exploits irrelevant. Your dimensions were way off.  I loved all of your past books but not this one.  I have reread all of your other books more than once, but will never reread this one.  Stop reevaluating your characters and keep them as lovable as they once were. I have few authors I enjoy and you have been one of them, please don't disappoint me again.  Thanks for giving me a chance to vent my frustration.

From Richard L. Moore:

I just finished THE LAST WORD and I do think, in my humble opinion, that it was a fitting end to the series. I enjoyed the book, couldn't put it down as I had to keep reading to see what happened.  The ending was just great.

One of my all-time favorite emails

I got this email today from someone who read DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE LAST WORD and wasn't too fond of it:

The reason why I like reading DM is because I enjoyed the television series.  I, too, did think your recent book was a little "dark".  I personally would prefer no changes and enjoyed reading about the one demensional tv character Dr. Sloan solving cases.  If I wanted to read a novel, I will buy James Patterson.

Another Word on THE LAST WORD

Longtime DIAGNOSIS MURDER fan Chadwick Saxelid has read THE LAST WORD, the 8th and final book in the series, and didn't find it a very pleasant experience. He says, in part:

With Diagnosis Murder #8: The Last Word author Lee Goldberg takes to the status quo of the series the way Godzilla takes to Tokyo.  He leaves no recognizable landmark standing, completely obliterating the status quo. [...] This is dark stuff indeed and a major change of pace for the series.  [...] This time around [he] takes the gloves off and does more than put Mark Sloan in a coma, he beats him bloody and senseless.  Watching Sloan rebound and regroup in an atypical manner completes the deconstruction of both the character and the series.  The Last Word truly is.

I certainly can't argue with his overall take on the book, though I don't think it's any darker than THE PAST TENSE (#5) or THE DOUBLE LIFE (#7)...the other books in this "unofficial" trilogy. It was certainly my intent with THE LAST WORD -- as well as PAST TENSE and DOUBLE LIFE -- to explore, as deeply as I could, Dr. Mark Sloan and to make him more than just a one-dimensional TV character, a "doctor who solves crimes." Over those three books, and to a lesser degree in THE SHOOTING SCRIPT (#3), I was intentionally confronting/deconstructing the ridiculous conceits of the series in a backwards attempt to make the implausible, underlying concept more believable and, by extension, the characters more real. I know that sounds pretentious, but I like to think that's what made these books read more like novels than simply knock-offs of a TV show...and why I was lucky enough to enjoy so much critical praise for them (even from Chadwick!).

If I ever decide to do more DM books, the resolution of THE LAST WORD opens the door to go in a new direction which...after being involved in four seasons of DM as a writer/producer and as the author of  eight books...I am ready to do. I think I have taken this particular format and these relationships about as far as they can go.

I'm curious to know what you think. Is THE LAST WORD a fitting end for the series? Or did I go too far?

Review Copies

I've received a limited number of review copies of MR. MONK AND THE TWO ASSISTANTS (July 2007) and DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE LAST WORD (May 2007). If you're an established reviewer and would be interested in receiving copies one or both books, please send me an email as soon as possible at Lee@leegoldberg.com with the name of your publication/website and your mailing address. I can't promise that everyone who asks for one will get one...but I will do my best.

The First Word on The Last Word

Mark Baker, a frequent visitor here and an Amazon top reviewers, has given his eOpinion on DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE LAST WORD, the final book in the series. He says, in part:

About a quarter of the way into it, I was getting bored and wondering where it was going. Then things really took off and I was hooked for the rest of the book. And those events from the first quarter? Absolutely essential to what comes next.

[...]Not only does this book close out the book series, but it also serves as a finale for the TV show. Yet it leaves the door open for further adventures. Frankly, I'd love to know what happens to these old friends next.

This is a book for the fans. Anyone looking for closure for these characters should read it. I'm definitely going to miss them. I just hope that something changes and we can get more adventure with these characters at some point in the future.

The book officially comes out the first week of May, but I am already getting emails from people who pre-ordered it and have received their copies.

Diagnosis: DVD

TVShowsonDVD reports that the second season boxed set of DIAGNOSIS MURDER, which includes my first contributions to the show, will be released in June. Our mentor Michael Gleason (creator/EP of REMINGTON STEELE) was running DM during the second season and signed Bill Rabkin and me to write four freelance episodes, one of which turned out to be the season premiere. We were thrilled. But a few weeks later, we got hired as supervising producers on THE COSBY MYSTERIES. So we found ourselves balancing two jobs and two TV icons at once ...Bill Cosby by day and Dick Van Dyke by night. We did it and somehow we even managed to write a pilot that year, too. Little did we know that our relationship with DIAGNOSIS MURDER was only just beginning.

Proofs as Proof

Novelist John Connolly just got the page proofs for his new book THE UNQUIET:

It's always interesting to receive the proofs, as it's the first time that I get to see the book as it will look to the public, i.e. typeset, and no longer simply my manuscript. At that point, a transformation occurs in the way I view it. It is not just something that I rustled up on my computer. It's a book, and I judge it in a different way. I notice elements that perhaps I did not recognise before. I become more conscious of themes running through it, and I become aware, for want of a better word, of the 'feel' of the book.

I know exactly how he feels. I just finished going through the proofs for DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE LAST WORD and I felt as if I was reading someone else's book. It didn't seem to have any connection to the "file" I emailed to my editor months ago. I was reading it fresh and I was surprised by some of obvious themes that ran that ran through the book...themes I wasn't even consciously aware of as I was writing it. 

When I read the proofs, I find myself seeing the prose, the characters, and the plot differently than I did in the midst of working on the book. But most of all, reading THE LAST WORD, I was aware of a pace and rythmn to the story that I definitely didn't feel while I was writing it in bits and pieces, at different times and in different places (L.A., Germany, Palm Springs... and at my desk, on airplanes, in hotel rooms, in waiting rooms, in my car, etc.)

The term "proofs" has a double-meaning to me. Holding the proofs, I have evidence to convince myself that what I wrote is actually a book...it's the first time the story feels like a book to me instead of work.

Diagnosis Murder Galleys

THE LAST WORD, the final book in the DIAGNOSIS MURDER series, will be published in May. If you are a book critic and would like a galley of the book for review,  please send me your name, the title of your publication (or the web address of your review site), and your mailing address.

Diagnosis Murder Song

Look what I stumbled on...some band in England has recorded a spoofy song about DIAGNOSIS MURDER and posted a video on You Tube. I have no idea what the lyrics are, which makes it hard for me to sing-along. Can you make them out?

Double Takes

DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE DOUBLE LIFE has been getting some very nice reviews from some very kind bloggers. Bill Peschel notes:

Fans of the “DM” series will know exactly what to expect: fast-paced storytelling, some humor, and a nicely observed interaction between Mark and his son, a homicide detective struggling to establish himself away from his father’s accomplishments. It’s to Lee’s credit that, in a genre that demands neat and tidy solutions, the personal conflicts never get truly resolved, just as in real life.

While the ScifiChick observes:

Goldberg weaves a complex mystery full of murders and puzzles. As always, he gives Dr. Sloan so much depth, emotion, and humor that you can imagine Dick Van Dyke playing the part on TV. Goldberg has proved once again that he is a master of writing whodunits.

Chris Well says you don't have to be a DIAGNOSIS MURDER fan to enjoy the book:

Goldberg does an excellent job of building on the characters we know and love. He also displays a knack of creating mysteries within mysteries, much like a puzzle box: no sooner do you have one thing figured out than you discover it's actually hiding something even more sinister. As such, The Double Life is not just an excellent continuation of the series -- but an excellent mystery novel.

And apparently Chadwick Saxelid didn't take it personally that I killed him off in this book:

Lee Goldberg has concocted a mystery concept so unnerving, it would even give veteran medical thriller writer Robin Cook the willies.

I want to thank all four bloggers for saying such nice things about the  THE DOUBLE LIFE, which leads directly in to THE LAST WORD, the final book in the series, which comes out in May. The cover for the book just showed up on Amazon (Click on the picture for a larger image).

The Double Life is Finally On Sale. You Can Breath Again.

In case I forgot to mention it, my seventh DIAGNOSIS MURDER book, THE DOUBLE LIFE, is now available in finer bookstores, truck stops, and places of worship nationwide. I like to think of  THE DOUBLE LIFE as the second book in an unofficial trilogy that began with DIAGNOSIS MURDER #5 : THE PAST TENSE and that will conclude in May 2007 with the eighth and final DM novel, the appropriately titled THE LAST WORD.

You can order your very own signed and/or personalized copy of THE DOUBLE LIFE from the friendly mystery babes at Mysteries To Die For, who will gladly send your order anywhere in the world...and to most State and Federal prisons.

I Should Kill More Critics

I killed Chadwick Saxelid in the latest DIAGNOSIS MURDER novel, but that didn't stop him from giving THE DOUBLE LIFE a great review.

For the seventh book in his series of Diagnosis Murder tie-ins, author Lee Goldberg has concocted a mystery concept so unnerving, it would even give veteran medical thriller writer Robin Cook the willies.

[...] mixing an emotionally nuanced character study (of Steve Sloan, this time around) with an intricate puzzle of a mystery, where finding out howdunit is just as essential, and entertaining, as finding out whodunit.  Like the best of series fiction, The Double Life both satisfies and leaves the reader hungry for more.

Diagnosis Murder Discount

My publisher is celebrating the release of DIAGNOSIS MURDER on DVD by offering 15% off any or all of my DIAGNOSIS MURDER novels on the Penguin website. Just enter coupon code DMURDER at checkout.  Books #1 thru #6 are available now. Book #7, The Double Life, comes out on November 7th, 2006.
  Offer valid for all orders received before and on 12/31/2006 or while supplies last.

The Last Word

Here's is the cover for DIAGNOSIS MURDER #8: THE LAST WORD, coming out next Spring. It's likely, as the title suggests, to be the final book in the series...and I can promise you that it's a worthy finale.  Dr. Mark Sloan and company face an old adversary and their biggest challenge yet.

Done at Last

I just finished writing the first draft of DIAGNOSIS MURDER #8: THE LAST WORD. It was actually due yesterday, but my editor kindly gave me an extension until Monday. It's the first deadline I've ever missed --  I didn't even have two broken arms this time as an excuse. Life just sort of conspired against me on this one -- and it turned out to be a much longer book than I anticipated. I wrote this one in many different places, from my home in Los Angeles to a hotel room in Cologne, Germany. If this does turn out to be the final DIAGNOSIS MURDER novel, I think I've left my characters in a good place, facing new lives and new challenges. If there ends up being more adventures, then I think created the opportunity to "reinvigorated" the franchise, which will allow me to tell fresh and exciting stories with these characters without trodding over old ground.

It Never Entered My Mind

Paramount has reversed course and the season one DIAGNOSIS MURDER boxed set, to be released in September, will now include "It Never Entered My Mind," the pilot which aired as an spin-off episode of JAKE AND THE FATMAN. In the pilot, Dr. Mark Sloan was a widower without any children. His investigative sidekicks were Kristoff St. John  and Ally Walker (as Dr. Amanda Bentley, a role later played by Cynthia Gibb and Victoria Rowell). But it still looks like the set won't include the TV movies that preceded the weekly series.

DM on DVD

Tvshowsondvd has the latest news on the first season boxed set of DIAGNOSIS MURDER, which  will be released on  Sept. 12.  So far, it looks as though they won't be including the original pilot (which aired as an episode of JAKE AND THE FATMAN) or the three TV movies which preceded the hour-long series. The set will include a flier advertising my seventh DM novel, THE DOUBLE LIFE, so that should be reason enough to buy it!

Stunt Casting

I was looking for a racy and suggestive DIAGNOSIS MURDER shot to illustrate the previous post and, shockingly, couldn't find one. But I did stumble on these gallery shots from some of our big stunt casting episodes (MANNIX, MATLOCK, TV Spies, TV Doctors, TV Cops, TV Sf, M*A*S*H).  They brought back some fond memories for me and reveal why TV geeks should never be put in charge of a series. (Click on the pictures for larger images).

There's Also a Sex Cult at Leisure World based on DIAGNOSIS MURDER Novels

Police in the UK busted a sex slavery cult who based their S&M lifestyle on a series of 1960s sf novels.

The Kaotians are a splinter group of the Goreans, which according to estimates number 25,000 followers nationwide. Both groups base their slavery and dominance beliefs on a series of novels written by John Norman, an American philosophy academic. THE CHRONICLES OF GOR depict a society, called the land of Gor, which is divided into castes, and where women are kept as slaves.

(thanks to Bookslut for the heads-up)

I'm Done!

I just this minute finished writing the final draft of MR. MONK AND THE BLUE FLU, my third book in the series, and had to tell somebody (everybody in my house is asleep already). I'm a week ahead of my deadline, so I will probably set the manuscript aside for a day or two and then read it again to make sure everything tracks. Or I may simply turn it in and be done with it.  Regardless, I won't do anything with it until Monday.

The timing is perfect, because Bill Rabkin and I are about to start writing a freelance script for a hot new TV series (more on that later) and I won't have to worry about finishing the book, too. I do have to start thinking about my eighth DIAGNOSIS MURDER book, though, which is due in three-and-a-half months...

So tomorrow I'll do my little book-completion ritual. I'll put my Murder Book (my binder of notes, outlines, photos, etc. related to the book) in a box in the closet and clean up my office, which tends to go to hell while I'm writing.

The Double Life

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day...here's an early peek at the cover of DIAGNOSIS MURDER #7: THE DOUBLE LIFE, which comes out in November (Click on the photo for a larger image).

Diagnosis Murder: The Dead Letter

I've received several emails today asking how you can get signed copies of DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE DEAD LETTER. It's easy. Simply send an email to Mysteries To Die For, a bookstore in Thousand Oaks, CA and they can give you the details. They will swiftly deliver signed, personalized copies of any of my books (Diagnosis Murder, Monk, Man With the Iron-On Badge) to just about anywhere the world.

Rowell Lands Movie

Actress Victoria Rowell, who played Dr. Amanda Bentley in DIAGNOSIS MURDER, will star opposite Samuel L. Jackson in the movie HOME OF THE BRAVE. Christina Ricci and 50 Cent also star in the film, which is about three soldiers returning home from Iraq.

The Dead Letter

DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE DEAD LETTER comes out on Tuesday. If you're a DM fan, please read the book BEFORE you read the teaser chapter for THE DOUBLE LIFE at the end...or you'll be cheating yourself out of some surprises.

Coincidence...or an in-joke?

Someone wrote to me today:

Last night on GREY'S ANATOMY, Dr. McDreamy's former best friend, the plastic surgeon who had an affair with McDreamy's wife, showed up. Guess what his name  is? Dr. Mark Sloan.

I wonder if he solves crimes, too, and has a 40 year old son who still hasn't left home. I haven't seen the episode yet -- it's waiting on my Tivo.

The Past Tense

The tie-in loving folks over at Bookgasm have read DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE PAST TENSE and thought it was pretty good.  Speaking of DM, the next book in the series, THE DEAD LETTER, comes out the first week of March.