This Sunday: Episode 308 – “Going Once...Going Twice"

Written by Beth Schwartz & Brian Studler
Directed by Karen Gaviola

Sarah throws Scotty a dinner party in honor of his promotion.  Kevin accompanies Nora to an auction, where she hopes to buy the perfect house for her cancer center.  Justin decides to play matchmaker and sets Uncle Saul up with a man from his NA group.  Meanwhile, everyone worries that Kitty is depressed from losing her birthmother, and Sarah schemes to distract her.

Writers’ Intern Stephanie Yeager sat down with Beth Schwartz & Brian Studler to discuss their episode...

Stephanie: How did you guys get into TV writing? 

Beth: I went to the University of Michigan. I majored in screenwriting and then I moved out here without a clue of what to do after that. I started working, getting different jobs out here-- that's the short version.

Brian: I used to do theater and circuses and stuff like that--doing sound, mostly. I wound up going to the Theater Conservatory at Webster University in St. Louis, where I studied directing and then got interested in writing. I came out here and very, very slowly worked my way into TV writing after doing production and set PA stuff. It took a while, but here we are.

Stephanie: So what made you want to be a television writer in particular?

Beth: I actually wanted to write films--that's what I studied. I didn't even really know how to write for TV.  I interned at General Hospital. Through that, I got a job on a sitcom, and then I decided I wanted to go onto one-hour dramas. I ended up on Everwood. The TV writers there got me involved in the process.

Brian: I got a job in the production office of Alias, and that was the first time it ever really occurred to me to get a job in television because I don't watch a lot of television.

Stephanie: How was the experience, writing this episode together?

Brian: (Laughs) No comment.

Beth: Well, I was in Vegas...

Brian: Yeah, Beth broke the story FROM Vegas in a drunken bachelorette party stupor. No, I felt it was very good-- we were very supportive of each other.

Beth: It was actually very easy. I've never written with a writing partner before, so I didn't really know how it worked. Brian would write his scenes, and I would write my scenes.  And then we would both swap and give each other little notes, and that was it.

Stephanie: What can we expect from Sunday's episode?

Brian: Well, we got lucky because of episode falls at a point in between some heavier major events...

Beth: Yeah, so ours is lighter, more comedic.

Brian: Which is weird because Beth’s not funny.  Sorry.  Actually, Beth wrote every funny line in the script.  And people were like, oh, Brian must have written that one.  They don’t know the REAL Beth Schwartz.  She’s a frolicking good time.

Stephanie: So what would you say are the highlights of the episode?

Brian: My beautiful, beautiful words.

Beth: Dave Foley.  He plays a man from NA that Justin sets up with Uncle Saul.  He was hilarious.  He kept everyone on set cracking up.

Brian: Dave Foley is really, really funny and about as sweet and likeable of a guy as he possibly could be.

Dave Foley as Saul's blind date

Beth: Another one of the highlights is the big dinner scene.

Brian: And the monster phone tree that Beth wrote.

Beth: Those were the two things that were hardest to write, but they also came out the best.

Stephanie: What was it like writing an episode and being assistants?

Brian: Apparently, my boss’s phone doesn’t stop ringing just because I’m busy or off doing something else.

Beth: Yeah, I completely ignored my boss the entire time.  He’s still upset.

Brian: Josh Reims is a bitter, bitter man. (Laughs)

Stephanie: What was it like working with everyone on set?

Brian: I really thought it was great.  I think you, Beth, maybe had been to set more often than I had.  I literally, at that point, never went down there only because I was always chained to my assistant desk.  It was just really, really great to be able to go down there.  I was able to meet so much of the crew.  The actors were super cool and really supportive.

Stephanie: What’s the most nerve-racking part of the process?

Brian: The table read, far and away. 

Beth: The table reads are awful!

Brian: Some of the actors are seeing it for the first time.  And you have to sit there and hear it for the first time.  I literally wanted to get sick at the table read.

Beth: I think I blacked out.  I don’t even remember.

Brian: (Laughs) Beth and I held each other’s hands and sat in the corner shaking.

Stephanie: So, who is your favorite Walker to write for?

Beth: Sarah.  She’s funny.  It’s fun writing the sister scenes.

Brian: Kevin and Scotty are also great to write.

Beth: The Justin/Saul stuff in our episode is good.  I think it’s their first story together.

Brian: That’s the satisfying part when you get a match-up we haven’t seen much of.

Stephanie: Which Walker do you most identify with?

Beth: I sort of identify with Justin, even though I don’t have a drug problem.

Brian: Because of your time in Iraq?

Beth: (Laughs)

Brian: And because you’re dating a girl who used to be your sister?

Beth: Because he’s the youngest and gets babied by the family.  And that’s sort of like my family.

Brian:  For me, Justin because I’m always in trouble.

Stephanie: If you could have dinner with any Walker who would it be?

Beth: Kevin.  For sure.

Brian: Yeah.

Beth: I feel like Kevin and I would be best friends.

Brian: Just go shopping and dancing?

Beth: And he’d pick up man-candy for me.

Stephanie: How many people have you emailed to alert about this?

Brian: Everyone I know.  My mom is most excited.  She’s a huge Brothers & Sisters fan.

Beth: Yeah, my mom emailed the entire world.  Moms dig Brothers & Sisters.

Stephanie: Any viewing parties planned?

Brian: This is embarrassing…

Beth: Brian actually has PLANS that night.

Brian: I FORGOT! I forgot it was this week…and I have tickets to go to a circus.

Beth: My brother is having people over at his place and Brian was invited but…

Brian: Beth's brother is also a highly talented writer, it runs in the family.

Beth: My mom was actually my English teacher.

Brian: So I can talk to her about the way you punctuate things?

Beth: My horrible grammar is her fault.

Brian: Way to go, Mrs. Schwartz, big ups!

Since they wrote this episode, Brian Studler has become a B&S Staff Writer.  Beth Schwartz continues to work for Josh Reims, developing new series for ABC Studios.

Tune in this Sunday...

-Stephanie Yeager
Writers' Intern

Comments

[Jo]

Great interview! Thanks.

[will]

Good morning everybody!

I like Beth. Beth sounds like a groovy, grounded chick and a whole lotta fun. And the Dave Foley blind date set-up sounds kind of fun & freewheeling too.

I DO miss the Kevin bitchy-patter scenes that he used to have with his sisters. Is it too much to ask that you guys write a scene or two with Kevin lunching with Kitty? An outdoor cafe. Outdoors, because they are going to comment on (and rate) the hotter guys passing by. Let them b!tch and gossip and let the conversation drift in odd directions. We fans like this kind of light, giddy sibling bonding.

Oh. While doing laundry last night, I was watching a rerun of "Will and Grace". This show still makes me laugh.

Grace: I'm not feeling well. I had to squeeze into a size 2.

Karen: Honey, that's an 8.

Grace: ...4?

Karen: ...6!

Grace: I'll take it!

[Lady J]

Wonderful Interview, Stephanie! Looking forward to Sunday night.

[Sylviane]

Yeah, finally Kevin/Scotty again. I was THIS close to forgetting that they are married.

I am cautiously optimistic about the upcoming episode, because it does seem to have some elements I might like.

I like the idea that it is Sarah who throws Scotty a dinner party. I am curious if it was because she put Kevin & Scotty together in first place and sort of feel responsable for them or was if it was just by accident that you chose Sarah to be the one.

Loved the interview btw, it was fun to read. I hope you will have more of them. I miss the 'writer's room videos', because they sometimes gave an inside look in how ideas came to be or what the difficulties were.

Hope to read more blogs like this.

[will]

Here's my comment for today:

I wanna show a little love for Eric Christian Olsen (Kyle) and Will McCormack (Ethan), the 2 new spacey, zany (& apparently ADD-ridden) business associates of Sarah. They bring a good, modern, funky, computer-nerdish, loony vibe to the show that piques everybody's interest. And they have a terrific fluid chemistry. Previous posters have noted that the show sags and sogs whenever J/R play at being boyfriend/girlfriend -- but the new characters Kyle and Ethan animate and jolt us back into the real world.

Will McCormack in particular (he's the one that did all the big-gestured, fanciful, comical magic tricks) has a Jim Carrey or a neo-Jerry Lewis way about him - rubbery face; wild, bumbling, erratic behaviour. And it MAY JUST BE ME now, but I sense a freaky unhinged sexuality lurking inside this geek. Now, I know I've said this about everybody (I want J/R to make it with a swinger couple because their current storyline is just so damned vapid!), but I mean it this time: ETHAN IS A FREAK. He's into crazy threesome sex. It's written right there on his face and demeanor.

Ok. There.

Just wanted to leave you with my psychological insight. Now get to work on this storyline!

[Sylviane]

****Brian: And the monster phone tree that Beth wrote.****

I just saw the sneak-peek and that phone tree is just PERFECT!!!
It was a good laugh, well filmed, so typically old-Walker-style and I LOVED it!

[will]

Speaking of that monster phone tree... A little tribute to Beth and Brian.

I just saw a sneak of this scene. When I first heard another family phone tree was going to be introduced into this episode, I have to admit I sort of rolled my eyes -- or arched my eyebrows, some derisive thing -- I usually don't like repetition because it's generally not as funny and it can be cloyingly sentimental: you're feeding off our fond memories of the past.

But this scene is so beautifully and freshly worked out, it just sort of sucks you in. You yield your reservations to the quirky humor and details. There's a kicky spontaneity. Kevin is talking to Sarah over the speakerphone in his office when Robert enters mildly amped up on coffee, unaware of Kevin's conversation.

Robert: (to Kevin) Hey, is it a sign of depression if your wife would rather stay up all night watching television than come to bed with you?

(a beat)

Sarah: (firmly, via the speakerphone) Well, OF COURSE Kitty's depresssed. She thought she was gonna get a baby in three months!

(another beat)

Robert: (deadpan) Who am I speaking to?

Sarah: Hey, Robert. It's Sarah.

That is a fabulously plausible, unforced beginning. The three chat informally amongst themselves, then ---

Sarah: (incoming call. To Robert) Hold that thought. (switches over) Oh. Hey, mom. Listen, can I call you back? Kitty's depressed. Robert needs advice. (switches back to Robert) Continue.

Robert and Kevin continue with Sarah while Kevin calls Tommy on his cell. Nora, naturally worried, calls Robert on HIS cell.

Nora: Put me on speakerphone.

Nora and Tommy are put on speakerphone. Justin, eating at Nora's, chimes in with a mouthful of food.

I smiled all the way through. And, believe me, I have been posting on this site for so long, I would not take the trouble to write out this comment if the scene weren't spectacularly written.

Cheers to Beth & Brian.

[Charlie]

First, LOVED the phone tree scene. It was the perfect dose of Walker Kinky-funnyness which has not gone on very much. I want more! In the meantime, I still the love the show. Obviously. Keep up the writing writers!!

[Mami]

Cute new bartender in Episode "Going Once...Going Twice". It is nice to see a women of color on this show. I am a great fan and I'm happy to see someone that looks like me. Would love to keep seeing her.

[Louise Roach]

tonight went too far. Admittedly, i'm an old fogie, but I'm not going to watch any more. I'm sorry it is a great show, but the gay business is being pushed too far.

[Trinity Yanson]

just saw the episode and i must say that it's one of the best kevin/scotty storylines!!! you made me so happy i'm gonna watch their scenes over and over again. congratulations and thanks for proving that kevin/scotty are the best couple EVER...

[HELP!]

my tivo is messed up and will not replay this week's episode. when is the new episode posted online?

[GB]

I just saw the show and had to write. I love the characters but wish you'd leave the men kissing to the imagination. I feel this gay stuff is getting out of hand. It is a little too far out for me, therefore I probably won't watch it much.

[Heather]

Did anyone else notice the Emmy in the background during the kitchen scene with Nora and Justin when they are discussing Saul's boring days of repairmen and polishing silver? Hysterical!

And I also love Sarah.. she is human - not afraid to say she isn't perfect and has a fab sense of humor -- crisp & dry witted. I will miss a lot of shows.. but never B&S. Keep up the fantastic writing!

[CJ]

Awesome ep--it was back to the core of why I love this show. Congrats!

[will]

"Going Once... Going Twice"

Wow. A full-mouthed Kevin/Scotty kiss and a bare-chested Kevin. Two kisses. Again, nice chest, Matthew! We must be finally entering the 21st century in TVland.

Rachel is fabulous in the monster phone tree scene. Everybody's fabulous. Idiosyncratic, nuanced line readings. The actors all have personal tics, vocal inflections. This scene actually develops a rhythm with the editing. Actors, director, editor all synergistic. Good good.

You know, Kevin is rather depressive and bitchy so far in this ep. I like him depressive and bitchy. (discussing the property bidding with Nora he snidely intones "You know how YOU get"). Maybe it's just Matthew. However he plays a scene, it just sort of seems to work. He makes dialogue sound natural and inspired and true to the character.

Something's different with Rachel tonight. The performance is fulller, jazzier. She's tweaking the lines. I don't know if she's being given more to play with here or what, but the comic timing is there, there's a glint in her eyes. Sarah's working too.

David Foley is doing fairly well considering his character is so sketchy. It's really tough on these performers who have to make a character work in so a short amount of time. Treat Williams couldn't do it. The Lena chick couldn't do it (but her character was so poorly conceived). Danny Glover gave it a good thespian try -- but no real dice. Marion Ross. It's tough building a full-blooded character in a few scenes. (As I type, Dave Foley - Paul - is eating food and talking. He is very good at strange oddball characters). To Nora, Paul says: "We have similar taste in men, We just go from one cheater to another, don't we?" - hehehe - I like him here.

Around the dinner table, there are ten characters seated. Four of them are gay. Not quite half. --- I'm not sure I bought the Nora monologue chastizing Kevin though. It is too "moment"-ish (as in Sally's MOMENT). It sounds staged and "inspired" in that mechanical big-moment nighttime drama way (the dramatic Sally moments all sort of sound similar after a while, don't they? and they blur into one another). She needed to blow up at Kevin PRIVATELY! A good tense no-nonsense scene. Not in the middle of a dinner party. Too arch. She's grandstanding. "Her moment to shine". In fact, didn't she have a similar moment at the OTHER dinner party - Kitty's adoption lady dinner party?

Justin is very goody goody and bland. He is like a pet dog who follows you. He and Rebecca really need to take home a hot swinger couple to get it on with if only to de-bland him. Some real sexual conflict (can he bring himself to touch a dude? can he share his girlfriend with a stranger?) would give his character tension, something to play.

Ok, you're losing me now. This whole Kevin & Scotty thing, the "competitive Kevin", "why can't you view us as equals" thing - is a bit grating. I have a fine-tuned bullsh*t detector. It's going off. Beth & Brian: you're hitting us over the head with the obviousness of Nora's reaction and now Scotty's reaction. In fact, their reactions are about identical. It FEELS like whipped up drama. I can visualize the writers writing it as the scene plays out. LOOSEN IT UP. Throw us a curve! Poor maligned, maltreated Scotty. He's reacting just as a stock soap wife would. Yuck.

10:56 pm. It's music time! The final Kev & Scotty scene is very nice. Outdoors. Sunshine. A smile. A kiss. No trumped up drama to buzzkill. Authentically sweet.

[Jo]

Great ep. 1000 times better than last week, and its not just because we finally got loads of Kevin and Scotty. I even liked Tommy in this ep.

The only problem I had with the ep was Nora's speech about Kevin minding his own business - wasn't she the one that drove up to Bakersfield to meddle in the Lafferty's lives? I was waiting for Justin's pot.kettle.black retort at that point, but sadly it never came.

Also, bonus points for keeping Emily van Camp fully clothed for what feels like the first time this season.

Lots of Kevin/Scotty + minimal incest + sibling interaction + St Senator out of town = winner.

[Sharon]

First, this is my favorite show. I love all the characters and their story lines. Keep up the good work! I love the Sweater that Nora was wearing at her "new" mansion. Does anyone know how to track down information about the the designer? I am an avid knitter and would like to copy it.

[Sylviane]

OMG!! I don't know where to start.

It took me 7 re-views to get past the first 2 minutes alone! Kevin AND Scotty, a bed, a kiss. Just perfect! Matthew and Luke made the scene sizzle and even if the rest of the episode would just suck, you'd still get an A from me. Just for finally showing me what I want to see: Kevin & Scotty in love with each other.

The fact that you also gave me a half-naked Matthew Rhys makes it an A+. (Me? Shallow? Never!)

But there is still the monster phone tree, which I already considered excellent to begin with.

Holly was deliciously evil with on one side trying to be friends with Justin and at the same time admitting that she would love another Walker-dinner to go wrong.

Justin and Rebecca were fun to watch again, now that they weren't all over each other and dressed.

Justin in general was fun, The way he invited Paul, but also when he didn't believe Holly.

Saul was as usual a mixture of grace, fun and control. And awww, he's seeing someone...

Tommy had some funny lines and I liked how he tried to be supportive of Sarah and Kitty. We sometimes forget that he is their brother and that he does seem to care about his family.

Sarah and Kitty in the kitchen was so hilarious, Kitty taking the wine that Sarah needed, the way Sarah hammered on the food with increasing passion... and increasing desire it was Kitty's head instead.

Talk about foot-in-mouth disease Paul has it! Love how he said to Nora that they had the same taste in men...

Another good part is that, for one episode, you freed of of that horrible topic called 'Ryan'. Very good. Keep it up. Please. For the next 3 seasons at least.

And thank you for not too much of Senator McSainthood. It was just the amount I need to see of him.

The scene at the auction was fun. Sally and Matthew are always good in their scenes together, always a joy to watch.

I felt that Nora's outburst was a bit so-so. And found the 'dinner AND a show' remark rather fitting.

Naturally I loved the Kevin/Scotty bits. I don't know what it is, but it just WORKS between them. LOVED the little kiss on the hand. See, intimacy is not always about sex. It is those little details that make such scenes so much more interesting to watch. And the Kevin/Scotty scenes are watched more closely then any other one on the show.

And to think I ALMOST missed the Kevin/Scotty kiss in the end, because I thought that, as usual, McKitty would have the last say and the last words of wisdom from the halo.

But no, what a welcome surprise to see it wasn't. In stead we got some more Kevin/Scotty candy. Just the way I like to see them. A bit serious, a bit fun, very much in love and YES, we finally got to hear the words "I love you" said, without the aid of a fortune-teller.

Definately the best episode, so far, this season.

[Scott]

Really great episode, Beth & Brian. The dialogue was fun and inventive, the episode flowed well, and the focus was rightfully on the *relationships* between the Walkers.

Last night was a wonderful showcase for Kevin and Scotty, individually and as a couple. The conflict over changes in financial status rang honest and true. And thank you for allowing them the affection we would see between a newly married couple! The final scene was a delight.

Whoever wrote the line "I love you because your heart is bigger than your very annoying brain" deserves major plaudits. That line brilliantly captures Kevin's character.

Sarah and Kitty were another wonderful pair last night. Inspired scenes (e.g., Sarah and the meat mullet), and the hugging moment was beautiful.

Nora and Kevin never fail to entertain me. They always have such an authentic mother-son dynamic. The make-up scene at the end was really touching. I loved Nora's excitement at "buying" the house and Kevin hugging her in congratulations.

Dave Foley was an absolute hoot. Very, very funny stuff. I'm intrigued by Saul's mysterious boyfriend!

Major pluses: Minimal Justin/Rebecca, minimal Holly, minimal Robert. Bless.

Well done. This was the season's best episode, and I hope it's a sign of things to come. You should be very proud!

[laranichols]

I'm so over the gay agenda and stories that are the same every show. Here is the plot for every week -- Everyone is mad at and Justin/Rebecca issues along with Kitty hoping for a baby. There is no creativity in the shows writing and nothing actually happens.

In the past this is a show I would wait up and watch (even thought it was on my Tivo) because I loved it so much. Now I'm at the point where sometimes by Friday I've skimmed through it just to see if anything interesting actually happened.

[Tori]

Oh writers, you've outdone yourself! I'm completely in love with this episode, thank you so so so much for all the wonderful, magical Kevin/Scotty scenes and giving them a wonderful storyline that makes them grow. Thank you so much. This was truly beautiful.

And great Job with Saul's blind date, he was hilarious. An Sarah. And Kitty. And Nora, as ever.

[will]

After reading the posted comments, I feel the need to chime up here and give some props & love to Rob Lowe. I think his senator is a finely-tuned creation (he is a work-in-progress, to be sure, but i like the nuance he brings).

This dude is civil, pragmatic, politically calculating (it's never thrust upon us, it's not explicit, only hinted at; you can see the wheels turning beneath the eyes), discreet, stable. He's cautious. He's conservative.

When he walks into Kevin's office at the start of the phone tree scene, he is a solid presence, completely in his element (Rob has morphed into a less-is-more kind of actor and he builds a character without the aid of showy gimmicks). It's a (sometimes) minimalist performance that grows on you.

Anyway. There. Spreading some love here for the senator (or the sexy guy channeling him).

I am totally on page with all the posters who are sick to death of Justecca (I didn't like this term at first, but now find it appropriately derisive). If anyone here's had the experience of sitting home on a Sunday afternoon watching a deeply convention love story on cable - something with Gwyneth Paltrow or Josh Hartnett, say - and you find yourself on the bed just too enervated or comatose to get up and switch the damn channel off -- well, watching J/R dredges up these feelings. To think a team of writers retconned Rebecca Walker -- de-Walkered her -- for this lousy, jejune relationship.

Yes, jejune is my new word for the day. Look it up.

[Lee]

Just as you were about to lose a "since the beginning" devoted fan, you turn out a very good episode. Much better! This season has been lackluster until this episode. While I still have a few quibbles with it, it was more on par with the season one episodes.

Please ignore the few people that can't handle Kevin & Scotty's affection (we get precious little of it). If two simple kisses are too much for them to handle they aren't mature enough to watch this show anyway. They aren't devoted viewers. Your devoted audience loves Kevin & Scotty, so keep it up!

[Muffin MacGuffin]

Loved this episode. According to Kitty's TV, Obama's president, i.e., the election has taken place. Does that mean the show will deal with California voting away Kevin and Scotty's marriage?