It’s no surprise CBS came to “Rules of Engagement” show runner Tom Hertz to shoot extra episodes of his relationship comedy when “Two and a Half Men” went into limbo.
If “Men” has been one of the most tumultuous shows on television this season, “Engagement” has been one of its most steady. Hertz says he even tries to get the cast and crew home for dinner: "I try to hand CBS the best show we can every week with no drama, no craziness and no blowups," he tells The Writers' Room.
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A computer programmer, standup comedian, and writer for Jon Stewart and Dennis Miller before he worked on a slew of sitcoms, Hertz has a special insight into CBS’s “Men” trouble. As a producer on “Spin City,” he guided the transition when Parkinson's disease forced Michael J. Fox to leave -- and Charlie Sheen replaced him.
The creator of "Rules," now in its fifth and longest season, talked about where he can't write, what he would do with his own plane, and his surprisingly dark idea for “Two and a Half Men.”
You’ve said you borrow a lot of situations on your show from your life or your writers’ lives. Do you worry about their exes recognizing themselves in storylines?
I guess if the people are forthcoming, then I assume it’s all right. Even if it’s slightly embarrassing or something, people maybe enjoy seeing their lives on TV.
My previous show was just a one-season show on ABC called “Married to the Kellys,” which was pretty much about my marriage to my wife and her large Kansas family and me navigating a Midwestern, loving family after coming from kind of a quiet, East Coast one. And even if something was not flattering, it was always taken as, “Well, it’s the truth.” They just thought I was very observant.
You work with about 10 writers, but when you're writing the script yourself, where do you write and when?
Usually in my office, or sometimes on a laptop in bed. I’ve tried writing on airplanes and that doesn’t work because I usually fall asleep before the plane has left the gate, even. Something about the humming, and you’re cut off from cell phone usage and it’s so peaceful. … I wonder if I got a plane and put it in my yard and just sat in it. Would I have to be airborne for it to have that effect?
I usually put on headphones and try to shut everything out. … For writing it’s usually classical music or something without lyrics. Just something in the background that shuts out tones and people. I sometimes go on iTunes and find a blues station. Blues may have words, but it’s just a lot of complaining that I can tune out.
