European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 21, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Behind scenes on sitcoms its a directors world Abc lbs Bronson Pinchot left and Mark Linn Baker Ham it up in an episode about insurance fraud in a perfect strangers a top photo show its sex director said is extraordinarily professional. Below Faith Ford As Corky Sherwood Center tries to decide about marriage in a a Murphy Browne episode saved by its directors Sharp  Gerard new York times for Joel Zwick the change was something like trading in a Maserati for a 10-year-old station Wagon. Sure it starts up every morning and is loaded with personality but sometimes it leaves an Oil spot on the driveway. After five years As the director of abcs perfect strangers Zwick switched this season to full House another popular Abc family comedy. A perfect strangers was the single most professionally run show in be Ever been involved with a Zwick says. A on full House we have dogs two 4-year-old twins an 8-year-old girl a 13-year-old girl two stand up comics who have other shows and one actor. Directing it is More like real life than a television show. We have to Stop taping because the baby has to go poop. A it s an organizational feat to do full House a he said. His situation was complicated by the fact that two of the principal actors on full House Bob Saget and David Coulier serve double duty As hosts of other Abc shows Saget on americans funniest Home videos and Coulier on that shows spinoff americans funniest people. But Zwick a Veteran of 13 seasons As a sitcom director was. Determined to make his new show run As Well As the old. And what helps he said is being the sole director of full House. In contrast to the round Robin of directors most shows go through full House from week to week belongs to Zwick. He is one of perhaps half a dozen directors with a continuing assignment on a single series. A television is principally a producers medium a explains Zwick. A Only a handful of directors Are involved at the creation of a show on the Pilot and wind up in Strong enough a position to have their creative input mean something. Usually producers want directors they can push around they have to behave or  get kicked off the  but the producers of several top rated and critically acclaimed series said they preferred a continuing relationship with one director. They said that having a single director for a series would be Standard if there were enough first rate directors. Diane English the creator and an executive producer of cd so Murphy Brown said that shows director Barnet Kellman had been instrumental in the shows consistency one result of which was an emmy award last month As televisions outstanding comedy series. She recalled a scene last season with Corky the former Beauty Queen turned reporter and Eldin the iconoclastic House Painter at Fri the fictitious news Magazine that serves As the shows focus. A it was the two part show where Corky gets married a English said. A Zeldin brings Corky to the bullpen everybody thinks they be spent the night together and they Haven to. Corky decides then to get married and has to break the news to Eldin who just walked Over to the elevator and left. It was such a sad moment and we did no to know How to fix  Kellman did. A just before we had to tape Barnet saw an attractive extra crossing the set and he said a what if she gets in the elevator with him a and she does and Eldin just smiles As the elevator doors close a English said. A it saved the whole run for us. That can Only come from a director who understands the material and the  James Burrows who has directed nearly every episode of no cd a cheers since its premiere in the fall of 1982, agreed. Cheers has been an enormous Lon term Success far More popular in its ninth season than it was in its first and regularly ranking each week among the top three programs. One reason is the relationship Between Burrows and his partners Glen and Les Charles the three men Are the executive producers of the cheers As they were with tax before that. A it makes a huge difference a Burrows says. A the actors feel they have a Liaison Between themselves and the writers somebody who understands both Points of View. They done to feel the writers Are the enemy which sometimes  a single director can turn a show from an also ran into a hit As was the Case with a different world a spinoff of the Cosby show on Abc that was a critical failure in its first season. Facing cancellation the producers hired Deb Bie Allen a stage actress and dancer who had choreographed the television series Fame. Brandon Tartikoff the chairman of the Abc entertainment group credits Allen with rescuing a different world which is set on a fictional Black College Campus by making it authentic. In the Case of no cd a new series working it out the executive producer and writer Bill pcs by is also the director a situation that has made All the difference to the Star of the show Jane Curtin. Curtin also worked with Persky on her previous series Kate and Allic. Quot in this kind of situation i done to have to get involved in writing or protecting the character Quot Curtin said. When Persky left Kate and Allyc after four and a half years she added the show fell apart. A i was under the Assumption that the show could go on a she said. A it clearly could not it lost the person with the overview it lost Kate and Allie. Others could run the show but they  keep the soul. I realized he was the most important person on the  a being a guest director has the advantage of Novelty but its always a Blind Date a said Murphy Browne a Kellman. A there i have a much greater Opportunity to influence every Clement of this show and Call it my  october 21,1990 sunday in plus c Page 1