``SWINGING ON SPRING STREET'': STARRING: L.A.`S OWN GLAMOUROUS CITY COUNCIL; OUR MAN THE MAYOR.Byline: JANE ROBISON I'M tired of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of winning out as the drama capital of America when we've got unconscionable Unusually harsh and shocking to the conscience; that which is so grossly unfair that a court will proscribe it. When a court uses the word unconscionable to describe conduct, it means that the conduct does not conform to the dictates of conscience. acts and gut-wrenching dilemmas occurring in this great, big, sprawling, lovable feast of a city every minute. It just makes me want to scream: ``Hey, Hollywood! Wake up and smell the council.'' Well, I'm happy to report that's exactly what happened. When the City Council started messing with the Screen Writers Guild over trying to tax television and screen writers working in the privacy of their own homes, creative juices started flowing. Already, talent scouts are on location, preparing for a weekly action-packed series starring our very own council. The new show, ``Swinging on Spring Street,'' will be a cross between ``Melrose Place'' and ``Spin City.'' It chronicles the hair-raising drama, political shenanigans shenanigans Noun, pl Informal 1. mischief or nonsense 2. trickery or deception [origin unknown] and zany antics between Mayor Richard Riordan and the City Council that occur inside City Hall. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Of course, that's probably exactly what our modest men and women of love, valour and compassion fear. L.A.'s 15 public servants by and large want nothing to do with the glamour and glitz of public life, eschewing free Hollywood Bowl tickets that come their way, never accepting public contracts that benefit their wives, carefully avoiding any appearances of a conflict of interest, and rarely accepting accolades. Their council meetings broadcast on public access are routine, boring and humdrum for exactly the purpose of confusing and hiding what really goes on. They were painfully aware that if the secret ever got out of their personal involvement in every aspect of life in the city, some savvy Hollywood exec would be pestering them relentlessly to film their life stories. Look what happened to Marcia Clarke and what's his face. But this is Hollywood, after all, where reality takes a holiday. Several spinoffs already are in the production stage. Here are a few sneak previews: ``Murphy Galanter'': A hard-boiled city councilwoman, finds herself trapped in situational ethics, outsmarting conservative voters who think her skirts are too short and her politics are Groucho Marxist. Lots of laughs here. ``Xena Goldberg: Warrior Councilwoman'': A warrior priestess for the Village People who fights injustice in the Dark Ages. This show, championing sexual exploration and rogue causes and tackling new and bizarre plot twists each week, has ``cult following'' written all over it. Revival of ``L.A. Law'' with a twist. Comedy is based inside the City Attorney's Office, starring bumbling Don Knotts-character lawyer and uptight public servant Jim Hahn, who forgets where his office is and never takes a case to court. Hilarious season opener. In ``Laura's Closet,'' smart and sassy sas·sy 1 adj. sas·si·er, sas·si·est 1. Rude and disrespectful; impudent. 2. Lively and spirited; jaunty. 3. Stylish; chic: a sassy little hat. clothes designer Laura Chick runs a small boutique shop in downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or . By day, people think she's just a ditzy dit·zy adj. Variant of ditsy. ditzy or ditsy Adjective [ditzier, ditziest] or ditsier, ditsiest Slang fashion plate with romance problems. By night, she dons an LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. uniform, straps on a gun and hits the streets as L.A.'s best detective and smartest cop, solving crimes and cleaning up gangs. ``Down and Out in Boyle Heights,'' would be a quirky drama starring former drug addict Mike Hernandez, who gets his life together and takes to the airwaves, counseling inner-city kids on his own radio talk show. All the while, he fights off a recall effort and becomes L.A.'s best representative and most astute politician. (This show doesn't have legs. Test audiences booed the star and thought the story line implausible.) ``Ally McHolden'' would be a comedy, legal nightmare and workplace drama roled into one, starring Nate Holden. Season opener finds him fending off sexual harassment sexual harassment, in law, verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature, aimed at a particular person or group of people, especially in the workplace or in academic or other institutional settings, that is actionable, as in tort or under equal-opportunity statutes. charges by office workers. Spinoff by Emmy Award-winning producer David E. Kelley. We get to see McHolden's inner thoughts (if any) through voice-overs and graphic depictions. For instance, when Councilman Mike Feuer calls for a code of ethics Code of Ethics can refer to:
 ' klŭks klăn), designation mainly given to two distinct secret societies that played a part in American history, although other less important groups have also used hood on his head as viewed through the
eyes of McHolden.
``Everybody Likes Mike,'' would feature Feuer in a Bob Newhart-esque role. This comedy has Feuer, the city's only politically correct politically correct Politically sensitive adjective Referring to language reflecting awareness and sensitivity to another person's physical, mental, cultural, or other disadvantages or deviations from a norm; a person is not mentally retarded, but council member, struggling daily to please everyone. Absurd situations are often the result. In the seasoner opener, Feuer, a staunch supporter of gun control, gets in a jam when he unintentionally restricts guns used in movies and has to rework the law so the movie business can keep glamorizing guns and violence. ``Suddenly Joel,'' would star Joel Wachs as art connoisseur and dilettante dil·et·tante n. pl. dil·et·tantes also dil·et·tan·ti 1. A dabbler in an art or a field of knowledge. See Synonyms at amateur. 2. A lover of the fine arts; a connoisseur. adj. . Posing as an elitist, Wachs fools most of L.A.'s establishment. But he battles big business and fights off billionaire sports developers who want to build tax-funded arenas when he assumes his alter ego A doctrine used by the courts to ignore the corporate status of a group of stockholders, officers, and directors of a corporation in reference to their limited liability so that they may be held personally liable for their actions when they have acted fraudulently or unjustly or when , ``Batman, Caped Crusader.'' Joel Wachs, action figure hero, will be in toy stores by Christmas. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO no caption (Downtown Los Angeles skyline) |
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