Brendan Smith is one of the writers on 'My Boys.' He is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and lives in Silver Lake, CA with his dog Ozzy. He likes Iron Maiden, green chili cheeseburgers, and The Big Lebowski.

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Notes From the Writers’ Room, Week Six

Hello, boys and girls.

Well, we’re fully into the Nia Vardalos thing now, aren’t we? Which means that we saw more Nia this week. And that’s a good thing. Don’t you think?

Other than that, all I have for you this week is a bunch of…

RANDOM NOTES:

A. We really did see a girl who looked like Nick Nolte. In a news segment on the T.V. So tough.

B. This week brought us another chapter in Brando’s descent into the darkness, and Aimee Garcia crushed it as “Amy from Northwestern.” (Oh, status.) The “Copy Slave” is a real Wildcat, though. That’s our old buddy J.P. Manoux from NU… and he really was a theater major (Speech ’91). A darn good one, too. However, J.P. has never had to temp because the dude has done nothing but work since he hit Los Angeles… oh so many years ago. Seriously, just IMDB him and you’ll see: J.P. has done more TV shows, movies and commercials than Jesus. And Michael Caine.

C. By the way, J.P. improvised that little copy-machine song.

Go ‘Cats!

Obviously, a bunch of us over at the MY BOYS program have a big connection with Northwestern. I’m not gonna make that list, though. I started to… but it’s kind of… weird.

D. I lost two years of my life to some really horrible temp jobs: 1997 and 1999, specifically. And let me tell ya… temping in Los Angeles is a non-stop party. Because your co-tempers are all working on their first short-film, or their big screenplay, or they’re just one audition away from being the next Justin “the Mac guy” Long. And you get to hear all about those totally awesome projects while you’re changing the tank on the water-cooler. Good times from 9 to 5.

“Your band played last night?! Aw, man, I’m totally sorry I missed it. Next time, though. Seriously. Just let me know.”

E. P.J.’s puzzle necklace is “Zoe Chicco.” That’s real solid info from the show’s Costume Designer, Keri Smith.

F. On another costume design note… I just re-watched the episode and realized that Bobby was not wearing a Penguin shirt in the opening scene. Weird. That and… Andy’s been wearing a lot of “salmon” lately.

G. Still trying to track down that dog on the back of Steph’s book. Gotta belong to someone connected to the show. I’m thinking that it’s someone in the Art Department. I should have an answer for ya next week.

H. Jim Gaffigan is officially on-tour and you absolutely must go see him live. Check out his website (JimGaffigan.com) for more info. Chances are… he’s coming to theater near you this summer.

I. Here’s a weird bit re: the scene with P.J., Mike, Andy and Jo in the restaurant. The “Sony people” took us to Morton’s. Last summer… when we were shooting stuff for last year’s finale in Chicago. The one near the Viagra Triangle. That was a fantastic meal.

J. Here are some great lines from episode 205:

“P.J., you’re a girl, right?”

“I’m so happy for him that I would like to BEAT HIM with my happiness.”

(HOLDING BEER) “Hey, make ten copies of this!”

“And you’re single. Weird.”

“Two years from now, I’m gonna own all the public storage facilities between here and Cleveland.”

One last thing… and I know that the other actors will agree with me on this one… no one is better at the one-word line than Kyle Howard. Whether it’s “huh” or “no” (as in the massage bit with Jamie Kaler), Kyle knocks it out of the park every time.

I’m just saying.

Four more episodes to go, people. And your assignment… should you choose to accept it… is to recruit one more new person to the MY BOYS cause this week!

Puppies and kittens,
Brendan Smith