Hello, Hollywood! Read Online Free PDF Page B

hero and the heroine. If you can do that, you’ve got a great show on your hands.”
    “My favorite is that one where Laura thinks her romance with Rob is fading, so she dyes her hair blonde.” Paul slapped his knee. “Did you see that one?”
    “Of course,” Bob said. “And what about the walnut one? Was there ever a better one than that? No way.”
    We all started laughing at the memory of Rob Petrie opening his coat closet and being swallowed alive by thousands of walnuts.
    “Talk about a great show. It not only lasted for countless seasons, it’s still being enjoyed today,” I said. “That’s what we’re looking for with Stars Collide —something that will stand the test of time.”
    “I’ve got the perfect idea,” Bob said with a twinkle in his eye. “Been thinking about it a while. You’re gonna love it, and I really think it will help the show go down in history.”
    “Oh?” Paul and I both said. I was always interested in a great idea.
    Bob popped another olive in his mouth, then spoke around it. “Jack and Angie should have a baby.”
    “How can they have a baby?” I argued as I dropped into my usual spot on the chair next to the sofa. “They’ve only been married a couple of months. It’s too soon for her to have a baby.”
    “No, I mean they find out they’re going to have a baby,” he said. “I know it hasn’t been long since the honeymoon ended, but adding a baby to the mix ups the ante on several levels, and that’s what we need right now. Tension. Conflict.”
    “Good point. Good stories are built on conflict,” Paul chimed in from the chair behind the desk. He took a bite of the salad—using his fingers, naturally—and a look of pure bliss settled over him. I rose and handed him a fork, which he took with a grunt. If the guy was going to gulp down a Greek salad for breakfast, he needed to do it with a utensil, at the very least.
    “Babies add a lot of conflict to our lives.” Bob spoke the words as if he’d experienced this firsthand.
    “Well, yes,” I managed. “But . . .” A baby?
    “If we introduce the pregnancy near the beginning of the season, we could rush things along and she could actually have the baby before the season ends.”
    “You really have given this some thought.”
    “Yep. I think it’s a great idea. And can you even imagine the fun we could have when we get to that scene where she’s ready to have the baby? It could be hysterical.”
    Obviously you’ve never had a baby.
    I thought about his idea as I settled back into my chair. It might work, but how would Kat take the news that she’d have to spend this season wearing a faux baby bump under her clothes? And how would the viewers respond to the news that the couple had transitioned from “just married” to “married with children” in such a short time? Would they buy it?
    I didn’t have much time to think through my concerns. With the ideas ping-ponging back and forth between the two guys, I felt like I’d been caught up in the middle of a Pac-Man game gone berserk. Someone needed to stop this train of thought before we completely derailed the show.
    “Guys, I—”
    “Oh, what about this,” Paul interrupted, his eyes widening. “We can set up the ‘Angie’s Having a Baby’ episode just like the old I Love Lucy one, where Lucy tried a hundred different ways to tell Ricky she was expecting. Remember? Something always went wrong.”
    “Yes, but—”
    “In the end, she went to the Copa Cabana and gave him the news in the middle of his performance.” Paul wiped his mouth on the edge of his sleeve. “That was one of the highest-rated episodes in television history, by the way. Maybe we can match it. Really push the ratings up for our show in the process. Our sponsors would love that.” He began to carry on about the sponsors, but he lost me after a couple of minutes.
    “There’s no Copa Cabana in our sitcom,” I said. “So I don’t follow.”
    Paul rolled his eyes.