"Some people call me 'One Shot'..."

McMillan & Wife director Alex March speaks through a character

I watched an episode of McMillan & Wife last night. Not a bad show.

I heard that Rock Hudson thought a TV show was beneath his dignity as a movie star. He was rather stodgy. Thought Susan Saint James was a hippie.

In one scene, McMillan and the sergeant talk to a crime lab technician played by John Fielder. The technician had a large print of a picture taken with a hidden camera.

They asked why he only made one print from all the pictures they took.

"I chose the best shot. It saves time. It saves money. Some people call me 'One Shot Simpson'."

Why aspiring film makers should look to television

Watching TV shows, you not only get to see the work of directors dealing with low budgets and tight schedules. You also get to see how easy it is to have something not come out nearly as well as you expected. Every episode of Barnaby Jones built to a big dramatic conclusion which never, ever worked. Ever.

When you watch a show that just seems bad, where you can't identify anything they did that was terribly wrong, where you can't see what you would have done better, you realize that your project could easily end up the exact same way.

Turn on any soap opera! Are you sure you could do better?