ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 24, 1997 TAG: 9703250049
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRAZIER MOORE ASSOCIATED PRESS
``My head is pounding! Why did I take this job? Sometimes the pressure is just insane!''
That's Mary Steenburgen as Kate Montgomery, harried managing editor of the New York Sun, on a recent episode of the comedy ``Ink.''
But you might well imagine it's Diane English speaking instead. After all, it was she who, amid last summer's dog days, took over the sitcom under siege conditions after four lackluster episodes had been shot, then scrapped.
Less than two months later, the English edition of ``Ink'' premiered on CBS' Monday night lineup (it currently airs at 9:30 p.m., with a TV-PG rating).
What remained from the original version was little more than the newspaper setting and the co-stars - Steenburgen and her real-life mate Ted Danson, who plays Sun columnist Mike Logan (and Kate's ex-husband).
``The pressure was just phenomenal,'' recalls English, echoing Kate.
``I don't want this to sound like I'm tooting my own horn,'' English says, ``but I'm an unbelievably organized person. I don't really get ruffled under pressure.''
Let's recap the chronology of what didn't ruffle her:
On Aug. 25, English got that desperate call from the network and production company.
``It really blew me against the wall,'' she says, conceding surprise, ``because our company [Shukovsky English Entertainment] had really chased Ted. We came very close to signing him, then lost him to DreamWorks. Then his show landed back in my lap.''
Forty-eight hours later, she signed on - ``I really wanted to work with him.''
With English an executive producer along with Danson and Steenburgen, the first reformulated ``Ink'' was shot Oct. 8.
``Ink'' finally premiered Oct. 21.
``In between, we had to write scripts, put a crew together, create new sets, assemble a supporting cast from scratch,'' says English, who had gone through this routine at a much saner pace when she created such sitcoms as ``Love & War'' and ``Murphy Brown.'' ``This is usually a five-month process.''
How did she do so much so quickly?
For one thing, by adopting a reverse approach to the casting chore: Instead of matching actors to preconceived characters, many of the supporting players (who include Christine Ebersole, Charlie Robinson and Saul Rubinek) were chosen from a hastily compiled ``wish list'' of actors who were both good and instantly available. After they were brought on board, English molded characters to fit them.
But even once the show debuted, the pressure didn't let up. Having resumed production so far behind schedule, ``Ink'' is stuck in catch-up mode.
The work load is only likely to increase for English next season, as she rejoins ``Murphy Brown'' for its 10th and almost certainly final season, after several years' absence. She will take the title of executive consultant.
Meanwhile, English's much-cherished budding project, a sitcom titled ``Lawyers,'' is being discussed as a CBS mid-season entry.
Despite her success, English doesn't fit the image of a comedy writer, if for no other reason than her smartly turned-out look and Chanel wardrobe (``I'm not a jeans-sport-shirt-grungy person'').
But declaring ``I love comedy, I love the camaraderie in the writer's room,'' she paints a vivid picture of the sanctuary where ``Ink's'' scripts come to life:
``There's no political correctness and nobody censors themselves, or you can't be funny. We laugh so much at the stuff that flies out of the writers' mouths! It's the hottest show in town.
``We spend half our time saying, `How can we clean this up? How can we find another way to make the joke just as funny without the word [unprintable here, dear reader] in it?' Then we decide it can't be done, and we abandon that joke and move on.''
Just as well. Back at the New York Sun, ``Ink'' is always facing a deadline.
LENGTH: Medium: 77 linesby CNB