1 Joke From The Vault - "Dinosaur Park"

I’m off on vacation, so instead of sending five topical jokes each day, I’m sending one joke, episode, comic strip, or sketch, with some explanation of the process that led to its creation. If you notice any spelling errors, I’M ON VACATION, DAMN IT! AIN’T NOTHIN’ I CAN DO ABOUT THAT! WHY ARE YOU BRINGING THIS UP, NOW?

- Tim

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In the previous installment, I mentioned my time writing digital sketches for the Comedy Central brand. Many of those are what helped me land my first official television writing job for Nickelodeon’s 2019 reboot of All That.

The experience was a dream come true. I learned a hell of a lot from show-running team Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert. And, in addition to being the most fun I’ve ever had on a job, it stands out for being (as of now) the only television writing job I’ve ever had in person. By the time our season wrapped, Covid-19 hit the U.S. and I was off writing remotely for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

TV writing is the opposite of a solo experience. Sometimes you’re credited for something you had no major hand in, and it’s important to shed your ego and work solely for the voice of the show and its creators. Just want to point that out so that this doesn’t seem like some weird congratulatory Tim Barnes festival. One of the All That sketches I played a notable role in the creation of is called “Dinosaur Park.” However, the heart of the sketch had little do do with me at all.

I don’t recall the nuts and bolts of the original pitch from Steven Borzachillo (now of Brochet fame) outside of it being Jurassic Park related, but it happened to be one of those that didn’t initially catch steam in the room. Every writer grows thick skin from the pitch process, and with it, a level of understanding that there is no such thing as failure when you’re tossing out ideas. Often, one pitch sparks another. Case in point: Steven and I were office mates, and when we returned to our desks, I mentioned how an element of his pitch made me think of something that might be worth pitching together — essentially “What if the Jurassic Park scientists brought back an ancient Barney?”

Similar to what I described in the previous installment, this was a one sentence pitch that hopefully had the ability to ignite a world of hilarious possibilities from the other writers, and luckily, it sparked enough interest in the room to get the okay from Kevin and Heath to work on a draft.

A bit more about Dinosaur Park below this paywall, but for more projects I’ve been a part of, click here! Also, check out my interview with James III who was also a writer on the show!

[James III] Is The Genre