Scott Aukerman Quotes

When 'Blue Collar TV' was on the 'WB,' we were their second-highest rated show, but they didn't know what to do with us. They had 'Reba,' which was number one, and we were number two, and they didn't want to be known as the hayseed network, so they kind of dropped us, even though we were pulling great numbers.

A lot of shows fly under the radar for the first couple seasons and then become successful. It doesn't necessarily have any bearing on the success of the show or how much the network is behind it.

It's hard to be a breakout show and stay on top. We're like the flagship show over here.

Before 'Entourage,' I couldn't get a sitcom.

People aren't paying to see the Kevin McHale show, they're paying to see the cast of 'Glee.'

It's just hard for a multi-camera show: Either they hit big, or they don't.

I've seen a bunch of the 'Portlandia' episodes, and they're pretty hilarious.

If a show is a critical success but a ratings flop, I assume that people are just championing the show because it looks cool to root for an underdog.

I would never go back to doing the show again. I mean, every day I think about Lifestyles because somebody comes up to me and tells me how much they love the show and I should bring it back, but this is not the time to bring it back. I don't think it would be as successful today as it once was.

If you like the book, you'll hate the movie.

I want people to say, "Oh my God, I'm laughing out loud at television."

It is not the bigness of anything in this kind that can hinder its motion, if the motive faculty be answerable thereunto. We see a great ship swims as well as a small cork, and an eagle flies in the air as well as a little gnat. 'Tis likely enough that there may be means invented of journeying to the Moon; and how happy they shall be that are first successful in this attempt.

One of the challenges of the show has always been trying to be surprising, and that was easy to do when nobody was watching it. Now that people have started watching it, they get ahead of us. We've all started really guarding the material, just to make it fun for the audience.

The American public tunes in every night hoping to see two people screwing. Obviously, we can't give them that but let's always keep it in mind.

We hate it when our friends become successful.

My first year on 'SNL', I made $90,000 dollars.

If you hate to lose, you do whatever you need to do to make sure you're business is successful.

The three main leads [in Townies] were Lauren [ Graham] and Jenna [Elfman] and Molly [Ringwald], and then Ron Livingston was on it as well. There was a lot of people to write funny stuff for.

It's often the case with successful TV shows that they kind of inadvertently live on past their prime. It's best to leave the audience wanting more.

Successful entrepreneurs may hate hierarchies and structures and try to destroy them. They may garner the disapproval of MBAs for their creativity and wildness. But they have antennae in their heads. When they walk down the street anywhere in the world, they have their antennae out, evaluating how what they see can relate back to what they are doing. It might be packaging, a word, a poem, or even something in a completely different business.

When picking a show, I took into consideration who my fans are. Let's be honest, Buffy was a mid-season replacement on The WB, based on a failed movie. If it wasn't for the outpouring of fans and critics supporting us, we would have been canceled after four episodes. Sure, you want to stretch and you want to do different things, but it's also our job to think about who our fans are and what they want to see. Ultimately, that's why we do.

I don't want to be a TV star for the sake of being on TV. I want to have a TV show that's based around my comedy.

If you get on a TV show that's successful, odds are that you're playing the same character for as many years as the show is running, which can be its own blessing, but it can also be a curse because you're playing the same thing and that can be tiresome.

Fans think they want to see more than the 10 to 20 seconds of Itchy and Scratchy that we put on the show, but my feeling is less is more. Once you've skinned and flayed a cat, ripped his head off, made him drink acid and tied his tongue to the moon, there really isn't that much to say.

We had no idea that this show [Daredevil] would be as popular as it was, but with the benefit of hindsight, one thing I can say is that I think that was a really, really smart move.