How to Go From Intern to TV Series Writer

My friend Oscar Balderrama cowrote this Sunday's (April 13) episode of Eli Stone, "Waiting for that Day."

Let me provide a little background to the story and how proud I am of him.

Only Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim could take the idea of an inoperable brain aneurysm and make it funny. I used to watch Greg's previous shows Everwood and Jack & Bobby (with Marc) religiously. You could say they were 2 of my favorite television series. I was sadden when they ended.

Now, they are at it again with another great production on ABC. Now, how does this relate to Oscar? Well, Oscar started his career with an e-mail. Yes, you read right... an e-mail. A friend of his forwarded him an e-mail asking for interns on a little known show at the time called... wait for it... Everwood. From there, he did everything from being a writer's PA to taking off a year of school to being a script coordinator to being an executive assistant to the present... a writer. It is a very special moment to see your words jump off the page and onto the TV for millions to see. And it's not just any show, it's a quality show by quality people.

So, you see, my friend Oscar not only wrote a script for a TV series, he wrote one for a show by Greg and Marc... 2 people who had created 2 of my favorite shows in the past. Is it any wonder that I enjoyed Eli Stone even before this news hit my ears?

Congratulations, Oscar! Keep up the good work! You done good, my friend.

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