Editing David Mirkin (section)

===''The Simpsons''===
Mirkin was the executive producer and showrunner for the animated sitcom ''[[The Simpsons]]'', during its [[The Simpsons (season 5)|fifth]] and [[The Simpsons (season 6)|sixth]] seasons (1993–1995).{{sfn|Richmond & Coffman|1997 |p=120}}{{sfn|Richmond & Coffman|1997 |p=149}} Following the end of the show's [[The Simpsons (season 4)|fourth season]], most of the original staff members left the show; only [[Bill Oakley]], [[Josh Weinstein]], [[Conan O'Brien]] and [[Dan McGrath]] remained, and O'Brien soon left to replace [[David Letterman]] as host of ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien|Late Night]]''.<ref name=lts>{{cite video |people=Oakley, Bill; Weinstein, Josh |date=2006 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season Easter Egg DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa The Simpson" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Executive producers [[James L. Brooks]] and [[Richard Sakai]] hired Mirkin following his exit from ''The Edge''.<ref name=mean3 /><ref name=O201>[[#Ortved|Ortved]], p. 201</ref> He had been asked to join the show's writing team when it started in 1989, but decided instead to work on ''Get a Life''.<ref name=mean1 /><ref name=cj>{{cite interview |url=http://www.peteranthonyholder.com/cjad17.htm |interviewer=Peter Anthony Holder |first=David |last=Mirkin |date=September 8, 1995 |title=Holder Tonight |publisher=[[CJAD|CJAD 800 AM]] |location=[[Montreal]] |access-date=July 19, 2011}}</ref> He was a fan of ''The Simpsons'' before being hired for the show,<ref name=anmag /> and started work in {{nowrap|November 1992}}. Due to the show's long [[production cycle]], season five did not air until the following September.<ref>{{cite news |title=New 'Simpsons' Plots: Aye Caramba |work=[[Los Angeles Daily News]] |author=Rosenthal, Phil |author-link=Phil Rosenthal |date=July 14, 1993 |page=L3}}</ref> Mirkin was the program's first solo showrunner.<ref name=ign /> Due to the high staff departure at the end of season four, Mirkin "pretty much had to build [the] show from the ground up again", and noted that this "was exciting but also a big challenge".<ref name=anmag /> He hired several new writers, including [[Richard Appel]], [[David X. Cohen]], [[Jennifer Crittenden]], [[Greg Daniels]], [[Bob Kushell]], [[Jace Richdale]] and [[Mike Scully]].<ref name=O202>[[#Ortved|Ortved]], p. 202</ref><ref>Mirkin, David (2004). ''The Simpsons The Complete Fifth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Burns' Heir"'' (DVD). 20th Century Fox.</ref><ref>Mirkin, David (2005). ''The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "And Maggie Makes Three"'' (DVD). 20th Century Fox.</ref>

Mirkin's tenure on ''The Simpsons'' has been cited as a period where the series evolved to focus more on abstract and surreal stories and humor. [[A. O. Scott]] notes that "several veterans recall the 'crazy David Mirkin years' as a time of wild inventiveness."<ref name=nyt>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/04/magazine/04SIMPSONS.html?pagewanted=all |title=How 'The Simpsons' Survives |work=[[The New York Times]] |author=Scott, A. O. |author-link=A. O. Scott |date=November 4, 2001 |access-date=July 27, 2010}}</ref> In ''[[The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History]]'' (2009), John Ortved describes Mirkin's era as moving the show away from more "realistic" emotional and character-based stories to "pure comedy" and "surreal" humor.<ref>[[#Ortved|Ortved]], pp. 201–206</ref> In a 2004 interview with ''[[Animation Magazine]]'', Mirkin stated that he felt that he "brought [the show] back to a more story-oriented" approach and increased the focus on characters and their emotions, although "at the same time still keeping it surreal and weird".<ref name=anmag /> Mirkin moved the show's focus toward [[Homer Simpson]], and also developed some of its secondary characters, including [[Apu Nahasapeemapetilon]].<ref name=anmag /><ref name=O201 /> He also strongly opposed censorship and network interference, telling post-production supervisor Colin A.B.V. Lewis to ignore the list of changes sent by the Fox censors.<ref>[[#Ortved|Ortved]], p. 231</ref> He aimed to put "as much blood and guts" as possible into the episode "[[Treehouse of Horror V]]" as an attack on the censors.<ref>{{cite video |people=Mirkin, David |date=2005 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror V" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>

Ortved—using interviews with writers Bob Kushell and [[Brent Forrester]] and Mirkin's assistant Charleen Easton—describes Mirkin as an "outsider" on the show, with the writing staff, at least initially, divided with respect to Mirkin's comedy and leadership style.<ref>[[#Ortved|Ortved]], pp. 201–203</ref> Forrester described the latter as "a little bit dictatorial".<ref name=O205>[[#Ortved|Ortved]], p. 205</ref> Mirkin conducted the show's writing sessions in one room, rather than splitting the writers into two groups, as later showrunners would do, and often worked late into the night.<ref name=mean1 /><ref name=O205 /> Some praised Mirkin's leadership, including Appel, who felt that "the shows were great under him."<ref name=O205 /> Others criticised him, including Kushell, who clashed with Mirkin over the episode "[[A Star is Burns]]", a crossover with ''[[The Critic]]''.<ref>[[#Ortved|Ortved]], pp. 208–211.</ref> In 2004, Mirkin stated that he "really wasn't at all intimidat[ed] to join [the show's writing] crew", because he "had worked with and written with" many of his fellow writers previously and concluded that, "[I took] this show in a direction that is more personal to me. I did that, had a great time doing that, and everyone was very receptive to that."<ref name=anmag /> Mirkin's era and style of humor are popular amongst the show's fans.<ref name=O201 />

The season five episode "[[Deep Space Homer]]", in which the characters Homer and [[Barney Gumble|Barney]] are recruited by [[NASA]], is Mirkin's first writing credit on ''The Simpsons,'' the second being "[[The Man Who Came to Be Dinner]]", which was co-written with [[Al Jean]]. Mirkin worked on the concept for a long time, basing the story on NASA's [[Teacher in Space Project]] scheme to send ordinary civilians into space in order to spark interest amongst the general public.<ref name="Mirkin">{{cite video |people=Mirkin, David |date=2004 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Fifth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Deep Space Homer" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The idea proved controversial to some of the show's writing staff, who felt that having Homer go into space was too "large" an idea.<ref name="Mirkin" /> Series creator [[Matt Groening]] felt that the idea gave the writers "nowhere to go". Based on these attitudes, several jokes were toned down to make the episode feel more realistic, including the impression that everyone at NASA was as stupid as Homer.<ref name="Groening">{{cite video |people=Groening, Matt |date=2004 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Fifth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Deep Space Homer" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> During re-writes, Mirkin and the other writers placed greater emphasis on the relationship between Homer and his family and on Homer's attempts to be a hero,<ref name="Mirkin" /> but most of Mirkin's original script was retained.<ref name=mean1 /> The episode is considered one of the show's best. Colin Kennedy of ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine named it a "contender for greatest ever episode",<ref name=empire>{{cite news |author=Kennedy, Colin |title=The Ten Best Movie Gags In ''The Simpsons'' |work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |date=September 2004 |pages=76}}</ref> and in [[Chris Turner (author)|Chris Turner's]] book, ''[[Planet Simpson]]'', he says the episode is "second to none". Regarding the long sequence that begins with Homer eating potato chips in the space shuttle and ends with [[Kent Brockman]]'s dramatic speech, Turner claimed that it was "simply among the finest comedic moments in the history of television".{{sfn|Turner|2004|pp=69-70}} A copy of the episode was later sent to the [[International Space Station]] for astronauts to view. Mirkin considers the episode to be "very very special".<ref name=mean1 /> Ortved says the episode, in its plot and surreal humor, epitomizes Mirkin's era.<ref>[[#Ortved|Ortved]], pp. 201–202</ref>

Mirkin pitched the plots for the episodes "[[The Last Temptation of Homer]]", "[[Bart's Girlfriend]]" and "[[Homer the Great]]".<ref name=anmag /><ref>{{cite video |people=Mirkin, David |date=2004 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Fifth Season DVD commentary for the episode "The Last Temptation of Homer" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref><ref>{{cite video |people=Mirkin, David |date=2005 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart's Girlfriend" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref><ref>{{cite video |people=Mirkin, David |date=2005 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Homer the Great" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> He also produced the two-part episode "[[Who Shot Mr. Burns?]]", which aired as the finale of season six and the premiere of [[The Simpsons (season 7)|season seven]]. The writers decided to write the episode in two parts with a mystery that could be used as a contest.<ref name="wsmb">{{cite video |people=Mirkin, David |date=2005 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns (Part One)" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Mirkin suggested [[Maggie Simpson]] as the culprit because he felt it was funnier and wanted the culprit to be a family member.<ref>{{cite video |people=Mirkin, David |date=2005 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns (Part Two)" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>

After season six, Mirkin suggested Oakley and Weinstein take over as showrunners, but remained on the show in an advisory capacity, helping them with technical aspects of the show such as editing and sound mixing, and attending table readings of the scripts.<ref name=lts /><ref name="NoHomers">{{cite web |url=http://www.nohomers.net/showthread.php?t=51876&page=2 |title=Ask Bill & Josh |publisher=NoHomers.net |date=November 2, 2005 |access-date=July 31, 2010}}</ref> He was the executive producer for three other episodes from season seven: "[[Lisa the Vegetarian]]", "[[Radioactive Man (The Simpsons episode)|Radioactive Man]]" and "[[Team Homer]]".<ref>{{cite video |people=Mirkin, David |date=2005 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Radioactive Man" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref><ref>{{cite video |people=Mirkin, David |date=2005 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Team Homer" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> "Lisa the Vegetarian" was approved by Mirkin after the story was pitched by Cohen; Mirkin had just become a vegetarian himself, and so many of [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]]'s experiences in the episode were based on his own.<ref name="Mirkin2">{{cite video |people=Mirkin, David |date=2005 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa the Vegetarian" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Mirkin flew to London to record the episode's guest stars [[Paul McCartney|Paul]] and [[Linda McCartney]] at Paul's recording studio,<ref>{{cite news |title=They all live in a yellow cartoon scene |date=May 10, 1995 |work=[[The Hamilton Spectator]] |page=D3}}</ref> where the McCartneys spent an hour recording their parts. Mirkin later said that recording with the McCartneys was one of the most "amazing" experiences of his life and considers the episode to be one of his favorites.<ref name="Mirkin2" /> Mirkin returned to the role of showrunner to produce the episodes "[[The Joy of Sect]]" and "[[All Singing, All Dancing]]" for [[The Simpsons (season 9)|season nine]].<ref>{{cite video |people=Mirkin, David |date=2006 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD commentary for the episode "All Singing, All Dancing" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> He pitched the plot for "The Joy of Sect", because he was attracted to the notion of parodies of cults, calling them "comical, interesting and twisted".<ref>{{cite video |people=Mirkin, David |date=2006 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD commentary for the episode "The Joy of Sect" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>

{{asof|2012}} Mirkin still works part-time on the show as a consultant, helping with the re-write process.<ref name=stretch>{{cite news |title=DVD&nbsp;– Reviews of New Releases Nothing A Stretch For 'Simpsons' |author=Lowman, Rob |work=[[Los Angeles Daily News]] |date=August 16, 2005 |page=U4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/person/146769/David-Mirkin/filmography |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104184217/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/146769/David-Mirkin/filmography |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2012 |title=David Mirkin Filmography |access-date=July 21, 2011}}</ref> The show's nine-month production cycle allows him to contribute to each episode in some form, whilst engaging in other projects as well.<ref name=mean1 /> Mirkin also co-wrote ''[[The Simpsons Movie]]'' in 2007,<ref name=officialsite>{{cite web|url=http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/main.html |title=About the DVD |work=The Simpsons Movie.com |publisher=[[20th Century Fox]] |access-date=November 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323034746/http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/main.html |archive-date=March 23, 2013 |df=mdy }} On the main page, click on "About the DVD" then on "Production Notes".</ref> and the 3D animated short ''[[The Longest Daycare]]'' in 2012, which was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.skymedia.co.uk/_news/the-longest-daycare-on-sky-3d.aspx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130707054113/http://www.skymedia.co.uk/_news/the-longest-daycare-on-sky-3d.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 7, 2013 |title=Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare on Sky 3D |date=February 4, 2013 |access-date=May 26, 2013 |publisher=Sky }}</ref> Mirkin won four [[Primetime Emmy Awards]] and a [[Peabody Award]] for his work on ''The Simpsons''.<ref name=ign />