Tim Burns (writer)

Last updated

Tim Burns is a Canadian[ citation needed ] director, [1] writer and producer for Canadian and American television; more popularly known as the show runner/executive producer of the Teletoon-Disney Channel shared, supernatural comedy-drama series, My Babysitter's a Vampire and for writing its TV pilot film. He was also supervising writer of the third season of Crank Yankers and was a composer on The Sunny Side Up Show .

Contents

Career

Tim Burns began his writing career in 1985 with the CBC radio comedy series The Norm Show, and in 1989 was hired as a staff writer on The Jim Henson Hour . He also wrote the 1 hour special Dog City which was later developed into an animated series. During pre-production of the Henson Hour, he met Tom Stern and a few years later they and Stern's writing partner Alex Winter created the sketch comedy series The Idiot Box . Burns also dabbled in CGI and created the animated character 'Votar - The Voice Over Announcer of the Future" on his Amiga computer. The trio collaborated again on the screenplay for the movie Freaked , in which Burns played the Hideous Frogman, and also wrote the soundtrack tunes "Wienerschnitzel Polka", "Pick-A-Freek", and "Freekz!" That's What They Call Us!. Stern and Burns wrote many Monkey-ed Movies parodies for the TBS network, which evolved into the half-hour comedy series, The Chimp Channel". Returning to Canada in 2000, Tim served as supervising producer for the second season of the Blackfly wrote two episodes.

Having started out as a drummer in a new-wave band 'The Strone', Burns began composing in 1996 with Hello Mrs. Cherrywinkle , and other shows like The Good Night Show , Saul of the Mole Men , and The Sunny Side Up Show from 2007 until 2009. He also worked on soundtracks for Young Person's Guide to History . Burns wrote an episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars in 2008, "Destroy Malevolence". In 2010 he wrote the teleplay and story for the Teletoon TV movie, My Babysitter's a Vampire , when the movie became a series, he became executive producer of the series and wrote the series premiere episode along with two other episodes.

More recently, Burns has contributed music and comedy sketches for the Netflix special, Kevin Hart's Guide to Black History , and composed music for numerous songs, including the theme, to the Universal Kids' stop-motion animated series Norman Picklestripes . He continues to develop new comedy and music material for film and television in both Canada and the U.S.

Filmography

Year(s)Show(s) / Movie(s)Occupation(s)Notes
1989 The Jim Henson Hour WriterEpisode: "Dog City"
1989–1990The Sweet LifeWriterAll episodes
1991 The Idiot Box Writer and CreatorEpisode: "The Best of the Idiot Box"
1993 Freaked Writer
Acting role
Soundtrack

Portrayed Frogman
Writer: "Wienerschnitzel Polka", "Freekz!" That's What They Call Us!, "Pick-A-Freek". Performer: "Pick-A-Freek"
1996 Hello Mrs. Cherrywinkle Composer
1997 An American Werewolf in Paris Writer
1999 The Chimp Channel Writer & co-executive producer
Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang Writer
2000 Canadian Comedy Awards Himself
2001–2002 Blackfly Writer
Supervising writer
2 episodes: "Kettles from the Land of Cool Stuff" & "The Love of the Game"
1 episode: "Surprise"
2004 Geraldine's Fortune Writer
2005 Crank Yankers Supervising writerSeason 3
The Good Night Show Composer
2006Nancy NancySoundtrackPerformer: "Night Games", "Moonlight & Magic"
2007 Saul of the Mole Men Composer16 episodes: "Blood Is Thicker Than Walter", "Finger of Fate or the Fateful Finger", "Fun King", "Work the Sack", "Moustache Ride", "What's Happening Down There?", "IC-CAWWWW!", "Hammer in His Hand", "Children of Embers Blaze", "Faster Robot! Upload! Upload!", "Girly", "Saul Comes Back", "Spare Me My Beets", "Village of the Damned Dolls", "Poor Clancy's Almanack", and "Saul-id Rock"
2007–2009 The Sunny Side Up Show Composer
2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars WriterEpisode: "Destroy Malevolence"
Young Person's Guide to History SoundtrackWriter: "Moustache Ride"
2010 My Babysitter's a Vampire Writer, Teleplay & Story
Spliced WriterEpisodes: "Come to the Dork Side, "Best Before Date"
2011–2012 My Babysitter's a Vampire Executive Producer
Writer

Episodes: "Lawn of the Dead", "The Brewed", "Welcome Back Dusker", "The Date to End All Dates (Part 1)" (story)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Mirkin</span> American film and television writer, director and producer

David Mirkin is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating, he became a stand-up comedian, and then moved into television writing. He wrote for the sitcoms Three's Company, It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show and served as showrunner on the series Newhart. After an unsuccessful attempt to remake the British series The Young Ones, Mirkin created Get a Life in 1990. The series starred comedian Chris Elliott and ran for two seasons, despite a lack of support from many Fox network executives, who disliked the show's dark and surreal humor. He moved on to create the sketch show The Edge starring his then-partner, actress Julie Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dino Stamatopoulos</span> American actor (born 1964)

KonstantinosPolluxAlexandros "Dino" Stamatopoulos is an American writer, producer, and actor. He has worked on TV programs such as Mr. Show, TV Funhouse, Mad TV, The Dana Carvey Show, Late Show with David Letterman, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He has also created multiple animated TV shows such as Moral Orel, Mary Shelley's Frankenhole, and High School USA!. As an actor, he is best known for his recurring role as the character Alex "Star-Burns" Osbourne on the NBC comedy series Community, on which he also worked as a producer, a consulting writer, and wrote two animated episodes.

<i>Untalkative Bunny</i> 2001 multi-national TV series or program

Untalkative Bunny is a co-produced animated series about a yellow rabbit and its life in the big city. The show is aimed for kids 6–7. The series consists of small episodes with a number up to four longer 'specials' in each season. Untalkative Bunny has been aired by Teletoon, as well as Disney Channel in many parts of the world, including the UK & France. The pilot episode was first seen in the first episode of Cartoon Sushi in 1997, and later in the KaBlam! episode "KaFun!" in 1999. It first aired on Teletoon on April 15, 2001.

Derek Drymon is an American animator, writer, storyboard artist, director, comedian, and producer. He has worked on numerous animated cartoon productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Burns</span> American actor, writer, and producer (1933–2020)

John Francis Burns was an American comedian, actor, voice actor, writer and producer. During the 1960s, he was part of two comedy partnerships, first with George Carlin and later with Avery Schreiber. He is also known for his short stint as Warren Ferguson, Barney Fife's replacement on The Andy Griffith Show in 1965. By the 1970s, he had transitioned to working behind the camera as a writer and producer on such comedy series as The Muppet Show and Hee Haw.

Larry Charles is an American comedian, screenwriter, director, actor, and producer. He was a staff writer for the sitcom Seinfeld for its first five seasons. He has also directed the documentary film Religulous and the mockumentary comedy films Borat, Brüno, and The Dictator. His Netflix documentary series Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy premiered in 2019.

<i>The Jimmy Dean Show</i> American TV series or program

The Jimmy Dean Show is the name of several similar music and variety series on American local and network television between 1963 and 1975. Each starred country music singer Jimmy Dean as host.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spike Feresten</span> American screenwriter

Spike Feresten is an American television writer, screenwriter, comedian and television personality, who is best known for his work on Seinfeld, writing for David Letterman, and hosting the late night Talkshow with Spike Feresten from 2006 to 2009 on Fox. He is the former host of Esquire Network's series Car Matchmaker with Spike Feresten. He currently hosts the podcast Spike's Car Radio with Paul Zuckerman. He was also a screenwriter for the 2007 animated film Bee Movie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David M. Stern</span> American television screenwriter

David Michael Stern is an American television screenwriter. Among his first work in television was writing episodes of The Wonder Years in the late 1980s. He then proceeded to write several episodes of The Simpsons in the 1990s. In 2010, he developed the animated television series Ugly Americans. Stern is the younger brother of actor Daniel Stern, who served as the narrator of The Wonder Years.

B. J. Porter is an American actor, writer and comedian. Porter began his career writing and performing on the HBO sketch comedy program, Mr. Show. Porter, along with the rest of the Mr. Show writing staff, was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1999. Porter won an Emmy in 2014 and 2015 for the Funny or Die series Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis, which he co-created. Between Two Ferns was also nominated for an Emmy in 2013.

Judy Rothman Rofé is an American screenwriter, producer, lyricist and author specializing in comedy and literary adaptations for children. She won the 2002 Emmy for Best Animated Program for The New Adventures of Madeline, for which she was writer, lyricist, story editor and supervising producer on over 70 episodes. She was nominated for seven additional Emmys, and also won an Ace award and the Humanitas Prize. In 2016 Rothman created the preschool television series Julie's Greenroom with Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton. The show stars Julie Andrews, who is joined by her assistant Gus and the “Greenies,” a cast of original puppets built by The Jim Henson Company and premiered on Netflix on March 17, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Kay (writer)</span> Canadian showrunner, screenwriter, producer, novelist and journalist

Edward Kay is a Canadian showrunner, screenwriter, producer, novelist and journalist with a background in both live-action and animated television comedy, as well as print journalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom McGillis</span> Canadian producer and screenwriter

Tom McGillis is a Canadian writer, producer, and the president of Fresh TV Inc.

<i>My Babysitters a Vampire</i> 2010 Canadian TV series or program

My Babysitter's a Vampire is a 2010 Canadian comedy horror television film directed by Bruce McDonald. It stars Vanessa Morgan and Matthew Knight. The film's plot centers on a group of teenagers, one of them a vampire unwittingly hired by a couple to babysit their daughter in lieu of their somewhat untrustworthy son, and their efforts to foil a plot to resurrect a cult group of dead vampires.

<i>My Babysitters a Vampire</i> (TV series) Canadian television series (2011–2012)

My Babysitter's a Vampire is a Canadian television series, based on the 2010 television film of the same name. In Canada, the series premiered in French on Télétoon on February 28, 2011, in English on Teletoon on March 14, 2011, and on Disney Channel in the United States on June 27, 2011, and finished airing October 5, 2012, on Disney and April 11, 2013, on Télétoon. The show was created by Fresh TV, creators of 6teen, Total Drama, and Stoked. The show follows Ethan Morgan, who, in the television film, learns that his babysitter Sarah is a vampire. In the film, he learns he is able to have visions and his best friend Benny Weir is a spellmaster. The series follows the three as they take on supernatural forces and have adventures, with occasional help from fellow vampires Rory and Erica, while dealing with the troubles of regular high school life.

Josh Saltzman is a Canadian Comedy Award winning comedian, writer and director from Toronto, Ontario who currently resides in Los Angeles. He was the head writer of DHX Media's new Inspector Gadget series produced for Teletoon in Canada, and has written for many television shows including: HBO Canada's Call Me Fitz, Disney XD's Fangbone!, CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes and many others. Saltzman won the 2010 Canadian Comedy Award for best Web Clip for his video "That Thing That Happened" which he co-wrote, co-directed and starred in with Lindsay Ames. He is also the winner of the 2008 Tim Sims Encouragement Award as 7 Minutes in Heaven. He was a member of the Canadian Comedy Award-winning sketch troupe The Sketchersons from 2009 to 2010. He has appeared on the Comedy Network on the show Upload Yours. in which he had an entire episode devoted to his Online videos

Just Kidding is a Canadian hidden camera reality television series that first aired on February 3, 2013 on its Canadian channel, Teletoon, and November 19, 2012 on Disney XD. It is not broadcast on Télétoon due to TVA's broadcasting rights of the series in French-Canadian territories. However, on September 1, 2015, the series moved over to La Chaîne Disney. The series has also been broadcast in the UK (CBBC), France, Australia, Poland, Brazil, Spain, Norway, Turkey, and Sweden. Unlike the international versions, the Disney XD version is hosted by YouTube sensation Zach Fox, and the Disney XD stars Jason Earles and Tyrel Jackson Williams, and since 2014, is hosted by the Disney Channel star Calum Worthy. In 2014, Just Kidding moved from Teletoon to YTV. The series was cancelled on November 30, 2014.

<i>Major Lazer</i> (TV series) American adult animation series

Major Lazer is an American adult animated television series based on the electronic music group of the same name, created by DJ and record producer Diplo with Ferry Gouw and Kevin Kusatsu. It premiered on FXX on April 16, 2015, as part of their Animation Domination High-Def (ADHD) block. After Stone Quackers, Major Lazer is the second ADHD original series to be aired on the channel after FOX had stopped its broadcast of the block itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Krisel</span> American screenwriter (born 1979)

Jonathan Krisel is an American director, producer, writer, editor, and occasional actor. He is best known for co-creating the series Portlandia, and he is also known for the 2016 FX series Baskets. Krisel has collaborated with the comedy duo Tim & Eric, beginning with Tom Goes to the Mayor and later directed most of the episodes of both Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! and Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule. He has executive produced several other TV series, including Kroll Show, Man Seeking Woman, and most recently the Showtime series Moonbase 8. He executive produced the Fox pilot Ghosted and has also collaborated with The Lonely Island on several SNL Digital Shorts.

Jordan Young is an American film and television producer and writer best known for BoJack Horseman, Drawn Together, Raising Hope, and Life in Pieces.

References

  1. "BOMB Magazine | Tim Burns and Jim Jarmusch by Lindzee Smith".