What's Normal Now

By GREG BRAXTON

Oct. 7, 2001 12 AM PT

Greg Braxton is a Times staff writer

The familiar sounds that usually filled Stage 23 of Paramount Pictures, the headquarters of UPN’s “Girlfriends,” all but vanished after Sept. 11.

The cast and crew were sticking to the routine of rehearsing and filming the relationship comedy. But the mood on the Hollywood set after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon had darkened.

But by Sept. 28, more than two weeks after the attacks, the sounds began to return, as full and as lively as ever, almost as if they had never left: uncontrollable giggles. Whispered jokes. Music.

As executives, writers, producers and network and studio executives filed inside the stage that day to watch a run-through of the latest episode, Tracee Ellis Ross and Golden Brooks, half of the “Girlfriends” comedic quartet, relaxed on an office set and launched into an impromptu version of an Alicia Keys song. As they sang, Reggie Hayes, the sole male of the regular cast, smiled.

The upbeat vibe continued through the rehearsal of a particularly raucous living room scene in which the girlfriends get drunk while playing a game about secrets. As the crew and onlookers moved on to another set, the “Girlfriends”--Ross, Brooks, Persia White and Jill Marie Jones--lingered behind, laughing, still overcome by the high spirit of the scene.

“That was so, so funny,” Brooks declared. “I hope we can do that on tape.”

Mara Brock Akil, creator of “Girlfriends” and one of its executive producers, said later, “There was definitely a giddiness there that hasn’t been here for a while.”

In the aftermath of the attacks, Hollywood faded into the background. It was nearly a week before David Letterman chose to return to his CBS late-night desk. NBC’s Jay Leno followed the next night, almost apologizing for continuing with the business of comedy.

But “Girlfriends,” along with several other television comedies and dramas, did not have that luxury. There were pressing production deadlines, budgets and network schedules, and so, on that Wednesday, on Stage 23, the show went on.

On Sept. 12, the roughly 70 members of the “Girlfriends” company gathered on the set, stunned and still incredulous at the events of the previous day. But they had to find a way to break through. There was a job to do, an episode to tape that day. Although the usual studio audience had been canceled, that was little comfort to cast members, who had to put aside their personal concerns about family and friends, as well as their own sorrow over the tragedy. There were jokes to tell. And the jokes could not wait.

“Without a doubt, that was one of the hardest days I’ve ever had to go through,” recalled White, who plays the hippie-like Lynn. “My hands were shaking.”

Ross, who plays Joan, a strait-laced attorney successful in her profession but not in love added, “It was a difficult day for everyone. Everybody’s heart was heavy.”

Those associated with “Girlfriends” say those first days were extremely rough going. But the cloud has largely lifted. The studio audiences and their laughs are back. Brooks regards the set as a safe oasis from the troubles of the world. Akil says the mood of the writing room, which had been filled with anxiety and anger after the attacks, has lightened.

“It took us a bit to get our funny bone back,” she said.

Still, there are distinct differences between the world of “Girlfriends” before Sept. 11, and the current world of “Girlfriends.”

The cast and others associated with the show are taking more time to talk and connect with each other, moving beyond the usual small talk. Said Akil, “No one is taking anyone for granted anymore.”

Henry Chan, one of the show’s directors, says he is more aware of his role as a cheerleader for the cast and is much more patient with the performers. He says the female cast has more nervous energy than before. “I have to let them get a lot of stuff out of their system,” he says. “Sometimes they’ll all start giggling for no reason. And I’ll just let them go, where before I might have tried to control it. I want to create an environment where they can feel safe and silly if they want to.”

Story lines are being reexamined. One that has been scrapped involves an interoffice competition between Joan and her colleague William (Hayes) that is so frenzied that it continues during the funeral of a mutual friend.

“It was going to be our ‘Chuckles Bites the Dust’ episode,” said Akil, referring to the classic “Mary Tyler Moore” episode where attendees break out in uncontrollable laughter during a funeral for a beloved clown. “It’s just not the right thing to do now.”

Everyone involved with “Girlfriends” is also reminded whenever entering the Paramount Pictures lot that a “return to normalcy” is a long way off. They must endure long lines and waits of about 30 minutes as security guards check under cars and in trunks for weapons or bombs. The FBI has informed all studios that they are targets for terrorists.

Said Akil, “Every time we drive in and out, we are taken from our make-believe world and reminded that things have forever changed.”

For Akil, that change began at the crack of dawn on Sept. 11 when her phone rang. The second season premiere of “Girlfriends,” which revolves around the close friendship of four African American women, had aired the night before, and she was hopeful that the caller was bringing her good news about the ratings.

Instead, it was her husband, writer-director Salim Akil, calling her from Toronto, where he was working on the Showtime series “Soul Food.” “He told me to turn on the television.”

She watched TV all that day. That night’s scheduled taping of “Girlfriends” was canceled.

Normally, the next day would have been one of celebration because the season premiere did register high ratings. The show scored the best ratings UPN has had in the Monday 9:30 p.m. time period in more than six years among women 18-34 and women 18-49. Also, the comedy delivered the time period’s best performance in more than five years among adults 18-34, 18-49 and total viewers for UPN. The numbers came as welcome relief after Akil had spent several tense weeks last season wondering if UPN would renew “Girlfriends” for a second season.

But instead of a celebration, Akil found herself telling everyone they had to make up for the canceled taping by filming that day.

“I thought, ‘How do I rally these troops?’ Doing a TV show seemed like such a small thing all of a sudden,” she recalled.

Making the task even more difficult was the fact that the director of the episode, Sheldon Epps, was a dear friend of David Angell, one of the executive producers of “Frasier,” who died in the attacks. Angell and his wife were passengers on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. (“Frasier” star Kelsey Grammer is also one of the executive producers of “Girlfriends.”)

Akil gathered the entire production team on Stage 23: “I acknowledged the guilt that all of us were probably feeling at that point, but I also said I believed we had to do our best. When people need an escape from this tragedy, they must know they can turn to us for comfort.”

She then asked costume supervisor Stephanie Colin to lead a group prayer as the company formed a circle and held hands. Several cried. Following the prayer, there were lots of hugs.

“We really needed that prayer,” Brooks said. “It was like a rebirth. I felt so blessed to be with these people.”

The episode, “Buh-bye,” which is scheduled to air Monday, had the usual rambunctious “Girlfriends” humor but also contained a number of serious moments, particularly between Joan (Ross) and her Realtor friend Toni (Jones).

Joan decides to end her friendship with Toni after several upsets, including an incident in which Toni attempted to sleep with Joan’s boyfriend. The two actresses share several emotional scenes where they go toe-to-toe.

“I didn’t really have to be funny,” Jones said. “I had to cry. That was not a hard thing to do that day.”

Akil said Jones had to portray a range of emotions during the episode. “Her character has a very tough time. There were instances during rehearsals where Jill missed it. But that day, she hit everything just right. It was very raw.”

White had the opposite situation. Not only did she have a more comic storyline involving her frustration with her lazy Jamaican boyfriend, but she had to film her scenes first.

“I thought, ‘Why do I have to be first?”’ recalled White. “It was horribly hard. But I vowed to pull myself together, no matter what.”

Meanwhile, the writing staffers were going through their own anxieties. Akil said that for a few days after the attacks, the writers engaged in several heated debates over the events.

“People really needed to talk, but it started to get too hot, too political,” she said. “I was sensitive to it for a while because I knew they had to get their feelings out, but at one point, I had to go in and say, ‘That’s enough.’ I told everyone to stop talking about it. There had to be some healing.”

Akil is particularly proud of the “Buh-Bye” episode: “Sheldon really pulled it together. And performance-wise, I’m extremely proud of it. They did an incredible job on a day when no one wanted to be there. It is a demonstration of what a family we are and how our family works.”

The “Girlfriends” now say that gradually, the mood on the set has thawed. Already friends away from the show, they have grown even closer.

“This has put everything into perspective,” Jones said. “These terrorists want to disrupt our lives, but we’re refusing to lay down and stop our lives. We are a close-knit bunch, and it’s going to stay that way.”

“Girlfriends” can be seen Monday night at 9:30 on UPN. The network has rated it TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children younger than 14).