i just told another group i was writing a post to "reality TV is the bane of modern culture". I *hate* reality TV! And I must say, if the networks didn't have this horrible new model of only greenlighting a few eps of a series--if they had gone back to the old days of actually approving an entire *season* up front--there'd be more original shows in the can already.
-------------- Original message -------------- From: "Brent Wodehouse" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2007/11/strike-its-a-re.html Strike could be a reality by Monday - so expect more reality TV Nov 2, 2007 by Lynette Rice A month ago, when Hollywood was in full hand-wringing mode over the potential of a writer's strike, a William Morris agent confidently declared that such a decision "would defy logic." No reasonable professional would dare to strike in the midst of a television season, right? Wrong. Less than 12 hours after their contract expired at midnight on Oct. 31, some 2,000-plus writers assembled in the Los Angeles Convention Center to hear union leaders declare that a strike will occur; the only question now is when. Many believe the picket lines could begin forming as early as this afternoon (at least, that's what some New York-based scribes were led to believe based on an earlier meeting), but the common wisdom is that the Writers Guild of America will inform writers to start waving the placards Monday morning, unless, of course, an 11th-hour deal is hammered out over the weekend. The goal now is to recruit some of the guild's more recognizable faces to walk the picket line, though it seems unlikely the WGA will drag Conan O'Brien out in front of 30 Rock in New York. They might, however, be able to convince 30 Rock creator Tina Fey to wave a sign or two. As dense as some of the negotiation-speak may seem (what's all this talk about credit and separate rights, anyway?) the writers' complaints are pretty simple: every time you catch an episode of Desperate Housewives on ABC.com, creator/writer Marc Cherry (or his fellow DH scribe, who may have written that particular epsiode) doesn't get paid for it. Every time a series writer generates new content for his show's official Web page, he doesn't get paid for it. The writers also want a bigger piece of DVD profits (6 percent, up from 3 percent), so if you decide to, say, buy season one of Heroes on DVD, the scribes would get more money in their residual checks. That's what this dispute is about, give or take a few disagreements over credit and pensions and such. So what does it mean for viewers if the strike begins Monday? Late night shows could immediately go into reruns, if David Letterman and Jay Leno decide not to write their own shows (though Letterman and Johnny Carson did this back in 1988). Cable yakkers like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report could also shut down. SNL may be forced to go black, airing repeats instead. As for series television, most shows have about six-to-eight weeks worth of episodes written and in the can waiting to be shot, which will carry the networks through January, maybe early February. Writers who also hold the title of producer can continue to come to the set, they just can't do any kind of writing. For instance, if Jason Lee's joke falls flat during the taping of My Name is Earl, creator Greg Garcia would have to just let it go. The only sticking point that may interrupt ongoing production is if the Teamsters (i.e., the folks who drive all those production trucks) live up to their promise to not cross the picket line, which would force shows to simply go dark. If that's the case, expect even more new reality shows to debut in the next few months. "We'll be ready," says one Big Four network executive. "This is what we get paid to do. We've anticipated this for months, though honestly I thought they'd resolve it. How stupid can they be?" As for the impact in daytime, soaps generally have about four weeks worth of episodes in the can. Once the nets burn though those originals, expect compilations of classic episodes (Victor and Nikki's first wedding! Luke and Laura reconcile - for the second time!) News programs, as well as syndicated shows like The Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy, will not be affected. As for cable series, most shows, like The Shield and Nip/Tuck, were shot months in advance so there will be no impact - unless the strike is a long one. "It's emotion transcending logic," opines another network executive. "Obviously, they're thinking they need to strike. But this isn't like the striking garment workers. We work alongside these people every day. A lot of us are friends. We golf together. It's so weird." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
