Writers Strike Scheduled for Nov. 1; Lousy Make-Shift Programming Scheduled for Winter ‘08
Hey-hey, ho-ho!
I don’t puport to being a television insider. I’m much more of a television front-sider. I watch it. I like it. I try to read about it as much as possible. So while I may not have Les Moonves’ e-mail address (perhaps lmoonves@cbs.com?) I do, at the very least, keep myself abreast of those industry things that directly affect what I’m going to be watching. It is because of this that we now begin MagneticMediaFed’s coverage of the as-of-right-now imminent writers strike in Hollywood.
Here’s what we know as of right now: Tuesday the WGA and the studios will meet at the barganing table (which I imagine to have a granite top) and try to make a deal (with or without Howie Mandel). The sticking point is how writers will be compensated for DVDs, downloads, and whatever other crazy technology we have yet to invent (I’m hoping for something that lets me watch a series instantly through my brain).
More importantly, here’s what this means for us… the watchers: Wednesday at midnight if no deal reached the guild will go on strike (the last time this happened was 1988 and it lasted for 5 months). This will not affect us on Thursday (nor will it affect us on Friday or for the foreseeable future). Knowing this date is approached the studios have been stockpiling scripts and have several weeks worth of shows all ready in production or in the can. Once these episodes run out, which will likely be sometime in January as much of December is no-man’s land on broadcast television anyway. At this point we will be slammed with excessive quantities of reality programs, game-shows, Dateline incarnations, reruns and other such noble fare that doesn’t require writers. This is problematic for fans of serialized television. Personally, I fear for my beloved Lost, which isn’t even suppose to come back until February 6th, right in the middle of the strike’s blast-zone.
In short, ‘08 could be a very bleak year for good TV.
Tags: The Industry, WGA Strike
