writing yourself into a corner, much?

[krickets]

I've been thinking a lot about the infamous hollywood writer's strike.

Bradley first mentioned the possibility of it to me about a month or so ago, and since he is my resident entertainment news guru, he's been keeping me abreast on the issue. Now that it's on our doorstep. I gotta say guys, I'm worried. Very worried.

While I do believe that the writers totally deserve their cut of DVD and online sales, and while I'm bummed about the idea of having truncated seasons of my favorite shows, I'm mostly worried about something much more long term.

In my opinion, there is unquestionably a clear divide in television programming patterns over the past five years. These are BL and AL.

Before Lost.

After Lost.

Before Lost, the reality show boom was at its pinnacle, and nobody was happy. At least, I wasn't.

After Lost, our pilot seasons were stuffed fat and all aglow with beautiful, innovative, interesting, hour-long, ensemble cast, and very, very pretty dramas. Sure, reality shows and old crime/medical staples were still there, but there was a definite shift. And one for the better, I'll argue.

Now, whether or not Lost is solely to blame credit with this phenomenon, the fact of the matter is, over these past few seasons we (the people who love scripted programming) were just starting to get our TV back! It was a good time to be a TV fan, that's for sure.

Now, with this looming writer's strike, I'm very worried that the tables might once again shift, and slide right back on over to the reality television side of things - especially once all those angelic TV execs are reminded of just how fast and cheap reality programming really is.

The very idea of it makes me one seriously grumpy fangirl.

In case you've ignored the sounds of rising panic rippling over Hollywood lately: The networks and studios have been negotiating a new contract with the union representing TV and film writers, and . . . let's just say it's not going well.

...

In any case, the Writers Guild of America isn't finding much common ground with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers,...

If members give the OK, the guild could call a strike as early as Nov. 1.

That is why in the last couple of weeks, the TV business -- networks, studios, writers, agents, managers and everyone else -- has been thrown into a major tizzy. What seemed hypothetical just a month ago has suddenly become uncomfortably real.

...

Studios are cramming to shoot as many episodes of existing series as they can before any work stoppage. Crews on NBC's "Heroes" and ABC's "Ugly Betty" have been hustling like crazy, with multiple units racing to shoot two episodes simultaneously last week. "The studio wants to get as much stuff shot as we can by Nov. 1, but we can only write the show as fast as we can write it," Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, executive producers of "Lost," wrote me in an e-mail. (Cuse sits on the guild's 17-member negotiating committee.)

...

Network officials aren't talking for the record about their strike plans. But almost everyone agrees that once the supply of new scripted episodes gets burned off -- say, by mid-January -- network prime time schedules would quickly devolve to the two "Rs": reality and repeats. Reality shows generally don't use guild talent, so existing series like "American Idol" and "Dancing With the Stars" would be strike-proof.

[Actually, Dancing With the Stars writers are a part of a guild and therefore are subject to strike. There was a retraction printed.]

There might suddenly be more prime time sports too. And after disappearing almost entirely from network schedules, newsmagazines might come roaring back in style.

Perhaps most important, if the strike lasted for longer than a few weeks, the pilot season -- when networks would start the process of producing new dramas and comedies for the 2008-09 season -- would be thrown into disarray. The networks are already hedging bets by giving some early pilot orders.

...

But the past may not be a reliable guide this time around. The TV business bears little resemblance to its old self of 1988.

...

No one was using iPods or DVDs or DVRs. "There's much more competition for the audience's attention than there was 20 years ago," said Tim Spengler of New York ad firm Initiative.

Simply put, this is a bad time to be testing the loyalty of prime time TV viewers. That may be why everyone's talking about the strike with a kind of resigned dread. Like World War I, it's a conflict no one wants but everyone seems powerless to stop.

...

Some shows could be seriously damaged. Last year, ABC gave "Lost" a three-month hiatus in the middle of the season -- and the layoff was promptly blamed for the show's subsequent ratings woes. What would a strike do to the serialized thriller's fan base?

Obviously, anything that threatens scripted series isn't good for TV writers. The networks and studios know this, and that's why their reps are eagerly feeding reporters stats about how many network time slots have been lost to reality shows over the last few seasons. Message: Stop moaning about your compensation, you laptop-toting, latte-sipping ingrates, or you'll all end up writing intros for Ryan Seacrest.

If that sounds like overkill, well, the networks are running scared. Executives would likely have to renegotiate ad rates and offer extensive make-goods if their prime time lineups are hit by a strike, Spengler says.

Can't they avert this? Well, sure. It's possible that this will turn into a repeat of 2001, when the entire town braced for a writers' strike that never came. But even that near miss had serious consequences: The stockpiling meant to protect studios and networks from a strike left them instead with a glut of product, leaving many workers unemployed well into 2002.

"To me, a strike means a loss," said Mazin, summing up the ambivalence of many. "On the other hand, some things are worth striking over, even if it means shooting yourself in the foot."

*pouts*

Comments

[neoreulwonhae.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this sucks. :/ I'm assuming once the strike is over, people will go back to the same storylines, right? Unless they're just like, "Fuck it" and quit the whole show forever. I wouldn't want that to happen. Especially with Lost. It's just such an amazing show, it needs to be continued. But, I guess we have no control over it. If these writers are dirt-poor then they're gonna want more money, and I just hope this thing is resolved soon. I wish everyone would just get off their asses and give the writers what they want, because the writers own these shows. We wouldn't have these shows without the people who write these awesome scripts, so I think the stupid stuck-up producers or whoever need to give these writers what they fucking deserve.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Well apparently when it happened in 1988, the seasons were simply cut short about halfway through. I have no idea whether or not all of the same shows returned the next year or not and what format they took.

I would assume, that once the strike is over, whatever shows WERE slated for renewal would simply pick up where they are right now in their storylines.

And yeah, I agree, the writers deserve compensation for that. It's simply a matter of Hollywood pushing them around because they can.

[neoreulwonhae.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Well, I just hopes it works out okay. :/

[tinkerbell99.livejournal.com]

Know what makes me nervous? The whole, "We're writing and shooting as fast as we can," thing. If this is going to happen, I'd rather at least have some quality tv and not utter crap before shit hits the fan. It's my impression that quality takes some time and the rushing worries me.

Half the reason I like tv is because it's escape from real life. I watch a couple of reality shows, but it's the scripted stuff I really look forward to. More reality shows are definitely not what we need.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

This is true. But if it means months of hiatus, I might be okay with having a couple more "rushed" episodes. Hahaha. I don't necessarily think that production needs to be faster than normal so I don't understand the whole deal with shooting two episodes at once. Because if Hollywood can use scripts that they have stockpiled, doesn't it only matter that the TV scripts are written? Yeah I'm not sure I understand how all this works.

[laceandgrace.livejournal.com]

This troubles me quite a bit. *bites nails* What kind of impact is this going to have on the quality of the writers too? And on the filming? How's that going to impact the actors and how well they do in filming if it's all rushed so quickly?

This doesn't bode well.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

I can only hope that this is short-lived and that the impacts are minimal. Definitely doesn't bode well at all.

[isis2015.livejournal.com]

What I'm interested in, most immediately, is the fact that Lost is coming back in February of next year instead of two months ago like the rest of the shows. Can you imagine what would happen if Lost suddenly stopped production two months in during this strike? Lost has enough problems without that happening, so, the timing is better for them.

I'm mostly just wondering how long the strike will hold up production and how long before fandom at large starts getting pissed.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Honestly that's kind of comforting. The fact is that lost will probably only have about the same amount of shows produced as the other shows when all is said and done, because as far as I know they went into production around the same time as most other network shows. The only difference, and it's a big one, ratings wise, is that they won't be airing these episodes until much later, so the fallout from the strike shouldn't be as damaging, depending on how long it lasts.

[jenthegypsy.livejournal.com]

No reality tv for me, sports fans - I've got a stack of fic to write and books that I've been meaning to read that are just waiting for the opportunity. If scripted shows disappear, my tv set goes black. Take that, studio execs.

I don't worry so much about Lost. As others have said, S4 of Lost should be very nearly completed in the filming department by now, and with the season actually not premiering until February, they would be the only first-run drama on. They should be able to slide through April, at least, on what was in the can when the strike began.

My new Most-Favorite-Hiatus-Busting show ever, Moonlight will surely not fare as well. CBS ordered additional scripts a few weeks ago, but the fledgling show will suffer if a long strike shuts them out of fresh material before too long. As a good show that gets better each week, I hate that this strike happens now, while they are on a roll.

It's all very difficult. Strikes always are - that's why they are so effective. Lets just all cross our fingers and hope for the best - for everyones sake.

*bows politely and steps down off soap box*

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Hehehe. *slow claps*

Well said, my friend! Well said!

[gottalovev.livejournal.com]

got that right! it they cut my shows, I will watch DVDs that are actually collecting dust, write and read. *huffs*

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Fandom will survive, fics, dvds, etc. to be sure. But future programming might be pretty bleak if the dust collects too long. I'm hoping it lasts no more than a month. Maybe that's wishful thinking. But I have to hope for the best.

*ginormous sigh*

[pauly26.livejournal.com]

I'm just glad Lost is sorted. 14 out of the 16 scripts have already been written so no worries for them. Also for regular shows they have scripts backdated as well so it shouldn't affect them too much. It's just the daily shows that will be hit like Jay Leno and the Daily Show which I don't watch.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

I was under the impression, that scripts written would be produced regardless of the strike.

But apparently, that's not always the case. Like in the case of producers who also write, etc. like the producer of Grey's Anatomy, who says she will NOT edit another episode while the strike is on. Solidarity, brothah. Or some such tomfoolery.

[gottalovev.livejournal.com]

I don't like it, don't like it at all. no one benefits from a strike, I've learned that. it killed my baseball team, it make people I know lose their jobs or be worst than before, made me lose income myself because I was on strike against my vote a couple of times, it is just a major pain in the ass.

(even if I DO think the requests are legit on the writers part)

I am afraid, like you, that good TV will suffer, and maybe for longer than just a couple of rushed/cut episodes. see, had not thought about Pilot season. *sigh*

lets hope it doesn't last.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

You can say that again. The quicker the better. And I agree that the writers deserve what they deserve. The fact that they don't get paid for these things, honestly, appalls me. But at the same time, there will be definite losses in programming, ratings, etc. if it lasts too long!

Grrr.

*shake-uh* *shake-uh*

[fakebody.livejournal.com]

I just want my Lost back. :/

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Haha, so say we all!