Strike!

The votes are in and the Writers Guild of America go on strike at 12:01am on Monday.

Where do I a rampant capitalist fall on all this? Well after listening to the media companies report massive earnings for the last quarter not paying writers for their work when it's distributed via new mediums such as the Internet is shameful.

As viewers lets look at the immediate damage.

The movie pipeline is pretty full right into 2008 so that drip feed of sub-par movies we've been experiencing will continue. Television is where we're going to get stung. Animated shows (Simpsons, South Park) have such a long development process they'll all continue as there's a mountain of episodes in production but shows such as The Daily Show, Conan O'Brien, Leno, Letterman and so on feel the pinch immediately.

Those joke writers won't be reporting for work on Monday.

24 has only about a third of season seven filmed. With the strike starting on Monday and running until whenever, FOX are now in the uncomfortable position of going ahead with the January air date then stopping when they run out of episodes or putting the pilot on hold until the strike resolves and cranking up production again so they can run it weekly.

When you look at the Reality TV garbage on FOX you'd think they'd be able to weather any strike easily. That might work for American Idol but it doesn't work for the most patriotic show on US TV. This strike could make the long delayed and not altogether bad Sarah Connor Chronicles since a lot of FOX's competitors will start running out of new episodes as that show just starts up.

A raft of other workhorse scripted dramas are all just going to dry up and blow away. The longer they're off the air the harder it is to get viewers watching again and that'll kill them off.

We're going to see shows just stop in the middle of plot lines and then be replaced with knock offs of America's Next Top Model and Big Brother so if there's anything you always wanted to see but haven't yet watched I'd advise you ask for the DVD box sets this Christmas.

It will be a dull TV winter my friends.

Comments

[LtColonelCreedon]

I'm going to take Mark's advice and get T.J. Hooker.

[Darragh]

I may sound repetitive, but is Episode 52 done yet??
I need my fix of comedic sarcasm based humour and I need it bad!

[Sam Moore]

Dear God...TJ Hooker looks brilliant! At least as brilliant as anything with the big Shat can get...;-)

[Civilian Overseer]

Southpark made not be affected at all as the writers have done a deal with Paramount for their share of revenue from "digital sales".

[Constance]

Where'd you hear that bit of gossip?

[Bruce Russell]

Life, huh? What's the old saying: 'life is what happens when you're making other plans.' Or is it: 'dead civilians are what happens when you're trying to wage a war on terror.' I can never keep those straight . . .

Ever see the T.J. Hooker SNL skit with Shatner reprising his role, with Dana Carvey as Adrian Zmed? Genius.

[Civilian Overseer]

Couldn't possibly reveal my sources, Fear the mighty Civilian Oversight!

[Sam Moore]

Bah, that's no secret! Animated shows are finished way ahead of time, so they usually aren't affected. I don't know anything about any deals with paramount, though...

[bruce russell]

So do we support the Union, or no?

[CivilianOverseer]

From the short term viewpoint, probably not, as we'll be subjected to endless repeats, lots of feckin brain' dead reality T.V. shows. Taking the longer term view, Hell Yes, as it may lead to the death of Reality T.V., which would be nice.

I hear the writer's has even managed to stop the mighty Jack Bauer. Season 7 of 24 has been pulled due to the strike.

When will President Bush take action against this T.V. terrorists?

[bruce russell]

You can't stop Jack Bauer, you can only hope to contain him.

[Sam Moore]

I agree with you, Civ. It sucks now, but it's for the best.

[Constance]

We support the Union because it is still their work. Regardless of format.

[bruce russell]

Any 'sympathy strikes' in the works? I'd love to see the teamsters throwing in with the WGA. And can you imagine a group of UMWA miners lined up at the gates to Universal Studios?

You haven't lived until you've been around for a good coal strike. I still have some 'jack rocks' and propaganda pamphlets from the last big one we had down here. Billy Bragg even showed up at one point, as memorialized in the film 'Billy Bragg Goes to Moscow (and Norton, Virginia, too).

And by the way: anyone who doesn't back the Union may as well start spelling America with a 'k.' Or is that the other way around.

[Bruce Russell]

Here's what 'The Great Man' has to say on the topic:

'The Eisner' speaks out on the strike!

[Sam Moore]

If we must attack any Russians, let's go after Putin, the "ex" KGB officer, soon to be out of office, but never out of power, the damned Soviet bastard...

[bruce russell]

The only good Soviet . . .

[LtColonelCreedon]

Fear not, the Red menace will be swept away one day soon...

[Bruce Russell]

In Russia, TV watches YOU! (Say aloud in thick Russkie accent).