NEWS: Why Are The Studios Insane?

Hi. I thought I'd bump this in light of Letterman, Leno and O'Brien coming back on last night. Why did striking writers write his new Top Ten list? And why did Clinton and Huckabee cross a picket line to be on Letterman and Leno respectively? I didn't actually watch I was busy watching a Dave Attell bit.

Oh, I did not know that.

The fact that this guy was actually leading the polls for awhile frightens me.

He's leading in Iowa, surging on 'religious values'. The population of Iowa is hardly an accurate reflection of the political makeup of American or even the GOP.

I hope he is the Republican nominee. He'll get destroyed in the general election.

SAG says nominated actors will skip Golden Globes

But apparently they are still going to air the show anyways.

Good luck with that.

Hi.

A+

A/S/L?

dv/da

I watched 1 vs. 100 yesterday. That's how desperate I was.

Yeah, the CW has run that "Crowned" mommy daughter pageant reality show four times this week.

That network may not survive this.

I really feel for the writers, and I'm 100% in their camp, but it's not affecting me at all. I sold my television when I moved to Portland in July 2006, I have yet to buy a new one. Now this isn't a stereotypical "I don't watch TV" rant because I do watch TV. I have a subscription to Hulu, I buy the occasional episode on iTunes, and I stream stuff on Netflix, and I 100% agree that writers should be getting a piece of that action.

But the amount of new television I watch is virtually nil, due to both the internet (websites, podcasts, and IPTV) and the fact that there really isn't much out there that interests me anymore, mostly due to all these non-scripted programs taking over television. Every scripted show I do find I might be interested in watching ends up getting cancelled, and why not? They can put in another reality show for 1/10 the price.

It's like FTR said, a lot of these networks can survive this for as long as it may take, where they wouldn't have been able to during the last strike 20 years ago.

Oddly, I haven't missed anything. No offense at all to the writers, but I can't think of a single show worth getting upset about. What is there to miss? Another stand-up trying to pull a Seinfeild and failing? The latest CSI incarnation? (CSI: North Dakota! "yup . . . it's a dead cow.") I can't seem to get upset about reruns. Hell, I missed most of them the first time anyway.

Don't get me wrong. I don't blame the writers for the crappy shows. Studios will get a concept in mind, remake it to death, and aim it towards the lowest common intelligence. That has to be pretty damned limiting to the writers.

No, don't worry about it. This is to be expected and why many believe the studios are killing their business. Why would anyone go back after they establish a new pattern?

Writers have the internet.

Crap. I misspelled Seinfeld, didn't I?

Rumor has it the DGA has reached a deal with the studios. Most people believe the WGA will take whatever deal the DGA signs. I do not. It has to be acceptable to us.

The DGA was given a gift because we were on strike. They had major leverage and a group of studios who wanted to show the writers up. By making a deal, the studios think it will make the writers look bad. But we really don't care how the deal happens, just as long as it does.

So, TV and film may be back in a week or so, if all goes well.

If it does not go well, and the DGA has signed a shitty deal (which I doubt), then we are in for a long, long ride.

Thanks for the update, FTR