# This Dang Strike!!!!



## SlimSugar (Dec 29, 2007)

Has this writer's strike killed anyone elses thrill for the tube?? I have a weekly ritual and the strike just left me watching the News!

Sundays ch 7 Desperate Housewives
Mondays ch 11 Girlfriends and The Game
Wednesdays ch 7 Private Practice
Thursdays ch 7 Grey's Anatomy and Big Shots

They've all been repeats for the past 2 months and its hurting.
I work at night and I either made sure my Tivo was set up or I woke up just to watch it....

WHEN IS THE STRIKE GOING TO BE OVER!!!!!!!!!!!


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## purrtykitty (Dec 29, 2007)

Yup...I'm totally pissed the final Scrubs season is probably going to be cut short!! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 And, though some may disagree, I think the writers are being kinda whiney. It's been suggested that the union should be disbanded and the writers should go out as independent contractors.  That way the writers that are worth their salt will get paid accordingly and the rest will have to put up or get out.  I really feel bad for the other workers in the industry.  There are sooo many people that have lost their jobs because of this strike.


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## *KT* (Dec 29, 2007)

I have to disagree and think it's the networks that are being greedy.

Especially when it comes to the networks now wanting to share some of their profits for the online episode airings.  When DVDs came out, the  networks basically told the writers that there wasn't going to be any money in it and now the writers have basically missed the boat receiving anything from all those DVD sales so I don't blame the writers to want to get their share of the money the networks are making off the online ads in the online episode playbacks. 

Writers are the creative force behind most of our favorite shows, I think they should be compensated for keeping us so entertained.


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## SlimSugar (Dec 29, 2007)

Its crazy, theyre really thinking of pushing back the series' to the spring! I was reading on ABC.com.


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## redambition (Dec 29, 2007)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by **KT** 

 
_I have to disagree and think it's the networks that are being greedy.

Especially when it comes to the networks now wanting to share some of their profits for the online episode airings.  When DVDs came out, the  networks basically told the writers that there wasn't going to be any money in it and now the writers have basically missed the boat receiving anything from all those DVD sales so I don't blame the writers to want to get their share of the money the networks are making off the online ads in the online episode playbacks. 

Writers are the creative force behind most of our favorite shows, I think they should be compensated for keeping us so entertained._

 
got it in one. good on the writers for wanting to get the payment they deserve for their work. writing is incredibly difficult, and doing it for a living can be really taxing - especially with the way TV/movie script writers are treated by the studios and networks.

if there were no writers there would be no scripted tv shows or movies. end of story. they deserve to share in the success of their work.

the constant re-runs on TV can only be a good thing for me - it's encouragement to turn the thing off and do something else.


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## gigglegirl (Dec 29, 2007)

well I personally don't think the strike has changed the programming on tv for me---though it soon will. Must keep in mind that December programming is usually crappy and there isn't a whole heck of a lot of new episodes...I remember this from years past. 

But we will be impacted soon, there is apparently only one new Grey's Anatomy that will air in Jan...plus a lot of other shows are running out too.
I agree the writers should get their fair share especially since I admire a lot of the witty writing and they should get what should be entitled to them, especially if the networks are throwing episodes online without the writers getting a cent. Networks already roll in the dough from advertising and the online one would provide such a higher margin if there are only site-maintenance costs which would be more than covered by the advertising.

But like redambition said, no new scripted shows is probably a good thing, because sometimes I find I waste a lot of time sitting watching something mindless. There are other activities and tasks I'd like to and should be doing, so I'm looking forward to that.

Though I have to admit, I'm kinda psyched to see Big Brother in February. Prepare for the onslaught of tons of gameshows and reality shows to take the scripted shows place until the strike is over and production can resume!


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## *KT* (Dec 29, 2007)

I still haven't watched the last episode of Desperate Housewives.... it's like watching it will really mean nothing new for so long.  ABC has already slated "Lost" for "Grey's" usual time slot on Thursday nights.  NBC's "Medium" is also due back for the 2nd half of the season, but not sure when they will be airing that.  

I think the networks are going to have a hard time getting much of anything new that wasn't already written.  Basically, if it was written, it was already shot & in production/post-production by now.  Even if the strike ends, there's only so much time before a lot of these shows lose actors & actresses to previous commitments to other projects like movies.

As far as re-runs go, I hope they'll start fresh with episode one of some of the newer shows.  I only watched a couple of "Samantha Who?" with it's strange moving time-slot and wouldn't mind seeing it from the start.  Sure, I could watch it online... but I don't like sitting in front of my computer to watch tv.

Oh!  I found this link a week or so ago.  Basically shows how many prime-time episodes are left of the main tv shows UPDATED Strike Chart: How Long Before Your Shows Go Dark? - Ausiello Report | TVGuide.com

For the shows that only have 1-3 episodes remaining, I have to wonder if they'll opt to not run them until the start of the next season in order to leave all the shows with their December 'cliffhangers'.  I just doubt the networks would choose to air just one more episode of Desperate Housewives post-tornado episode and then stop.


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## gigglegirl (Dec 29, 2007)

although ABC is already promoing the tornado aftermath and Lynette asking why she can't hear her kids. So I think ABC would have a huge backlash if they pull that episode now. It'll be an interesting 2008 to say the least.

Thanks for that link!!


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## *KT* (Dec 29, 2007)

Well this is a step in the right direction:
*
Letterman, Ferguson to Return With Writers, Thanks to WGA Deal*

As if Dave didn't already have an edge over his late-night peers, World Wide Pants has made a deal with the Writers Guild of America that will allow both _Late Show_ and _Late Late Show_ to resume production Wednesday with their respective writing staffs on board.

Helping make this special consideration possible is the fact that Letterman’s World Wide Pants owns both talkers and as such — and until Friday — had been working out a deal with the WGA. 

"This is a comprehensive agreement that addresses the issues important to writers, particularly new media," the WGA says in a statement. "Worldwide Pants has accepted the very same proposals that the Guild was prepared to present to the [AMPTP] when they walked out of negotiations on Dec. 7. Today's agreement dramatically illustrates that the Writers Guild wants to put people back to work, and that when a company comes to the table prepared to negotiate seriously a fair and reasonable deal can be reached quickly."

David Letterman also issued a statement, saying, "We're happy to be going back to work, and particularly pleased to be doing it with our writers. This is not a solution to the strike, which unfortunately continues to disrupt the lives of thousands. But I hope it will be seen as a step in the right direction."

The pressure is now (conceivably) on other late-night hosts to follow suit, and the WGA has already called out one in particular: "It's time for NBC Universal to step up to the plate and negotiate a company-wide deal that will put Jay Leno, who has supported our cause from the beginning, back on the air with his writers."


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## redambition (Dec 29, 2007)

that's great news - good to see WWP working out a deal with the WGA.


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## SlimSugar (Dec 30, 2007)

Thanks, that means something is in the works soon...


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## nunu (Dec 30, 2007)

i miss desperate housewives!


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## QTAllStarGurl (Dec 30, 2007)

im just pissed that HEROES was cut short only 11 episodes were shown when it was supposed to be 24 AHHHHHH!!!!! sooooooooooo ANGRYYYYY!!!!! and i miss private practice and pushing daisies!!!!!!! but im most mad about heroes they better lower the price to buy season two since its only 11 effin episodes or I will FREAK OUT!!!...ok im done lol


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## spectrolite (Dec 31, 2007)

I hate this strike! Just give the writers what they want please 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 If I don't get some new episodes of The Office, I think that I might possibly die... I need my fix of Dwight, Jim, Micheal and Pam damn it!


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## MAC_Whore (Dec 31, 2007)

My cousin writes for a prime-time show, so knowing that side of it, I am quite sympathetic.  Writers are the heart, soul and guts of a show, after all.  Without them, the show is a bunch of actors and a camera.   I realized the strike is an inconvenience for some of our entertainment needs, but for the writers it is their livelihood, so I wish them well.


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## Divinity (Dec 31, 2007)

This strike is a great reminder that there is more to a show than what you actually see on TV.  I totally support the writers in their strike and believe they should be getting their dues too.  It's so easy to take advantage of great talent in Hollywood, let alone of entertainment - esp. of those behind the scenes.


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## Love Always Ivy (Jan 8, 2008)

all i want is more House and Heroes :*********(


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## liv (Jan 8, 2008)

I miss The Office. =[  I'm glad I now have all three seasons on DVD thanks to generous Christmas gifts and all the season 4 episodes are online.


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## coachkitten (Jan 9, 2008)

I came across this list today that shows how many episodes are left of your favorite show.  Luckily there are still a few Ugly Betty's and others left to go!

Here is the link:
UPDATED Strike Chart: How Long Before Your Shows Go Dark? - Ausiello Report | TVGuide.com

Does anyone else read Michael Ausiello's column?  I really love it and look forward to it every Wednesday!


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## MAC_Whore (Jan 9, 2008)

It says there are 7 episodes of 'Caveman' left.   Wow....that shit sandwich is still on the air?


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## SlimSugar (Jan 19, 2008)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *MAC_Whore* 

 
_It says there are 7 episodes of 'Caveman' left. Wow....that shit sandwich is still on the air?_

 
Haha, right this is crap!


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## *KT* (Feb 10, 2008)

Here's the latest... 
________________________________________

*Strike Struck?!*

*Joal Ryan and Natalie Finn, eonline
/     *

  To the pencil sharpeners, pronto.


The award-show-killing, TV-season-altering writers' strike could be all over pending the response to a new contract hammered out this week between the scribes and major studios.


The ins and outs of the tentative deal were presented to the Writers Guild of America's East Coast members Saturday evening at New York's Crowne Plaza hotel, and a West Coast briefing is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, with Hollywood's response considered to be the real litmus test in gauging how close the light at the end of the tunnel really is.


There was no vote during the 2 1/2-hour NYC session, which was described as largely informational, but the 500-plus writers filing out of the hotel seemed pleased overall about what they had just heard.


 "This is a historic moment for writers in this country," filmmaker Michael Moore told Daily Variety after the meeting. "There is a certain irony about the achievement. I would have thought it'd be autoworkers or ironworkers getting this victory but instead it's the people who got beat up in school for writing in their journals."


 "I think the meeting went very well," WGA East president Michael Winship told reporters at an impromptu press conference outside the hotel. "There was a frank discussion of ideas, and everyone who wanted to ask a question got to ask a question."


Pending approval from WGA leadership, which is expected to meet Sunday to formally endorse the contract, the strike that began Nov. 5 and took down the Golden Globes—and perhaps a little bit of Hollywood's soul—along with it, will be formally, officially and finally over.


While he couldn't guarantee that everyone would be back to work by Monday, Winship called the matter "pretty much done."


Leaders don't necessarily have to wait for a membership vote to lift the strike—which, per regulation, would have to occur 48 hours after the board votes if the writers meet in person, or 10 days if they vote by mail—but not everyone is agreed on whether to pull the plug before the majority of the guild has been heard from. 


After meeting with 300 strike captains Friday to appraise them of the deal, Winship and WGA West president Patric Verrone sent an email to members at 3 a.m. informing them that a deal had been made with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers that "protects a future in which the Internet becomes the primary means of both content creation and delivery.


 "It creates formulas for revenue-based residuals in new media, provides access to deals and financial data to help us evaluate and enforce those formulas, and establishes the principle that, 'When they get paid, we get paid.'"


  "We believe that continuing to strike now will not bring sufficient gains to outweigh the potential risks and that the time has come to accept this contract and settle the strike," they wrote, noting that it's high time to put an end to the industry-debilitating work stoppage, whether or not they think the new three-year deal is one for the ages. 


"Much has been achieved, and while this agreement is neither perfect nor perhaps all that we deserve for the countless hours of hard work and sacrifice, our strike has been a success."


One immediate winner is the 80th annual Academy Awards, which seemingly can proceed Feb. 24 without the threat of star-deterring picket lines.


Other beneficiaries include fans of union-approved gags on Jay Leno's Tonight Show, Conan O'Brien's Late Night, Jon Stewart's The Daily Show, Stephen Colbert's The Colbert Report and Jimmy Kimmel Live. All of those shows had gone on without their regular staffs since shortly after the New Year.


As Stewart reminded his audience Thursday night as he searched for the proper retort to a Mitt Romney snafu, "It's just me up here."


It was unclear how much of this TV season will or can be salvaged, but there's hope that the networks can get a hefty portion of their prime-time lineups back on track for spring. Most scripted series normally don't wrap production until around March, so some time presumably would remain to get cranking and resume shooting.


The deal also comes in the wake of a string of mini-deals between writers and independent production companies, such as David Letterman's Worldwide Pants and Tom Cruise's United Artists.


As for the terms that finally set pens a-scribblin' and hands a-shakin' this week, much of the proposed contract mirrors what the Directors Guild of America and the alliance were able to come up with several weeks ago—an agreement that highlighted new media jurisdiction and increased compensation for downloads and content streamed online.


The WGA's deal would also give the writers jurisdiction over material produced expressly for new-media channnels whose budgets either topped $15,000 per minute, $300,000 per program, or $500,000 per series.


Like directors, writers will receive a $1,200 flat fee for the first year that content (one-hour shows) is streamed online as well as a percentage of distributors' revenue, and residuals for downloads will effectively double.


But, as an added feather in the writers' caps, in the third year of their contract they will be entitled to residuals equal to 2 percent of distributors' revenue. The WGA had been pushing for a variable residual that would compensate for growth in Internet usage over the next few years.


They will also receive what's being referred to as a "separated-rights" provision, meaning additional compensation for Web shows that backpedal onto TV, like Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz's serial MySpace drama Quarterlife, which has been picked up by NBC.


A sticking point among WGA members, however, could be the "promotional window" that cuts into their residuals from ad-supported content streamed online. For the first 17 days that episodes are available, and 24 days for freshman series, no residuals will be paid.


 Just in case, there's still a picketing event scheduled for Wednesday in front of Viacom Inc.'s New York headquarters. Should the strike end, the WGA East will promptly cancel.


 (Originally published Feb. 9, 2008 at 11:32 a.m. PT)


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## chameleonmary (Feb 10, 2008)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *coachkitten* 

 
_I came across this list today that shows how many episodes are left of your favorite show. Luckily there are still a few Ugly Betty's and others left to go!
_

 
I miss UB 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 I now know what it is like when addicts go through withdrawal! Any news on what is happening with the show?


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