What the Writers Strike Means to You

If you don’t follow the news on the writers strike, here’s the scoop:

The Writing Guild of America pretty well holds all of the writers in Hollywood. From what I can tell, if you’re a writer, you’re part of the guild. They are striking because their old collective agreement (do they call them the same thing as I have with my union?) doesn’t have any items giving them compensation for some hot-ticket items such as DVD sales or material created for the Internet. Seems to me that whatever they have is pretty archaic! Actually, here is a quote from Canoe:

Writers have not gone on strike since 1988, when the walkout lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry more than $500 million. Source article here.

What’s my stance on the writers strike? Good for them. Heck, they write the shows we love. The least they should get is some of the lion’s share of profits coming from DVD sales or whatever profits are made when the company broadcasts something on the Internet. Let’s not forget about all the content they create for the Internet! I bet TV viewer ship is down over the years but DVD sales are up.

So, what does this mean to you folks out there who like to catch their favourite show on the television?

• Late night shows have essentially went on hiatus and are in re-run mode. No new Jay Leno for you folks.
• Shows like Heroes, Lost, Grey’s Anatomy…down the tubes as far as new episodes go. Sure, they will have some new episodes for the next little while because writers work ahead of time. They’ve probably written another month’s worth of episodes so far. But once January hits, you have to wonder what you will see.

For example, there is talk that an alternate episode will be filmed for Heroes to air as a Season Finale on December 3 if the strike looks like it will run into the new year. Does this suck? Mmm, well, I would like to think that it sucks when an original idea has to be squashed to do outside forces.

Lost has eight episodes written for the new season (premiering in January). Lost is a wildcat anyhow…last season they aired six episodes in September and then waited until January to air the remaining episodes. That was a lame move on their part and they know it…that’s why this season will begin airing in January for the full run. At least, the full run of eight episodes!

That being said, if the strike lasts quite a long time (which is probably going to happen), I recommend the following things considering the winter is approaching:

• Get a hobby. If you have ever wanted to get your hand into wood-working or painting, start it now! With Christmas coming up, you can definitely put a handsaw on your Christmas list. Also needed is some sandpaper.
• Read a little more. Even if it’s ONE MORE book than you’ve read last year, maybe you should sit down and read it. I personally love to read but I find myself reading while on the bus. Take that 30 minutes you would have spent watching Californication and curl up with a book. If you can’t think of a book you should read, go to some of your friends who have similar interests and find out what they recommend to you. I have been introduced to some great reads by my friends Eric, Miguel and Paul. Check out the The Wolfshack for book reviews galore.
• Host movie nights. Everyone loves films so why not get together and watch one! We used to have film nights every week but due to people’s schedules, it wavered for the better part of the year. Bring out the popcorn and bring your thoughts of what film you think everyone should watch! Have themes! Do a horror movie month or foreign film month. You will become cultured and have a great time while doing it.
• If you really want to still watch television there is only one thing you can do. Watch old TV shows! Television has been around since the 50s and in the past decade there has been a resurgence of great, GREAT serialized television shows. You know, the ones where if you jump in the middle, you may be a little lost. It’s like a comic book. Go out and borrow a friend’s DVD collection or download a series that you think may be interesting. Have you ever seen Alias? One of my all-time fave shows (well, up until Season 4 that is) which I highly recommend you should watch if you like a little action, a little conspiracy and a little mythology all wrapped up in a neat package. What about a mini-series? Check out Band of Brothers if you love the war-oriented shows or maybe you’re interested in Canadian politics and should watch the mini-series on Trudeau? The key to accomplishing your quest into DVD watching is to not watch them all in one spurt (although if you are fine with that, great!). Just schedule an episode every day or every couple of days. Before you know it, you will have finished a season of a show and you will have had spare time to do other things around the house or with friends!
• Also remember that just because Hollywood is on strike, writers in Canada are not. Tune in to some great home-grown shows on CBC and elsewhere! I love the stuff that comes out of our great nation like Corner Gas or The Hour (a must-see show with our main man George S.). Heck, try and find an old episode of the Beachcombers while you are at it.

What am I going to do while the strike is on? I’m busy enough with school so I will fill my time catching up on some television shows that I’ve downloaded and those that have been recommended to me (like Weeds). The curse of the Internet is that you download a lot of stuff but never find the time to use it. I feel that way nowadays with forms of media that I purchase – I used to rush out to buy the newest CD, DVD or book that I wanted in my collection. But over the years I noticed that there were things that I spent money on and I just didn’t use yet. So now I buy something that I know I will get around to using within the year. It doesn’t make much sense to buy a new book if you aren’t going to read it within a year because in six months time you’ll find it for a cheaper price (usually).