Two days in and it’s already starting to get really depressing for TV viewers. I can’t tell you what went on with the late night shows as I had just got done watching a %#:*ing awesome two hours of Prison Break and frankly nothing else was going to compare after that. I felt like I just needed to end my day immediately because it wasn’t going to be topped at that point.
Ain’t It Cool has some updates about what shows are currently being affected due to writers / actors jumping into the picket lines. Most of the cast of the Office is striking now so production could be considered done for them at this point. Tina Fey (30 Rock), Julia Louise Dreyfuss (New Adventures of Old Christine), Roy Moore (Battlestar Gallactica), Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives), Marg Helgenberger (CSI) all showed up in the line at some point or another during the day. Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles, Rules of Engagement, Pushing Daisies, The Unit, The Shield, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Lost & Heroes have all apparently shut down production due to some producer or major part of the writing staff walking off set. Keep in mind this doesn’t mean these shows are going to jump immediately to reruns. As shown in the show guide from yesterday, most of these shows have episodes sitting on the shelf that haven’t been aired yet. The problem is that eventually they’re going to run out and in the case of some of these shows, they’re just missing their season finale like the Shield and I believe Heroes.
The WGA website has details of the last minute negotiations held Sunday night where they mentioned they actually pulled demands for DVD residuals off the table and only wanted to talk about establishing new media residuals. The studios refused to listen to them and took a take it or leave it stance, informing the WGA that they intended to create an independant group to explore the economic model of selling shows online, a process that would take three years to complete. So in other words, the studios want the writers to wait three years while they roll out video on demand and movies for download while they keep 100% of the profits for themselves.
Of course, this makes it much easier to understand the writer’s side of things now because the studios are basically telling them to their face they want to screw them for at least three years. The studios have done with before with DVD technology and before that VHS. The most ridiculous part of the studio’s argument is that all shows if shown through an online source are considered promotional. That means every time a full episode of Lost is shown on ABC.com for instance, the writers don’t get jack for it. The key word is promotion. Despite the fact that you just watched an entire episode online, it’s considered promotional material used to get you to watch it on TV. They really are trying to pull some serious bullshit here.
Aint It Cool: Show Updates
