Day 71 and Counting

The WGA strike goes on and on and on. Its advent was dreaded and it has never been fun, but now it’s starting to just… plain… hurt. For the fans, the advertisers and the nets, as well as for the writers themselves who have been out of work for so long, it looks like we’re in the midst of a long, cold, and boring, if not downright painful, winter.

Now, I am behind the writers 100%. They did get the short end of the stick when they negotiated compensation for home video (VHS and DVD) in the last dispute, and clearly don’t want to make the same mistake when getting paid for their work in the burgeoning digital space. They need and deserve to get a fair deal from the producers. And I must say, some of the offers I’ve seen in the press were low enough to be ridiculous to the point of insulting. It is clear that without the writers, the content served up is meager, to put it gently.

When “American Gladiators” is one of the great performance stories of the week, and “How to Look Good Naked” breaks cable ratings records (Becoming Lifetime’s highest ever rated non-scripted show), it’s easy to see that both fans and advertisers are in trouble, my friends. Does anyone really want to watch Jay interview Jimmy and Jimmy interview Jay? As we enter a new year, we should be looking forward to the start of “24”, the storylines of our favorites building towards February sweeps excitement, and the excitement and star appearances that surround the awards season.

Instead, we find that most of our favorite shows are nearly or completely, out of new episodes. The last Grey’s Anatomy until the writers return, for example, aired last Thursday . A precious few, like “House”, have saved a couple new episodes for February Sweeps (“House” has been given the “cherry” time slot after the Super Bowl telecast so they HAD to save a new epi for that!) In most cases, however, the well has run dry, and ratings for the repeat telecasts are coming in at a fraction of what they are when the shows are new.

The newest ache brought on by the strike was the decision to make the Golden Globes ceremony, the traditional “kick-off” to the awards season (and my personal favorite as it combines in a casual and fun way, the best of movies and TV with none of the yawns and fluff of the Oscars.) into a PRESS conference announcing the winners. No red carpet, no parties, no stars. (Just a crazy thought – what if they had done the whole Golden Globes presentation at “Dave’s House”. He’s settled with the writers! No picket lines to cross! All the stars could come. And, I’m SURE we can count on Dave NEVER saying “Uma, Oprah… “again. ) The cost to NBC in refunded ad revenue and makegoods is estimated to be about $10-15 million. There’s no doubt the viewership for this dry presentation of the results will be horrible. Look at what happened with the People’s Choice Awards!

And what of the magazines that won’t be able to feature Globe fashions, the designers that won’t get exposure, the shows and films that won’t get hyped, the products unused by celebs sitting in un-distributed swag bags? So many promotional opportunities down the drain…. And NOT really able to be “made-good” as most are time-sensitive.

There is just a tiny bit of good that has come from the strike. Shows that might not have otherwise gotten a sampling are being checked out. People are watching “that show they always wanted to watch, but something they liked better was in the way.” (For me, that’s Boston Legal once we run out of SVU’s). Law and Order has returned with a new cast and an invigorated set of stories. Cable shows are being “repurposed” on broadcast, like “Dexter” – a hit show from Showtime that will be shown on CBS starting in February. It is somewhat violent, however. I wonder how much the show will have to be changed? Regardless, it’s a very good thing when a quality and well-written show like this gets a chance to be showcased to a larger audience. LOST will come back for eight episodes, and I think a greater audience will give it a try or come back to it, in part because it will be one of the few new shows out there. Amid a shower of nuts, “Jericho” returns also and perhaps with little else to compete with, and the devoted fans that saved it watching, it will take off this time. People are watching more sports, more cable, and because we can’t help but do so, more and earlier election coverage.

There’s talk that if the strike lasts much longer, it could take down the Oscars. It could kill the upfront season. It COULD kill all of NEXT season. Before we end up watching nothing but shows like “Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann!” and “The Moment of Truth” ….. Please, please let’s settle this soon… better yet, NOW.