Thoughts on the writers’ strike

I’ve been sitting on these thoughts for a while, and just haven’t gotten the time to actually deliver them…perhaps because it’s a little bit of a thorn. As you all know, I’m a bit of a TV maven (although this year…I’ve actually been quite good! Only following four shows – House, Pushing Daisies, The Office, and Friday Night Lights), and I’ll certainly be feeling the brunt of a shortened TV season. Not a lot of people around me are talking about it (other than complaining), so I thought I would share what I know in regards to what writers are asking for and why:

Firstly, I think the set of The Office is the perfect example of why writers are striking…here’s what Greg Daniels, creator of the show, says: "We’re one of the highest downloads on iTunes. We made a lot of money there, and the creative people didn’t see any of it. And this is the future of the television business. People are going to sit in front of a box that has computer guts inside and watch their shows, and just because it’s not called a TV, it doesn’t apply to our contract. All we’re saying is that it’s the same thing."

Writers are seeking residuals from online sales, and in essence, the time is now to ask for them. As well, much money is lost for writers on the DVD front of things. It is an increasing trend for viewers to purchase DVDs for TV shows that they’ve seen or are planning to see…it’s become a new venue for sales and increase in viewership. However, writers are not seeing any financial gain from these sales. At the end of the day, writers are asking to not only be paid on their authored work, but also the gains of their product’s success.

Another side of this is how the strike is affecting television crews. Again, The Office is an important example. Last week, 102 crew members were fired by NBC. Yep, FIRED. This was probably done to demonstrate to other shows the lengths to which the network is willing to go…but goodness, these folks are all out of work now. As one crew member puts it, “We all know that the strike will be resolved. Eventually both sides will return to the bargaining table and make a deal. The only uncertainty is how many of our houses, livelihoods, college educations and retirement funds will pay for it.”(Celebitchy article)

If this isn’t a demonstration of how hardball can go bad, I don’t know what is.

Also, to get an idea of how episodes are left for you favourite show, go here.