Students deal with writers' strike
Joel Pavelski
Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: Arts
It's television hell, and it's here. Due to the strike by the Writer's Guild of America (WGA), many hit television shows like "The Office" and "Grey's Anatomy" have been stuck in production limbo since last fall.
Now that the supply of written shows has dried up, viewers have nothing to tune in for but endless reruns and hastily produced reality shows. Freshman Carly Gilmore said she thought the last episode of "The Office" was a new one.
"I was so excited. I called all of my friends. Then it ended up being a repeat," she said with a frown.
Although the big networks have more than 100 scripted episodes in stock, very few are the shows for which fans are waiting.
"Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy," "CSI," "The "Office," and "Heroes" are all through. Shows with a few scripted episodes remaining are doling them out slowly for maximum impact. Of the three remaining episodes of "House," one is being held for an envied spot after the Super Bowl.
Viewers shouldn' be too hasty to toss the remote, though. Eight new episodes of "Lost" begin airing Jan. 31, and Fox's "Prison Break" and "Bones" both have about a month's worth of new episodes left.
Students seem relatively unaffected by the loss of their favorite shows.
Freshman Aubrie Wagaman said homework filled the void left by her beloved "Office."
"I just ended up not watching TV," she said, "even though it used to be my one weakness."
Gilmore said she found a different way to fill the time.
"My friends and I have started watching our old DVDs of 'The OC,'" she said. "That way we can watch whenever we want."
After last week's deal between the Director's Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), many believe the strike will be over within weeks.
But the volatile nature of the relationships between the guilds in the entertainment industry means the strike could feasibly stretch on.
Every three years, the WGA and AMPTP hammer out a new contract called the Minimum Basic Agreement. Since the last contract was due to expire on Oct. 31, the organizations met last fall to reach an agreement on the new contract.
The original contract proposed by the AMPTP involved the scaling back of residuals, which was obviously rejected by the writers. This led to a stalemate in the negotiations, and, eventually, the writers' strike.
In 1988, like today, the WGA went on strike, disagreeing with the AMPTP on royalties and new recording formats. The five-month strike cost the industry $500 million.
Nearly 20 years later, the WGA is striking for nearly the exact same reasons. At two months, 19 days and counting, viewers are waiting for the resolutions to shows, and expectations, left hanging.
Now that the supply of written shows has dried up, viewers have nothing to tune in for but endless reruns and hastily produced reality shows. Freshman Carly Gilmore said she thought the last episode of "The Office" was a new one.
"I was so excited. I called all of my friends. Then it ended up being a repeat," she said with a frown.
Although the big networks have more than 100 scripted episodes in stock, very few are the shows for which fans are waiting.
"Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy," "CSI," "The "Office," and "Heroes" are all through. Shows with a few scripted episodes remaining are doling them out slowly for maximum impact. Of the three remaining episodes of "House," one is being held for an envied spot after the Super Bowl.
Viewers shouldn' be too hasty to toss the remote, though. Eight new episodes of "Lost" begin airing Jan. 31, and Fox's "Prison Break" and "Bones" both have about a month's worth of new episodes left.
Students seem relatively unaffected by the loss of their favorite shows.
Freshman Aubrie Wagaman said homework filled the void left by her beloved "Office."
"I just ended up not watching TV," she said, "even though it used to be my one weakness."
Gilmore said she found a different way to fill the time.
"My friends and I have started watching our old DVDs of 'The OC,'" she said. "That way we can watch whenever we want."
After last week's deal between the Director's Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), many believe the strike will be over within weeks.
But the volatile nature of the relationships between the guilds in the entertainment industry means the strike could feasibly stretch on.
Every three years, the WGA and AMPTP hammer out a new contract called the Minimum Basic Agreement. Since the last contract was due to expire on Oct. 31, the organizations met last fall to reach an agreement on the new contract.
The original contract proposed by the AMPTP involved the scaling back of residuals, which was obviously rejected by the writers. This led to a stalemate in the negotiations, and, eventually, the writers' strike.
In 1988, like today, the WGA went on strike, disagreeing with the AMPTP on royalties and new recording formats. The five-month strike cost the industry $500 million.
Nearly 20 years later, the WGA is striking for nearly the exact same reasons. At two months, 19 days and counting, viewers are waiting for the resolutions to shows, and expectations, left hanging.
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