TVSquad

I don't know kind of don't care since a lot of the new shows have been so disappointing; yes I'm looking at you Bionic Woman.

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Umm... I checked at 10:30 Eastern this morning and they said they voted 90% to 10% to strike, and you are just reporting on it now?

And all the writers want is a .3% increase in DVD sales and 1.5% to 2.5% on internet things, along with some basic stuff that I'm amazed they didn't already have.

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i guess the brite side is that there are no more Jon Stewart shows

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Oh wow Joel, that's kind of dumb. So they vote on to strike, then come back and vote on when? Now that's just a waste of time.

And No Cobert Report... too bad this didn't happen a week earlier because maybe the Democrats would have put him on the ballet, he has more free time now. :)

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I hate to take The Daily Show and Colbert Report off my season pass!

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They strike at 12:01am Monday.

The 88 strike lasted for 5 months, and the contention issues weren't as divided as this. Considering networks don't have that many scripts banked, and they HAVE to air new episodes of series during November, it should be interesting to see what happens in Dec and Jan.

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This will hit TV & the Southern California economy very hard. Could put Southern California in a recession. So it is a big deal. The big studios and Producers are being short sighted in not giving the writers a fair contract.
And looming in the distance is a director & actor strike next summer. Not good if you like scripted TV shows and movies.

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Looking at my current tv plate, only two shows I watch wont be affected by this.

Good thing i've got netflix and a back log of import anime to fill my time.

Guess we can pretty much figure on a split season for Galactica now.

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This is a losing proposition for the writers. DVD sales are slowing down, so they won't be getting much from that anyways. New media isn't being taken advantage of by the networks, so there isn't much to take from there either. The networks do not have much to give.

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I predict, sadly, that it's going to last well into next year. The studios seem to be completely unfazed, as they have plenty of reality TV and international shows to carry them past the end of new episodes and through to the end of the season. FOX is probably actually excited about the prospects.

I don't think the writers should bend until they get just compensation, and I don't think they will, so it all comes down to how long it will take the studios to cave.

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Good for the writers. The whole industry works on the premise of writing, yet these guys don't get enough of the money.

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I'd bet that the strike will go on for at least 5 months. The studios are going to stand pat on their bank accounts until revenue losses mount.

Sounds like this will be kind of a windfall for rental places and DVD sales, since we won't have new programming for awhile.

Might be good news too for Election 2008. We'll all have to pay attention to the issues since there won't be any good TV to distract us.

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It will take me at least 4-6 weeks to get through all of the TV I have saved up on the media server at home (thank you, lords of bittorrent). After that, I suppose I could catch up on TV from across the pond (I'm looking at you, Extras!)

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Ok Joel, the hole this is just odd. Just TALK to the writers, the networks don't even want to do that.

If DVD sales are down then the networks lose even less from a deal. The writers don't want much but the networks go "we won't give you a penny". Can one network agree with the writers, like Fox? The only show I really care about is Bones. So can Fox make a deal so that the writers can work for their network and further screw other NBC which I hate? :)

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Good for the writers on the strike.

My prediction on the length...hmmm, I'll guestimate two months.

Morjana

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I have zero respect for people who choose to strike and hold their employers hostage while they make demands. I wish they could be fired.

People who don't like the compensation package they are offered and free to find another job.

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Karen, That's a terribly short-sighted comment. Strikes are usually held as a reserve card, as in this case. The writer's are not holding anyone hostage, they're asking the studios to at least consider their demands, but thus far the studios have just thumbed their nose at the writers.

And the issue is more than about finding another job. If a writer creates something, why should people other than the writer continue to profit from it long after the writer has stopped receiving compensation? They wrote it, they deserve to be compensated just like everyone else does. That would be like asking an author to accept payment only for sales of the Hardback edition but not the paperback, or asking a musician to take payment for CD's only, and not for digital downloads. I hope the writers hold out as long as they need to. I'm sorry, once reality shows take over the airwaves, I'll happily unplug my TV. Go Writers.

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If this lasts more than a few months, it could mean the virtual end of scripted television. The networks will fill their schedules with so much "reality" crap, they won't want to go back to relying on writers and actors when it's over. It's cheaper, and America will watch it, no matter how bad it is.

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