Prelude to a Strike?
Hello, everybody. There are three simple signs we're about to head into the homestretch of 2007: Fairbanks has went back to normal after hosting the Alaska Federation of Natives convention last week; the Boston Red Sox are once again the World Series champions after sweeping the Colorado Rockies off their feet...and Hollywood is about to go on strike.
Yes; as November sweeps get underway this week, the entertainment community is well on its way into going to strike mode as talks between two unions (the Writers Guild of America one of them) are falling through with their contracts about to expire. And this proves to be good news for the networks, as new shows like "Samantha Who?" and the "Bionic Woman" revival aren't pulling in viewers, and popular hits like "Grey's Anatomy", "House", and "CSI" are working feverishly to put their upcoming episodes in the can.
Reality shows will no doubt be affected, so expect the five-Emmy-winning "Amazing Race" to scoop up huge ratings when their new season begins next Sunday. And we dunno about how the late night shows will deal with another strike, but they might tough it out this time. Besides, the guests have projects to plug!
Now we're glad that it's the UNIONS -- not the networks -- that are going on strike, and it has been felt before in the past decades. In 1967, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) went on strike, with CBS airing old drama anthologies in lieu of daytime soaps and some guy named Arnold Zenker playing the role of Walter Cronkite on the "CBS Evening News."
Twelve years later in 1979, British network ITV went into strike mode knocking them off the air for two months with the two BBC channels as the only television to watch; there no other alternatives as this was before cable. However, one of the ITV stations managed to stay on the air during the network-wide strike by airing anything they could find, like old movies, cartoons, even kinescoped reruns of some U.S. shows. But back in the States, 1980 was the biggie, lasting several months and delaying the start of the fall TV season till mid-season or so. Even the 32nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards felt the pinch, with Dick Clark being one of the hosts and almost nobody in the audience.
Gilda Radner was scheduled to host the season finale of "Saturday Night Live", but the 1988 Writers Guild strike ended that season prematurely and the cancer would later spread to Gilda's body; she would die the following year. However, that strike would lead to a new show premiering on the fledging Fox network which is still on the air almost 20 years later: "COPS."
And now, we're in the midst of another strike. But even though they'll be on the picket lines, everything unlike 1988, 1980, or 1967 will be all right. It's just that Drew Carey may have to pump out his first "Price Is Right Million-Dollar Spectacular" as fast as he can!
With that said...so long, and stay strong.
Hello, everybody. There are three simple signs we're about to head into the homestretch of 2007: Fairbanks has went back to normal after hosting the Alaska Federation of Natives convention last week; the Boston Red Sox are once again the World Series champions after sweeping the Colorado Rockies off their feet...and Hollywood is about to go on strike.
Yes; as November sweeps get underway this week, the entertainment community is well on its way into going to strike mode as talks between two unions (the Writers Guild of America one of them) are falling through with their contracts about to expire. And this proves to be good news for the networks, as new shows like "Samantha Who?" and the "Bionic Woman" revival aren't pulling in viewers, and popular hits like "Grey's Anatomy", "House", and "CSI" are working feverishly to put their upcoming episodes in the can.
Reality shows will no doubt be affected, so expect the five-Emmy-winning "Amazing Race" to scoop up huge ratings when their new season begins next Sunday. And we dunno about how the late night shows will deal with another strike, but they might tough it out this time. Besides, the guests have projects to plug!
Now we're glad that it's the UNIONS -- not the networks -- that are going on strike, and it has been felt before in the past decades. In 1967, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) went on strike, with CBS airing old drama anthologies in lieu of daytime soaps and some guy named Arnold Zenker playing the role of Walter Cronkite on the "CBS Evening News."
Twelve years later in 1979, British network ITV went into strike mode knocking them off the air for two months with the two BBC channels as the only television to watch; there no other alternatives as this was before cable. However, one of the ITV stations managed to stay on the air during the network-wide strike by airing anything they could find, like old movies, cartoons, even kinescoped reruns of some U.S. shows. But back in the States, 1980 was the biggie, lasting several months and delaying the start of the fall TV season till mid-season or so. Even the 32nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards felt the pinch, with Dick Clark being one of the hosts and almost nobody in the audience.
Gilda Radner was scheduled to host the season finale of "Saturday Night Live", but the 1988 Writers Guild strike ended that season prematurely and the cancer would later spread to Gilda's body; she would die the following year. However, that strike would lead to a new show premiering on the fledging Fox network which is still on the air almost 20 years later: "COPS."
And now, we're in the midst of another strike. But even though they'll be on the picket lines, everything unlike 1988, 1980, or 1967 will be all right. It's just that Drew Carey may have to pump out his first "Price Is Right Million-Dollar Spectacular" as fast as he can!
With that said...so long, and stay strong.
No comments:
Post a Comment