Comments on Winners and Losers
I'm sorry, I'm too engrossed in watching Paradise Hotel on the web ... what were you saying?
But, seriously, reality TV is so lame now.
Why are you supporting those who use slog as a pejorative? We need tolerance for this minority and will not stand by while we are discriminated against
Reality TV blows, but network scripted TV blows worse. I'll continue to watch old crack addicts fall out of their chair for now, thanks. Hey, has Erica ever watched a few episodes of "The Girl Next Door"? I think she'd like it. A lot.
But Big Brother starts tonight!!!
Patrick Goldstein has another, somewhat more salient analysis along the same lines in this morning's L.A. Times:
I read his assessment, and I think it's decent but I think the long term gains the writers made really do out-pace the short term losses.
The stuff he mentions, like fewer development deals, fewer overalls, fewer pilots, those were happening anyway. And like he notes, if you created a hit tv show before and if you create a hit tv show post strike, the result is the same. You'll still get an overall.
The fact of the matter is most writers rely on residuals in the lean years. Getting internet residuals ensures that that stream of money doesn't die out when tv moves online.
We canceled cable and get no TV reception in our apartment. We only watch scripted TV shows, which we get through Netflix. I even broke down and replaced my iPod because I just couldn't stand watching reality shows at the gym. I don't know how else to protest!!
Almost every strike results in a net loss for the strikers, in purely $ terms. It's the people who come after who gain.
One of the things that seems stupid about this whole deal is that the writers could cut the studios out of the picture entirely if they would just pool their resources, hire actors, and start producing internet content on their own. Studios days are numbered now that the distribution bottleneck has been broken. Writers need to look a little further down the road.
farther.
Fuck.
Umm getting internet residuals starting in the 3rd year of their new contracts won't really help them over these immediate lean years. I love the writers, I'm just pissed at the producers for bragging about all the money that's being made over streaming and making the writers think there was even a pie to be cut up and distributed to them. The last time I checked the same amount of people streaming over ABC (what i've heard is a popular network for streaming) for an entire month was equal to the amount of viewers that tuned into lowest rated 1/2 hour tv show. If they decided to strike in say 2010, they'd have fought off the onslaught of reality tv getting penciled into primtime, maybe made some money off the development deals and best of all they would have been in a position to actually reap immediate rewards once the strike was resolved. Instead of what I've heard to be a lump sum of 1,200$ over 2 years. Seems about fair for 14 weeks of missed work.
Don't hate on reality TV, just because the majority of it sucks. The majority of most things are boring. But every once in a while you find those little diamonds in the rough like Rob and Big, The Surreal Life and I'm with Busey. Reality tv is the perfect realm for b to d-list celebrities to continue humping away at what they consider to be a "career" while entertaining many at the expense of the slivers of dignity through the exploitation of their self-destructive tendencies.
Down with reality TV! Up next, liveblogging Project Runway!
Judah@10: you had it right the first time. Farther = real physical distance and further = metaphorical distance.
Man, I just can't give up Deal or No Deal. I just love watching dumb people make terrible decisions!
@11, it remains to be seen how "lean" the next few years are. I don't know that there's strong evidence to suggest that next year will be much leaner that last year. (Obviously this year is lean.)
@9, you make some good points but the truth is that a) we're not there yet and b) I don't think most writers want to have to hire their own location scouts, get their own production space, hire their own directors and casting directors etc etc. I think a lot of writers are happy to let the studios do that work. Shooting a pilot is difficult as it is. Shooting a pilot with half the support? Nearly impossible.
Big Brother starts tonight? Darn, I actually kind of like that one ...
Ben @14, it was Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, not Deal or No Deal, but I saw a clip the other day of a gal who when asked which was larger, the moon or an elephant, said "elephant". Made my day.
Wow, I just spread an urban legend there. Cool! (It didn't happen).
I rebelled against reality TV. I don't watch TV shows on TV. I watch movies and DVD sets of TV shows. I also play Zelda with my TV.
But Fnarf, that inspiration poster is truly one of the best.
"Elephants. Bigger Than the Moon."
er, *inspirational
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