On strike - thoughts about TV
I haven't really mentioned much about the strikes that are happening but I'm right in the middle of all of them here at Times Square. If i look out my window right now I can see the Viacom freelancers strike (story...). Earlier in the month, I was right above the Broadway stagehands strike (our office is right above the production of Legally Blonde - which is great by the way, and back up and running!) and there are Writers Guild strikes going on all over the place.
Now I watch almost no scripted TV, I'll catch an occasional episode of The Office or Law and Order here and there but I don't have any fictional scripted shows that I actually really like. I do, however know a lot of people who LOVE their scripted shows. Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, ER (although I don't know why you still watch it STEVE). I'm really curious to see how this strike will change viewership of shows like that. Will it drop off once the new episodes run out? Will they be able to get their audiences back after they've lost them??
The shows that I really do like, Daily Show, Colbert, Conan, also have writers and it's really interesting to see how this strike has affected them. Daily Show and Colbert generally have just about as much influence on elections and politics as the other legitimate news networks do. This is a huge election season and they've missed a number of big events so far. In addition, this is a busy season for big movie and book releases and everyone and their dog goes onto these late night shows to promote their new projects. I wonder if sales of both of those will drop off because they weren't able to go on and smile nicely and say what a great film/book they have. Finally, a lot of these shows succeed by building momentum (see Colbert's presidential bid that dragged on for weeks) and involve their audiences to keep them coming back. Usually the most they take off at a time is a few weeks. Again, with the months long break we've now seen because of this strike, can these shows rebound and find their audiences again? I hope so, but after watching TV work from the inside out for 4 years, I think this strike might have a lasting impact on the way TV is made, sold, presented and viewed in the future.
Now I watch almost no scripted TV, I'll catch an occasional episode of The Office or Law and Order here and there but I don't have any fictional scripted shows that I actually really like. I do, however know a lot of people who LOVE their scripted shows. Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, ER (although I don't know why you still watch it STEVE). I'm really curious to see how this strike will change viewership of shows like that. Will it drop off once the new episodes run out? Will they be able to get their audiences back after they've lost them??
The shows that I really do like, Daily Show, Colbert, Conan, also have writers and it's really interesting to see how this strike has affected them. Daily Show and Colbert generally have just about as much influence on elections and politics as the other legitimate news networks do. This is a huge election season and they've missed a number of big events so far. In addition, this is a busy season for big movie and book releases and everyone and their dog goes onto these late night shows to promote their new projects. I wonder if sales of both of those will drop off because they weren't able to go on and smile nicely and say what a great film/book they have. Finally, a lot of these shows succeed by building momentum (see Colbert's presidential bid that dragged on for weeks) and involve their audiences to keep them coming back. Usually the most they take off at a time is a few weeks. Again, with the months long break we've now seen because of this strike, can these shows rebound and find their audiences again? I hope so, but after watching TV work from the inside out for 4 years, I think this strike might have a lasting impact on the way TV is made, sold, presented and viewed in the future.
posted by Anne K at 11:41 AM
3 Comments:
(sniff, sniff) I don't watch television. (sniff, sniff)
Pardon me, I never said I didn't watch TV. I said that I wasn't into very many SCRIPTED shows. There is a BIG difference between scripted shows and the stuff I watch like, Deal or no Deal, The Real Housewives of Orange County, American Idol and soon American Gladiators! Those shows have no writers, so they're not impacted by the strike. READ MORE CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU SNIFF SNIFF AT ME.
all i am going to say is "don't knock it until you try it" although ER did have a few bad years, the true fans have stuck with it from the beginning!! it's like wedding vows - "in good times and in bad, til death do us part!"
as a diehard, I will be around until the end (it's death). have no fear.
the innerworkings of Chicago's County General have captivated me for years and truly make my thursday night's complete
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