What happens to television if the strike lingers?

I used to write for TV and would like to again. Believe me, not all writers get $500,000.00 a year. I wish. Most shows are cancelled before they get out of the gate. Then you have to get out there and compete with all the other writers who probably won't get hired anyway because the producers will hire their family members and friends who've never written anything longer or more interesting than a grocery list. The last strike lowered the quality of writing significantly (because scabs did get in and were allowed to stay in as payment for helping out). Then along came those unreal reality shows that lowered the bar even more. If it weren't for TVLand and dvds, I'd have no need for a TV. What I can't understand is why advertisers aren't upset or nervous about the significant viewer drop-off. Everyone I know watches TV only for sports and to let the kids see the Disney channel or Nick. The last time I checked, the kids weren't doing the shopping.

I do like Deadliest catch. I think my husband wishes he would go away for a couple of weeks away from me, lol. But, I told him that his life insurance isn't enough just incase. Lately I have been resorting to the show HOw ITS MADE. I watch them making toilet paper and other household items. Its... ... ... ok... There is no great Dirty Job commentator, but at least it's something new and differenet. Ya know, I hear Kathy Griffin's new show on Bravo starts back up again soon. She is actually pretty funny. Bravo and A&E have really gotten some good shows on their networks and lately, I find myself gravitating to watching their shows more and more. I guess when there is really nothing on, you lower your standards a lot and watch what looks the most amusing. That Paula Abdul show was a train wreck. I couldn't even keep the channel on. Every other second it was a meltdown. I was like ok. if she thinks her life is hard , come to my house and change one of my kids dirty diapers.. or get them outta the dog food. I constantly find my son on all fours eating out of the dog dishes. Monkey See Monkey do. Come on over Paula.. I can really make ya cry...LOL

Wow, I also expected a MUCH better article, given the headline. A bit of humor was fine but then it lead us way out into left field somewhere, waiting for the coach to call us back in.

I do hope the end is in sight, I don't know how much Reality TV I can handle.

I must say, I am fortunate to have a great cable package, so I think I'll still find entertainment beyond Reality TV.

I've also got an OnDemand service that I could literally spend years trying to watch everything on it.

Hmmm, I'm seeing why my cable bill is the highest bill in the house....

In regards to pilots, WGC member Chris Haddock, creator of the probably-about-to-be-cancelled Canadian series Intelligence, just wrote an American version for Fox, which the network loved. (They can't just transplant the Canadian version since the bad guys in it are consistently American law and spy agencies) He can't make any moves with it until the strike ends, but if it does in time for pilot season the script will be ready to go into production immediately.

Heres a thought...what would we do?...get off our asses and do things AWAY from the freaking couch and TV! Maybe the 30% of us that are way over weight could go to the gym. We could do things as a family where we TALK to each other. Go to a restaurant, learn how to cook. Bake. Clean your house. Have a party. Dance. Listen to music. Paint, draw, or create! Anything! Jesus its like we are freaks or something and the TV is our air. Get real! Oh no...the overpaid writers are going to go on strike. Good! Let them stay on strike, the over paid pigs that they are. We all watch to much TV and obsess over it like its our freaking life! We watch the TV while our own ‘unwatched’ lives go to crap! (And save me the blah blah blah about “I have a life and this is my release! Good for you…that makes you probably 3% of the viewing audience) Get out heads out and think and do other things!
Sorry to sound angry but this is freaking ridiculous!

Midnight13, the networks no longer have any rights to those series. They're from the days when the production studios were owned by different companies than the networks. I agree, in principle, that it would be a great idea. But all the rights to re-air would need to be re-purchased, and considering that most of the series have been on cable networks or out on DVD for a while, the projected ratings probably wouldn't warrant spending a thin dime on re-acquiring air rights.

Maybe families will go out and do more things together now, as a family, rather than sitting in front of the TV all the time. This strike is a "good thing" (like Martha would say - tee hee).

I hope they don't settle witht the writers any time soon anyway. They get paid too much as it is (some as much as $500,000.00) and this just shows how greedy they truly are. I'm actually enjoying reruns which I have never seen before. On top of which, some of the reality shows fun too.

Wouldn't it be great is the networks aired classic episodes of shows they used to air? What if CBS started to show episodes of "I Love Lucy" and "The Twlight Zone" in lew of "CSI" and "Two and Half Men"? NBC would show classic episodes of "Cheers" and classic "Saturday Night Live" episodes. The networks have an oppurtunity to dig into thier vaults and remind the viewers of past shows we all love, as well as introduce some new viewers. Starting to miss "Boston Legal"? Watch "L.A. Law", feel bad about about no new "Pushing Dasies?" Re-air "Twin Peaks". Sure most of those shows are available on DVD, but not everyone owns the DVDS, not everyone even knows about some of these classic shows.

There has been tons of crap on before the strike. I hope Leno and Letterman follow Carson...Primetime doesn't really bother me that much, but I like to get a laugh before bedtime.