It almost appears that the only beneficiaries of this strike are, quite sadly, bad writers who won't mind settling for the normal cut. And the only real reward that comes from a writers' strike is an "admirable" excuse for unemployment. While our best TV scriptwriters are holding strike signs in front of the Fox studio, viewers of American broadcasting networks will also have to settle for less in terms of what they see on their weekly television programs.
A possible ramification of this strike has already reared its ugly head. On Oct. 17, a certain actor from the popular NBC series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" wanted a change in the script of an episode that had not yet been filmed. Neal Baer, the writer-producer of the drama series, is supposed to have the responsibility of determining what is included in the script and production and what isn't. Unlike those in the motion picture industry, writer-producers like Baer are indispensable to studio executives, and often have more power over what we see on screen than do actors and managers. This is why unexpected last-minute changes can be made on an episode before it is aired, if that is what the writer-producer dictates. If this person acting as the central gear in the mechanics of network television is kept from doing his or her job, the show will not see a happy ending.
If Hollywood writers go on strike in November at the earliest, Neal Baer and other producers of critically acclaimed shows will be crippled in their twofold function as writer and show runner, as they will have to assume the additional duties of their striking fellow scriptwriters. At the very worst, a large proportion of television shows will have to shut down production immediately.
All the corporate hassle going on is simply about one thing: residual payments. The guilds are asking for increased salaries for writers. This extra payment will account for films and programs sold on DVD and viewed on new outlets such as cell phones and the Internet. But company representatives seem adverse to the idea of paying for the "House, M.D." episode that a student with a busy schedule may watch on his laptop. Film executives have been a bit slack when it comes to negotiations. Guild leaders refuse to discuss issues if they are not given a full session. Things are not going well, and it appears that the two sides will have to come to an agreement during their next meeting this week in the WGA headquarters in Los Angeles if a strike is to be prevented. Progress will have to be made, and it will have to be made quickly before the fall contract concludes at the end of the month.
This strike must not happen, whether it is authorized by the WGA, the Screen Actor's Guild or any other guild in the entertainment market for that matter. If it does, chances are that season-ending episodes will have to be delayed from May to September-that is, if the studio luckily manages to keep its writers within its wing and thus escape an immediate shutdown in production. This will have a calamitous effect on the dramas and sitcoms we watch today.
The lack of substance in today's television is evident. But reality TV provides artless entertainment that is even less essential to the viewer's mind than the average drama or sitcom. Grammy-winning programs, such as "Law & Order: SVU," may have to suffer from temporary blackouts because of the thousands of obstinate writers who refuse to write. Viewers will have to go with the low-priced entertainment of a game show that provides little utility to not only Americans, but TV owners all over the world. Writers are not willing to settle for less. We shouldn't be either.