Saturday, December 1, 2007

TV Strikes Out

As some of you may know, there is a writer’s strike going on in Hollyweird that may impact your TV viewing. This writer’s strike will surely cause repercussions for several industries that are interfaced with the finished product on your screen. As unfortunate as that will be, we cannot ignore the truth that this strike will profoundly affect our lives and the choices we make in watching TV!

If the strike is still ongoing at the time this article goes to print, you can expect to be bombarded with more reality TV than you can shake a stick at. The main reason for this is that reality TV programming requires little, to no scripting. Therefore, no writers are needed.

This means that you can expect more brilliant programming like:
Mediocre Joes
My Petite, Thin, Polite Fiancée
Who Wants to Marry a Doofus?
The Smallest Winner
Dancing with Magicians
Uzbekistan Idol

The list goes on and on and on, but you get the picture.

According to Us magazine, shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” have only shot episodes through Christmas. “Lost” has only wrapped up eight out of 16 episodes, and “24” has only shot about nine out of 24 episodes. If you watch soap operas (and who doesn’t?), you are going to be absolutely crushed. You can expect to see about a month’s worth of shows and then – BAM! – the rug will be pulled.

The last strike in 1988 lasted five months, and some say this could go even longer. Of course, it all comes down to the mighty dollar. This time, the writer’s point of contention seems to revolve around revenue from their material being shown on the World Wide Web (of evil). Can’t we just get rid of the Internet? Well folks, since that isn’t going to happen any time soon, I guess we will have to sit back and enjoy our favorite reruns and reality remixes.

Some good may come from the strike as well. We could see more sports shows and live sporting events. Nothing screams entertainment like bowling and sailing. Why not combine sports with reality and have such shows as “Celebrity Basketball on Ice” or “Rehabbed Celebrity Blindfolded Dart Championship.”

So buckle up, people, and prepare to find new forms of entertainment. Find something fun to do and learn something new. Try to resist the temptation to watch shows like “Are You Smarter than a Baby?” It’s heading that way – let’s make sure as viewers, we don’t follow suit. Let’s prove that we are, indeed, smarter than a baby and realize we don’t need people eating worms and doing hideous karaoke to entertain us.