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Writers Strike seems likely
WORF
The Burninator
in Zocalo v2.0
After reading how today's negotiations went, I'd say it's a good bet it'll happen.
[URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7072419.stm"]Link[/URL]
Worf
[URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7072419.stm"]Link[/URL]
Worf
Comments
I know what you mean. Why do so many shows and movies have such sucky stories these days? I can't really say for books since I generally only read stuff at least ten years old, not on purpose exactly, but I always find out about older writers and read their stuff.
Jake
Part of why they are striking is because of shitty television like those so called reality shows that take away from real shows that need writers. If the writers go on strike it will be the "reality" tv that fills the void.
What follows is an essay I wrote for another website. The site is for a fan fiction story of a BSG style reboot of TOS. I wrote it last year, but the meaning holds true...
Way back in the 1980's, a man had a vision. A television show set in a science-fiction universe that had real characters, real problems and limited technology to solve those problems. More imporntantly his story was five years long. Long before the first episode ever began shooting, he had written a series bible that tied everything and everyone together. That man was J. Michael Strazynski and that show was Babylon 5.
He was told, it wouldn't work. The only SciFi on TV was Star Trek. And no one was going to tune in every week to catch a "chapter" of a 5 year TV/book. Finally, after years of hearing "No" he got his chance, on a network called PTen. Pten collapsed and was bought out by the TNT network. That is when the meddling began. They didn't like his star, so they got him replaced, they wanted a "fighter ace" so we got one, for one season, which is when JMS killed him off. The network continued to stick their hand in the pot and stir it around a bit, changing the airtime until eventually even the die-hard fans didn't know when it was on.
The resulting ratings dip almost got the show shortened by a whole season. So much so, that he filmed the final episode and tied up the major story arcs in the 4th season. When season 5 finally did get greenlit, the quality suffered a bit because of the tie up at the end of season 4.
However, it endured. Later on, writers like Joss Wheadon would mention Babylon 5 over Trek as an inspiration to his show Firefly, also serialized Science Fiction. Even later than that, new television shows like 24, Lost and Heroes brought serialized television to the forefront of the market. Fans not only were willing to follow chapter-style story telling, they preferred it.
In between the end of Babylon 5 and the start of 24 though, a shift occurred in the television market. The "reality tv show", which is not really reality at all, but it is something else, cheaper than dirt to produce. Why pay big name actors to star in 22 episode seasons when you can pull schmucks off the street and have them compete against each other for less than the cost of a single actor from an episode of Friends? The "reality" shows pulled just as many, if not more viewers than their dramatic counterparts, but cost no where near the amount of money. The ratings allow them to charge more for the advertising, and thus, more profit is generated for the network.
No where is this more evident than in two popular television shows this season. CBS's Jericho and NBC's Heroes. Jericho was up against ratings giant American Idol for much of its run, yet it was able to hold on to decent ratings. But CBS was not looking for decent ratings, they wanted something to take the top spot in its timeslot, so the axe came out at the end of season one. A good show, with lots of fans, was cancelled because it couldnt top American Idol, a show that costs about 80/night in alcohol for Paula Abdul to make.
Then comes Heroes. Probably the single most talked about new show on television this season, yet it barely survived being cancelled because the ratings were only "good" not super spectacular.
In the world of broadcast network television, there is a very fine line between ratings and profit. You can have good ratings, but low profit and be on the canned list. Networks don't care about producing good television, they care about producing profitable television. If CBS can put a show that pulls the same ratings at twice the profit of Jericho, then it just might get renewed.
Which finally brings me to Star Trek (Reborn). The world of Trek has been stagnant for a long time now. With lackluster motion pictures and horrendous television production, its fan base has dwindled. It has taken the average fan to bring in a truly fresh perspective on a once great television phenomenon. ST(R) captures the simple elegance of Classic Trek while bringing in a modern day twist in dramatic serialized story telling. It gives Star Trek the face lift it so desperately needed. And while we are all hoping that some of the elements of ST(R) make it into the JJ Abrahms feature, it will likely never make it on the small screen. Already networks are turning down more and more serialized drama on television, instead asking for more cheap thrills.
Smart TV is a thing of the past, expect your boob-toob to be mindless televsion for the mindless Americans who can't wait to see who the next 10 minute Idol will be, or who can dance the tango the best.
Perhaps another medium could make ST(R) into reality. Cable networks seem to be the ones taking more chances in television production these days. Even internet broadcasts could be a future medium that tries to break new ground. However, the days of edgy broadcast network television have officially gone the way of the dinosaur.
Writers might not all be good, but its damned better than the alternative.
Speaking of which, Spirit One, most Reality TV doesn't employ people off the street. Most people on Reality TV are aspiring actors or actresses out looking for work. A few are even semi-well known. And they are scripted too. Sure they don't pay big name people, but it still isn't "Reality" the way most people think it is.
The best show on right now is The Boondocks. That's pretty much the only show I care about right now.
Part of why they are striking is because of shitty television like those so called reality shows that take away from real shows that need writers. If the writers go on strike it will be the "reality" tv that fills the void.
What follows is an essay I wrote for another website. The site is for a fan fiction story of a BSG style reboot of TOS. I wrote it last year, but the meaning holds true...
Way back in the 1980's, a man had a vision. A television show set in a science-fiction universe that had real characters, real problems and limited technology to solve those problems. More imporntantly his story was five years long. Long before the first episode ever began shooting, he had written a series bible that tied everything and everyone together. That man was J. Michael Strazynski and that show was Babylon 5.
He was told, it wouldn't work. The only SciFi on TV was Star Trek. And no one was going to tune in every week to catch a "chapter" of a 5 year TV/book. Finally, after years of hearing "No" he got his chance, on a network called PTen. Pten collapsed and was bought out by the TNT network. That is when the meddling began. They didn't like his star, so they got him replaced, they wanted a "fighter ace" so we got one, for one season, which is when JMS killed him off. The network continued to stick their hand in the pot and stir it around a bit, changing the airtime until eventually even the die-hard fans didn't know when it was on.
The resulting ratings dip almost got the show shortened by a whole season. So much so, that he filmed the final episode and tied up the major story arcs in the 4th season. When season 5 finally did get greenlit, the quality suffered a bit because of the tie up at the end of season 4.
However, it endured. Later on, writers like Joss Wheadon would mention Babylon 5 over Trek as an inspiration to his show Firefly, also serialized Science Fiction. Even later than that, new television shows like 24, Lost and Heroes brought serialized television to the forefront of the market. Fans not only were willing to follow chapter-style story telling, they preferred it.
In between the end of Babylon 5 and the start of 24 though, a shift occurred in the television market. The "reality tv show", which is not really reality at all, but it is something else, cheaper than dirt to produce. Why pay big name actors to star in 22 episode seasons when you can pull schmucks off the street and have them compete against each other for less than the cost of a single actor from an episode of Friends? The "reality" shows pulled just as many, if not more viewers than their dramatic counterparts, but cost no where near the amount of money. The ratings allow them to charge more for the advertising, and thus, more profit is generated for the network.
No where is this more evident than in two popular television shows this season. CBS's Jericho and NBC's Heroes. Jericho was up against ratings giant American Idol for much of its run, yet it was able to hold on to decent ratings. But CBS was not looking for decent ratings, they wanted something to take the top spot in its timeslot, so the axe came out at the end of season one. A good show, with lots of fans, was cancelled because it couldnt top American Idol, a show that costs about 80/night in alcohol for Paula Abdul to make.
Then comes Heroes. Probably the single most talked about new show on television this season, yet it barely survived being cancelled because the ratings were only "good" not super spectacular.
In the world of broadcast network television, there is a very fine line between ratings and profit. You can have good ratings, but low profit and be on the canned list. Networks don't care about producing good television, they care about producing profitable television. If CBS can put a show that pulls the same ratings at twice the profit of Jericho, then it just might get renewed.
Which finally brings me to Star Trek (Reborn). The world of Trek has been stagnant for a long time now. With lackluster motion pictures and horrendous television production, its fan base has dwindled. It has taken the average fan to bring in a truly fresh perspective on a once great television phenomenon. ST(R) captures the simple elegance of Classic Trek while bringing in a modern day twist in dramatic serialized story telling. It gives Star Trek the face lift it so desperately needed. And while we are all hoping that some of the elements of ST(R) make it into the JJ Abrahms feature, it will likely never make it on the small screen. Already networks are turning down more and more serialized drama on television, instead asking for more cheap thrills.
Smart TV is a thing of the past, expect your boob-toob to be mindless televsion for the mindless Americans who can't wait to see who the next 10 minute Idol will be, or who can dance the tango the best.
Perhaps another medium could make ST(R) into reality. Cable networks seem to be the ones taking more chances in television production these days. Even internet broadcasts could be a future medium that tries to break new ground. However, the days of edgy broadcast network television have officially gone the way of the dinosaur.
Writers might not all be good, but its damned better than the alternative.[/QUOTE]
I hate to say this, but no, this is not how it happened.
Babylon 5 was on PTen for four seasons and there was very little meddling by the network compared to most projects. Unlike super big budget Star Trek which only went intot he black in syndication, Babylon 5 made a profit when the episode first aired and, as a result the networks took a hads off approach as they were making money and were happy. In fact B5 was almost always under budget. Babylon Productions returned one million dollars to WB from Season 3 alone. Also remember that PTen was the network it was shown on, but it was WB with the rights and the money.
At the end of Season 3 and before the start of season 4 WB executives went to jms and told him PTen was almost certain to go under after this season and they could not guruntee another network to pick up the series, so he only had one more year to finish the story instead of two. This is why season 4 was so condensed. Only at the last minute did TNT pick up Babylon 5 and Deconstruction was quickly written and shot to replace the expected Sleeping in Light.
The reason why the schedule changed so much near the end was the result of PTens near collapse. PTen was actually a consortium of independent stations and so Babylon 5's schedule was a result of programming at the local level. We were fortunate that our local station aired all the episodes in regular order, however some stations didn't even air the last 4 episodes of season 4 at all.
O'Hare's departure was, mostly, mutual with all three parties (WB, O'Hare, and jms). WB did want a bigger name in the lead role. O'Hare was worried about typecasting and had a desire to return to theater, and jms was realizing that Sinclare dealing witht he Shadow War, the EA civil war, creating the ISA and then becoming Valen (which was the original conclusion to the 5 year arc) was way too much for one character to take on.
And Heroes is now a runaway success. DVD sales were far beyond predicted, so the show has what is likely going to become a long life. I still have not managed to see it, so I'll refrain from further comment. (Please don't hurt me)
And Star Trek only suffered in the recent years due to god awful writing going into it. Enterprise started out with a strong, predictably loyal following that was alienated almost entirely before its second season had finished. Upon season three, the show was so deep into the hole that the networked pulled a DS9 and handed it over to someone who actually wanted what was more or less a write-off at that point. By the time things were turning around, the show's audience (myself included) had long-since abandoned it and moved on.
From what has been seen thus far, the Abrams Star Trek project will succeed where all others have failed by employing quality writing and a character-driven plot to keep the platform pulling in an ever-increasing audience. There seems to be a genuine concern within its production staff to attempt to heal some of the damage and bring back some form of respect and profitability to what was once neary the thickest bit of padding in Paramount's wallet.
The key here is DVD sales. Season box sets are solid proof that networks have been catching on, that people are actually willing to pay for quality programming. The markup on these given the production and distribution costs is unreasonably high in many cases, but the audiences of intelligent shows are apparently quite willing to pay this without much in the way of a second thought. [COLOR=Lime]Cha-ching! [/COLOR]It's been a slow process, but the money is there. This is exactly how people such as Whedon keep making a return.
On a side note, the advent of DVD has finally made its impact in the realm of low-volume/low-cost productions being made for niche audiences. See TLT as an example of one such experiment that (apparently) was a success, bringing in some measure of profitability.
End of babble.
Croxis, maybe I misunderstood what I was watching, but I got the impression from the features on the B5 dvd's that the network just didn't like Sinclair and that was reason one why he was toast?? As far as Pten, I have old tapes of original broadcast B5, and the Pten logo stops being on the end of them at season 2 or 3. Are you sure about them hanging on as long as they did?
Also, my bad for STR/ST:Remastered. :p You have now intrigued me to the point of downloading a full season of screenplays!
As far as Heroes...Ratings were seen as poor, but the studio had apparently announced plans to wait for the DVD numbers to come in before a final decision, so the point is moot. The DVD sets did better than any form of executive rationality allowed them to believe, and the show got renewed. I simply have absolutely zero knowledge of Jericho in any possible form, so I'm going to let that comment slide by ;)
I'm damned curious about Abrams' Star Trek. Its success or failure will mean a great deal to the direction of cinematic science ficiton, and quite possibly that of the small screen as well. Recent Star Trek killed off the idea of profitability in SciFi across the networks with its crashing audiences and ratings that fell faster than a bag of bricks. The studios don't know/care that the writing is/was at fault for this. All they see is the profit margin slipping dramatically as advertisers start dropping out. It is part of why FOX cancelled Firefly (not to say I support the move): The unreasonable fear of investing too much into a project "inevitably doomed to fail" when it came time to air. Hell, audiences have been few and far between as of late. BSG's comparatively small audience (with respect to other mainstream programs) hasn't been saying much for it, either. Executives don't see story formats and presentation styles, they see numbers. This number is higher than that, and the other one is lower than the fourth. We understand these viewing ratings to be based around two elements: (1) long-term story arcs that make jumping into the show mid-run an outright impossibility, and (2) the tendency of fans to view in groups. This ends up producing a downward trend on ratings as the show goes on. B5 and Farscape encountered similar ratings trends, though B5 was lucky to have the marketing and the broadcast coverage to allow for viewing. All that is changed is that we now have a third element to the puzzle in the form of DVD sales, and that particular element promises an enormous profit. Studios love their profit.
Well if they have less writers then they can just make up for it with more reality shows. Oh wait, those things are scripted. Nevermind...
I'd hate to be a writer, trying to scrap together a living while the fat cats get fatter off the talent they take from you.
As evidence note the faster turn around time from airing to DVD release we're seeing (Razor is a great example).
Jake
"Yes, Warners wanted a star in that role, but they had [I]always [/I]wanted one, just as [I]every [/I]studio wants a star in the lead role of a TV series, so this was nothing new.
"Yes, Michael was concerned about type-casting and other issues.
"Yes, there were story complications that became apparant over the course of the first season. So many events of the five year arc had been tied to one character that the coincidences necessary to make it all work over the long haul would verge on the astronomical.
...........
"Look, the fact is that for every online dweebizoid who suggests that [I]they [/I]know the true and final inside story, the only people who [I]really [/I]know the full situation were the four people in the room at the time the discussion took place.
"And those are the only people who will [I]ever [/I]know.
"Which like it or not is [I]exactly [/I]as it should be. Michael is a friend and a fine actor who I would work with again at the drop of a thespian should the opportunity and role arise.
"And [I]that[/I], as far as I'm concerned, is the end of [I]that[/I]."
As much as I support unions too many of the rules are just too dumb. If all these people are owners and own shares all the fighting would be settled at the beginning of a run. Everyone with get up and go would work hard to make there show work.
Having the shows I missed on line helps me catch up with out giving up on the shows I follow. Now if Si Fi would catch on!
Chaosed: like miro? [url]http://www.getmiro.com/[/url]
Imagine a mechanic getting a penny for every mile you drive with your car. An IT tech getting a penny for every page you print successfully on a corporate network.
Damn, why haven't we thought of this before? :D Whoever wrote that script is a genius. :rolleyes:
I'm kidding, I think, because AFAIK writers get paid for their work. And I think that's why the studios or whoever is paying them is probably refusing to give them any more money.
I'm not saying the writers aren't justified to insist on more for their work, but I guess with all the money the studios are making, their demands may be justified.
This was an issue that came up with the BSG webisodes last season. This time they are airing them on tv.
I had lots of family working for GM and herd there stories. No good with it, no good with out it.
Having herd how B5 crew pitched in even after they went union was great after having seen a tv show being made and Shawn Haze get yelled at by crew member for moving an ottoman to the other side of the set.
I'll have a friend of mine check it out for me, Croxis :)
If I couldn't watch some of the shows I follow on line and I missed an episode I would not watch all the shows I watch.
Imagine a mechanic getting a penny for every mile you drive with your car. An IT tech getting a penny for every page you print successfully on a corporate network.
Damn, why haven't we thought of this before? :D Whoever wrote that script is a genius. :rolleyes:
I'm kidding, I think, because AFAIK writers get paid for their work. And I think that's why the studios or whoever is paying them is probably refusing to give them any more money.
[/QUOTE]
The software development company i used to work for made a piece of software for a service of a major telecommunications provider. In addition to the one-time fee and the service contract, our company also got a certain amount for each customer that subscribed to the service. I don't know how much, but it was enough to get my boss to canvass new customers.
A freelance writer is much more similar to this model than your run of the mill employee. You and I get a monthly salary, we can count on getting the same salary we got last month next month. A freelance writer can't count on selling 3 scripts next year just because he sold 3 this year. The only form of steady income for him are the royalties of his previous work.
look for example at Mark Verheiden's IMDB credits (He's a writer on BSG) in 2000 he has no work credited, which probably means, no income besides royalties.
Or J.J. Abrams. Between 1992 and 1996 no writing credit (he has one acting and one as composer).
currently, i think 10% of the revenue of DVDs go royalties of the people involved in making it, and 90% go to the studio. Those 10% get split between the director, the writer, the actors, the producers, etc... And that's for DVDs sold in the US. God only knows what they get for dvds sold in other countries, especially germany, france, spain etc. where there's the additional cost of translation and dubbing into the local language.
And for webisodes, or online distributions, there's no real model, which means that your average writer probably gets NOTHING back in return.
Same with actors, really. Only a few can get a job as a regular on a TV show, and even fewer will be on a long-running show. The rest just have to pick up guest work whenever they can.