Skip to main content

StrikeWatch: Cautious Optimism Are Today's Buzzwords

I've gotten several emails from readers asking if the WGA strike is over and I just have to clear the air here and say: it's not over until we're told by the WGA that it's over.

While I want more than anything for the strike to come to a swift conclusion and the writers to walk away with a fair deal, I don't think we should be breaking open the champagne just yet. While all signs point to progress in the ongoing talks between the WGA and the AMPTP, we all know that nothing in this life is for certain and progress is just that: progress.

When there is a tentative agreement between the two camps, I will cheer with abandon and when that deal is ratified by a majority of the WGA West and East's 10,000+ members, I will break open the Bollinger. In the meantime, I am advocating maintaining an air of cautious optimism.

Can this season still be saved? Possibly. But until there's something concrete, in writing, from the AMPTP that the WGA accepts, talking about which series will go back into production first, etc. it's just wishful thinking.

Let's all hope for the best and continue to support the striking writers, still on the picket lines, but let's be honest about what's going on here and not jump the gun.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Fingers crossed. If they don't come to some sort of agreement by mid-February, chances are this TV season will be a lost cause.
Unknown said…
I really hope the writers get a fair deal. They've said that a 3-month strike means they'll never recoup their lost wages, so they're doing this for writers-yet-to-come; I think that shows real dedication and selflessness. Too bad the studios don't (yet) respect that.
Anonymous said…
Agreed. I want a resolution to the strike and I want the writers to get their fair share of the revenue. But let's not jump the gun (like Pop Candy did) and say that the strike is over. 'Cause it ain't.

Popular posts from this blog

What's Done is Done: The Eternal Struggle Between Good and Evil on the Season Finale of "Lost"

Every story begins with thread. It's up to the storyteller to determine just how much they need to parcel out, what pattern they're making, and when to cut it short and tie it off. With last night's penultimate season finale of Lost ("The Incident, Parts One and Two"), written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, we began to see the pattern that Lindelof and Cuse have been designing towards the last five seasons of this serpentine series. And it was only fitting that the two-hour finale, which pushes us on the road to the final season of Lost , should begin with thread, a loom, and a tapestry. Would Jack follow through on his plan to detonate the island and therefore reset their lives aboard Oceanic Flight 815 ? Why did Locke want to kill Jacob? What caused The Incident? What was in the box and just what lies in the shadow of the statue? We got the answers to these in a two-hour season finale that didn't quite pack the same emotional wallop of previous season

Pilot Inspektor: CBS' "Smith"

I may just have to change my original "What I'll Be Watching This Fall" post, as I sat down and finally watched CBS' new crime drama Smith this weekend. (What? It's taken me a long time to make my way through the stack of pilot DVDs.) While it's on following Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars on Tuesday nights (10 pm ET/PT, to be exact), I'm going to be sure to leave enough room on my TiVo to make sure that I catch this compelling, amoral drama. While one can't help but be impressed by what might just be the most marquee-friendly cast in primetime--Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Jonny Lee Miller, Amy Smart, Simon Baker, and Franky G all star and Shohreh Aghdashloo has a recurring role--the pilot's premise alone earned major points in my book: it's a crime drama from the point of view of the criminals, who engage in high-stakes heists. But don't be alarmed; it's nothing like NBC's short-lived Heist . Instead, think of it as The Italian

The Daily Beast: "How The Killing Went Wrong"

While the uproar over the U.S. version of The Killing has quieted, the show is still a pale imitation of the Danish series on which it is based. Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "How The Killing Went Wrong," in which I look at how The Killing has handled itself during its second season, and compare it to the stunning and electrifying original Danish series, Forbrydelsen , on which it is based. (I recently watched all 20 episodes of Forbrydelsen over a few evenings.) The original is a mind-blowing and gut-wrenching work of genius. It’s not necessary to rehash the anger that followed in the wake of the conclusion last June of the first season of AMC’s mystery drama The Killing, based on Søren Sveistrup’s landmark Danish show Forbrydelsen, which follows the murder of a schoolgirl and its impact on the people whose lives the investigation touches upon. What followed were irate reviews, burnished with the “burning intensity of 10,000 white-hot suns