Ultimate Paradise
29 March, 2024, 08:31:00 am
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
News:
 
  Home Help Arcade Gallery Links Staff List Login Register  

WGA Strike: How It Effects You

Pages: [1]   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: WGA Strike: How It Effects You  (Read 152 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Nintendude
Musical Member
Holy Ruler
*********
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 1,842


Forum Fame. Fanboy Name.


« on: 08 November, 2007, 07:35:19 pm »

The Writer's Guild Of America is on strike and is stopping production of many many shows. You may only be a casual TV watcher, and you may not care about this strike, but almost every Primetime TV show out there is being stopped for the season or maybe even forever. Here is some info on what TV may come to these following months:

*From IGN, I bolded TV show names so you could skim through and look at your favorites.*

Programs like Smallville, Supernatural, House, Grey's Anatomy and CSI will all likely run through any episodes they already have completed (plus the one or two they might have scripts for and can film right now) by January or February at the latest.

It's expected that shows like Two and a Half Men and Back to You (Sitcoms) are not going to be in production this week at all.

The future is much more murky for several other series however, such as Chuck, Bionic Woman, Moonlight, Journeyman, Reaper, and Aliens in America. If a prolonged strike meant no more new episodes this entire season, the networks would have to make a big decision on whether to bring these shows back. And as we previously reported, the strike likely will mark the end for some series already on the verge of cancellation such as K-Ville and Cavemen.

Shows

Heroes: As we reported Friday, Heroes is likely going to turn their December 3rd episode, the eleventh of the season, into the season finale. It was always intended as the end of the "Generations" arc, and a new ending has been written in order to turn it into a more solid conclusion for now.


Lost: ABC's big mid-season show was meant to be Lost, which was to return to begin a 16 episode fourth season early next year. Last week Eonline reported that Lost had been written up through episode 14, so that the majority of the season could be shot. However, IGN spoke to Lost star Michael Emerson this past Friday and he said, "You know, I know that's out there but I don't think that's true. I think that story is not true. To the best of my knowledge, they never have more than one episode beyond what we're shooting." Emerson told us he was currently shooting the seventh episode of Season 4 and that "We probably have enough material to complete the first half of their season." It's assumed that ABC will likely decide to at least air the completed eight episodes in the spring.

Jericho: Fans of serialized drama should take note of this one. Jericho's last minute resurrection after cancellation led to it getting an abbreviated seven episode season, which has already completed production. If the strike continues CBS will be able to program Jericho at a time when few other serialized series are on the air and with the huge added bonus of offering a complete story told over its brief season, rather than the abrupt cut off most other serialized shows will have to endure.

Prison Break: Also a bit luckier than many other serialized dramas, Prison Break has enough scripts completed to get them through episode 13. That episode had always been intended to be a mid-season cliffhanger, so it can easily function as a full season cliffhanger under these new circumstances.

24: Fans won't be happy about this. The promotional push for Season 7 had already begun, but given the situation, the show might not debut at all this TV season. Because of the heavily serialized nature of the series and the specific 24 hours over 24 episodes format, FOX and the producers are debating whether it's worth airing only the first few episodes of the season, only to have the storyline be cut off for an unknown amount of time. Sources IGN spoke to have heard that the show has enough scripts completed to only get them through around episode 10 of the season. Beyond that, if production can't resume within a month, it's almost certain to ensure that the show won't be able to complete 24 episodes this season and thus won't be airing at all. Presumably the completed episodes would be held for whenever production does resume and air together during the 2008 - 2009 TV season.

South Park: Good news, South Park fans. This show will go on. Comedy Central informs us that South Park is a non-Union show and will continue as scheduled, including new episodes this week and next. It will then return in the spring with another batch of new episodes. Given how quickly the show is created and how topical it is, could a strike oriented episode be in the cards for next week's finale?

The Simpsons / Family Guy: Like most animated series (besides South Park of course), these shows are written far in advance of their air date, due to the long process of animating them. That being the case, it's likely these shows (and King of the Hill and American Dad) will have new episodes for most of the season, if not the full 22. Still, Simpsons producer Al Jean has cautioned that there are typically rewrites done during the process that can no longer take place, meaning some of the episodes for later in the season could remain unfinished for now.


The Daily Show / The Colbert Report: Along with most daily talk shows -- Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel -- The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will be shutting down immediately. It's believed that if the strike goes on for a long time, eventually many of these shows will return, as Letterman and Johnny Carson did during the 1980s strike. Not having their writing staff for usual monologues and bits, there will likely be format changes, such as having the hosts simply sit and chat about the day's events at their desks.

The Office: While the show had one more completed script, it won't be filmed while the strike is underway. Not only is the series' showrunner Greg Daniels honoring the strike, but Daniels has told TVweek.com that most (if not none) of the cast are likely crossing the picket lines. Three of The Office's cast members -- B.J. Novak, Mindy Kaling and Paul Lieberstein -- are also staff writers. In addition, star Steve Carell is a WGA member and is not going to work as well. (Damn, this is my favorite show...)

Battlestar Galactica: This is one of the more frustrating situations for fans. Galactica is currently filming their fourth and final season, and have passed the half way mark. However, the final batch of episodes are not written and so production can not be done on the end of the series. Even if a couple of episodes more are shot, SCI FI was already planning on a mid-season split, so fans should expect a ten episode run of the show beginning in April. The rest of the episodes will be held until the time when the final episodes can be shot.


The Shield: Production on the final episode of The Shield begins this week. The script is completed and barring any last minute changes, it should be filmed as intended. The big news is that the show's creator, Shawn Ryan, has vowed not to cross the picket line and thus won't be on the set or in the editing room to work on the show. It's likely that others working for the show will complete the post production work on the final episodes, but the fact that they will not be overseen by the man responsible for the show's existence is notable.

Not scary enough? Well what IGN DIDN'T mention is Scrubs. If the strike continues, the final episode will never air and you'll have to wait for it to come out on DVD. Evil
Report Spam   Logged


Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

-911-
Guest
« Reply #1 on: 08 November, 2007, 07:38:54 pm »

Well there are 400 other episodes of the Simpsons I could watch....
Report Spam   Logged
Masterman
Guest
« Reply #2 on: 08 November, 2007, 07:49:19 pm »

damn.....
I barely watch TV anymore anyway.
Report Spam   Logged
Random
Your Mileage May Vary
Global Moderator
Epic Post Whore
*****
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Mood: Melancholy
Posts: 26,563


You're gonna carry that weight.


WWW
« Reply #3 on: 08 November, 2007, 07:49:56 pm »

*****es better not mess with House. >_>

There will be death.
Report Spam   Logged

"What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously.

But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured." - Kurt Vonnegut, jr.
Gaffit
Semi-epic Post Whore
**********
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Mood: Relaxed
Posts: 17,420


Gaffit


WWW
« Reply #4 on: 08 November, 2007, 08:27:34 pm »

*Sigh*

No more Heroes anymore...
Report Spam   Logged

k3v1ndud3
Guest
« Reply #5 on: 08 November, 2007, 08:42:02 pm »

*****es better not mess with House. >_>

There will be death.

Agreed.
Report Spam   Logged
Ahriman
Guest
« Reply #6 on: 08 November, 2007, 10:30:20 pm »

Heroes and Lost...;_;
Report Spam   Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by EzPortal
Bookmark this site! | Upgrade This Forum
SMF For Free - Create your own Forum

Powered by SMF | SMF © 2016, Simple Machines
Privacy Policy