Solidarity Forever

Pack up the picket signs and break out the pens — the Writers Guild has overwhelming approved their contract settlement with the producers and studios. They got a piece of the money from online streams and downloads but even more importantly they made everyone sit up and take notice. When they stopped working, everything ground to halt.

That's power and they will have earned more than a modicum of respect for that. Hopefully it sticks.

While billions were lost and many had to suffer through reruns, I didn't really notice the strike in my daily TV viewing. My PVR is still running at over 80% full, but there are a few shows that I will be happy to see new episodes of. So here's when some of my faves are returning and with how many episodes. Look up yours on TV Guide's constantly updated list.

30 Rock
Expected to shoot 5 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May. Woo hoo! Best show on TV.

Bones
Four pre-strike episodes left. Unclear whether additional episodes will be produced for this season. I've become quite into this show — I think it is because I've never watched any of the other procedurals.

Chuck
No new episodes until fall. Boo! At least I know it has been given a second series.

Heroes
No new episodes expected until fall. Another boo. Hopefully the writers thought up some good ideas on the picket lines and this show returns.

Lost
Six pre-strike episodes remain. Five additional episodes could air this season. Read my friend Nikki Stafford for more info on this. I hope they do more, the past two episodes have ben fantastic.

My Name Is Earl
Expected to shoot 8 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May. Wow, 8 to 10? What's wrong with the rest of these shows? Slackers.

Prison Break
Two pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD. Meh. I'll watch, but part of me just hopes they all get shot and buried in an unmarked Panamanian grave.

No word on The Simpsons or Family Guy yet.

What still perplexes me is why the networks are so attached to seasons ending at the traditional times. When teachers got on strike they extend semesters, why not follow their example?

Producers See Shadow, Strike May End

Did film and television producers step out of their offices this Groundhog Day, see their shadows and finally realize there was going to be a long season of no new movies or shows if they didn’t start making some concessions?

There are reports that a settlement of the almost three-month-old strike by Hollywood writers could come as early as this week. It appears there has been some resolution of the Writers Guild’s demand for payment of work that play online.

Who knows what may have finally put them over the top? Perhaps it was the Groundhog-esque nature of TV these days, filled with a multitude of shows you’ve already seen. Maybe it was the possibility of the Oscars turning out like the travesty that passed as the Golden Globes this year. Or maybe it was the prospect of the airwaves being filled with Canadian TV shows, as U.S. networks pick up Flashpoint, The Listener, Sophie and continue to sniff around The Border. The horror! In any case, it will be good to see writers getting recognition for their work, even if my PVR backlog hasn’t dropped below 80% in the ensuing labor dispute.

And speaking of Groundhog Day, there are a surprising number of rodent prognosticators these days. From the National Post’s count there are at least 10, with eight of them calling for an early spring and two calling for a longer winter. One of the naysayers is Punxsutawney Phil, but he hasn’t been quite right since Bill Murray rolled through town.

The Groundhog Almanac:
Shubnedacadie Sam (Nova Scotia): Spring
Punxsutawney Phil (Pennsylvania): Winter
Wiarton Willie (Ontario): Spring
General Beauregard Lee (Georgia): Spring
Balzac Billy (Alberta): Spring
Buckeye Chuck (Ohio): Spring
Staten Island Chuck (New York state): Spring
Malverne Mel (New York state): Spring
Woody Woodchuck (Michigan): Spring
Ms. G. (Massachusetts): Winter

With Love, U.S. Network TV

Ever since the writers guild went on strike south of the border people have been anticipating the arrival of U.S. networks, come calling for our home-grown productions. It now appears that time has come.

CBS has picked up 13 episodes of Flashpoint, a new CTV police drama that is expected to air in May or June, giving some indication of how long the strike (or at least its fallout ) is expected to last.

Flashpoint is breathlessly described as "an emotional journey into the tough, risk-filled lives of a group of cops in the SRU (Strategic Response Unit). They're unique cops that can do what ordinary cops can't: rescue hostages, bust gangs, defuse bombs, climb the sides of buildings and talk down suicidal teens. Members of a highly-skilled tactical team, they're also trained in negotiating, profiling and getting inside the suspect's head at the very emotional breaking point (the "flashpoint") that triggered the crisis. They'll do whatever it takes to diffuse the situation to try to save lives — all in a day's work."

This is the first new scripted series to be ordered by a U.S. network since the WGA walked out last November. The show will get around picket lines by using Canadian writers and actors, including Enrico Colantoni (the father on Veronica Mars) and Hugh Dillon. The Writers Guild of Canada is affiliated with the WGA and has stated that "their fight is our fight," but this show likely falls outside of any strike mandate.

In any case, CBS seems pleased: "It just worked," a CBS executive told Variety. "It hit all the right buttons for us. And we had a great meeting with the producers, who already had story ideas for another four or five episodes."

Flashpoint has also overcome the perceived shortcomings of Canadian projects, with one insider assuring that the show's production values "will be as good as any American production." Nice.

Other productions could follow. Peter Raymont, a co-founder, producer and writer at White Pine Pictures, an independent Toronto-based production company, told the Financial Post that he is "optimistic" his CBC drama The Border — about an elite border security unit confronting international crime, terrorists and trafficking — will be sold to a U.S. network after a series of meetings this week in Las Vegas.

I wouldn't be surprised to see jPod snapped up too — perhaps not by a major network, but I could see it working on one of the specialty stations.

So the writer's strike giveth and taketh away. Hopefully the success of Canadian productions won't be used as a reason to keep U.S. writers out on the picket line and when it all gets settled Canada won't return to its second-class status.

(Originally posted on The Ampersand.)

The Negotiating Table

Family Guy's Seth Macfarlane doesn't have a lot of faith in the faith in either side of the writers' strike...

Golden Turd: Live Blogging the Globes

No red carpet, no stars, no speeches, monologues or interpretive dances. Can it even be called an awards show? It’s time for the writers strike version of the 2008 Golden Globes:

9:01 - A nice fade to black photo of a previous award ceremony with the explanation of why the glitzy show was cancelled.

9:02 – On to the supporting actress category just like a regular show. Isn’t this supposed to be a press conference? I’ve been to press conferences and they don’t look like this.

9:04 – Cate Blanchett wins for her portrayal of Dylan. And there is no applause, nothing. The hosts are just yammer on like low-rent Mary Hart clones. Wow, this is so terrible.

9:06 – They are just flying through the categories. Already I regret all my bad mouthing of the previous over-the-top ceremonies. I had no idea it could be so much worse.

9:10 – Jamie Pressly doesn’t win for Best Supporting TV Actress. Too bad, she such a lunatic on My Name is Earl.

9:14 – Ah, even the hosts Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell are calling it a special, not a press conference. I wonder if the Writers Guild would have picketed this if they had known? Does Billy Bush really count as a news reporter? NBC should be ashamed. (Update: Seems that the press conference was a separate event and this was a news special reporting on it. What were they thinking?)

9:16 – Ratatouille beats out The Simpsons Movie for best animated film. That’s what you get when you wait 19 years to come out with a film that should have been made more than a decade ago.

9:19 – What is La Vie en Rose? Isn’t that a lingerie shop? Anyway, Marion Cotillard wins and so much for Ellen Page's vaunted great Canadian breakout. Not to say that she hasn’t broken out, she just won’t have to worry about trying to capitalize on a Globes win during a writers strike.

9:24 – On to some bigger movie awards. Javier Bardem wins for No Country For Old Men – good call. He should win the Oscar too. Why are they following that with trivia tidbits? Are the researchers all on strike too? All you need to "host" these days is a toothy smile and a fast connection to the Internet Movie Database.

9:31 – Look at that, we’re halfway done. A regular show would have presented two awards at best so far. Still a terrible experience though.

9:25 – Billy Bush dumps on the Coen brothers, for no particular reason: "For a Coen Brothers film, people are actually going to see it."

9:32 – David Duchovny wins for a TV comedy. I remember that guy. I wonder if they really are going to make a second X-Files film?

9:35 – Ricky Gervais’ show Extras wins for Best TV Comedy. Expect to see it remade in weeks and aired on the network that throws the most money at all of those pre-written scripts.

9:37 – Tina Fey wins for 30 Rock. Well-deserved, she’s hilarious. Are people really not watching this show? What is wrong with you? Go rent or download it, now!

9:43 – The Coen brothers lose out for Best Director and Billy Bush continues his hate-on for him. What is going on there? Did they snub him on a red carpet or turn him down at a casting call?

9:45 – The coolest man on earth wins for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. My first regret of the night – I would have loved to see Johnny Depp accept for Sweeny Todd.

9:47 – Sweeny Todd wins for Best Musical or Comedy. Wow, that make them a real Oscar contender. I really need to get out of the house and see that…

9:52 – Its funny, with all the awards appearing equal in this format, the TV winners aren’t getting buried on the show, as usual. And Mad Men wins – does anyone reading this even get AMC?

9:54 – They show a clip of Angelina Jolie swimming in a see-through gown. It’s the best they will be able to do all night, which, thankfully, is almost over.

9:55 – Julie Christie wins for Away From Her, Sarah Polley’s full-length directorial debut. Go Canadian content!

9:57 – Daniel Day-Lewis wins for Best Actor in a Drama. Of course you could have looked this up on the Globes site an hour ago.

9:59 – Atonement wins for Best Drama and the show wraps it up with some pointless banter and we’re out. Seems letting a news organization run the show makes sure it is finished on time. Though what that hour-long debacle had to do with news is beyond me.

10:02 – I spent more time in the bathroom with the stomach flu the other week than this show took to air, and had more fun too. The producers of the Oscars must be terrified right now.

Shut It Down: Hollywood’s a Union Town

What if they held an awards show and nobody came? We won’t have to wonder for long as Sunday’s Golden Globe awards ceremony has been reduced to a mere press conference by the ongoing writers strike.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s annual love in is the latest and largest casualty in the ongoing labour dispute between the Writers Guild of America and Hollywood producers over residuals.

The writing, so to speak, had been on the wall for the bloated mutual masturbation for weeks, as the WGA promised to picket the red carpet and the Screen Actors Guild said its members were loathe to play strikebreakers in their frocks and tuxes. So the Hollywood Foreign Press pulled the plug on the ceremony and plans to have the winners announced by news presenters. The WGA still plans to picket and nobody will collect the awards, make speeches or show up. Whee!

I say good riddance. The HFPA, made up of 90 or so freelancers that may or may not actively cover the entertainment industry, has about as much editorial heft as your average Facebook group. But somehow their trophy has been embraced by studio publicists and agents and grown into a bloated beast that purports to be a beacon of taste and talent.

Out of touch? Full of itself? What a perfect target for the guild to take down. Watch out Oscar, you’re next.

These Are A Few of My Favourite Things

No list, just a few of my pop culture faves from the year that was. Happy New Year everyone, hope it brings you something entertaining...

Chuck
The computer-geek turned secret agent series is the true heir to Alias’ average-joe spy mantle (if not necessarily the action component). The creators must have watched Jennifer Garner’s cancelled series and wondered how it would play as a comedy. Just fine, as it turns out. Zachary Levi plays Chuck Bartowski with a balance of befuddlement, charm and intelligence and appears both genuinely amazed and terrified at his head full of highly classified national intelligence. Favourite new show of the year.

300
Tonight we will film in BLUESCREEN! If this is the future of CGI and digital backlots, then I say viva technology! It was visually stunning, creating a world that couldn’t otherwise exist on screen and the most unique film experience of the year for me. While the historical veracity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_film#Historical_accuracy) of the depiction of the Battle of Themopayle has been questioned, that seems an unfair load for a comic book adaptation to bear. It is there for entertainment (and for me to make Spartan Babies!)

Amy Winehouse
One of my favourite performances of the year was by Amy Winehouse. Back in the summer, before she spiraled out of control, she came into Sympatico’s Orange Lounge and just tore off four, stripped down versions of her songs. It was brilliant — with a simple backing her lyrics and voice shone through. Check out You Know I’m No Good. (And c'mon Sympatico, when are you going to allow embeding of videos?)

Last Suppers
One of my favourite posts of the year started on a whim and snowballed from there. In writing about McDonalds I found a parody of The Last Supper with Ronald as Christ. From there I know have 35 versions, covering everything from Star Wars to Sopranos and I have another dozen waiting in the wings for some elusive downtime.

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows
With the completion of the seventh and final Harry Potter novel, J.K. Rowling closed the book on the boy wizard and a pop culture phenomenon. A fine ending to the series, but it turns out it may not be the end of that world. Here’s hoping.

Eastern Promises
Director David Cronenberg Russian mob drama was part Donnie Brasoco, part Sopranos and grittier than both of them. Made me wish it was an ongoing series.

The Writers Strike
Who knew labour disruptions, union negotiations and picket lines could be so entertaining? The scribes who pen the tube’s best and worst shows have be on strike since early November, mostly over residual rights for web broadcasts. The first casualties were the late-night talk shows, which were off the air immediately, but they will all be returning within days, but only David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants production company has signed a deal to use writers. That should be tough on Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel and the like. Hopefully it won’t harm Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert (the only shows I can handle), but even they are allowed to write, as they are part of the Writers Guild. Too bad anyone has come back before the strike was settled, but the Letterman side deal is a brilliant tactic. As for the rest of the shows, most made it through to the Christmas break without difficulty, but January will show the strikes real impact. Except on me. My DVR still has the full seasons of Dirty Sexy Money, Reaper and Pushing Daisies waiting for me. So stay strong, strikers!

My Name Is Earl
Earl shook up their format this year by sending Earl to prison in what turned into a parody of Prison Break. While the grim Burrows brothers of Prison Break spiraled deeper into a moral morass, the Hickey’s are sprucing up the prison and helping gang members find love. Hmm, it’s better than I make it sound.

30-Second Bunnies
Don’t have time to actually see a film? There are always the bunnies. The occasional mini-reenactments always leave me happy and hoppy. The James Bond medley broke the 30-second rule, but was worth the whole minute-plus runtime.

30 Rock
Pure comedic genius that consistently makes me laugh out loud. I’m glad Alec Baldwin didn’t leave the show and that Tina Fey buried Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

As alway, check out the fabulous lists of list at Fimoculous, everything from the Top 10 List of Reputations in Crisis to the Top 10 Sexy Geeks. You'll be there for hours.

Save the Writers, Save the World!

Leave it to Hollywood to produce such an entertaining strike. With all the machinations, scheming and backstabbing, it’s like one of the reality shows they are so worried will take over the airwaves if the writers stay out for months. Which, it seems, could very well happen.

With everyone’s heels dug in, some nastiness is emerging. Fox aired a new Family Guy today, but without the participation or approval of creator Seth MacFarlane, who joined the picket lines when the Writers Guild went on strike on Nov. 5. There was only one complete episode in the can at the time, but three that were near completion. So the network, which has cancelled the show before, is moving ahead without MacFarlane, who also voices Peter, Stewie, Brian, Glen Quagmire and Tom Tucker. Ingrates.

Not surprisingly, this is not going over well with MacFarlane. "It would just be a colossal dick move if they did that," he told Variety. "They've never done anything like this before, in which they've said, 'We're going to finish a show without you. It's really going to be unfortunate and damaging to our relationship if they do it."

Obviously they know that and clearly they don’t care. The networks and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have known this strike was coming and they are prepared for it. If that means stepping on a few writers and creators, then so be it.

On the other side of the picket line is the cast of 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live, who are staging live performances at a New York improv theater and donating the proceeds to production workers who will be out of work while the strike continues. Doesn’t get much more black and white than that, does it?

Some other interesting tidbits:

- My friend Nik, a TV blogger extraordinaire, is speculating that if the strike goes long, it could mean the end of Lost.

- Another friend, who works at a Toronto production house, says there is renewed U.S. interest in Corner Gas. Already airing on the cable station WGN, it seems the strike has at least one of the big four networks sniffing around.

- Perhaps they’d better settle this strike soon, or my pals at Dose will have to keep pumping out their replacement versions of 24 and Ugly Betty.

TV's Greatest Icons

In the midst of a writers strike that could reduce the TV landscape to a wasteland of reruns if it lasts, TV Land and Entertainment Weekly's list of The 50 Greatest TV Icons is a reminder of some of the best of what television has created.

The U.S. cable show will count down and profile the icons as will EW later this week, but the list is out now, so why wait to pick over it?

The list is topped by the King of Late Night, Johnny Carson and the man who venerates him, David Letterman, comes in at No. 16 while the man who inherited his chair, Jay Leno, didn't even crack the extended Top 100.

Modern-era icons Jerry Seinfeld and Homer Simpson made the Top 10 (No. 8 and No. 9, respectively), with the rest of the top slots taken by Lucille Ball, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby, Walter Cronkite, Carol Burnett, Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Clark.

It's a good list, though I would question the inclusion of George Clooney (No. 37), who really wasn't a huge star until he switched to films and John Stamos shouldn't be on the list, even at No. 90.

What's interesting to contemplate is that most of these icons are the creations of writers. Even though the list does not include their characters, most of these actors are known for one show. They brought their abilities and personalities to bear, but without the writers they would have had nothing to work with.

Cartoon characters like Homer, Kermit (No. 21) and Cartman (No. 84) first came to life with words. Hawkeye Pierce, Carrie Bradshaw, Alex P. Keaton, The Fonz, Rachel Green, Buffy Summers, J.R., Magnum and Gilligan sprung from a pen before the actors brought the characters into our living room.

In fact there are a lot of writers on the list: Carson, Cosby, Seinfeld, Letterman, Rosanne Barr, Alan Alda, Jon Stewart and Paul Reubens, to name a few.

So if we have to go without for awhile to make sure new names keep getting added to this list, then I can wait.

The 100 Greatest TV Icons

100. Marcia Cross
99. Delta Burke
98. Meredith Baxter
97. In Living Color cast
96. Shannen Doherty
95. Richard Dawson
94. Melissa Gilbert
93. Neil Patrick Harris
92. Judge Judy
91. Dennis Franz
90. John Stamos
89. Robert Guillaume
88. Gavin MacLeod
87. Phil Hartman
86. Jerry Mathers
85. Rod Serling
84. Cartman from "South Park"
83. Isabel Sanford
82. Ted Knight
81. Dick Cavett
80. Adam West
79. Angela Landsbury
78. Art Carney
77. James Garner
76. Candice Bergen
75. Peter Falk
74. Joan Rivers
73. Tony Danza
72. Cher
71. Rosie O'Donnell
70. Bob Denver
69. Barbara Eden
68. Don Cornelius
67. Tom Selleck
66. Kelsey Grammer
65. Pamela Anderson
64. Phil Donahue
63. Ed Asner
62. Redd Foxx
61. Pee Wee Herman
60. Merv Griffin
59. Ted Danson
58. Don Knotts
57. Charlie Brown
56. Betty White
55. Fred Rogers
54. Florence Henderson
53. Ed McMahon
52. Ron Howard
51. Bob Hope
50. Larry Hagman
49. Calista Flockhart
48. Jimmy Smits
47. Simon Cowell
46. Lassie
45. Sarah Michelle Gellar
44. Susan Lucci
43. Flip Wilson
42. James Gandolfini
41. Jon Stewart
40. Sally Field
39. Jennifer Aniston
38. Bea Arthur
37. George Clooney
36. Diahann Carroll
35. Michael J. Fox
34. Bob Barker
33. Ellen DeGeneres
32. Henry Winkler
31. Sarah Jessica Parker
30. Alan Alda
29. John Ritter
28. Howard Cosell
27. Regis Philbin
26. Farrah Fawcett
25. Heather Locklear
24. Michael Landon
23. Barbara Walters
22. Milton Berle
21. Kermit
20. Carroll O'Connor
19. Andy Griffith
18. William Shatner
17. Bob Newhart
16. David Letterman
15. "Not Ready for Primetime Players"
14. Ed Sullivan
13. Jackie Gleason
12. Dick Van Dyke
11. Roseanne
10. Dick Clark
9. Homer Simpson
8. Jerry Seinfeld
7. Mary Tyler Moore
6. Carol Burnett
5. Walter Cronkite
4. Bill Cosby
3. Oprah Winfrey
2. Lucille Ball
1. Johnny Carson

Punch Lines to Picket Lines

"No money, no funny! No money, no funny!" - strikers chanting outside Rockefeller Center in New York.

The Writers Guild of America put down their pencils today and picked up placards, vowing to stay on strike until Hollywood producers open up the vaults and share the wealth. It can be hard to feel sympathy for a group whose average member pulls in $200,000, with the top tier pulling in millions yearly, unless you examine the industry in which they work. Many actors, directors and executives receive staggeringly large paycheques and, according to Reuters, the motion picture and TV industry generates $30 billion in annual economic activity for Los Angeles County alone, so there is a lot of money to go around. Why shouldn't the creators, the ones who put the words in actors' mouths be getting their fair share of the gold?

It's much like sports - professional athletes get paid millions, but the people who pay them earn billions. Somebody has to get the money and it would be nice to see it go to the actual talent. The sports analogy is echoed by Chris Albers, a writer for Late Night With Conan O’Brien.

“The majority of writers are barely making a living, and the majority of writers’ careers are very short-lived,” said Albers, a past president of the East Coast branch of the Writers Guild. “So we feel that if these companies are going to be making a lot of money off of what we create, and we only have a few years to be in the game, then it’s fair to compensate us so that we can support our families.”

Sure, some of those in the game are writer-producers like Shonda Rhimes, the creator of Grey’s Anatomy, and Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, the lead writers and show runners on Lost, so they aren't hard done by. But I'd rather see them with a larger piece of the pie than some nameless corporate exec.

Now whether or not the strike will work is another question. Often these labour disputes are settled based on whose pockets can hold out the longest. For now the studios and producers can afford to wait. Sure, the late night shows from The Daily Show to The Late Show with David Letterman will be showing repeats starting tonight, while sitcoms and serials should be fine for a couple of months before they start running out of stockpiled scripts.

It will take even longer for the labour dispute to hit the film industry, but the last strike lasted 22 weeks, so it could happen. When it does the studios will really start losing ad and ticket revenue and may be forced to settle. Until then some of the lower-rung writers may find themselves getting squeezed.

While I hope they get what they are after — as someone who has been paid to write before, I say get whatever you can — I won't mind a bit of a break to catch up on my PVR backlog. With a one-year-old I can barely keep up. Even though I will eventually burn thorough what I have stored, don't rush back on my account.