2008 Woodie Awards
Dwindling Options
Strike's end still nowhere in sight
By: Tim Ottusch
Issue date: 1/16/08 Section: Lifeline
When people turn on their television sets on Thursdays at 9 p.m. they might not be seeing Steve Carrell in "The Office," but Ricky Gervais instead.
Showing the British version of "The Office" in place of the stagnate American version is just one of the many possibilities television networks are facing with the writer's strike approaching three months.
Television networks have been scrambling to find something to plug the holes in lineups without "Grey's Anatomy," "House," "The Office" and most other hit television shows that require a script.
Only a select few series actually have a few new episodes left, such as "Law & Order" and "Lost," which is set to make its return Jan. 31. But beyond that, television this season will be mainly composed of shows that are not scripted - animated, reality and game shows.
"I suspect you're going to see overall TV viewership drop," said Jeffrey Smith, a broadcast and cinematic arts instructor. "The people who like reality shows, the people who like game shows, will continue to tune in. But if you don't like that you really don't have much of a choice at this point."
Last Sunday, NBC premiered a new version of "American Gladiators."
Soon, new seasons of "The Apprentice" and "Biggest Loser" will hit TV.
One show that hasn't been impacted is Fox Network's "American Idol," which premiered Tuesday night. Smith said reality shows are not enough to hold audiences.
Showing the British version of "The Office" in place of the stagnate American version is just one of the many possibilities television networks are facing with the writer's strike approaching three months.
Television networks have been scrambling to find something to plug the holes in lineups without "Grey's Anatomy," "House," "The Office" and most other hit television shows that require a script.
Only a select few series actually have a few new episodes left, such as "Law & Order" and "Lost," which is set to make its return Jan. 31. But beyond that, television this season will be mainly composed of shows that are not scripted - animated, reality and game shows.
"I suspect you're going to see overall TV viewership drop," said Jeffrey Smith, a broadcast and cinematic arts instructor. "The people who like reality shows, the people who like game shows, will continue to tune in. But if you don't like that you really don't have much of a choice at this point."
Last Sunday, NBC premiered a new version of "American Gladiators."
Soon, new seasons of "The Apprentice" and "Biggest Loser" will hit TV.
One show that hasn't been impacted is Fox Network's "American Idol," which premiered Tuesday night. Smith said reality shows are not enough to hold audiences.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Michael Riley
posted 1/16/08 @ 10:14 AM EST
I'm going to go ahead and say that yes, Animated shows are scripted. The only reason there will be plenty of them around despite the strike is that the turnaround time for production an episode of an animated show is significantly longer than that of a live action show, particularly when traditional animation is used and overseas studios do the majority of the animation. (Continued…)
Josh Grosteffon
posted 1/16/08 @ 2:54 PM EST
Animated shows are 100% scripted. Shows like "The Simpsons" have directors, assistant directors, writers, etc. They'll run out of episodes eventually, but what the previous poster said was correct about turn around time. (Continued…)
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