Deal Reportedly Reached In Writers' Strike 333
BlueshiftVFX writes to let us know that the writers' strike may be over. CNBC and other media are quoting former Disney CEO Michael Eisner: "It's over. They made the deal, they shook hands on the deal. It's going on Saturday to the writers in general... A deal has been made, and they'll be back to work very soon."
Is it? (Score:2, Insightful)
Terms? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:This is news for nerds... (Score:5, Insightful)
Seems like noone won (Score:2, Insightful)
Sooooo.... (Score:4, Insightful)
Darn (Score:5, Insightful)
Ah well, at least The Office will be back.
Re:Was that still going on? (Score:5, Insightful)
Could they have just STAYED on strike?
Re:I guess... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Seems like noone won (Score:5, Insightful)
That sounds a lot to me like "We fired these guys for supporting the union, but we can't say that because that would get us in trouble with the NLRB."
Re:Was that still going on? (Score:3, Insightful)
I can't say that I really missed it while it was gone, but I do welcome back The Word.
Re:This is news for nerds... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Was that still going on? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:So... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:So what? (Score:4, Insightful)
Uhh, yeah. I'd like my last season of BSG, thankyouverymuch.
Plus a couple of other shows, but that one's top of the list.
Re:Was that still going on? (Score:3, Insightful)
If someone doesn't watch tv, then how are/were they affected by this strike? They weren't. I do watch some tv but didn't really notice any change except for reruns of 'How I Met Your Mother' and 'The Big Bang Theory'. Other than that, no problems here either.
Aside from that, this is probably one of the few times I will agree with a union demand. In this case, yes, the writers should get compensated for their work when that work is sent online, on DVD or elsewhere. The medium doesn't matter. The fact of the matter is, they worked to produced the product, they should get compensated.
Re:This is news for nerds... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I need only three words to explain this (Score:5, Insightful)
Writers' incomes (Score:5, Insightful)
Personally, I think the most useful way of looking at a writer's salary is this: 55% of WGA members are employed in a given year, and among those who are employed in a year, the median income is about $107,000. So, with a 55% chance of earning $107,000, your expected annual income is $58,850. This is an excellent income if you are young and single. If you have kids and a mortgage, and you live in LA or NYC (two of the most expensive cities in America), then it's still a good wage, but it's not mansion-and-a-yacht level. This confirms my own experience--the WGA is basically a middle-class union, negotiating with multibillion dollar global companies.
(I know--I'm making a number of assumptions in my analysis, but I'm not a statistician and I have to simplify things a little. I'd welcome corrections from any of the numerous Slashdot readers who must be better at statistics than I am!)
Re:Seems like noone won (Score:4, Insightful)
I was pulling for the writers from the beginning, but we can't pretend that money just grows on trees like the government likes to think.
Re:I guess... (Score:5, Insightful)
Now are the geeks happy?
Re:Was that still going on? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Outsourcing Scriptwriters (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Writers' incomes (Score:3, Insightful)
Except that it's also a 45% chance of having no income at all (at least not from writing), and that's not so great. It's pretty hard to pay the rent with a 55% chance of having money.
Re:I guess... (Score:5, Insightful)
Lost is far from formulaic and repetitive, although the writers have been taking it a bit too far, and need to start winding down the series (ideally in one or two seasons, rather than the proposed three). I lost track halfway through the second season, so I can't comment on how it's been recently.
Heroes is one of the most popular shows today, and has terrific nerd-appeal. The current season has been somewhat subpar, but the original series was engaging and enjoyable.
Battlestar Galactica is easily the best-written and produced Sci-Fi series to air in years. It's also quite a bit more palatable for normal audiences.
24 is the best 80s action movie ever made. Although I don't particularly agree with its politics, it's quite an engaging storyline.
House is quite good. Perhaps becoming a bit repetitive, but definitely the best of the "medical" shows.
Mythbusters? How can you read slashdot and not love mythbusters, even in spite of their disregard for the scientific method?
The Daily Show and Colbert Report singlehandedly got an apathetic generation interested in politics. That's no small feat.
Over in the UK, they've got Top Gear, The Mighty Boosh, the current incarnation of Dr Who, along with a fantastic array of other programming that doesn't make it to the US -- Thanks to advances [youtube.com] in filmmaking technology, their documentaries and nature series are also absolutely captivating to watch.
(After writing this post, I feel the need to assert that I'm not a couch potato! The magic of TiVo lets me save the good stuff for saturday nights.)
Re:Outsourcing Scriptwriters (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Was that still going on? (Score:3, Insightful)
the thousands and thousands of working class people who run lighting, sound, catering, construction, etc etc for these shows.
The writers and the studios are probably among those LEAST effected by this strike.