Just Wanted To Point Out That I Was Right About The Writer’s Strike And Late Night Television
I’m not right all that often, so when it does happen I like to gloat a bit. Okay, a lot. But who’s counting?
Way back, I predicted that late-night show hosts would be forced to return to the air without their striking writers, following in the footsteps of the late great Johnny Carson, who also had to return without his striking writers in the last big strike. I said they would have to do so to save the jobs of non-writers on their programs. And while it may have been overlooked in all the Britney brouhaha (and my own nagging illness -shameless plea for sympathy-), sure enough…it happened.
Admitting he resembled “a cattle-drive cook,” a bewhiskered Letterman returned to the Ed Sullivan stage, surrounded by placard-bearing pickets who looked – and kicked – remarkably like Rockettes, and said, “Two long months but, by god, I’m finally out of rehab.
On the Tonight Show, Leno, clean-shaven, welcomed former Arkansas Governor Huckabee, who addressed why he should be in the White House. [...]
The reason for the shows’ long absences, of course, was the strike by the Writers Guild of America, which put the show’s scribes into cold storage – or, at least, on the picket lines. Letterman struck a deal with the Guild so his show could return and proceed in a scripted fashion, while Leno, as well as his NBC colleague Conan O’Brien – also sporting a beard – and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, returned without theirs and were forced to ad lib their programs.
“A Jew, a Christian and a Muslim walk into a bar,” said Leno, dredging up one of the oldest jokes on earth. “The Jew says to the Muslim – see, I have no idea what they say, because there’s a writers’ strike.”
Okay, I didn’t say they were hilarious, but at least you could see them (courtesy of the non-striking cameraman) and hear them (courtesy of the non-striking sound person) and note their coiffed hair (courtesy of the non-striking hairdresser) and marvel at their clear complexions (courtesy of the makeup artist) and gaze upon their designer suits (courtesy of the non-striking wardrobe person) and listen to the bands (courtesy of the non-striking musicians) when they cut to commercial (courtesy of the non-striking director).
The late-night titans were basically forced to return to the air because anyone not related to the writer’s strike (cameramen, sound people, hairdressers, makeup artists, wardrobe people, musicians, directors, etc) were in danger of losing their jobs due to shows not being in production. And, as I have said, this is exactly what the bigwigs at the major studios want to happen…they want people fighting with one another, feuding with long-time friends, to pit colleague against colleague, hoping that the pressure will force the writers to give up their strike and return to work for the same (or even less) benefits and pay.
The Writer’s Guild is looking into whether Leno broke any of its laws by returning to the air (NBC says no, that Leno is allowed to write for himself, just not other people), while Letterman was able to strike a deal since he owns his show through his company Worldwide Pants. Therefore, Letterman did have some of his writers, while Leno was forced to go it alone. Now, will the tack set by Letterman be followed by other television shows? If Worldwide Pants can forge a deal with the WGA, will other shows now try to seek their own deals? Is Letterman’s deal the key to breaking this strike?
There was some good-natured saber-rattling going on between the beleaguered network late-night offerings…when a bearded Letterman said he was going to shave off his beard on the show, bandleader Paul Shaffer asked if he would do it on his own show. Letterman deadpanned, “No, Conan’s.” And he offered a bit of tongue-in-cheek analysis:
“Ladies and gentlemen the only show on the air now that has jokes written by union writers,” Letterman declared. “I know you’re thinking to yourselves at home — ‘This crap is written?”‘
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Yeah, but when is SNL coming back? Sheesh!
Seriously, you are like a gypsy or something with your predictions!
Comment by D — January 6, 2008 @ 9:42 pm
Either February 23 or March 1, 2008.
But that’s just a guess.
Comment by k — January 7, 2008 @ 10:24 pm
[...] pay the rent this month and still have gas to drive to the picket lines. (Haven’t I been saying that for a few months now? I believe I [...]
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