Monday, November 05, 2007

Script Writers: An Oxymoron

So. The Hollywood script writers are on strike. I have to say I'm of two minds about the whole thing.

On the one hand, as a union member, I sympathize with any union fighting big business. I also agree that TV studios are milking every last cent they can get from TV shows. It seems like a TV show doesn't even have to last a full season in order to be released on DVD. And then there's the full episodes available on the web. And every other trick Studios use to milk every last cent out of everything they produce.

But on the other hand, have you SEEN some of the new stuff coming out of Hollyweird lately?! Let's run down the lineup, shall we?

Cavemen: Possibly the dumbest show I've ever seen, created from a series of unfunny GEICO commercials. Whoever decided this show would be a good idea needs to be stabbed repeatedly in the heart with a rusty butterknife.

Journeyman: Let's see: A guy travels back in time to fix things that went wrong. I think I saw this show before. It was called Quantum Leap.

Life: A man is wrongfully accused of murder, gets out of prison, and works to clear his name while applying lessons learned in prison to his job as a policeman, meanwhile being clueless about certain aspects of modern life. I can't begin to count the number of shows this is ripping off, everything from The Pretender to The Fugitive.

Bionic Woman: The latest entry in the "Women are Powerful" genre. Look, there was a reason this show only lasted 2 seasons back in the '70's--It SUCKED! And the new show's not much better. This latest entry from the Women's Lib genre is following the same formula as the original, and it will likely meet the same fate.

Chuck: This show looked so dumb I didn't even watch it. I don't know what it's about, and I don't care.

There are probably many more that I'm forgetting, but I have to say that so far I haven't seen a single new fall show worth investing my time in. If this is the best that Hollywood writers can turn out, maybe they should stay on strike and make way for new talent. God knows they couldn't do any worse.

Meanwhile, if this strike lasts, we're condemned to a steady diet of Reality and Repeats. Thank God for my large collection of DVD's.

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