a precipice for comedy
Because I don’t read the NY Times as frequently as I’d like and because I was already planning a The Office purge, I hadn’t noticed the writer’s strike until mid-December when it was actually referenced in conversation. At that point, it occurred to me that the rerun episodes of The Office that NBC was posting online were not because of a holiday break that the network takes but rather because no one was creating new material.
Now that I’ve spent weeks of watching my Office DVDs ad nauseum, I actually wouldn’t mind some mediocre new episodes. In this spirit of longing, I adventured to do some reading on the strike which, naturally, led me to the Wikipedia article. Once I had wrapped my mind around the issues, namely how to divvy out the revenue generated from online viewings, I made the connections that probably were already making ground in my grasp of the issues. I don’t claim ultimate legitimacy in my rulings, nor can I enforce my beliefs upon network executives or their yes-men assistants, but I will apply the common wisdom readily accessible to us working folk.
I was very excited when NBC first began posting episodes of The Office online for 24/7 viewing after it initially aired. I don’t like watching television on television, so this option seemed very appealing. Plus, my Apple Pro Keyboard has a mute key perfect for those planted ads that show up every 8 or 13 minutes. It also makes sense that at least enough revenue comes in from this channel to offset the fewer viewers on standard television outlets, if not a greater amount of revenue than necessary to justify the venture.
So, if the same amount of money (or, likely, more) is coming in with the addition of internet viewers, why should writers not receive some percentage of those new dollars if their standard over-air viewership is declining proportionally? Typically, media higher-ups have been attacking the freedoms of consumers (DRM is certainly the most poignant example) and I find it quite alarming that they are now suggesting policies that could destroy some of its own. Even velociraptors don’t resort to cannibalism, as I was encouraged to recall from my movie viewing today.
Frankly, there’s enough well-designed and executed comedy and drama media out there to last me another 5 lifetimes. I don’t need any new episodes of The Office to hold me over when I could just as easily acquire some wonderful I Love Lucy or The Odd Couple or Wild & Crazy Kids shows for my evening enjoyment. All the same, I’m with the writers on this one and would gladly sit down to some of their new material should they make amends with their bosses. Let’s face it, Jon Stewart is not funny without the thousands of cue cards pushing him along.
January 11th, 2008 at 1:15 am
The Strike is definitely reaching a boiling point. Entertainment is not a must have necessity, but one does start missing it once it’s gone. Even for someone like me who seldom watches TV.
I do agree with you that the writers definitely have a valid case.
January 11th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
“Now that I’ve spent weeks of watching my Office DVDs ad nauseum, I actually wouldn’t mind some mediocre new episodes”
Ryan, my friend, *all* of The Office is mediocre.
January 11th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
jeremiah - if you dare tell me that you like veronica mars then we’re no longer friends. and the 2nd & 3rd seasons of the office were great, but still on a lower tier than any of arrested development.