I don't know if you guys have been getting annoyed as much as I have, but man this really SUCKS. I mean don't get me wrong. I agree with the strike for the writers, but it really sucks that have been no progress since it started. My favorite shows have either ended sooner than normal or planned (Heroes, Journeyman, The Office) or have only a few episodes left. For example, my FAVORITE SHOW is HOUSE. Well there is only 3 episodes left which makes a total of 11 shows this season, which is half of what it is normally, and I have not seen a new episode for a month now, because FOX has been showing re-runs and won't play anything until next year I think. The re-runs are still good, but I've seen them a hundred times already, because I love this show and watched them over and over and over again already lol.

How do you guys feel about all of this? Or am I the only one that is haven't a problem?

the industry is holding out till after the holidays, trying to make the writers' lives miserable, only because they can.

theyve got plenty of reruns, and reality TV doesn;t need writers (you may disagree, but i know people who work on those shows, and they're still filming)

then of course, there's shows with budgets big enough that they can hire non-union writers to fill in...

Writers Guild... Pfft... You know, I bet there are plenty qualified non-unionized writers out there who would love to get some of those jobs, and would probably even be willing to work cheaper than some of the unionized members.

Yet, they've got some kind of shit set up that forces them to hire unionized writers exclusively. I can't stand unions.

Yeah I was quite disappointed that Heroes ended early with only 11 episodes...hopefully 11 more will come after the strike ends I wanna see what happens

shit man I agree. I love to write and to be honest I think some shows that really started great like The 4400 went downhill due to writers that really fucking suck. I have the first season of The 4400 on DVD and really loved the show, but i missed a lot of season 2 (but caught up with it). I will admit that the show totally went downhill and got really fucking stupid to where I don't watch it anymore. I still watch season 1 on DVD all the time, cause it was a really good show; however the writers got stupid and made it retarded. A lot of people I know say that the show Heroes (a really really good show and one of my favorites) is a copy of The 4400, which I think is far from the truth. I can see how people have that point; however the cool thing about Heroes is that its a mystery to how, when, or why people have their powers. In the first season of The 4400 it was a mystery until you find out it was from people in the future that did this and bla bla bla. Then 4400 just totally lost its attraction and I'm very surprised that it didn't get canceled, because from what I've seen their ratings dropped a lot compared to their first season.

***anyways back to the writers and unions***

I've been saying this for a month now and in fact said it to a friend of mine in New York City that these producers can hire me to write for one of these shows for like 10-12 dollars an hour and I would probably write a better script than their original writers can.

As for unions, I don't really care for what type of worker it is for, but they are crap. I can only see it really helping people in factories or plumbing or carpenters etc...real hard workers that really need some representation.

When I was 14 years old my first job was at Piggly Wiggly. I didn't have a choice and was forced to join some union that didn't do shit for me, except take money from my check every week. First week check they took out 30 dollars and then every month after that they would take 20 bucks for upkeep. Now being 14 years old, it didn't do anything for me and I didn't need it; however I had no choice and was forced to pay. I will say though, the only thing they did do for me was help me when I had trouble with the store manager there who was a total prick. I would get sick or whatever and he would give me shit and threaten to fire me. He even got mad at me and threaten to fire me one time and I quote:



I had no idea what he was talking about and I asked him what the problem was, because I came to work on time, worked my shifts. Never had a problem with anyone. I also came in on my days off, or came into work early whenever they called etc. So when I asked him what I was doing wrong, "Sir what am I doing that you are having a problem with?" He looked me in the eye and said this and I quote:



I laughed at first, because I thought he was kidding, BUT HE WAS NOT KIDDING. Now I would understand if I was standing there looking depressed and miserable, but I wasn't doing that at all. After realizing he was serious I told him I was sorry and I would improve.

Now to make things even more fucked working there was there was this really beautiful, nice, and hard worker asian woman who was 17 and her name was Paula. She was a HARD WORKER. One of the best and I swear she was. She worked all the time and busted her ass. She worked there for a month or so and then got fired by Steve the store manager (the same one I just mentioned). He fired her for not smiling enough. That was the one thing she didn't do much.

Anyways, I still had problems with Steve and learned that he really couldn't do anything with me as long as I said to him whenever he started to yell at me and that was, "talk to my union rep". After that, he left me alone, because he didn't know that a 14 year old punk like me would know what that was all about lol.

Yet, other than that, they didn't do anything. I quit that job not too much longer after Paula got fired. I hated the job and they just kept doing shit to me. Like on my day off they would call and tell me to come into work. Not ask me to come into work if I could, but they would say, "We need you, you need to come into work". I one time tried to tell them I was busy but they were all like, "this is your job, you have a responsibility, you have to come into work". God sakes, I was being paid 5.15 an hour there and would work 8 hours a day. Which I learned later was against the law due to the fact I was 14. They would also have me work until 10:30 at night, which was also against the law since I was only 14.

Anyways...way off topic...sorry, I just remembered all of this and had to talk about it because it was just my first job and it was a piece of shit place to work for.

Anyways, I don't like unions and I don't really agree with them. From what I see most of the time is that they have strikes to try to get people more money, but it doesn't really matter cause if the people get more money, then they are going to raise their union dues.

Fuck 'Em. I want my T.V. shows back. Like I said, I agree with it to an extent; however I think a lot of those writers should get fired lol, cause they suck and can't write worth a shit.

Yup, all my shows that I watch have been affected by this god damn strike.

• 24
• E.R.
• Heroes
• House
• Lost
• Prison Break
• Scrubs
• Ugly Betty

Edit* w00t, 6000th post!

at least I know I've got episodes waiting in the Spring (hopefully).
Heroes, Scrubs, Pushing Daisies (<-great show btw, also created by Bryan Fuller)

The only show that I watch and is currently running is Stargate Atlantis. But they might be running out of episodes also. I am not sure, but they are made in Canada so they might not be affected. But I am not sure.

I have about 45 shows I have not watched yet between the 2 computers, so I'll be good till I find time to watch them.

I do agree that there are plenty of non-unionized writers who are good...just as there is plenty of non-unionized labor..but more and more, because of a) my parents(non-union) and my late father in law (union all his life), and c) myself (non-union) and d) my wife (teachers union), I have been able to see the benefits of both sides.

Although I do believe unions do get a bad rap, I do not believe they are perfect. But they do protect and provide alot of good for the people in the unions, the employees. I wish I had (or my parents had) someone to fight for us. Otherwise, jobs get outsourced, people get taken advantage of, and employees have no recourse.

But I don't believe unions are the end all be all. They certainly can stand to have some improvements.
After all, if the writers are getting ripped off...who would fight for them. Sure, it sucks for us not to have our shows, but they have a valid complaint too.

And the WGA is what keeps the studios from just putting these writers on the unemployment line, and hiring new people anytime it got too expensive to keep them around.

imagine working at your job for a few years, building up a good rep, etc. Suddenly, they realize they can hire a college kid to do the job, or a guy from India to do the job for half the money. And sure, small companies, and companies with a small company mentality may not think that way, but any big business who doesnt care about the little guy..well, you're f-ed.

Its a bit early in the morning for me, so if my thoughts are scattered..sorry.

And yes..this is all off topic. So my bad

Well it's all a matter of getting the most for the least. Everyone wants that. You, me, every person, and every company out there. There's a reason why so many jobs are getting outsourced overseas. Because people there are willing to work cheaper!

The benefits that these unions give to workers in the short term look good. The same goes for all the different laws and regulations that the government creates to benefit workers. But in the long term, we are really hurting ourselves. Over the years, we have seen an increasing number of U.S. jobs get moved overseas. Nearly all the blame for that goes to unions and government regulations.

If you're running a business, and you see that you can get your work done overseas for much cheaper than here in the U.S, then it just makes sense! The purpose of a business, believe it or not, is to make money.

Besides, some jobs are only worth 50 cents an hour:

Just remembered, another one of my shows; Journeyman got canned aswell. It's a real shame because the quality of TV shows in the US, is very very good.

Ok, wtf is that?!

Of course, everyone wants the most for least. But I HIGHLY disagree that benefits are good in the shorterm. I can show you lots of examples to the contrary. And unions are not responsible for outsourcing. The sole desire for more profit is.

Ironically, my parents who were NON-UNION, had jobs outsourced countless times. No computer union. Whereas my wife, a teacher, would have many benefits cut, if not for a union to look out for her. Any company or business would love to get rid of expensive employees who have run their course, and deserve their paycheck, in favor of a cheaper option.

Why pay a computer programmer with 20 years experience when you can pay a college kid? Well, as a business, that makes sense. But I suppose since the business is making a few more bucks, thats comfort to the wife and kids of that guy who had a secure job for 20 years..

Well you see, overseas labor is more profitable than U.S. labor. Whether or not one specific outsourced job had been unionized doesn't really matter. Economics can get complicated, but it all ties together. Over time, we have come to expect more from our jobs than they do in many countries overseas. The unions have played a large role in causing this.

As I said earlier, more money and more benefits might look good in the short term. But in the long term... Well, we are seeing now what happens in the long term, as more jobs move overseas. You just can't beat economics.


Don't be so sure of that. Teaching jobs tend to be competitive between the states. One state would have trouble finding qualified teachers if its salary and benefits lagged too far behind other states. And you can't outsource teaching jobs. Yet...


Well it all goes back to what I said earlier. Why does one start a business? What it the purpose of it? You know, life is just not fair. There will always be losers in the world. Your goal is to get the most out of it that you can.

I agree..life isn't fair. But the purpose of a union is to prevent the business from screwing the working, because it can.
And yes, in some states, it is harder to find teachers, whereas other states, it harder to find open spots... But the union is what helps those states that have more teachers than jobs, keep from just fucking over the veteran teachers...

This can go back and forth all day...and its off topic, so I'm gonna drop it..

I JUST WANT SOMETHING TO WATCH ON TV!



Apparently, they will make a deal after the first of the year...figure that one out.