Sunday, November 11, 2007

Here A Strike, There A Strike, Everywhere A Strike Strike

The writer's strike continues. Old news, huh? Now, more celebrities started picketing once production of their shows were halted for lack of scripts. Now that picketing has become trendy, I wonder how long it will take for the designers to start picketing collections for the celebrities? It could be a runway show with signs.

We are also finding out which stars are cool and which ones have turned out to be lame. I always thought Jay Leno was lame, but he turns out to be cool because he refused to cross the picket line and go back to work. NBC is now looking for guest hosts to replace him. Resorting scab celebrities already? Ellen Degeneres skipped work on Monday in solidarity with her writers (that was cool), but then returned to work the next day (that was lame). She is going to continue doing her show sans monologue to show her support of the writer's strike. She skipped two shows because she was upset about a dog, but only one show because the writer's are getting the short end of the stick. That is really lame. Maybe she can do double duty and guest host on The Tonight Show.

And now there is an ex-president in the mix. I suppose Bill Clinton has gotten bored with his wife's campaign (or he is tired of being second fiddle?) because he has offered to mediate talks to end the writer's strike. Or is he worried that his soaps are going to be going off the air soon? I know I am. Wouldn't it be fun if some other bored ex-world leaders got into the negotiations too? It would be like mock world domination and they could air it in lieu of 24 (which has been postponed indefinitely because they can't show all 24 episodes in a row). Now that's entertainment!

For those of you in New York and thinking that you might catch a Broadway show instead of watching TV, you are out of luck. The Broadway stagehands have gone on strike. A handful of shows were able to negotiate deals with the stagehands and can continue production, but the rest of Broadway will be dark. No Wicked for you. Wondering what you options are? You can see Mary Poppins, Xanadu, Young Frankenstein, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Pygmalion, The Ritz, Mauritius and Cymbeline. If you aren't a fan people singing on roller skates, you will have to go to an Off-Broadway show.

The rest of us will have to make New Year's resolutions to read more and watch reality shows.


6 comments:

Unknown said...

i was pretty suprised by ellen's actions, but i'm still down with her.

i feel badly enough just passing the picket lines at sears - and i don't even shop there, just use the elevator to get upstairs, avoiding the main mall one, with my double stroller - try explaning that to the burly sears tech strikers. i can't imagine how hard it'd be crossing a picket line full of ppl i work with daily.

whatever, i'm pretty stoked for the winter edition of big brother.

pineapple said...

It is a sad day when the only way to get decent pay and benefits is to walk out on your job. That hurts everyone. I hope the people at Sears get their issues resolved soon.

As for Ellen, she always puts herself out there as supporting the little guy and all of that but when it is time to walk the walk (literally) she doesn't step up. Boo!

BB9 the ski bunny edition!

pissed off patricia said...

I heard this morning that Ellen is keeping her show going because of the holidays coming up and she doesn't want her other employees and their families to be short of money at that time of year.

mad said...

I foresee a day when everything on TV will be reruns. Permanently. All reruns all the time.

Unknown said...

Good stuff, pineapple - how about some links to go with some of this info? Faint idea what you're talking about on Clinton and would like to know more.

Also, I gotta agree that if Ellen's employees aren't striking and have no reason or ability to strike, she's basically just screwing them around the holidays if she decides not to do her show. On the flip side, she's garnering just as much attention by doing her show without writers and without a monologue - perhaps showing everyone how much TV can really SUCK if writers aren't involved.

I say that when stuck between a rock and a hard place, don't screw the innocents. The writers strike can go on without her.

pineapple said...

pop: I've heard that she planned to quit for the strike and then changed her mind because she had contracts. who knows. but is my opinion that once you start something you should finish and taking off work fro one day isn't the same thing.

mad: that is my worst nightmare come true. why ya gotta be so mean?

mojo: links? that's what non-lazy people do. In the future, if I get info from the internet I will consider going the extra mile for you and link to it. If I hear something on TV I can guarantee that I will not search out a decent link for you. Sorry! I'm busy (read lazy)!

as for ellen and the strike she's kind talking out both sides of her mouth. she should have stayed out of it or followed through with her walkout.