WGA Strike: As UNinspiring as most of the #*%@*! they write for TV.

You'll remember last week how excited we were about the screen writer's strike. We had great expectations for staged scenes of moving defiance or perhaps studio golf carts bulldozing picketers. Alas, such is not the case. Considering how NOT entertaining this has been and how badly the WGA has communicated their goals, I'd say most of these guys need to get new jobs. New York magazine's "Writers' Strike Starting to Get Kind of Depressing" is about as damning to the cause as is the fact the late night numbers are significantly up as since the strike began and reruns supplanted fresh funny daily trivialities. The worst for me, someone who doesn't give a damn either way, is that the the whole thing has been so boring. What's the crisis? Who's the bad guy? Who's the hero? Why? Why? Why?
Watch and learn.
- This boring video (by strikers) explains what's goin' on.
- A real studio exec explains why writers are greedy.
- a disillusioned writer critiques the union and the strike their Why we fight video.
- This "Office" writer puts together a very boring solidarity video of the strike.
If they are saying that the Internet is where the future of entertainment is and they want a piece of the action, why aren't they all creating their own content on a proprietary video channel like funnyordie.com and really giving execs a run for their money?!! If they are the uber-irreplaceable human capital they claim they are, why aren't they making their own competitive business model? Maybe it has to do with the fact that as a member of the WGA they have the best benefits package in the developed world. Striking out as entrepreneurs jeopardizes their cozy club that allows them to make a kick-ass living doing what they love. I'd be on their side IF they were more creative, took more risks and really embraced an artist empowered business model like WILCO, Radiohead, and Oasis have done in the music industry. And, at the end of the day, most TV still sucks, and studio or no studio, that means a lot of writers do, too.
Here are a few sparks of brilliance you ought to watch:
- Leave it the guys over at the Colbert Report to come up with this short of a studio exec who tries to finally set the record straight about the strike"because guess who writes the news, guys? Writers. They control the media."
- "Not the Daily Show" Update which was pretty good and dare I say, actually made me care about the writer's cause?


Think I'm being to harsh? Really? Why?