David Kronke was appointed Mayor of Television after a bloodless coup in 2000. Since then, he has improved infrastructure, championed greater educational opportunities and fought for reforms that have utterly erased corruption and incompetence from the television industry. Since Mr. Kronke has ascended to power, Television is a far better place. Writers strike “Damages” us all
“Damages,” FX’s terrific drama starring Glenn Close as the most bloodthirsty civil litigator ever, has been renewed for a theoretical second and third seasons.
Theoretical, of course, because unless the writers strike comes to an end, there will be no more TV ever again. The head of IATSE figured that out today, sending the WGA a letter imploring, "It's time to put egos aside and recognize how crucial it is to get everyone back to work, before there is irreversible damage from which this industry can never recover."
Of course, the WGA may be disinclined to put aside egos for the sake of someone who called them “the house of hate commonly known as the Writers Guild of America.” IATSE members, obviously, don’t get residuals from the shows they work on, unlike the actors who joined writers on the picket line yesterday and have their own contract to negotiate next year, so they’re feeling the crunch now.
* Oh, and CBS News employees are looking at a strike beginning Monday, which would give Katie Couric plenty of time for those cooking demonstrations she managed so well on the “Today” show.
* Oh, and some study figured out that people won’t throw their TVs out anytime soon, strike or no strike. But viewership for the networks may be down as much as 13% by May, which last we checked isn’t such a good thing.
* Oh, and NBC won’t be buying me drinks at January’s TV Press Tour. Though Television Critics Association leaders have valiantly been pressing the broadcast networks to show up at the event – you know, because the strike is news and all that, and we’re reporters, so our job is to report the news – this argument fell on deaf ears at NBC (guess all those awards the group bestowed upon the network last summer didn’t mean much). ABC, CBS, Fox and The CW have yet to decide on whether they’ll participate; cable and PBS are already in, though if they’re the only ones in, that won’t make for a very eventful event.
(To be fair, no one at any of the networks are speaking on the record now, so I’m not sure that come January they’re going to be eager to spill their hearts out to a roomful of reporters asking hard questions (along with the occasional softball lob) about union-busting and the longterm viability of the broadcast networks under the current business model when the medium shifts from analog to digital. But at least it would alleviate the tedium of trying to drive through picketers to get to their parking spaces, and it’d be cool if a few strikers came out to hang with the TCA.)
* Oh, and the strike, thanks to Defamer.com, has produced a bona fide star: The Incredible Striking Baby, who thoughtfully updates his (her?) picket signs daily.
* Oh, and these picket signs probably aren’t the best form of discourse to inspire a happy resolution to the strike.
In the meantime, here’s probably the closest thing you’ll get to “The Daily Show” until the strike ends (or these guys make another one).
Anyway, “Damages” first season ended pretty coolly, with Close’s character’s protégé returning to her side but secretly determined to bring her down. Maybe someday we’ll all get to see how that shakes out.