Author: Tyler Kearn
Many of television’s pressing questions were abruptly left dangling by the writer’s strike: Will Michael and Jan stay together? What’s the deal with the Oceanic Six? Who is the final Cylon? Wilson and Cutthroat Bitch? Viewers have been waiting and waiting for their favorite shows to start up again. The shows are finally ready, the networks are ready and those questions will be answered. Scripted television is back!
You wouldn’t know the writer’s strike has been over for two months if you’ve been watching television lately. Primetime has been filled with shows like The Celebrity Apprentice, Dancing with the Stars and, of course, American Idol. But these shows have just been filling the airwaves as the networks have scrambled to get their scripted shows written and filmed (well, except for American Idol, which beats the pants off everything ratings-wise).
Different shows have different production schedules, but even if one show is ready to air, the networks will wait on it because they believe their ratings are dependent on the strength of nightly lineups. Now, after two months, the networks finally have enough shows in a row to air them.
Shows already on air include My Name is Earl (Thursdays, NBC), Numb3rs (Fridays, CBS) and Battlestar Galactica (Fridays, SciFi). But some of the shows people are most excited about are returning this and next week. Most notably, NBC returns tomorrow with the rest of its popular comedy lineup-30 Rock, The Office and Scrubs. Other shows, such as Desperate Housewives (Sundays, ABC) and Bones (Mondays, Fox), are back as well.
On April 24, ABC returns with its powerhouse eclectic Thursday night lineup with Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy and Lost, while House (Mondays, Fox) will return on April 28.
The abrupt cutting off of shows in November left plots unfinished. This was problematic for viewers following ongoing story arcs. Viewers always long for conclusions (just look at the controversy with The Sopranos finale). When show creators became aware of the impending writer’s strike, they were pressured by the networks to rush in as many shows as they could under the wire and, in some cases, to provide some sort of clumsy conclusion.
The strange thing about the return of these shows is that they are resuming without the grandeur or excitement of season openers, because most simply ended when the script supply ran out instead of having finales. The shows went out on random mid-season episodes and are picking up with the very next episode. The shows must deal with coming back from a momentum-killing four-month break without a wrenching or spectacular premiere.
After the 1988 Writers’ Strike, the networks lost many viewers who never came back when programming resumed. There is a fear that this drop in viewers will be even worse this time around, especially because there are now so many alternatives to television.
This doesn’t seem to be the case at Oxy, however, where people are just enthusiastic to get to see their favorite shows again. “Oh my god! The Office is coming back. I’m so excited!” Sara Roberts (sophomore) said.
Whether the television rooms across campus will be as full on Thursday night as they were in November remains to be seen, but assuming the networks can provide shows that are as compelling as they were when they left-and answer those dangling questions we all have-it should be a great month for television.
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