Of Writing and Striking

My union has been on strike for nearly a month now.

My union is, of course, the Writers Guild of America. I'm an emeritus member, which means I haven't actually worked as a writer (for film or TV) in ages, but I'm still a member. And I'm proud to support my striking brothers and sisters in their cause, especially on the issue of DVD residuals. Even though nothing I've ever written has been released on DVD, I strongly believe that we deserve more than a measly four cents of the price of a DVD.

Being in Nashville during this time has been hard. I'm still very attached emotionally to the TV world; heck, at least twice in the last week I've attempted to give someone my old screenname (writetv) instead of my current one (ex-tvwriter). I want to support my fellow scribes, but at the same time I'm participating in NaNoWriMo again (or trying to) and still looking for a job (doing anything really, although getting paid to write again would be really nice). And even though writing my NaNo novel isn't for money, and I know that some writers will work on spec scripts during a strike, it's felt... odd working on it while all this has been going on.

I don't know, maybe that's just an excuse for procrastinating, for surfing the web when I should be writing, for why I won't make it to 50k this year (again). But it just feels weird. I want to be there with my friends (whoever might remember me, anyway), walking the picket lines, protesting and networking at the same time.

Heck, I think sometimes I just really want to be back in L.A.

Keith Olbermann Seriously Rocks

I've been watching Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC regularly for the past couple of months, becoming more and more of a fan. I've always enjoyed his sardonic sense of humor (not to mention his ongoing feud with "Billo"), but in the last few weeks especially I've developed a tremendous respect for the man. His occasional "special comments" on the show are both poignant and pointed, decidedly left-leaning (which I have no problem with, since I lean to the left myself), and always thought-provoking.

In tonight's special comment, Olbermann quotes from the late, great Rod Serling's closing narration from the excellent Twilight Zone episode, "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street":

"The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices, to be found only in the minds of men.

"For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own -- for the children, and the children yet unborn."

Olbermann then adds his own Serling-esque observation:

When those who dissent are told time and time again -- as we will be, if not tonight by the President, then tomorrow by his portable public chorus -- that he is preserving our freedom, but that if we use any of it, we are somehow un-American...When we are scolded, that if we merely question, we have "forgotten the lessons of 9/11"... look into this empty space behind me and the bi-partisanship upon which this administration also did not build, and tell me:

Who has left this hole in the ground?

We have not forgotten, Mr. President.

You have.

May this country forgive you.

As I said, Keith Olbermann seriously rocks.

My Reality TV Conundrum

I hate reality TV. As a genre, and on principle.

I suppose I still blame the genre for the death of my TV-writing career. Specifically, I blame Survivor. That show premiered in 2000; my last writing job was in 1999. As my agent and I were hustling for work during the 2000 staffing season (June and July), all anybody could talk about was Survivor. Nobody was looking for one-hour drama writers. The networks were cutting their "scripted" show budgets to the bone so they could add lots and lots of reality shows in midseason when all the "scripted" shows they'd foolishly ordered tanked. I stuck it out for another year, then threw in the towel and moved back to Nashville, vowing that I would never, ever, EVER watch a reality show.

Except...

Sometime later I stumbled across a show called The Amazing Race. And wow, was it ever. That thing was every bit as exciting as some of my favorite one-hour shows. It had real drama -- conflict, romance, humor, interesting characters -- and what I liked best, real situations and real world locales. Not that staged crap like on Survivor. Despite my best efforts, I was hooked.

But I swore to myself, that would be the only one. No more. Ever.

Until...

Clean Sweep on TLC. I didn't care for Trading Spaces, didn't like the concept and the designers were too out-there. But Clean Sweep was it. No more reality shows.

Then came What Not to Wear, also on TLC. Me, watching something about clothes! Preposterous! But I liked the "real person" aspect of the show, despite the fact that they took their real people to New York to shop. Again, I promised myself this would be my last reality show. Three was plenty.

Sigh.

Project Runway did me in. I watched a little at the end of the first season, enough to know who Jay and Wendy Pepper and Austin Scarlett were. When season two premiered, I paid more attention -- to the point of mumbling about those idiot judges keeping that lunatic Santino around forever. Now we're deep into season three, and God help me, I am totally hooked. Addicted. It's Appointment Television. And I've even got somebody new to yell at the TV screen about every time those idiot judges don't get rid of him -- Jeffrey. He's rude to the point of being cruel, overly full of himself, and half the time I hate his designs. The couture gown last week I just didn't get (yellow and black plaid?), and this week's outfit was tacky. If he survives next week and Uli or Laura get cut (Michael is a shoo-in for the top three, he's brilliant), I'll be majorly disappointed.

I still hate the whole genre of reality TV on principle. And you will never, ever catch me watching Survivor.

American Idol, now, that's a different story...

EDITED TO ADD: I started writing this on 8/28, but posted it on 9/14. Blogger kept the first date. Don't know what will happen after I re-post...