On Strike!

Ok, loyal, Lostophiles. I lied (twice) in my last post. First, I said I would not post again before the birth of my daughter. Well, she's now five days late and counting, and blogging sure does wile away the time...

Second, I suggested that this blog is no place to take a side in the WGA strike that is shutting down television (and, to a lesser extent, film) production in L.A. Well, I'm here to proudly state that I am taking a stand. I'm putting all the considerable muscle of this blog (deluded much?) into supporting the writers in this battle.

As a fan of episodic television, I feel the need to acknolwedge that it's the writers who make us come back each week. Taking nothing away from the fine actors, cinematographers and editors who contribute brilliantly, if there's no story, there's no audience.

And the online Lost fan community already acknowledges this more than the fans of most shows. After all, we refer to co-creator and co-executive producer Damon Lindelof, and co-executive producer Carlton Cuse (pictured here, on the picket line) as "the Powers that Be." And as Cuse's sign notes, it's the writers who will ultimately unlock the island's secrets.

Again, you all saw how I came out in favor of Michael Emerson's Emmy nomination, how I raged at Elizabeth Mitchell's Emmy snub, how I lauded the editing that went into "Through the Looking Glass" as the finest TV has seen in years, and how I warmly congratulated Terry O'Quinn on his Best Supporting Actor Emmy victory. But it's Damon and Carlton, and Brian K. Vaughn and the rest of the writing staff that makes Lost so singularly compelling.

The same is true for other TV series. Sure, 24 might lean more heavily on the acting and the second-unit direction, and Pushing Daisies and Heroes may lean more heavily on the visual elements, but if the scripts didn't speak to us, we would not tune in each week (or catch up later on our DVRs or DVD players).

Alas, I've come to a realization. It is the studios that benefit most from the hype that the online fan community creates with blogs such as this one. We bloggers and fansite creators stoke others' interest, and do our little part to keep them consuming the product for which the writers are, frankly, not fairly compensated.

Because of this, I am now "on strike" in support of the Writers Guild of America. I will not blog about the "Missing Pieces" shorts appearing on abc.com, or about spoilers leaking from the production of Season 4. I will not go forward with my Master Theory of Lost. And I will not take any action on this blog to support the studios, directly or indirectly, until they resolve this conflict in good faith.

I'm not calling for a boycott, and I'm not even going to suggest that I myself will quit consuming new entertainment product during the strike. I just will not contribute new content, much as the writers are not contributing new content, until the strike is over and the Powers that Be are back at work.

Until then, carry on, Lostophiles. I look forward to seeing you all again in the future.

Effect of the WGA Strike on Lost

By now, unless you've living under a rock, you've heard that the Writers Guilde of America has gone on strike, meaning no new scripts are being written for film or television. While I have no intention of taking sides on this blog (although the writers are right here), it's worth noting a few ripple effects that will affect Lostophiles...

Production Halt
Although Lost went into Season 4 with a long lead time before it airs, only 8 episodes (one half of the season order) were completed before the strike. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, both of whom have been very visibile on the picket lines (Cuse has been one of the most quoted writers in the press regarding the strike) report that episode 8 ends on the kind of cliff-hanger a network would be foolish to leave unresolved for a long period of time.

As a result, there is talk that Lost, despite having more available episodes to air than almost any other TV show (due to its mid-season start), may not air in 2008 at all, depending on the length of the strike. The 8 unaired episodes would be added to the 16 episodes planned for season 5, presumably leaving a 24-episode season 6 to air in 2010. Considering Damon and Carlton's earlier comments that there are 3 major story arcs left, which were to each last one 16-episode season, this could have serious effects on the remaining seasons (though, since nobody outside the writers' room really knows what the rest of the story is, it's hard to tell how serious or how difficult it would be to re-work these arcs into two rather than three sections).

Lost is, of course, not alone. This week Fox announced that it had canceled the planned start date of 24 in January, choosing not to begin to air a season with only 8 hours completed (given the one-season-equals-one-day format, this seems like a well-founded plan). Heroes, which was designed to air 2 11-episode "volumes" this season, has reshot the ending of episode 11. Now, instead of being a volume-closing springboard into the second half of the season, episode 11 may air as the finale of season 2. Also, NBC's spinoff anthology series, Heroes Origins, which would have debuted 6 new characters in one-shot stories written and directed by different hollywood bigshots like Kevin Smith, has been canceled for this season.

Good News
But there is a "good" result for Lost fans who don't own Verizon v-cast phones. Starting Monday, November 12, abc.com will launch weekly 2-3 minute digital shorts of all-new Lost content. These mini-stories are original content, ironically enough, the first of its kind to be negotiated directly with the WGA, SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and DGA (Directors Guild of America). Originally, the plan was to distribute these exclusively as video content for Verizon Wireless v-cast video-capable phones. But, perhaps acknowledging the bad will that ABC's potential delays in releasing new Lost content will engender, the network has decided to make these "mobisodes" publicly available. The first such mobisode will supposedly feature Jack and Christian Sheppard. So, again, check out abc.com starting Monday.

End on a Joke
Finally, special thanks to loyal reader Alyss Dixson, who sent me this based-on-real-life joke about the strike.

Apparently, among the many actors who have turned out to support the picketing writers is William Mapother, who plays the late Other Ethan Rom on Lost. Only, the funny thing about Mapother's joining the picket line is....

...(wait for it)...

...dude, he isn't on the manifest!!!

So with that, I take my leave of you. When next I post, I may well be a new daddy (we're due any day now). And here's hoping the strike is resolved soon so we can all look forward to a February debut for Lost season 4. Namaste.