Writer's strike may delay 4th season

Sad Professor

I don't know if anyone's been keeping up with this but it has potentially serious consequences for Lost and... well... just about Hollywood as a whole. There's a good article here explaining the situation and how it might effect Lost and other shows:

http://blog.lostpedia.com/2007/10/losts-writing-on-wall.html

There's also an 11 page thread over at The Fuselage discussing it as well:

http://thefuselage.com/Threaded/showthread.php?t=84807

It'll hopefully blow over but worse case scenario we may not even get 16 episodes or the show will end up on hiatus till it all blows over. The last WGA strike was in 1988 and lasted 5 months, cutting the previous television season short, delaying the next by a month and killing several younger shows in the process.

EamonnKeane

They could put that into the show in their inimicable way: Jack suffers a brain disease, possible caused by a damaged machine in "The Pearl" triggered by a Dharma Initiative attack on the Others, supported by Hanso Foundation operatives in conjunction with Locke who may be brainwashed/a double agent. This disease causes him to relive past events constantly, so every episode is the same as Season 2 - but with a "dream" blur at the edge of the screen

qwertplaywert

Heres hoping they put Lost out of its misery and do what should have been done mid way through season 2-cancel it!

A man can dream......

Agamemnon

I'm beginning to think we'll all die of old age before the last episode of Lost.

cooker3

agamemnon wrote: »

I'm beginning to think we'll all die of old age before the last episode of Lost.

If you were a native of the island that wouldn't be an issue!

Sad Professor

Well the strike is going ahead. As early as Monday.

http://www.variety.com/VR1117975247.html

Kristin at eonline is claiming that 14 of the 16 episodes are already written but I find that hard to believe. Unless ABC put pressure on the writers to finish the scripts which means they've probably been slapped together.

I hope everyone likes reality tv...

Sherifu

If they handle it half as well as Star Treks TNG did in 1988 we're in for a treat:

Referring to the episode Shades of Gray:
"This episode was written to save time and money as a result of the writers' strike of 1988."
"This episode is thought to be one of the weakest ever made. It was described by its writer, Maurice Hurley as 'terrible, just terrible'. Ronald D. Moore called it 'embarrassing'."

Sad Professor

rkm wrote: »

If they handle it half as well as Star Treks TNG did in 1988 we're in for a treat:

Referring to the episode Shades of Gray:
"This episode was written to save time and money as a result of the writers' strike of 1988."
"This episode is thought to be one of the weakest ever made. It was described by its writer, Maurice Hurley as 'terrible, just terrible'. Ronald D. Moore called it 'embarrassing'."

lol. I remember that episode well. It consisted entirely of Riker in a coma with clips of him from the previous two seasons. It's one of those "never happened" episodes.

Sherifu

Sad Professor wrote: »

lol. I remember that episode well. It consisted entirely of Riker in a coma with clips of him from the previous two seasons. It's one of those "never happened" episodes.

I quite like that episode, it shows tasha getting killed again.

Sad Professor

Well it's official, the strike will go ahead on Monday. But there's still 48 hours left for it to be averted.

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117975256&categoryid=2821

Gregg Nations has posted the following over at The Fuselage:

Lost is not a show that is in danger of being cancelled. There is a contract for the next 48 episodes, so they'll be completed no matter what.

...

Lost has eight scripts completed, so the shooting will continue through #408. It's what happens next that will affect the show. There are many ways it could go, but the two extremes are the new contract is worked out over the weekend and the strike is averted. That means production continues as usual everywhere and the TV/film schedule won't be affected at all. Or the strike could last for months, and in our case episode #408 becomes the sort of season four finale. But there'll be forty more episodes after that no matter what, so it'll all work out.

I've tried to keep my own personal beliefs out of any discussion here, and some of you may disagree with me, but I support this action 100%. It's going to be bad in the short-term, but this is an important moment for the future. Content distribution as we know it is going to change in the next three to five years, so this next contract is going to protect the future for all writers, even ones who haven't joined the WGA yet.

Read the full post here:
http://www.thefuselage.com/Threaded/showpost.php?p=1674589&postcount=1787

Killaqueen!!!

Why are they striking? And I hear it's not just Lost, it's shows like Desperate Housewives as well.

Basq

Killaqueen!!! wrote: »

Why are they striking? And I hear it's not just Lost, it's shows like Desperate Housewives as well.

It's the Screen Writer's Guild.. pretty much all shows apart from those on pay-for-cable (such as Dexter and Weeds have already been fully scripted) will be affected by it.

ixoy posted a FAQ by TheFutonCritic in this thread all about it and it's happening.. worth a read: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055176259

kevmy

Killaqueen!!! wrote: »

Why are they striking? And I hear it's not just Lost, it's shows like Desperate Housewives as well.

Short version there's not getting enough money for DVDs and are getting no money at all from downloads, streams, webisodes or internet based ads

Sad Professor

Things are looking pretty bad. From what I've been reading some fairly underhanded stuff went down over the weekend. The WGA were tricked into making a big concession with the promise that the AMPTP would deliver in kind. They didn't, and now the writers are pissed. Overall it seems like the producers aren't interested in a resolution and are just using this as an opportunity to try and break the union.

The question now is if this strike goes on for months how will it affect Lost? From Ausiello:

If the strike extends into the new year, there is a slight chance ABC may opt to hold the eight completed episodes until 2009 (that's not a typo). Under that scenario, Lost would have 24 original episodes (eight from this season, 16 from next) that could run uninterrupted from January until May — much like a certain Fox drama that features a ticking clock. Says Lost cocreator Carlton Cuse, "Damon [Lindelof] and my concern about running the episodes we will have made is that it will feel a little like reading half a Harry Potter novel, then having to put it down. There is a mini cliff-hanger at the end of Episode 8, but it's like the end of an exciting book chapter; it's not the end of the novel. Damon and I didn't write [the ending of Episode 8] differently [with the looming strike in mind]. We wrote it to be the ending of Episode 8." In any case, he concedes that the decision to hold or air the episodes isn't ultimately theirs. "It's really [ABC honcho Steve MacPherson's] call," Cuse notes, adding, "No one was happy with the six-episode run last season."

Source: http://spoilerslost.blogspot.com/2007/11/latest-from-ausiello.html

A lot of people are concerned about this. So either ABC choose to air the eps as planned in February, meaning we have a repeat of last year's so-called "mini-season" followed by 24 episodes (the remaining 8 + 16) next year. Or everything gets held back till September 2008 and we get two more full seasons.

Is some Lost better than no Lost?

Psychedelic

Is some Lost better than no Lost?

yes!!!

hope this gets sorted soon and season 4 runs as planned. if not, at least the 8 episodes starting in february. i'd hate to have to wait till september '08 for the next episode of Lost, i'm crackin up without it as it is.

Sad Professor

Here's a really cool pic of Carlton:



http://darkufo.blogspot.com/2007/11/carlton-cuse-and-damon-do-you-want-to.html

cooker3

Oh man, having to wait 16 months for a new episode would be horrendous. I would take 8 new episodes over waiting

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Psychedelic wrote: »

i'd hate to have to wait till september '08 for the next episode of Lost, i'm crackin up without it as it is.

Actually it looks like that if the strike goes ahead, we won't get the 8 episodes in February and will most likely have to wait until January '09 and get seasons 4 and 5 back to back.

Sad Professor

24 is being postponed until the strike is resolved. Carlton and Damon have said they'd prefer that Lost is delayed as well. The decision lies with ABC however.

EDIT: And it looks like they're sticking with the original plan to start in February:

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6498735.html?industryid=47168

User45701

EamonnKeane wrote: »

They could put that into the show in their inimicable way: Jack suffers a brain disease, possible caused by a damaged machine in "The Pearl" triggered by a Dharma Initiative attack on the Others, supported by Hanso Foundation operatives in conjunction with Locke who may be brainwashed/a double agent. This disease causes him to relive past events constantly, so every episode is the same as Season 2 - but with a "dream" blur at the edge of the screen

you left out the aprt where they send in the unit to find out whats going on but then it turns out the unit are cylons so they send in house to confirm it but then house starts to develop powers so then muhinder Seriesh turns up and epxlains house is a hero but before anything else can happen.... ok im lost now

beanyb

We're getting 8 episodes in February according to Kristen at E!Online:

24 is off, and Lost is on—well, sorta.

After Fox announced it is reshuffling its schedule in light of the WGA strike—with the biggest change being the indefinite postponement of the upcoming seventh season of 24, in order to preserve the nonstop integrity of the series—we've learned Lost is still set to premiere its fourth season as planned, most likely in February.

Good news, yes, 'cause Lord knows we'll have little else to watch in February, and we can't wait much longer for our Island fix, but herein lies the bubble burster: We will get only the eight episodes that have been completed, and will have to wait until after the strike to get the next (ninth) episode and beyond.

And the real kicker? Just wait till you hear what boss Damon Lindelof says about where Lost's eighth ep leaves off.

When Team WWK hit the picket lines yesterday to report on the strike, I chatted with Damon about the strike (see previous story), where Lost stands, how he and his team are coping and why Heroes fans should be a little more understanding. Here's what he says...


It looks like Lost will air eight episodes and then go dark. Does it sadden you that you're not able to deliver those 16 in a row that were promised to the fans?
Yes, it does. I feel like the worst thing we could have done was to plan for a strike and plan accordingly. Everybody had to be optimistic, because then it would have felt like why does episode eight feel like such a conclusion? We learned last year that the show moves at a certain pace, and you can't build up critical momentum in the first six episodes. In fact, when you are doing 24 straight episodes of a show, the first six episodes are a lot of tap dancing and some writers are able to tap-dance very effectively. Cable writers don't have to tap-dance at all, which is why all their shows are so great.

Interesting.
Yeah, and I think that's something Heroes is getting unnecessary guff for right now, too. They're getting a lot of heat because the story can't really start until episode seven or eight. And I remember all this bad-mouthing going on about our show last year, and I talked to Tim [Kring]. I said, "This all feels so familiar to me—don't worry, it only takes one good episode to round the corner and then everybody is back on board again." But an eight-episode season is an incomplete season, and I am not going to try to spin it any other way.

At the end of the eighth episode, is there any sense of conclusion whatsoever?
It's as much of a conclusion as, say, Ana-Lucia and Libby getting shot.

Wow. Really?
Yes. And you'd be, like, oh my god, I can't believe I have to wait another year and two months for episode nine of this season.

So, it's a cliffhanger?
Yes. And that's the thing, we really planned out the three seasons of 16, 16 and 16...so the idea of having to come back and maybe do a 24-episode season, and that would be season five is just...I can't look the fans in the eye and tell them that we're executing the original plan anymore.

Will the storyline have to be tweaked?
The story will remain the same, but the way [it's] constructed is a lot like saying to J.K. Rowling, "Can you do it in eight books?" And she goes, "I don't want to write an eighth book." And they say, "How about you just take the seventh book and release two 400-page books?"

Anyone else need a hug? Post your thoughts on Lost's interrupted season below...

Obviously, many of our favorite shows and show runners are dealing with similar storyline and scheduling issues, so here's hoping for a swift and just resolution.

http://www.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/detail/index.jsp?uuid=1263574b-7f57-4b32-9cac-4d4caa50535a

Sherifu

**** that, I was waiting for 24.
The pre-season promo looked awesome

Basq

rkm wrote: »

**** that, I was waiting for 24.
The pre-season promo looked awesome

Yes, but so did the one for season 6!

PS - brutal news about only 9 episodes if the strike isn't resolved.. but still looking forward to it. Re-watched the season 3 finale the other night and really got me pumped!

NUTZZ

beanyb wrote: »

Wow. Really?
Yes. And you'd be, like, oh my god, I can't believe I have to wait another year and two months for episode nine of this season.

WTF! Is he being serious here?!? A year and two months :eek:

Sad Professor

NUTZZ wrote: »

WTF! Is he being serious here?!? A year and two months :eek:

I think he may have been misquoted here. But if the rest of this season becomes a write-off it may be February 2009 before the show comes back after 4x08.

Airing the current 8 eps in February followed by another hiatus will be a disaster imo. ABC should just postpone everything till the strike is resolved.

NUTZZ

Sad Professor wrote: »

IABC should just postpone everything till the strike is resolved.

I couldn't agree with you more, it would be an absolute joke if they air the first 8 episodes in Feb 08 and you have to wait a year for the next episode. The strike won't last for ever, ABC should wait it out until its resolved and reschedule the season accordingly.

cooker3

Surely if they aired the 8 episodes and say the strike was resolved before the summer then they could show the other 8 in autumn a la season 3 and then show season 5 as planned in february 09

Sad Professor

cooker3 wrote: »

Surely if they aired the 8 episodes and say the strike was resolved before the summer then they could show the other 8 in autumn a la season 3 and then show season 5 as planned in february 09

That would probably be the best compromise alright. Provided they treated those autumn episodes as season 4b. But ABC may decide to write-off the remainder of season 4. Which could have a lot of consequences structurally.

I'm most concerned how this strike may effect actor's contracts. The main cast are safe of course but some of the new actors only signed up for a specific number of episodes, which they might be freed from as a result of a long-term strike. They may be unavailable by the time the show comes back.

Christ, let's hope the SAG don't strike in the summer or it'll be 2010. But the moguls will have lost enough money by then and won't f**k around.

Sherifu

basquille wrote: »

Yes, but so did the one for season 6!

Didn't see the one for season 6. I thought season 6 itself was very good in parts, a bit up and down alright but i have hopes for season 7.

cooker3 wrote: »

Surely if they aired the 8 episodes and say the strike was resolved before the summer then they could show the other 8 in autumn a la season 3 and then show season 5 as planned in february 09

Hopefully they will do this.

Kanney

What a ****ing joke.

Unearthly

qwertplaywert wrote: »

Heres hoping they put Lost out of its misery and do what should have been done mid way through season 2-cancel it!

A man can dream......

Yawn

Why don't you stop watching it yourself and invent your own ending? I'm sure it would be better than the actual Lost writers version(if they get around to doing it...):rolleyes:

Also Starring LeVar Burton

For christmas, I'm asking Santa to end the strike, so they can film the rest of season 4.

Faith

CaptainNegative wrote: »

For christmas, I'm asking Santa to end the strike, so they can film the rest of season 4.

QFT. I'm gonna be so damn pissed off once shows start ending early. ALL I watch is Lost, Heroes, Grey's Anatomy and CSI. All of which will be pulled.

Stuxnet

Faith wrote: »

QFT. I'm gonna be so damn pissed off once shows start ending early. ALL I watch is Lost, Heroes, Grey's Anatomy and CSI. All of which will be pulled.

i support the writers, if it means we have to live without our shows for a little while, so be it,
but they are right to strike, here's what damon lindelof wrote about it in the New York times

By DAMON LINDELOF
Published: November 11, 2007
Los Angeles


TELEVISION is dying.
I should have realized this four years ago when I first got my TiVo box, but denial is always the first stage of grief. I simply couldn’t acknowledge that this wonderful invention heralded the beginning of the end.
TiVo stores your favorite movies and shows on its hard drive, allowing you to pull up last night’s episode of “The Daily Show” as easily as you click open documents on your laptop. In fact, once you download the original broadcast — sorry, I meant to say “record” it — you can watch it at your leisure. The next morning. Next year. Your call. Because now? You own that episode.
Best of all, you got it free.
Television has always been free. Sure, if you want all the N.F.L. games in high definition, you have to pay the piper, but the broadcast networks still offer their entire schedules for absolutely nothing. The only catch, of course, is that you have to watch commercials. Economically, it’s a fair deal. The network pays for the shows, gives them to viewers, and makes its cash back through advertising. Which regrettably brings us to the most wonderful thing TiVo does: It enables you to ignore the commercials that keep the whole system running.
Twenty percent of American homes now contain hard drives that store movies and television shows indefinitely and allows you to fast-forward through commercials. These devices will probably proliferate at a significant rate and soon, almost everyone will have them. They’ll also get smaller and smaller, rendering the box that holds them obsolete, and the rectangular screen in your living room won’t really be a television anymore, it’ll be a computer. And running into the back of that computer, the wire that delivers unto you everything you watch? It won’t be cable; it will be the Internet.
This probably sounds exciting if you’re a TV viewer, but if you’re in the business of producing these shows, it’s nothing short of terrifying. This is how vaudevillians must have felt the first time they saw a silent movie; sitting there, suddenly realizing they just became extinct: after all, who wants another soft-shoe number when you can see Harold Lloyd hanging off a clock 50 feet tall?
Change always provokes fear, but I’d once believed that the death of our beloved television would unify all those affected, talent and studios, creators and suits. We’re all afraid and we’d all be afraid together. Instead we find ourselves so deeply divided.
The Writers Guild of America (of which I am a proud member) has gone on strike. I have spent the past week on the picket line outside Walt Disney Studios, my employer, chanting slogans and trudging slowly across the crosswalk.
The motivation for this drastic action — and a strike is drastic, a fact I grow more aware of every passing day — is the guild’s desire for a portion of revenues derived from the Internet. This is nothing new: for more than 50 years, writers have been entitled to a small cut of the studios’ profits from the reuse of our shows or movies; whenever something we created ends up in syndication or is sold on DVD, we receive royalties. But the studios refuse to apply the same rules to the Internet.
My show, “Lost,” has been streamed hundreds of millions of times since it was made available on ABC’s Web site. The downloads require the viewer to first watch an advertisement, from which the network obviously generates some income. The writers of the episodes get nothing. We’re also a hit on iTunes (where shows are sold for $1.99 each). Again, we get nothing.
If this strike lasts longer than three months, an entire season of television will end this December. No dramas. No comedies. No “Daily Show.” The strike will also prevent any pilots from being shot in the spring, so even if the strike is settled by then, you won’t see any new shows until the following January. As in 2009. Both the guild and the studios we are negotiating with do agree on one thing: this situation would be brutal.
I will probably be dragged through the streets and burned in effigy if fans have to wait another year for “Lost” to come back. And who could blame them? Public sentiment may have swung toward the guild for now, but once the viewing audience has spent a month or so subsisting on “America’s Next Hottest Cop” and “Celebrity Eating Contest,” I have little doubt that the tide will turn against us. Which brings me to the second stage of grief: anger.
I am angry because I am accused of being greedy by studios that are being greedy. I am angry because my greed is fair and reasonable: if money is made off of my product through the Internet, then I am entitled to a small piece. The studios’ greed, on the other hand, is hidden behind cynical, disingenuous claims that they make nothing on the Web — that the streaming and downloading of our shows is purely “promotional.” Seriously?
Most of all, I’m angry that I’m not working. Not working means not getting paid. My weekly salary is considerably more than the small percentage of Internet gains we are hoping to make in this negotiation and if I’m on the picket line for just three months, I will never recoup those losses, no matter what deal gets made.
But I am willing to hold firm for considerably longer than three months because this is a fight for the livelihoods of a future generation of writers, whose work will never “air,” but instead be streamed, beamed or zapped onto a tiny chip.
Things have gotten ugly and the lines of communication have broken down completely between the guild and the studios. Perhaps it’s not too late, though, for both sides to rally around the one thing we still have in common: our mourning for the way things used to be. Instead of fighting each other, maybe we should be throwing a wake for our beloved TV.
Because the third stage of grief is bargaining.
And bargain we must, because when television finally passes on, there will still be entertainment; there will still be shows and films and videos, right there on a screen in your living room. And just as the owners of vaudeville theaters broke down and bought hand-crank movie cameras, the studios will figure out a way to make absurd amounts of money off of whatever is beaming onto whichever sort of screen.
And we’ll still be writing every word.

Sad Professor

Looks like Carlton has gone back to work:

Lost's Carlton Cuse has returned to work on the ABC series, in the midst of the writers strike. Cuse is actually one of the WGA's negotiating committee fighting for new residual parameters for writers, most notably in new media, but he's also an executive producer and showrunner on Lost, meaning his duties extend far beyond only writing scripts. Cuse will continue to honor the "pencil's down" proclamation all those striking have declared and no more Lost episodes are being written, but TV Guide (by way of the New York Times) says he will oversee the post-production work on the eight episodes already completed this season.

Cuse has made it clear, including to IGN, that he hopes ABC will not air those eight episodes by themselves in the spring, since they only consisted of the first half of the intended 16-episode season. However, it looks very likely ABC will choose to show them and Cuse tells the New York Times that when it came to deciding to return to work as a producer "We feel we owe that to our fans. We would harm our franchise if we didn't do it ourselves."

http://tv.ign.com/articles/835/835831p1.html

Sad Professor

Finally! Talks to resume on November 26th.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117976211.html?categoryid=2821&cs=1

Skyuser

This strike will mean Sky One will need to close down.

Otacon

No we can just continue to watch SG1!

Sad Professor

Well talks resumed yesterday and word is they're going really well. So with some luck this will all resolved soon and everyone can get back to work.

Stuxnet

Christmas might come early

a very reliable source tells me that there appears to be a deal seemingly in place between both sides. "It's already done, basically," the insider describes. That's because of the weeks worth of groundwork by the Hollywood agents working the writers guild leadership on one side, and the studio and network moguls on the other. I was told not to expect an agreement this week. But my source thought it was possible that the strike could be settled before Christmas.

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/dare-we-hope-a-deal-has-been-struck/

ghouldaddy07

Really hope this gets sorted the break in season 3 drove me mad.

still i support the writers

Sad Professor

It seems those rumours of progress were just that, rumours. It's now been revealed that the AMPTP have been basically dicking around for the last week. More talks are scheduled for Tuesday but unless the writers back down then there may not be any serious pressure put on the producers to resolve this till sometime early next year.

Another thing we have to keep in mind is that even when this strike is resolved production won't be able to resume immediately. Writing and pre-production takes time, it may be 3 or 4 weeks post-strike before shooting can resume.

Sad Professor

(This note is from Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse executive producers of LOST)

Dear LOST fans,

Please join us and support all the writers of your favorite TV shows. So many of you guys have asked what you can do to help and this is it!

We're gonna offer three prizes (chosen at random) -- Every box you buy gives you one shot at the raffle.

GRAND PRIZE: A personal thank-you call from us (Carlton and Damon) AND Matthew Fox where we shall do our bestest to answer your questions about the show's mysteries AND a Season 3 DVD set.

FIRST PRIZE: A signed finale script by writers Damon and Carlton and a surprise cast member!

SECOND PRIZE: Signed Season 3 DVD Set (standard and blu-ray!) by the entire writing staff!

Thank you for all your support. We love you and miss you all. And we really hope to get back to work soon!

Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse

Buy the pencils here http://www.pencils2mediamoguls.com/

It's 1 dollar for 12 pencils via paypal. Then all purchases will pooled together and sent via the truckload to studio moguls (similar to the Jericho/nuts campaign).

Sad Professor

More bad news. Remember back a while ago Carlton Cuse was quoted as saying he was going back to work to oversee post-production on the first 8 episodes? Well after the AMPTP's recent tactics he's refusing to work on the show in any capacity until this strike is resolved.

You can read his statement here http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/carlton-cuse-was-lost-in-strike-confusion/

Also Gregg Nations posted the following over at the Fuselage yesterday:

You guys digging in for the long haul? I have a feeling this strike is not going to be resolved quickly. The studios have a plan to demoralize the WGA with getting hopes up through leaks (like through Nikki Fink that of course can't be trusted) and then dashing their hopes. It's an ugly game. They want to fracture the guild and have members start to fight each other. They want to know the WGA bottom line and then only offer a quarter of it. They want to break the writers' backs.

But it's not going to happen.

Basically the moguls know the WGA can't hold out forever. Sooner or later some writers (the better paid ones perhaps, or lesser ones who can't afford it) will start to put pressure on their leadership to back down, once that happens the union will crack.

This is all about greed on the part of the studios. The current WGA proposal would give their members a 3% increase which would cost the industry $151 million over 3 years. That's pocket change to these people. I mean when Disney fired Michael Ovitz as president they gave him a $140m severance package for 14 months work.

Anyway if we don't see progress in the next week most people are estimating it'll be March before this all get resolved.

Sad Professor

Talks are finished. As was predicted yesterday the producers walked out of today's talks and (as also predicted) they blamed it all on the writers. The moguls were stalling all week and refused to come up with a counter offer to the WGA proposals.

What happens now? Nothing basically.

You see, the studios want the strike to continue. It allows them (after several weeks) to declare "force majeure" which is contractual clause under which they can cancel a contract without penalty. This is so they can get rid of any production deals they no longer want. This works both ways however, so for example tv actors who have their pay suspended can get out of their contracts also. In the meantime the writers will probably end up getting most of the backlash from the public and the AMPTP will look strong going into negotiations with the DGA and SAG.

The full effects of force majeure won't have finished kicking in until February so that's when talks are likely to resume. Then it could be March before a deal is made. At that point restarting production on a tv show could take well over a month and wouldn't really be worth it. So unless the writers crack (not likely) the remainder of the current season is a write-off.

So it looks like we'll only be getting 8 episodes of Lost this year.

Stuxnet

Sad Professor wrote: »

.

So it looks like we'll only be getting 8 episodes of Lost this year.

thats the worst part of it !! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

ninebeanrows

They should just end lost, it's absurd expecting people to wait so long for a new series and for it to last for like 12 months with another 2 3 month gaps.

Its crazy, i certainly won't be watching it if thats the case!

Unearthly

Weathercheck wrote: »

They should just end lost, it's absurd expecting people to wait so long for a new series and for it to last for like 12 months with another 2 3 month gaps.

Its crazy, i certainly won't be watching it if thats the case!

So you are saying every other show affected(basically every show) should just end now to?

If Lost ended right now without a proper conclusion, could you imagine the outcry from people watching it for 3 years and speculating about it?

Stuxnet

Weathercheck wrote: »

i certainly won't be watching it if thats the case!

i bet you will !! :rolleyes:

Sad Professor

Only 6 episodes? Maybe. From DarkUFO:

Just received this from my highly placed contact at ABC. We should get full confirmation later today when ABC should be announcing their upcoming schedules.

There is a natural break in the story at the end of episode 6. But there are 8 episodes in the can, and those last two start a new arc and don't really stand alone. So.......some PTB at ABC don't want to show those last two. At all -- until fall or NEXT Feb. when/if there are more episodes to go with them. But other powers in the Disney pack are strongly pushing for all 8 episodes this Feb, because they are so desperate for original content to be aired. But right now, there is nothing to follow # 8, not planned, not written, nuttin'.

http://darkufo.blogspot.com/2007/12/could-we-only-get-6-episodes-next-year.html

Tbh I'm kinda hoping this is true. Everyone will moan about it no doubt but they need to do what's best for the show. An abrupt ending to the season is the last thing it needs right now.

Also according to Tv guide's Ausiello it's possible the show won't start back until April. Again we should know later today.

Sad Professor

A little update on the strike situation:

Things are starting to get nasty. The WGA has decided to take a page out of the AMPTP's book: divide and conquer. They've allowed David Letterman's writers to go back to work but are refusing to do the same for Leno and Conan. This means in the run up to oscar season Letterman will get all the best guests as actors will be unwillingly to cross picket lines for the other hosts. He'll also no doubt be throwing plenty of insults/jokes in the direction of the AMPTP. In the meantime Leno, Conan, Fergurson, etc will be left to wing it, no monologues, no decents guests, etc. This is a hude advantage for CBS/Letterman which the writers hope will cause some disunity amongst the producers.

The WGA is also currently refusing to issue a waiver for the Golden Globes and the Oscars. Which means no clips from past movies or award shows and no one to write host Jon Stewart's jokes. Plus there'll be a WGA picket line outside so many people may not show up. Should make for pretty short show.

A hopeful quote from Carlton:

“I think that January is really the critical month,” said Carlton Cuse, an executive producer of “Lost” (which returns with an eight-episode season Jan. 31) and a member of the WGA negotiating committee.

“There’s still time, if we can make a deal, to salvage the remnants of this television season,” Cuse continued. “It’ll be shorter, but it’ll give us a chance to wrap up [our shows]. But more importantly, there is still a chance to salvage pilot season [in which potential fall shows are created]. If January comes and goes without a deal, you’re really looking at this television season and next television season being cratered, as far as scripted shows go.”