In 2007, I was in my senior year of college (!!) and was talking about the strike on a college radio show / podcast my friend produced. I don't have the original audio but did find some of my old scripts and I was also happy to see I was pro-WGA and less worried about the arc of whomever on Heroes. (While I grew up in a conservative environment I also had some strong pro-union voices in my house being from Michigan where everyone was a UAW member.) I mostly remember getting a lot of my strike information from a Nikki Finke-era Deadline Hollywood which was feverently pro-union. The trades were trying to play the middle (but still a slight pro-studio bent) and non-industry news was hit or miss on its usefulness. I'm glad the writer's have a bigger set of tools to get their message out this time and something that really underlines how much the media environment has changed since 2007.
I remember being sympathetic with the writers but also really sad about the shows I liked and how the Strike impacted them. Telling an ongoing serialized story on TV is a bit of a magic trick - you have to create the illusion that this is all one big, planned out, fully coherent, unified and immersive story. But how do you do that when you have to deal with an external disruption this large? When locations, guest stars, and other unwritten yet planned stories all have to go out the window and the final episodes of the season, if there are some, still have to synch up with what came before?
[I was particularly sad at how 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' lost the final act of its first season, leading to a whole bunch of subplots including its original climax being dropped when it came back for S2.]
I imagine the writers of the shows themselves were not happy at having deal with all these issues and their impact on the work's quality. I certainly hope that if a strike happens, then the Writers will be able to have their demands met quickly.
P.S. Myles, I have to ask: was a Charlotte flashback episode of 'Lost' S4 confirmed way back then? Do you have any links to articles about this?
A Charlotte episode wasn't confirmed as best I can recall, but it was a 16 episode order and only 13 episodes were delivered so it definitely seems like a possibility.
Fall 2007 would've been the beginning of my first year of high school, so I volunteer myself as middle school-adjacent for your woes, Myles.
Looking back, I don't recall having a strong opinion on the strike itself, in terms of supporting the writers or demonizing them. I was probably more like what you thought 21-year-old Myles would be like. To my 14-year-old self, it was just A Thing That Was Happening, with demonstrable effects on the shows I was watching, whereas I had no idea of who was writing the episodes. I think the only reason I knew there was a strike happening at all was because even then, I was following TV news (and ratings reports, ha). I just wasn't at a point in my life yet where I was looking at things much beyond entertainment & analysis, I think, which I suppose isn't too surprising.
Honestly, I still think about the 2007 strike a lot because it definitely changed the TV landscape for me. The abrupt finales and aborted storylines seemed to have wound up giving some shows a second chance -- Pushing Daisies and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles both ultimately had 9-episode first seasons because of the strike, but managed to get second season pick-ups, albeit both tragically canceled after said seasons. I still mourn how TSCC was ahead of its time with serialized storytelling, dying right as that trend was taking off.
But some shows never really recovered from that halt, like Bones, in my opinion. That show tried doing a season-long story arc for the first time ever that year, only for it to be quickly wrapped up in a way that led to a series regular exiting the show and led to the new format the show had going forward, where there was a revolving door of recurring characters that would be present from episode to episode. It was absolutely an inflection point for the show, and I feel like it was never the same after that.
At least I can confidently say now that I completely support today's strike. The current model is unsustainable and exploitative, like many things today are, and the WGA deserves better. Social media may be a cesspool, but I am glad it's giving WGA members a bigger messaging platform this time around. If the strike does go through today, I hope they get all of their demands, and even more.
I never put together until just now that the 2007 strike was the reason that season of Bones ended so haphazardly and am retroactively very disappointed it shook out that way. Although not as disappointed as I still am that Quantum of Solace ended up getting rewritten on set by Daniel Craig and Marc Forster because actors and directors could "collaborate" on scenes without it technically being considered "writing".
It is possible that Daisies and TSCC may have been renewed in part because of the Strike but I think odds were good they would've scored S2 renewals in any case. FOX seemed keen on giving genre shows at least two seasons at the time and Daisies was a critical darling. (Would've loved to see a legless Cameron crawling for 40 minutes to save the Connors or Cromartie crashing the prom in the finale, though this speculation on my part.)
Ha I mentioned Bones in my comment but it was like a futuristic impact because I binged the show in like 2013. I actually preferred the rotating interns (I wasn’t a huge Zack fan) so for me it didn’t hurt the show. It’s my understanding he was going to be leaving the show regardless of the writer strike but they had to rush the ending. That was unfortunate but not a show killer for me. He does come back in the final season if that helps!
The rush job was just so nonsensical that it really damaged my opinion of the show entirely. I kept watching for quite a few years after that, but I had other issues with the show after that season (the writing for Brennan's character, essentially) that boiled over and I wound up dropping the show after season 7. I remember thinking, "okay, I've been watching this show since day one, and it's meant a lot to me. I can maybe stick through another season if it's the final one" when season 8 was about to start. And then I heard they were already in talks about renewing for season 9 and I just couldn't do it anymore, haha.
I did tune in for the final episode (season 12, was it?) just to say goodbye, but I didn't feel much. I suppose I do have Bones to thank for being one of the shows that finally taught me that it's okay to just walk away from something if I don't feel the same about it as I once did. There are so many other stories to discover!
Well it’s a procedural, and those tend to last longer. I do recommend the wedding episode in Season 9 and there’s also a 9/11 episode in Season 8 which was good. I admit I liked the romance and when that was resolved essentially at the end of Season 6, it wasn’t as good (for me). However I ended up watching the whole show, the last few seasons in real time. Maybe that was just loyalty to Hart Hanson but I don’t regret it.
In the commentary tracks for Gravity Falls, series creator Alex Hirsch talks about how he'd often write through the night right up until the deadline to ensure that scripts were perfect - i.e. Last Mabelcorn was written in 48 hours. Given how long and hard writers will sometimes work, although hopefully not as late as Alex did, it's frustrating to learn that the people I view as rockstars are poorly compensated for their work.
I'm in Australia, so in late 2007 I was nearly finished my penultimate year of high school, which was also when I first started paying attention to television. I wasn't paying too much attention - access to US shows as they aired was an ongoing problem until (legal) streaming first became available in early 2015, so finding a way to watch my sitcoms was my primary concern. I knew it was a pay thing, and I was in favour of that, but not the particulars.
Now I have a much better understanding of both the television landscape and industrial relations - I've been working at a union for two years, although the structure is pretty different here. I haven't read up on the current negotiations, but I can imagine I'll get very angry at anything studios say.
I was 34 years old in 2007 and I don't remember much about the writer's strike other than how much it affected the first season of Breaking Bad. The position of the bosses is even more evil this time since the studios have been taken over by big tech it's clear they want to move all of their workers to a big tech gig economy model
I was weirdly into that show when it came out. Right in my teen post-apocalyptic phase, I guess. If I'd been more into non-World of Warcraft online communities I could have been one of those fans you pandered to. Pretty much all I remember about the 2007 strike is Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and its companion piece Commentary! The Musical. The past is a foreign country
I was a sophomore in college and enthusiastically in support of the strike. My favorite show at the time was The Office and it helped that it wasn't just some faceless behind the scenes people who were holding up production of the show, it was Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak and Paul Lieberstein (and Greg Daniels, and Gene and Lee...). Seeing people like Tina Fey on the picket line was big too. The Office made an unusually good use case for the "new media" aspect of the strike because they'd been releasing scripted digital extras.
It probably also helped that for the shows whose stories actually took a hit because of the strike, that impact wasn't immediately felt - it could be months before you got to the unsatisfying end of the season and realized there wasn't going to be more.
I was a Mom of young children in 2007. I also moved at the end of the year. So television wasn’t a huge part of my life at that time. Didn’t reality TV take over? I no longer watch any reality TV but I do recall watching some during that time period. The writers strike impacted me much later. When I was binge watching Bones on Netflix, one season was shorter with a rushed abrupt ending. I was reading recaps and they explained the strike was responsible for the disruption. It’s probably good the strike isn’t potentially hitting until after the broadcast season is done but there could be other shows impacted.
Like you, I support the writers. Obviously I hope a strike is averted but if it does happen I know where my allegiance is.
By the way there’s an actor I follow on Instagram who is not supportive. He makes it out like writers are the elite and that it’s the crew that suffers. I gotta say that is a bad look. Is it common for actors to turn their backs on writers?
I haven't kept track this time around but in 2007, most actors were supportive of the WGA. Part of that was timing--SAG had its contract negotiations on the heels of the Writers and Directors so everyone wanted a good deal to influence their contract. The other part was a lot of actors on long running shows were WGA members as well and went on strike (Steve Carrell being the most famous example). It was early-social media, however, so it wasn't as easy to keep track of who fell where.
I remember the last strike really well--while I hate the impact it had on so many shows, I fully supported the writers. I'm old enough, and was obsessed enough with tv and TV Guide growing up, too remember the 1988 strike as well.
I was a senior in high school in 2007 where I spent way too much time watching TV. The strike affected me so greatly that when I got into my top choice college that December and started screaming that I had amazing news, my mom genuinely thought I was screaming the strike was over and was shocked I was talking about something else. It never occurred to me Landry killing that guy was a writer strike consequence but it makes so much more sense now.
Now, I work for a studio in a non-creative department. I too am overworked and underpaid but can't really do anything in support of the writers. This is a very very weird position to be in.
My big memory of the 2007 strike is that Chuck ended up getting a full second season despite doing only so-so in the ratings because the strike cut the first season short. Although I could be conflating that with the season where it got renewed because NBC renewed almost everything after The Jay Leno Show fallout left them with an extra five hours of primetime to fill each week.
If I remember correctly Chuck benefited in both situations. In terms of unsuspecting reprises, Chuck got lucky more than once.
It’s also interesting going back and watching that show—they really have to repitch to the audience every week. It worked in its time but I’m not sure it holds up as a binge. Chuck’s desperation act over Sarah especially.
I was in the back half of My 30s and I supported the WGA then as now. I have seen nothing in the demands of the WGA then or now that does not seem eminently fair.
In 2007, I was in my senior year of college (!!) and was talking about the strike on a college radio show / podcast my friend produced. I don't have the original audio but did find some of my old scripts and I was also happy to see I was pro-WGA and less worried about the arc of whomever on Heroes. (While I grew up in a conservative environment I also had some strong pro-union voices in my house being from Michigan where everyone was a UAW member.) I mostly remember getting a lot of my strike information from a Nikki Finke-era Deadline Hollywood which was feverently pro-union. The trades were trying to play the middle (but still a slight pro-studio bent) and non-industry news was hit or miss on its usefulness. I'm glad the writer's have a bigger set of tools to get their message out this time and something that really underlines how much the media environment has changed since 2007.
I remember being sympathetic with the writers but also really sad about the shows I liked and how the Strike impacted them. Telling an ongoing serialized story on TV is a bit of a magic trick - you have to create the illusion that this is all one big, planned out, fully coherent, unified and immersive story. But how do you do that when you have to deal with an external disruption this large? When locations, guest stars, and other unwritten yet planned stories all have to go out the window and the final episodes of the season, if there are some, still have to synch up with what came before?
[I was particularly sad at how 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' lost the final act of its first season, leading to a whole bunch of subplots including its original climax being dropped when it came back for S2.]
I imagine the writers of the shows themselves were not happy at having deal with all these issues and their impact on the work's quality. I certainly hope that if a strike happens, then the Writers will be able to have their demands met quickly.
P.S. Myles, I have to ask: was a Charlotte flashback episode of 'Lost' S4 confirmed way back then? Do you have any links to articles about this?
A Charlotte episode wasn't confirmed as best I can recall, but it was a 16 episode order and only 13 episodes were delivered so it definitely seems like a possibility.
Fall 2007 would've been the beginning of my first year of high school, so I volunteer myself as middle school-adjacent for your woes, Myles.
Looking back, I don't recall having a strong opinion on the strike itself, in terms of supporting the writers or demonizing them. I was probably more like what you thought 21-year-old Myles would be like. To my 14-year-old self, it was just A Thing That Was Happening, with demonstrable effects on the shows I was watching, whereas I had no idea of who was writing the episodes. I think the only reason I knew there was a strike happening at all was because even then, I was following TV news (and ratings reports, ha). I just wasn't at a point in my life yet where I was looking at things much beyond entertainment & analysis, I think, which I suppose isn't too surprising.
Honestly, I still think about the 2007 strike a lot because it definitely changed the TV landscape for me. The abrupt finales and aborted storylines seemed to have wound up giving some shows a second chance -- Pushing Daisies and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles both ultimately had 9-episode first seasons because of the strike, but managed to get second season pick-ups, albeit both tragically canceled after said seasons. I still mourn how TSCC was ahead of its time with serialized storytelling, dying right as that trend was taking off.
But some shows never really recovered from that halt, like Bones, in my opinion. That show tried doing a season-long story arc for the first time ever that year, only for it to be quickly wrapped up in a way that led to a series regular exiting the show and led to the new format the show had going forward, where there was a revolving door of recurring characters that would be present from episode to episode. It was absolutely an inflection point for the show, and I feel like it was never the same after that.
At least I can confidently say now that I completely support today's strike. The current model is unsustainable and exploitative, like many things today are, and the WGA deserves better. Social media may be a cesspool, but I am glad it's giving WGA members a bigger messaging platform this time around. If the strike does go through today, I hope they get all of their demands, and even more.
I never put together until just now that the 2007 strike was the reason that season of Bones ended so haphazardly and am retroactively very disappointed it shook out that way. Although not as disappointed as I still am that Quantum of Solace ended up getting rewritten on set by Daniel Craig and Marc Forster because actors and directors could "collaborate" on scenes without it technically being considered "writing".
It is possible that Daisies and TSCC may have been renewed in part because of the Strike but I think odds were good they would've scored S2 renewals in any case. FOX seemed keen on giving genre shows at least two seasons at the time and Daisies was a critical darling. (Would've loved to see a legless Cameron crawling for 40 minutes to save the Connors or Cromartie crashing the prom in the finale, though this speculation on my part.)
Thinking about the possibilities we'll never get to see for both of those shows hurts so much, even after all of these years!
Ha I mentioned Bones in my comment but it was like a futuristic impact because I binged the show in like 2013. I actually preferred the rotating interns (I wasn’t a huge Zack fan) so for me it didn’t hurt the show. It’s my understanding he was going to be leaving the show regardless of the writer strike but they had to rush the ending. That was unfortunate but not a show killer for me. He does come back in the final season if that helps!
The rush job was just so nonsensical that it really damaged my opinion of the show entirely. I kept watching for quite a few years after that, but I had other issues with the show after that season (the writing for Brennan's character, essentially) that boiled over and I wound up dropping the show after season 7. I remember thinking, "okay, I've been watching this show since day one, and it's meant a lot to me. I can maybe stick through another season if it's the final one" when season 8 was about to start. And then I heard they were already in talks about renewing for season 9 and I just couldn't do it anymore, haha.
I did tune in for the final episode (season 12, was it?) just to say goodbye, but I didn't feel much. I suppose I do have Bones to thank for being one of the shows that finally taught me that it's okay to just walk away from something if I don't feel the same about it as I once did. There are so many other stories to discover!
Well it’s a procedural, and those tend to last longer. I do recommend the wedding episode in Season 9 and there’s also a 9/11 episode in Season 8 which was good. I admit I liked the romance and when that was resolved essentially at the end of Season 6, it wasn’t as good (for me). However I ended up watching the whole show, the last few seasons in real time. Maybe that was just loyalty to Hart Hanson but I don’t regret it.
THAT'S why that season was so weird at the end? I started binging it around 2014 or so. Makes so much sense now.
In the commentary tracks for Gravity Falls, series creator Alex Hirsch talks about how he'd often write through the night right up until the deadline to ensure that scripts were perfect - i.e. Last Mabelcorn was written in 48 hours. Given how long and hard writers will sometimes work, although hopefully not as late as Alex did, it's frustrating to learn that the people I view as rockstars are poorly compensated for their work.
I'm in Australia, so in late 2007 I was nearly finished my penultimate year of high school, which was also when I first started paying attention to television. I wasn't paying too much attention - access to US shows as they aired was an ongoing problem until (legal) streaming first became available in early 2015, so finding a way to watch my sitcoms was my primary concern. I knew it was a pay thing, and I was in favour of that, but not the particulars.
Now I have a much better understanding of both the television landscape and industrial relations - I've been working at a union for two years, although the structure is pretty different here. I haven't read up on the current negotiations, but I can imagine I'll get very angry at anything studios say.
I was 34 years old in 2007 and I don't remember much about the writer's strike other than how much it affected the first season of Breaking Bad. The position of the bosses is even more evil this time since the studios have been taken over by big tech it's clear they want to move all of their workers to a big tech gig economy model
Jericho... I haven't heard that name in years...
I was weirdly into that show when it came out. Right in my teen post-apocalyptic phase, I guess. If I'd been more into non-World of Warcraft online communities I could have been one of those fans you pandered to. Pretty much all I remember about the 2007 strike is Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and its companion piece Commentary! The Musical. The past is a foreign country
I was a sophomore in college and enthusiastically in support of the strike. My favorite show at the time was The Office and it helped that it wasn't just some faceless behind the scenes people who were holding up production of the show, it was Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak and Paul Lieberstein (and Greg Daniels, and Gene and Lee...). Seeing people like Tina Fey on the picket line was big too. The Office made an unusually good use case for the "new media" aspect of the strike because they'd been releasing scripted digital extras.
It probably also helped that for the shows whose stories actually took a hit because of the strike, that impact wasn't immediately felt - it could be months before you got to the unsatisfying end of the season and realized there wasn't going to be more.
I was a Mom of young children in 2007. I also moved at the end of the year. So television wasn’t a huge part of my life at that time. Didn’t reality TV take over? I no longer watch any reality TV but I do recall watching some during that time period. The writers strike impacted me much later. When I was binge watching Bones on Netflix, one season was shorter with a rushed abrupt ending. I was reading recaps and they explained the strike was responsible for the disruption. It’s probably good the strike isn’t potentially hitting until after the broadcast season is done but there could be other shows impacted.
Like you, I support the writers. Obviously I hope a strike is averted but if it does happen I know where my allegiance is.
By the way there’s an actor I follow on Instagram who is not supportive. He makes it out like writers are the elite and that it’s the crew that suffers. I gotta say that is a bad look. Is it common for actors to turn their backs on writers?
I haven't kept track this time around but in 2007, most actors were supportive of the WGA. Part of that was timing--SAG had its contract negotiations on the heels of the Writers and Directors so everyone wanted a good deal to influence their contract. The other part was a lot of actors on long running shows were WGA members as well and went on strike (Steve Carrell being the most famous example). It was early-social media, however, so it wasn't as easy to keep track of who fell where.
I remember the last strike really well--while I hate the impact it had on so many shows, I fully supported the writers. I'm old enough, and was obsessed enough with tv and TV Guide growing up, too remember the 1988 strike as well.
I was a senior in high school in 2007 where I spent way too much time watching TV. The strike affected me so greatly that when I got into my top choice college that December and started screaming that I had amazing news, my mom genuinely thought I was screaming the strike was over and was shocked I was talking about something else. It never occurred to me Landry killing that guy was a writer strike consequence but it makes so much more sense now.
Now, I work for a studio in a non-creative department. I too am overworked and underpaid but can't really do anything in support of the writers. This is a very very weird position to be in.
My big memory of the 2007 strike is that Chuck ended up getting a full second season despite doing only so-so in the ratings because the strike cut the first season short. Although I could be conflating that with the season where it got renewed because NBC renewed almost everything after The Jay Leno Show fallout left them with an extra five hours of primetime to fill each week.
If I remember correctly Chuck benefited in both situations. In terms of unsuspecting reprises, Chuck got lucky more than once.
It’s also interesting going back and watching that show—they really have to repitch to the audience every week. It worked in its time but I’m not sure it holds up as a binge. Chuck’s desperation act over Sarah especially.
I was in the back half of My 30s and I supported the WGA then as now. I have seen nothing in the demands of the WGA then or now that does not seem eminently fair.