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| 8 | ->''"If you're not progressing as you should... do something about it."'' |
| 9 | -->-- '''Creator/WaltDisney''', who ironically said it to ''prevent'' the 1941 Disney animators' strike, only for it to have [[SelfFulfillingProphecy the opposite effect]]. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | Because TV involves [[UsefulNotes/UnionsInHollywood unionized people]], and unionized people sometimes go on strike. When the Writers Guild of America (WGA)[[note]]Actually, two separate unions named the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW); yes, East adds a comma in its name and West doesn't. They do some common activities, however, including presenting the WGA Awards.[[/note]] goes on strike, this largely shuts down the Hollywood process, since writers are needed for script rewrites on-set and act-er, teamsters aren't keen to cross picket lines (in fact, they have it in their contract that they're immune to punishment should they honor any picket line). Strikes come as a result of bargaining falling apart with management, as represented by the UsefulNotes/{{AMPTP}}. As a result, a lot of shows hit by the strike may suffer through having a large batch of their [[WhatCouldHaveBeen unproduced scripts and stories slashed]]. They also tend to result in the proliferation of {{Talk Show}}s and RealityTV, since both require no writers and are dirt-cheap to produce compared to, say, {{Prime Time Soap}}s. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Strikes affect movies too, but the effects are a lot easier to notice for TV. |
| 14 | ---- |
| 15 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 16 | |
| 17 | !!American strikes: |
| 18 | [[folder:1941–1987]] |
| 19 | '''Disney Animators' Strike of 1941''' |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Creator/{{Disney}}'s animators joined the Screen Cartoonists' Guild and went on strike on May 29 for the profit promised from ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' (which many animators took unpaid overtime to complete) and in response to the firing of prominent lead animator Creator/ArtBabbitt for joining the Guild. Six weeks later, a federal mediator found in favor of the Guild, and "The Mouse Factory" has been a union joint ever since. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | It’s been rumored that the nasty, drunken clowns from ''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}'' (which was in production during the strike) who decide to "hit the big boss for a raise" are a TakeThat at the striking animators. |
| 24 | ---- |
| 25 | '''1960 WGA/SAG Strike''' |
| 26 | |
| 27 | January 16–June 10. The writers got the studios to pay into the WGA health and pension funds. Film writers got bigger residuals, and television writers got their wages doubled. |
| 28 | |
| 29 | During the writers' strike, the Screen Actors Guild went on strike as well. This one only lasted six weeks, and is notable for having been led by then-SAG President UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, of all people -- which becomes HilariousInHindsight given Reagan's later fame as a champion of the free market and opponent of labor unions while [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidentsOfTheUnitedStates President of the United States]]. |
| 30 | ---- |
| 31 | '''1973 WGA Strike''' |
| 32 | |
| 33 | This strike ran from March 6-June 24 and was one of many factors behind the TroubledProduction of ''Series/TheStarlost''. |
| 34 | ---- |
| 35 | '''1978 Animation Guild Strike''' |
| 36 | |
| 37 | Went on strike over runaway production (studios started outsourcing animation to lower-wage countries). Led to a new clause where studios had to employ a certain number of employees before they could subcontract. The Guild lost this protection in the 1983 strike (see below). |
| 38 | ---- |
| 39 | '''1980 Hollywood Actors’ Strike''' |
| 40 | |
| 41 | Most notable for the fact that ''Series/{{Dallas}}'' had recently aired its famous "Who shot J.R.?" season-ending cliffhanger, and the strike meant viewers had to wait five months rather than three to find out who the shooter had been. Extra-strong measures were taken to prevent the solution from leaking, including filming shots of just about every member of the cast and crew, [[MindScrew including J.R. himself]], pulling the trigger. |
| 42 | |
| 43 | The strike is also considered to have contributed to the box office failure of ''Film/SomewhereInTime''. The fact that Creator/ChristopherReeve and [[Creator/JaneSeymourActress Jane Seymour]] couldn't promote the film exacerbated the problem of it already receiving InvisibleAdvertising. It would later become a cult classic thanks to it being VindicatedByCable with frequent airings on Creator/{{HBO}} |
| 44 | ---- |
| 45 | '''1981 WGA Strike''' |
| 46 | |
| 47 | This three-month strike was to establish compensation for pay TV and home video and ended positively for the writers, although much of the gains were undone in 1985(see below). The strike cut short the infamous sixth season of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' just one episode after Dick Ebersol took over for Jean Doumanian as executive producer. |
| 48 | ---- |
| 49 | '''1983 Animation Guild Strike''' |
| 50 | |
| 51 | Lasted 10 weeks. Again, the Guild fought over the runaway clause (see 1978). They lost because, well, the studios subcontracted to overseas studios and also to companies in other counties and states (and thus outside of the Guild’s jurisdiction). |
| 52 | |
| 53 | The final nail in the coffin was on the ninth week, when Disney animators decided to take "financial core" status[[note]]Also known as "[=FiCore=]”. It's a legal category under which you need only pay reduced union fees that only covers your union contract and benefits. You can't participate in union activities, but in return you don't have to obey the union's regulations, can work at nonunion companies, and most importantly you can continue to work during the strike.[[/note]] and return to work. The Guild lost all hope and called off the strike, losing the "runaway" clause in the process. |
| 54 | ---- |
| 55 | '''1985 WGA Strike''' |
| 56 | |
| 57 | A two-week strike that ended badly for the unions, forcing them to take a terrible residual/royalty on VHS sales, a low number that has had far-reaching effects with the advent of DVD and downloads. This ultimately culminated in the 2007–08 WGA Strike, below. |
| 58 | ---- |
| 59 | '''1987 Directors' Strike''' |
| 60 | |
| 61 | This strike only lasted three hours and five minutes. |
| 62 | [[/folder]] |
| 63 | |
| 64 | [[folder:1988 WGA Strike]] |
| 65 | |
| 66 | This one is the WGA's longest strike (March 7–August 8), over reduced residuals for hour-long series and foreign reruns. |
| 67 | ---- |
| 68 | * The biggest event resulting from this strike was that it marked the beginning of the end of the daytime SoapOpera in America. When this happened, the soaps were left without their most experienced writers, and the quality of the shows nosedived as the networks brought in inexperienced nonunion writers who often weren’t familiar with the material. Even after the old writers came back, the damage done by five months of crappy writing was catastrophic. The soaps were ''still'' recovering when, in 1995, there came the O.J. Simpson murder trial, which not only knocked the soaps ''completely'' off the air for weeks, but provided viewers with [[IfItBleedsItLeads a real-life soap opera]] to enjoy. Daytime soaps, which were once ratings juggernauts, never recovered, and as of now the few daytime soaps that haven't been canceled yet (with decades-long runs) face the risk of it. |
| 69 | * The ends of ''Series/{{Moonlighting}}'' and ''Series/KateAndAllie'' are attributed to the strike. |
| 70 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'': |
| 71 | ** ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'' was forced to go into production with an unfinished script. As Creator/RogerEbert noted in his review, ''Star Trek V'' "betrays all the signs of having gone into production at a point where the script doctoring should have begun in earnest," which is indeed exactly what happened. |
| 72 | ** Season 2 of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' got through the strike by using a ClipShow ("[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E22ShadesOfGray Shades of Gray]]") and some previously-written scripts for the abandoned 1977 ''Star Trek: Phase II'' series. "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E1TheChild The Child]]," for instance, was originally a ''Phase II'' script about Lt. Ilia getting impregnated by an alien entity, and it was reworked into a ''TNG'' episode about Troi getting impregnated by an alien entity. The season still ended up being four episodes shorter than usual, but this was mitigated by a special airing of the [[Recap/StarTrekS1E0TheCage pilot episode]] of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''. |
| 73 | * FOX bought ''Series/{{COPS}}'', being a reality show that didn’t require writers (but see above), and it became a very successful [[LongRunners long-running]] show which mothered the genre of RealityTelevision. ''Series/AmericasMostWanted'' also found its stride during the strike. |
| 74 | * ''Series/SmallWonder'' had an episode about a strike at Ted's company. |
| 75 | * Creator/{{CBS}} reran non-holiday-related ''Franchise/{{Peanuts}}'' animated specials to help plug holes in primetime, to the point that ''Magazine/TVGuide'' pointed the tactic out in a highlights listing. |
| 76 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' gave a ShoutOut to this strike in "Last Exit to Springfield" where Homer recalls the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant strike of '88. |
| 77 | * A ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' Sunday strip acknowledged the strike. It ran an old strip presumably rewritten by a scab writer, with the new dialogue being anti-union. |
| 78 | * Michael G. Wilson had to finish the script for ''Film/LicenceToKill'' as the strike precluded Richard Maibaum from working on it. |
| 79 | * Sam Hamm handed in the script to ''Film/Batman1989'' only days before the strike started. Due to the strike he could not do any rewrites (British writers were hired instead) and many things were changed from his screenplay of which he disapproved. |
| 80 | * Alan B. [=McElroy=] had [[RidiculouslyFastConstruction only 11 days]] to come up with the story and write the screenplay for ''Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers'', which he handed in ''hours'' before the strike starting. |
| 81 | * ''{{Series/Probe}}'' aired the first episode on the same day the strike began, getting cut after two months. |
| 82 | * Two of the last three episodes of ''Series/MaxHeadroom'', which did not get to air before it was cancelled in October 1987, were aired by ABC as filler during the strike. The third one did not air until Bravo ran it in 1995. |
| 83 | * ''Film/FridayThe13thPartVIITheNewBlood'' was co-written by one Manuel Fidello, a pseudonym for a scab writer who crossed the picket lines to work on the film. As admitting to doing this would be grounds for instant expulsion from the WGA even now, their identity will likely never be known. |
| 84 | * All of the shows Creator/DiCEntertainment were working on as the strike was occurring weren't affected as [=DiC=] was, at the time, very anti-union, and thus did not have to deal with having to hire scab writers. It also helps that [=DiC=] is primarily an animation studio, their only shows which ''would'' have been affected by the strike would have been ''Series/ImTelling'' and ''Series/HeyVernItsErnest''. |
| 85 | * The 1988-90 revival series of ''Series/MissionImpossible'' was filmed in Australia - one of the first American series to be so - initially with reused and updated scripts from the original 1966-73 series. Later episodes used original scripts after the WGA strike ended. |
| 86 | * Creator/GildaRadner was supposed to host ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' for the 13th season (1987-88) finale on May 14, 1988, which would have made her the first female former castmember to host SNL (the musical guest would have been Music/{{U2}}). Due to the strike, the season was forced to end after the February 27, 1988 episode (hosted by Creator/JudgeReinhold with musical guest Music/TenThousandManiacs). Sadly, less than a year later, her ovarian cancer returned and she passed away on May 20, 1989, the same day as the SNL season 14 (1988-89) finale. It wasn't till Creator/JuliaLouisDreyfus hosted the penultimate episode of season 31 (2005-06) on May 13, 2006 that a female former castmember came back as a host, and [=U2=] would appear as the musical guest in season 26 (2000-01) on December 9, 2000. The strike also resulted in the longest gap between episodes in SNL history, with the season 14 premiere airing 32 weeks after the season 13 finale. |
| 87 | [[/folder]] |
| 88 | |
| 89 | [[folder:2007–08 WGA Strike]] |
| 90 | |
| 91 | In 2007, unhappy over [[UsefulNotes/HollywoodAccounting low royalties]] for [=DVDs=], and low or no residuals for Internet distribution of shows and for Internet-only broadcasts, the WGA went on strike from November 12, 2007 to February 5, 2008. The strike was concluded with a deal that granted or increased some Internet residuals, while not affecting [=DVDs=]. In retrospect, most analysts view the final deal as having been a defeat for the WGA, and this result would inform their resolve the next time they went on strike, 15 years later. |
| 92 | |
| 93 | The strike was also the first of its kind to take place in the era of the Internet. As a result, writers had a more direct line of communication with fans/the general public, which led to unprecedented public support. When Creator/JossWhedon announced a "Meet Joss Whedon" day on the picket lines, fans streamed in from as far away as Australia. |
| 94 | ---- |
| 95 | * ''Series/TwentyFour'', with only eight episodes in the can before the strike, decided that an incomplete season would not be a good thing and delayed Season 7 until January 2009. A two-hour MadeForTVMovie aired November 2008 to fill the gap. |
| 96 | ** This also meant that Creator/KieferSutherland, who pleaded no contest to his second DUI charge, got to serve his 48-day jail sentence in one go. He’d planned to do it in two stints, during the production gaps. |
| 97 | * ''Series/ThirtyRock'' is an interesting case since the series is about the production of a ShowWithinAShow and several of the regular characters (including the protagonist) are writers. Per WordOfGod, the strike didn’t happen in the ''30 Rock'' universe. Episode 210 went out without a formal title, the script having been turned in a couple of days before the strike began. |
| 98 | * ''Series/BionicWoman'' got eight episodes done, but was then axed during it. |
| 99 | * ''Series/{{Journeyman}}'' had all 13 of its episodes written before the strike, and was cancelled for low ratings; the strike is probably responsible for all 13 episodes actually making it to air rather than being DVD-only. |
| 100 | * ''Series/{{CSI}}'' had a 24-episode run cut to 17 and ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' to 21. |
| 101 | ** For UK viewers, this resulted in a) sudden gaps of a couple of weeks to avoid catching up on the first and third (''Series/CSIMiami'' airs after the other two) and b) the situation where UK viewers ended up mere days behind their US counterparts, resulting in PreviewTapesNotAvailable being stated because the actual episodes ''had yet to even air'' when the ''Magazine/RadioTimes'' went to press. |
| 102 | * ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' had its seventh season cut from 22 episodes to 20, with the last five episodes being written after the strike ended. |
| 103 | * ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' carried on and bashed the strike in the episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS12E4CanadaOnStrike Canada on Strike]]", [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin in which the]] [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything World Canadian Bureau (WGA) encourages Canadians to strike for "more money".]] Many animated programs, including ''South Park'', were written under a different union than the WGA. (IATSE covers the writers on most animated series. This is a [[UsefulNotes/UnionsInHollywood point of contention]] between the WGA and IATSE.) |
| 104 | * ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' was one of the hardest-hit series during the strike, resulting in two episodes being screened without Seth [=MacFarlane=]’s permission, the sixth season ending with only 12 episodes, and the entirety of the seventh broadcast season consisting of episodes held over from the sixth season. ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' went a little better, with the third season consisting of 16 episodes. |
| 105 | * The second season of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' was also cut from 24 episodes to ''11'' (more than half a season's worth of episodes), with the final episode of what was supposed to be the first arc hastily altered to wrap up the season. The planned spinoff ''Heroes: Origins'' [[WhatCouldHaveBeen was never produced]]. The idea that Volume 2 went "slow" (when it was being planned out for a 24-episode season) likely resulted in the rapid pacing and constant plot shifts of Volume 3. |
| 106 | * When the producers of ''Series/{{Lost}}'' set an end date for the show, the final three seasons were originally planned to have 16 episodes each. The fourth season was supposed to have the episodes all aired in a row, but the strike cut it down to 13 episodes with a month-long break between episodes 8 and 9, although the script for the finale was long enough that the season was later extended to 14 episodes. As well, to make up for the [[{{Pun}} lost]] episodes, Seasons 5 and 6 were extended to 17 episodes each (with Season 6 later being pushed up to 18). |
| 107 | * Season 4 of ''Series/Numb3rs'' got shortened from 24 episodes to 18 episodes. |
| 108 | * The ''Literature/AngelsAndDemons'' adaptation was delayed by a few months. |
| 109 | * ''Series/{{ER}}'' and ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', both scheduled to end during the 2007–08 season, were extended one more season to have a proper sendoff (with ''Scrubs'' [[ChannelHop channel-hopping]] to Creator/{{ABC}} to do it). |
| 110 | * ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' had its normal 22 episodes cut down to 16 for the third season, with the last few episodes time-jumping through how long Dean had left until his deal was up. |
| 111 | * A few shows got lucky. The strike almost exactly coincided with the time the writers of ''Series/BurnNotice'' were supposed to be taking a break anyway, and USA actually ordered more episodes for Season 2 than had been planned pre-strike. |
| 112 | * The Franchise/StargateVerse was unaffected: ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' is produced in Canada and had wrapped filming before the strike started anyway. |
| 113 | * The late-night talk shows went on hiatus for the first couple of months, but returned in January rather than lay off the non-striking production staff. Notably, David Letterman negotiated a special deal with the WGA to let both ''Series/TheLateShowWithDavidLetterman'' and ''Series/TheLateLateShowWithCraigFerguson'' return with their full writing staff; the others (including ''Series/TheTonightShowWithJayLeno'', ''Series/TheDailyShowWithJonStewart'', and ''Series/TheColbertReport'') relied on non-scripted material for the duration of the strike (during this time, Creator/StephenColbert referred to his show as ''The Col'''bert''' Re'''port''''', with hard T's at the end, rather than silent T's). This led to {{crossover}} episodes between ''TDS'', ''TCR'' and ''Late Night'', culminating in a fake fight between Stephen Colbert, Creator/JonStewart, and Creator/ConanOBrien. |
| 114 | * ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' ended abruptly without really ending the season; on the other hand, since it was used as a midseason replacement, the absence of competitors may have helped it gain an audience. It was renewed for another season. |
| 115 | * Joss Whedon got bored and wrote ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog''. ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' had its development put on hold as a result. |
| 116 | * ''Series/BrothersAndSisters'' went through a couple of large time-jumps plot-wise. |
| 117 | * Creator/WarnerBros’ lack of a solid summer blockbuster for 2009 meant ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'' was [[TheShelfOfMovieLanguishment moved back to fill that slot]] (''Film/TheDarkKnight'' did so well that they weren’t worried about having a successful '08 without it), and ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]'' moved up a month to fill '''its''' slot. The announcement that ''Harry Potter'' was being moved came after the [=TimeWarner=]-owned magazine ''Entertainment Weekly'' gave that film the cover of its Fall Preview issue, leaving ''EW'' with egg on its face. |
| 118 | * ''Series/PushingDaisies'' was a clear casualty: the strike hit nine episodes into Season 1, and Creator/{{ABC}} decided not to bring it back in the spring (like every other show brought back after the strike). Waiting until the next TV season resulted in it being off the air for ''almost a year'', and proved to have sapped its audience beyond recovery. |
| 119 | * Some shows that were to air over the summer were rushed out a few months early to compensate for the strike. ''Series/HellsKitchen'' aired in April instead of June. |
| 120 | * ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' was halted mid-season, and Earth, which was supposedly to be shown in the next-to-last episode, ended up appearing in the midseason finale. |
| 121 | ** In addition, because the writers knew that the show would end at that point if the strike went south, "Sometimes a Great Notion" was written in a way to resemble something of a series finale. An understandable effort that ended up undermining the show as a whole when the strike ended and the series went on, forcing the writers to restart and end the story in the space of 11 episodes. This resulted with the "show-ending arcs" (Fleet slowly dying out, the Cylon Civil War, etc.) being squeezed beyond recognition and was the source of '''some''' of the more controversial elements of the last 11 episodes. |
| 122 | * ''Series/{{Bones}}''’ third season was cut to 15 episodes, and the season-long serial killer StoryArc was given a problematic ending. |
| 123 | * Creator/MichaelBay supposedly wrote much of ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' while Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman were on strike. |
| 124 | * The script for ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' was finished two hours before the strike commenced and some filming took place with Creator/DanielCraig having to work on the script with the director. |
| 125 | * ''Series/{{Greek}}''’s first season was halted after 10 episodes. These episodes were then compiled as "Chapter One," and the rest of the season as “Chapter Two.” Because of this, the later seasons were also divided into chapters. |
| 126 | ** The season division strategy unexpectedly started by ''Greek'' is now used by most ABC Family dramas to make spreading production costs out easier and to keep buzz percolating through the summer and into the winter, where ABC Family takes advantage of Creator/TheCW's winter hiatuses between November and February to air the second half of a season. |
| 127 | * ''Series/LasVegas'' was cancelled on a CliffHanger that was never even intended as a ''season'' ender. |
| 128 | * Because Britain and Australia (and presumably other countries as well) ended up with less American content than they were expecting, some channels relaunched old shows, leading to a new season of both local versions of ''Series/{{Gladiators}}'' and the reboot of ''Series/GoodNewsWeek''. |
| 129 | * ''Series/DirtySexyMoney'' had been rising as a "guilty pleasure" show but went on a hiatus that lasted until the following fall. During that time, a showrunner turnover altered the show's fun vibe into a more "soap opera" aspect and the second season was seen as a serious comedown in quality, leading to its cancellation. |
| 130 | * When the writers for ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' went on strike, Disney went ahead and hired scab writers to finish most of ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'' with the WGA writers returning with four episodes remaining to write. It actually worked out fairly well as ''Jungle Fury'' is (at least) seen as a step back in the right direction after years of declining quality. |
| 131 | * ''Series/EastboundAndDown'' had only just finished work on its pilot episode when the strike hit, meaning the rest of the first season wasn’t made until late 2008 and the show itself didn’t air until early 2009. The effect of this hiatus is only really noticeable in the changed appearances of Dustin’s kids, though, since their actors had obviously grown more in the year off. |
| 132 | * Attributed to the cancellation of ''Series/JustJordan'', due to it being the only Nickelodeon original show at the time to feature WGA writers. |
| 133 | * The long-running sitcom ''Series/{{Girlfriends|2000}}'' was CutShort due to the strike, and the CW couldn’t afford to give them a series finale. |
| 134 | * ''Series/BreakingBad'' had its first season cut off after seven episodes, with no chance to rework the last one into season finale material. Though this ended up working out for the best, as [[BreakoutCharacter Jesse]] [[Creator/AaronPaul Pinkman]] would have been killed had it gone a full season, and instead Vince Gilligan had time to rework his plans for the show after it became clear how popular he was. |
| 135 | * ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'': |
| 136 | ** The strike occurred during season 33 (2007-08), and the show went on hiatus after the November 3, 2007 episode and came back on February 23, 2008, and thus, this season had only 12 episodes rather than the usual 20, making it the shortest season in SNL history, beating both season 6 (1980-81) and season 13 (1987-88), which were both shortened to 13 episodes (both also due to writers' strikes). Also thanks to this strike, this is the only SNL season without a ChristmasEpisode. |
| 137 | ** During the strike, the cast and writers put on a live "episode" at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City with host Creator/MichaelCera and musical guest Music/YoLaTengo to raise money for the backstage workers affected by the production shutdown. |
| 138 | ** Post-strike budget cuts at SNL resulted in the demise of Robert Smigel’s animated “Saturday TV Funhouse” segments. |
| 139 | * Creator/CartoonNetwork cancelled ''Series/OutOfJimmysHead'' and ''WesternAnimation/ClassOf3000'' due to the strike, as both used WGA writers (though for ''Class of 3000'', the strike was just one of the contributing factors (others being going over-budget and a lawsuit) that led to its cancellation). |
| 140 | * Interestingly, ''Series/DesperateHousewives'' was one show that ''benefited'' from the strike. The show had just done an episode of a tornado hitting the neighborhood and the long time between new episodes gave a logical excuse for the neighborhood to be rebuilt. Also, the writers acknowledged that they had to drop several "filler" plotlines (such as Mike in rehab) that would have filled the winter and early spring episodes and thus concentrate on the season-ending storylines better. |
| 141 | * ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' suffered from the strike. Season 3 changes the plot radically, by having Earl be in {{Prison}} for the first half and the second half saw Earl in a coma. The episodes that were done were {{Bottle Episode}}s, which ended up tanking the ratings. Season four saw a return to normal, but the ratings never quite recovered, and ended up being its last. |
| 142 | * ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' had its premiere season emerge during the writers strike, and only had 17 episodes compared to a normal 24. This might have actually turned out for the best, as while other more heavily serialized shows got hurt by the strike, the episodic nature of the show meant there was little change in quality and it actually got a boost in ratings when it returned. |
| 143 | * ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' was unaffected due to being produced in right-to-work Texas, meaning the show continued production without a hitch. The strike began midway through the taping of seasons 12 and 13, which were filmed at the same time, but production was unaffected. |
| 144 | * ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' saw its fourth season cut to 18 episodes and the creative team had to scrap a planned arc where Angela got pregnant as a result of her affair with Dwight. Creator/AngelaKinsey was pregnant in real life and by the time production resumed she was too far along for it to be convincingly written into the show, forcing them to employ HideYourPregnancy. It also caused season four to be the only season aside from season one (when the show debuted as a midseason replacement) to not have a ChristmasEpisode. |
| 145 | * The fifth season of ''Series/OneTreeHill'' rushed production of the first twelve scripts of the season to ensure they hit 100 episodes and could sell the show into syndication. The scheduled 24 episode order was ultimately cut down to 18, however. |
| 146 | * Soap operas, which generally have a big lead time between taping and air (often around two months) were able to use pre-written scripts for the first part of the strike, but by January all of them had turned to either non-Guild writers, Guild writers who crossed the picket line, or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_core "financial core"]] ([=FiCore=]) writers, who pay fees to the Guild but aren't members. The WGA views [=FiCore=] soap writers as scabs, but tolerates them as a necessary evil, since soaps need ''someone'' to write for them during a strike to keep the show going, so Guild writers can still have a job to come back to after the strike. After the strike, the WGA publicly identified all the [=FiCore=] writers. |
| 147 | [[/folder]] |
| 148 | |
| 149 | |
| 150 | [[folder:2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes]] |
| 151 | |
| 152 | [[https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-05-01/hollywood-writers-strike-after-talks-over-pay-conditions-in-streaming-age-fail On May 1, 2023, the WGA near-unanimously voted to go on strike]] after weeks of negotiations over how writers were compensated in the streaming era and concerns over the use of [[ArtificialIntelligence AI]] in writing stalled. |
| 153 | |
| 154 | Over two months into the writers' strike, [[https://deadline.com/2023/07/actors-strike-contract-talks-fail-sag-aftra-to-launch-pickets-1235436031/ on July 13, 2023, SAG-AFTRA also voted to go on strike]] after failing to reach contract negotiations with the AMPTP, making this the first time since 1960 that both writers and actors have been on strike at the same time. (In the interim, the DGA -- true to form -- managed to reach a new collective bargaining agreement with the AMPTP without a strike action, and there are reports that AMPTP are using this agreement as a template for their proposals to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA.)[[note]]In October 2023, after the WGA ratified their own agreement which contained ''far'' more concessions by AMPTP than had previously been thought possible, it was widely reported that many individual DGA members resented their leadership for folding so quickly to AMPTP, to the point that the DGA had to put out an official statement trumpeting how good their own deal was.[[/note]] |
| 155 | |
| 156 | This is also the first strike action since the merger of SAG and AFTRA into a single union, and the first overall actors' strike in over 40 years. The current President of SAG-AFTRA is Creator/FranDrescher, an unusually prominent celebrity (traditionally the job has gone to a "Hey, It's That Guy!"-type character actor) who, appropriately, [[Series/TheNanny earned global fame starring as a working-class domestic to a wealthy entertainment executive]]. |
| 157 | |
| 158 | [[https://consequence.net/2023/07/hollywood-studios-ai-proposal-extras/ According to SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland]], the SAG-AFTRA strike was also caused by concerns about artificial intelligence, specifically studios proposing using AI to scan and own actors' likenesses forever. Concerns over compensations in media streaming were another factor. |
| 159 | |
| 160 | After several days of talks between the WGA and the AMPTP, on September 24, 2023 the two sides reached a [[https://deadline.com/2023/09/writers-strike-deal-wga-studios-1235551531/ tentative agreement]],[[note]]The 24th was considered a "soft deadline" to either reach an agreement or suspend talks, because [[UsefulNotes/JewishHolidays Yom Kippur]] started at sundown that night.[[/note]] and the WGA suspended picketing while the details were finalized, though members were free to join SAG-AFTRA picket lines in the meantime. The strike for WGA officially ended on 12:01am PST, September 27th, 2023 after the three internal boards voted unanimously to end the strike. The strike lasted for 148 days, making it the 2nd longest in history. [[https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/wga-ratify-contract-end-strike-1235749253/ On October 9, 2023, the WGA voted to ratify the contract]], officially ending the 2023 WGA Strike. Most analysts regard the final deal as a decisive victory for the WGA, having won nearly everything it asked for in its initial proposals, though some remain skeptical of the long-term effects of the strike. |
| 161 | |
| 162 | SAG-AFTRA remained on strike, even [[https://www.axios.com/2023/09/26/video-game-actors-strike-sag-aftra authorizing another strike aimed at the video game industry]], and the WGA encouraged its members to keep supporting SAG-AFTRA's efforts. AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA would jointly announce their return to the negotiating table on October 2, 2023, but despite strong momentum going into the talks, negotiations stalled and were paused on October 11; they resumed on October 24. On November 8, 2023, SAG-AFTRA announced that their negotiating committee had unanimously voted to accept a deal with AMPTP and that the strike would end effective the following day, November 9th -- ending over six months of work stoppage in Hollywood, with an estimated GDP cost of over $6.5 billion. |
| 163 | |
| 164 | While seen as a victory, there was still trouble as the contract was scrutinized by people who still had concerns that the proposed AI protections for actors were still insufficient. Despite a campaign to try and reject the contract, it passed with 78% of those who voted to approve it on December 5, 2023. |
| 165 | |
| 166 | ---- |
| 167 | * Just like during the 2007-08 strike, the late-night talk shows (''Series/TheTonightShowStarringJimmyFallon'', ''Series/TheDailyShow'', ''Series/TheLateShowWithStephenColbert'', ''Series/JimmyKimmelLive'', ''[[Series/LateNight Late Night with Seth Meyers]]'', and ''Series/LastWeekTonightWithJohnOliver'') announced that they'd all go on hiatus during the duration of the strike. During this time, Creator/JimmyFallon, Creator/JimmyKimmel, Creator/JohnOliver, Creator/SethMeyers, and Creator/StephenColbert co-hosted the podcast ''Strike Force Five'', with the proceeds benefiting their shows' out-of-work staff. After the WGA strike ended, their shows returned to air on October 2, 2023 (with ''Last Week Tonight'' returning on October 1). |
| 168 | * ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'': Due to the WGA strike, the last three episodes of season 48 (2022-23) were canceled. The show would return from the strike on October 14, 2023, with the season 49 premiere hosted by Creator/PeteDavidson, who was originally scheduled to host the May 6, 2023 episode before its cancellation. |
| 169 | * After Creator/TrevorNoah's departure from ''Series/TheDailyShow'' in December 2022, the show had guest hosts filling in for the first half of 2023, and correspondent Dulce Sloan was starting her turn as guest host when the WGA strike forced the show to suspend production. Once the strike ended, ''The Daily Show'' returned to the air on October 16, 2023 with correspondent Michael Kosta guest-hosting. |
| 170 | * Creator/DrewBarrymore [[https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/drew-barrymore-mtv-movie-tv-awards-writers-strike-1235603357/ pulled out of hosting]] the 2023 Creator/{{MTV}} [[MediaNotes/MTVMovieAndTVAward Movie & TV Awards]] in a show of solidarity with striking WGA members. This year's show went without a host [[https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/mtv-movie-tv-awards-writers-guild-strike-picket-1235604950/ and transitioned from a live show to a pre-taped ceremony]] instead, with Barrymore agreeing to host their 2024 show. |
| 171 | ** However, she would later be at the center of a huge quagmire of controversy when [[https://ktla.com/entertainment/drew-barrymore-slammed-for-talk-show-return-amid-wga-and-sag-aftra-strike/ she announced that production was resuming her daytime talk show]], ''The Drew Barrymore Show'', with the first week of shows taped and slated to start airing on September 18. Barrymore was roundly criticized, and the WGA and SAG-AFTRA announced plans to picket outside the studio where her show is produced (Barrymore was clear to host the show via the National Code of Fair Practice, mentioned below in the SoapOpera entry, but the show's writing falls under the WGA contract, and Barrymore being a high profile SAG-AFTRA member defying the WGA strike drew SAG-AFTRA's ire). Given [[https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/drew-barrymore-daytime-talk-shows-wga-strike-1235725462/ the precarious position that syndicated talk shows are in during a work stoppage]]--they have to answer to their local affiliates and their advertisers rather than a network, and they have contractual obligations to provide new episodes--Barrymore likely got pressured to resume production. But after a week of enduring brickbats over the decision, Barrymore [[https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/drew-barrymore-daytime-talk-show-not-returning-strike-1235725739/ announced on September 17 that the show would pause production]], and the already-taped episodes wouldn't air. Even so, the original decision to restart production during the strike led to [[https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/drew-barrymore-writers-decline-return-strike-1235745464/ Barrymore's entire writing staff quitting]] after the strike, forcing her to scramble to find new writers with just two weeks to spare before the revised season premiere. Her original announcement also caused her to be pulled from hosting the 74th National Book Awards, with Creator/LeVarBurton replacing her as host. |
| 172 | * In a similar example, Creator/BillMaher announced on September 13 that his show, ''Series/RealTimeWithBillMaher'', would resume airing during the strike. Like Drew Barrymore, he received a heap of backlash for this announcement, but he would later change course on September 18, stating that the show would instead be delayed. |
| 173 | * Similarly, Creator/MayimBialik decided against hosting the final taping session of season 39 of ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'' (episodes in that session aired that July) to stand in solidarity with striking WGA members. Ken Jennings would host those episodes instead. The strike also affected season 40, which will exclusively use pre-written clues and former contestants from previous seasons. |
| 174 | ** [[https://www.inquirer.com/entertainment/tv/jeopardy-strike-next-season-tv-schedule-cris-pannullo-hannah-wilson-20230723.html?fbclid=IwAR2C8mcJ9ckV0ErgiBWIZhJfcCPgSfXBh5ZaUkfGtbztM1c1Nm2ts30-1nQ In July 2023]], ''Jeopardy!'' champions Cris Pannullo and Hannah Wilson announced that they wouldn't participate in the next Tournament of Champions out of solidarity with the striking writers. [[https://consequence.net/2023/07/jeopardy-tournament-delayed-picket-line/?fbclid=IwAR21yibk9VvXUClUM2B9xw5fSCp8duE9SfS5zQITAJgWBrKorxx-eqC9U3o Later that week]], the producers agreed that they would postpone the tournament till the strike ended. |
| 175 | ** In December 2023, shortly after the strike ended, Bialik announced that she had been released from her ''Jeopardy!'' contract and that Jennings would continue as the sole host of the series. Although she didn't say it in so many words, her participation in the strike is believed to be a key factor in this decision. |
| 176 | * The ''Series/StrangerThings'' production staff announced production on the fifth and final season would go on hiatus in solidarity, stating "[[https://twitter.com/strangerwriters/status/1654955071631765506 Writing does not stop when filming begins]]". Filming was subsequently announced to begin in January 2024. |
| 177 | * ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' and ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' were both [[https://insidethemagic.net/2023/05/wga-strike-seth-mcfarlane-fox-emd1/ confirmed by Seth MacFarlane to have been suspended for an unspecified amount of time]] due to the strike, though season 21 of the former concluded on May 7, five days into the strike, as planned, with Season 22 premiering in September. The latter, meanwhile would take a mid-season break after airing an episode on May 29 for the summer months before also resuming in September. |
| 178 | * In [[https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/2023-writers-strike-what-movies-and-shows-will-be-affected/ anticipation of the strike]], ''Series/{{Quantum Leap|2022}}'' and ''Series/LaBrea'' each produced a backlog of scripts, and the former began filming its second season immediately after wrapping on its first. |
| 179 | * ''Series/CobraKai'' went on production hiatus just as filming of its sixth and final season was set to begin as the strike prevented writers from being on set. |
| 180 | * The official premiere of ''Film/{{Oppenheimer}}'' was moved back to July 11 so that the actors could appear at it in the event that a strike was called before the general release on July 21, which turned out to be the case. The main actors then walked out of the July 13 UK premiere in solidarity with the strike. |
| 181 | * Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer delayed their Creator/{{Zendaya}}-led ''Challengers'' to April 26, 2024 and agreed with Venice International Film Festival organizers to cancel its planned world premiere due to the strikes and was pulled out from the festival's lineup. |
| 182 | * In addition, Creator/{{Lionsgate}} began reshuffling the remainder of its 2023 lineup due to the strikes with ''White Bird: A Wonder Story'' being delayed to [=Q4=] of that year while a ''Film/DirtyDancing'' sequel was moved to 2025 and a ''{{VideoGame/Borderlands}}'' adaptation being dated for August 9, 2024. |
| 183 | * Creator/{{Disney}} has also pushed ''Poor Things'' to December 8th of that year as a result of the strikes. The film still kept its premiere date of September 1 at the Venice Film Festival with other festival dates still planned. They also delayed ''Film/TheBikeriders'' indefinitely due to the actors strike and also delayed ''WesternAnimation/{{Elio}}'' and ''Snow White'' to 2025 in order to possibly make more production time for the former. |
| 184 | * Creator/SonyPictures also had a last-minute chance to push ''Film/{{Gran Turismo|2023}}'' from its planned August 11th release date to the 25th. ''Film/{{Kraven the Hunter|2024}}'' was also delayed to August 30, 2024 and ''Madame Web'' was delayed to February 14th of that year. Also, ''Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse'' was delayed indefinitely[[note]]However, some sources suggest ''Beyond the Spider-Verse'' was planned to be delayed anyway due to production on ''Beyond the Spider-Verse'' not having started until after ''Across the Spider-Verse'' was released, combined with burnout from the crew following ''Across''' TroubledProduction.[[/note]] and they delayed their ''Franchise/TheKarateKid'' reboot to December 13 of the following year. |
| 185 | * Creator/FocusFeatures has delayed ''Drive-Away Dolls'' to 2024. |
| 186 | * [[Creator/WarnerBros Warner Bros. Pictures]] and Creator/LegendaryPictures has delayed ''Film/DunePartTwo'' to March 15, 2024 due to the strikes. |
| 187 | * Creator/{{A24}} also delayed ''Problemista'' indefinitely despite being completed prior to the strikes. |
| 188 | * {{Creator/Netflix}} has delayed six of their films coming out later in 2023 to unspecified dates in 2024. |
| 189 | * Creator/{{Amazon}} has cancelled both ''Series/{{A League of Their Own|2022}}'' and ''Series/{{The Peripheral|2022}}'' due to the dual strike. Also, ''[[Series/MrAndMrsSmith2024 Mr. & Mrs. Smith]]'' was delayed from 2023 to February 2, 2024. |
| 190 | * Aversion: Pro wrestling has been virtually unaffected. While some wrestlers are SAG-AFTRA members, their membership only covers acting careers on the side, not wrestling. Since Wrestling/{{WWE}} writers are non-union, there were no picket lines to cross. [[Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling AEW]] ''doesn't even have writers''; all creative production is handled by CEO/booker Tony Khan and the wrestlers themselves. |
| 191 | * Soap operas were mostly unaffected: soap opera actors, while SAG-AFTRA members, [[https://people.com/why-soap-operas-daytime-tv-wont-be-impacted-by-sag-aftra-strike-7561061 continued to work as they are covered under a separate ordinance for SAG-AFTRA members known as the National Code of Fair Practice for Network Television Broadcasting]], which covers daytime television performers and workers. In addition, scripts for soap operas are often written months in advance and stockpiled until they're ready to start filming. ''Series/GeneralHospital'' was the first one to switch to non-WGA writers, with the first [=FiCore=]-written (see the 2007-08 WGA folder for more details on [=FiCore=]) episode airing on July 25. Despite being in official solidarity with the WGA, SAG-AFTRA has to tolerate non-WGA soap writers, since they realize that contractually-bound soap actors still need material during a strike, but individual actors who were out of the loop about how soaps work (especially Creator/LisaAnnWalter) got into dustups on Website/{{Twitter}} with soap fans after denouncing ''GH'' for using "scab" writers. |
| 192 | * Television animation was mostly unaffected, [[https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/07/14/sag-aftra-strike-heres-what-isnt-affected-by-actors-work-stoppage/amp/ as SAG-AFTRA's guidance allowed their voice actor members to continue working on animation for television]], and many animation writers are affiliated with The Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839) rather than the WGA. |
| 193 | * Shortly after launching their strike in mid-July, [[https://variety.com/2023/film/news/sag-aftra-independent-projects-waivers-1235673546/ SAG-AFTRA announced that they would be approving interim "waivers" for projects not affiliated with the AMPTP]], allowing certain independent films and TV productions to continue during the strike so long as they comply with the terms they propose during their contract negotiations with the AMPTP. Right out the gate, 39 projects compliant with SAG-AFTRA's terms were given permission to resume filming, including two projects by [=A24=] (''Mother Mary'', starring Creator/AnneHathaway and Creator/MichaelaCoel, and ''Death of a Unicorn'', starring Creator/PaulRudd and Creator/JennaOrtega), as well as the likes of ''The Rivals of Amziah King'' (starring Creator/MatthewMcConaughey), ''Flight Risk'' (directed by Creator/MelGibson and starring Creator/MarkWahlberg), ''Dust Bunny'' (starring Creator/MadsMikkelsen and Creator/SigourneyWeaver), and ''Bride Hard'' (starring Creator/RebelWilson). Union executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland encouraged actors to actively participate in such independent projects, in part to undermine the studio talking point that the union's demands are "unrealistic". |
| 194 | ** Disney CEO Bob Iger stated that both union's demands were "very disruptive". This comes after a number of {{Box Office Bomb}}s for their titles, content purges, their ongoing recovery from the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic and an ongoing transformation of the company. Many Hollywood veterans have criticized his remarks for being "tone-deaf" and "out-of-touch". Despite this, he [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/bob-iger-strike-disney-earnings-1235559863/ later stated a month later that he is personally committed to working to achieving these solutions]]. |
| 195 | * The 2023 Primetime MediaNotes/{{Emmy Award}}s [[https://consequence.net/2023/07/2023-emmys-postponed-strikes/ were postponed]] from their planned September 18, 2023 airdate. Due to Creator/{{Fox}}'s existing fall commitments, [[https://deadline.com/2023/08/2023-emmys-january-2024-date-martin-luther-king-jr-day-fox-delay-hollywood-strikes-1235458917/ they later dated it for January 15, 2024]], which coincides with UsefulNotes/MartinLutherKingJr Day and is squarely within the film awards season. |
| 196 | * All of the Big Four networks (Creator/{{ABC}}, Creator/{{CBS}}, Creator/{{NBC}}, Fox) are baking in on sports broadcasts, reality TV, and animation during the strike duration. After the strikes, most shows that were planned for the season (new and returning) would return. |
| 197 | ** In fact, on September 18, 2023, [[https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2023/09/18/espn-abc-monday-night-football.aspx ABC announced it would simulcast 10]] Series/MondayNightFootball games for the remainder of the 2023 UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague season to fill in scheduling gaps caused by the strike. |
| 198 | ** Subsequently, on October 2, 2023, [[https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2023/10/abc-adds-nba-games-wednesday-nights-january-writers-strike/ ABC announced that they would air 5]] [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA]] regular season games on Wednesday nights throughout January 2024 that were [[ChannelHop originally intended]] to be aired on Creator/{{ESPN}} to further fill in strike related scheduling gaps. |
| 199 | * A revival of ''Series/YouBetYourLife'' hosted by Creator/JayLeno that began in 2021 [[https://tvnewscheck.com/programming/article/with-major-studios-cooling-on-syndication-stations-seek-program-alternatives/ was cancelled due to the strike]]. |
| 200 | * On August 31, 2023, [[https://deadline.com/2023/08/the-walking-dead-spinoffs-interview-with-the-vampire-to-resume-production-sag-aftra-deal-1235533050/ it was announced]] that Creator/{{AMC}} has made interim agreements with SAG-AFTRA specifically for three shows that can resume filming: ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'', ''Series/TheWalkingDeadDarylDixon'', and ''Series/TheWalkingDeadTheOnesWhoLive''. |
| 201 | * Production on ''[[Series/TheChosenTVSeries The Chosen]]'' was unaffected by the strikes, as creator Dallas Jenkins and his team [[https://deadline.com/2023/07/chosen-series-jesus-sag-waiver-strike-jonathan-roumie-1235439455/ have their own collective bargaining agreement with SAG-AFTRA]]. |
| 202 | * [[{{Creator/Paramount}} Paramount Pictures]] began pushing ''Mission Impossible 8'' to May 23, 2025 and ''The [=SpongeBob=] Movie: Search for [=SquarePants=]'' to December of that year. |
| 203 | * Creator/{{Universal}} pushed their ''Franchise/HowToTrainYourDragon'' live-action adaptation to 2025. |
| 204 | * The [[Film/DisneyLiveActionRemakes live-action adaptation]] of ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'' reportedly had the misfortune of having its principal photography halted by the SAG-AFTRA strike when it had just one week left of filming. Notably, after the SAG-AFTRA strike ended, there weren't any reports of filming resuming for that film, leading some to believe that Disney had decided to work with the footage they managed to get before the actors' strike began. This is also notable due to the plot of the film focusing on a young girl, which made the production more time-sensitive as child actors could have growth spurts at any time. |
| 205 | * When series creator Joel Hodgson announced the fundraiser for ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' season 14, he could only say that the previous actors were "invited" back for the new season since they were all union workers and the strike was still going. This proved to be one of the factors behind the fundraiser's failure. |
| 206 | * ''Film/GhostbustersFrozenEmpire'', the sequel to ''Film/GhostbustersAfterlife'', was pushed from December 20, 2023 to March 22, 2024 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. |
| 207 | * Four entries to the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse -- ''Film/DeadpoolAndWolverine'', ''Fantastic Four'', ''Film/CaptainAmericaBraveNewWorld'' and ''Blade'' were delayed to 2024 and 2025. |
| 208 | * ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'' season 2 and ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'' season 4 both aired in the middle of the strikes, thus preventing cast and crew from discussing the two seasons during the strike. According to Creator/TawnyNewsome, ''Lower Decks'' season 5 was actually ahead of schedule when the SAG-AFTRA strike hit, but they decided to strike in solidarity despite being an animated work not part of the strike. These two were also the only seasons not to have the ''Ready Room'' aftershows. |
| 209 | * The Hulu revival of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' premiered during the strikes, limiting the crew's promotional efforts. The San Diego Comic Con panel was headed by members of the art and production crew with no writers or voice actors on board (an early premiere of the season's first episode helped film time). However, the WGA strike ended right before New York Comic Con, allowing showrunner David X. Cohen to attend the panel alongside the production staff. |
| 210 | [[/folder]] |
| 211 | |
| 212 | ---- |
| 213 | |
| 214 | !!British strikes: |
| 215 | [[folder:1968–1979]] |
| 216 | '''1968 Creator/{{ITV}} Strike''' |
| 217 | |
| 218 | A franchise shakeup led to a lot of workers being forced to move location (there were no actual job losses). A dispute over who would get redundancy payments (specifically over those moving company, but not location) led to wildcat strikes and lockouts. |
| 219 | |
| 220 | Creator/{{ITV}} was taken off the air in August 1968, leading to the management creating a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITV_Emergency_National_Service “ITV Emergency National Service”]], which was only repeats, pre-recorded programmes or live continuity links. |
| 221 | |
| 222 | A month later, the strike ended, all sides claiming victory. The bitterness would continue, though... |
| 223 | ---- |
| 224 | '''1970 "Colour Strike"''' |
| 225 | |
| 226 | Technicians at all Creator/{{ITV}} companies had a pay dispute with the management. In retaliation, they refused to use colour equipment and only recorded shows in monochrome, which meant ITV couldn't sell airtime to advertisers at the higher rates they requested for colour and couldn't make full use of the colour equipment they had just heavily invested in. |
| 227 | |
| 228 | To create a monochrome image with the colour equipment, the technicians simply switched off the colour tubes on their cameras[[labelnote:†]]Colour cameras of the time used four tubes to relay the picture: three tubes for the chrominance signal which provided the colours and one tube for the luminance signal which produced a monochrome picture.[[/labelnote]] and switched off the colour signal on their telecine machines (used for [[VideoInsideFilmOutside filmed location footage]]). |
| 229 | |
| 230 | The strike lasted from 13 November 1970 to 8 February 1971 and affected such programs as ''Series/CoronationStreet'', ''Series/TheBennyHillShow'', ''Series/TheGoldenShot'', ''Series/PleaseSir'', ''Series/UpstairsDownstairs'', ''Series/OnTheBuses'', ''Series/{{Crossroads}}'' and ''Series/{{Timeslip}}''. |
| 231 | ---- |
| 232 | '''1979 Creator/{{ITV}} Strike''' |
| 233 | |
| 234 | Electricians (an important job in TV production) at Thames Television, the station that provided the Creator/{{ITV}} service for viewers in UsefulNotes/{{London}} from Monday to Friday afternoon and undoubtedly the TeamMom of the ITV network, walked out over a pay increase they felt was derisory. The management tried to maintain a normal service, but other workers refused to help do this. Thames told the strikers to “return or else”. |
| 235 | |
| 236 | In response, ACTT (the broadcasting union) got 13 of the other ITV regional stations to go on strike as well, this being a time when sympathy strikes were still permitted in Britain. Channel Television, serving UsefulNotes/TheChannelIslands, was the only company in the network to continue broadcasting during the blackout, because the tiny size of its audience meant a loss of revenue could have put it out of business. |
| 237 | |
| 238 | The result was the nearly total shut down of ITV for ten weeks (10 August to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeROdRz8wxs 5.43pm on 24 October]]) and the loss of around £100m in revenue for the striking companies. Channel Television sustained itself with extended regional news bulletins and Western movies. |
| 239 | |
| 240 | In other areas of the UK, with only three channels at this point in time, Creator/TheBBC was the sole alternative, resulting in ''Series/DoctorWho'' getting its highest ratings ever for “City of Death”, a record that even Creator/DavidTennant’s regeneration ''barely'' scraped. |
| 241 | |
| 242 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'' didn’t escape strike action. That season saw “Shada” ultimately cancelled after strike action prevented the second and third studio session from taking place, although in that case it was a tube strike, not an industry one. The completed portions were released on VHS in 1992, and eventually done as an audio drama for the Eighth Doctor in 2003, before finally being released in full as originally written in 2017, with the unfinished parts animated. Scriptwriter Creator/DouglasAdams [[RecycledPremise reused the concepts he originally came up with for this serial]] for what eventually became ''Literature/DirkGentlysHolisticDetectiveAgency''. |
| 243 | * This period had [[BotheringByTheBook “work-to-rule”]] going on a fair bit. The DVD for ''Series/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1981'' includes an extra showing the cast and crew trying (and just succeeding) to get a scene filmed before the lights were turned off. |
| 244 | |
| 245 | The strike ended in a victory for the unions. ITV wasn’t able to air much newly-produced programming for two-and-a-half months (showing lots of episodes of ''3–2–1'' instead), but gradually recovered its audience. |
| 246 | |
| 247 | It was the longest dispute in British television history. |
| 248 | [[/folder]] |
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