Well…I hope you like reality shows

…because that’s probably all you’ll be seeing after Thanksgiving and well into next year at this rate.

It’s kinda funny, everyone who’s still trapped in teevee land is going into November sweeps, and here the Writer’s Guild of America is, going on strike for the first time since 1988. I remember that year, and I was “into” the behind-the-scenes machinations of TV enough at the time to be aware of the strike. That probably says more about the state of my life at that point than it does about the state of TV, but I remember the glut of oddball specials and dismal variety shows that the networks had to fall back on during that summer, and it was a mess. We didn’t have “reality TV” as such back then (and with a few shining exceptions, I think our cultural lives were richer for it; this was back before more people were interested in voting on the next American Idol than there were interested in voting for the next President of the United States).

The thing is, my wife and I were talking tonight, and we were really able to count on one hand the number of scripted shows we follow that will be affected by this strike. Now, let me say this – in principle, I’m behind the WGA on this one. The studios are putting the screws to union writers any way they can, whether it’s in the area of new media (i.e. webisodes), residuals for DVD and paid download (i.e. iTunes) usage of scripted shows, or just forgoing scripted shows altogether, even when the “non-scripted” stuff is just as scripted (just not by folks whose paychecks have to cover residuals and pension). But the number of shows we follow that would actually be affected by the strike is pretty small – Heroes, Lost, The 4400, Dead Zone…maybe Stargate Atlantis (though my enthusiasm for that show hasn’t just bottomed out, it’s hit rock bottom hard enough to leave a crater)…and then…after that…oh, wait. We’re already in the process of getting over network TV as we know it.

Now, this isn’t where I go off on some looking-down-my-nose-at-you rant, spouting cognoscenti bullcrap about how anything that makes it to the networks is pure drivel, because I don’t believe that. With stuff like Lost and Heroes on major networks right now, and endearingly oddball stuff like Pushing Daisies, and cable winners like Battlestar Galactica, we’re actually doing pretty good. I make no secret or apology for the fact that most of my viewing can be considered to be part of a single genre. It’s not that I never step outside of those bounds – I do like a reality show or two myself, though I’ve noticed that my own reality TV preferences seem to orbit the Discovery Channel exclusively – but hey, I’ve got my preferences. It’s no better and no worse than folks who don’t turn the TV on unless there’s a sporting event on the air.

In the meantime, life goes on. I’ve got a kiddo to look after, and to be blatantly honest, I wouldn’t mind if I had fewer shows to follow. I’ll be deeply peeved if the animosity heating up between the studios and the writers results in a lengthy strike that means that we don’t get to finish the storylines for Heroes and Lost, but my heart and other major organs will go on because I’ve got a ringside seat to an even bigger unfolding saga. 😉

And as for stuff to watch while he’s asleep, there are plenty of options.

Whoniverse. The great thing about stuff produced in the UK is that it’s got nothing to do with all the drama over here. Torchwood supposedly starts up again early in 2008, with Doctor Who following in the spring, and I’d bet that we’ll have more Sarah Jane Adventures in the fall. With Torchwood and Who turning out 13 episodes a year (14 if you count the annual Who Christmas show), and Sarah Jane 10 episodes, that’s enough weekly viewing for over half the year. Not bad…if you happen to like a bit of Doctor Who. I know that this option sort of implies acquiring stuff through Nefarious Means, but with the gap rapidly closing between the UK and US airings of this stuff, Nefarious Means themselves are becoming outdated. The long and short of it being that other countries’ entertainment industries aren’t slowing down one bit. (In fact, if I were a promotions producer at BBC America, I’d cash the hell in on this strike.)

By the fans, for the fans. I’ll admit to a guilty pleasure – the various fan-made Star Trek episodes that pop up all too infrequently on the ‘net – but with the production values, and the self-assuredness of the various groups putting these out, rising, it’s not a pleasure I’m too ashamed of. Yes, these people are adults with day jobs and Star Trek uniforms in the closet. Yes, in some cases some of them have sunk unreal amounts of money into costumes and props. So? The results are actually pretty damned good. I’ve run across a howler or two, sure, but increasingly they’re in the minority. (For more ranting on this subject, hit up theLogBook’s fan film review section.) And let’s not forget YouTube, though its signal-to-noise ratio has come to be sort of a microcosm reflection of the entire internet.

There’s lotsa good stuff on DVD. So you’re forgoing Galactica or Lost or Heroes because you’ve missed too much of the storyline? Looks like the WGA’s giving you an excellent chance to catch up on how they’ve been plying their trade.

Outside of those options, though, I think we’re in for the long, dark airtime of the soul here. I don’t blame the writers for going on strike one bit. The stories they’re telling are why the DVDs and downloads keep selling. Why shouldn’t they get a cut of that?

In the meantime…get ready for a glut of C- and D-list reality shows that never would’ve made the prime time schedule otherwise.