(Timothy Leary was kind of a chowderhead)
The Hollywood writer strike is ongoing. You may not be aware of the crux of the matter at hand so, as I was directly involved in the original discussions, I will recount to you the first conversation between the two parties:
Writers: You guys make buckets of money by putting shows on the internet. Cut us in for a slice. You do make buckets of money off the internet, right?
Bigwigs: Hey, it’s the internet; who knows? And anyway, nuts to you, script-boy.
(Okay, I wasn’t actually present for any of that, but I’m pretty sure it went that way.)
As a result, millions of Americans are facing the dreaded prospect of withdrawal, aided only by the thin Methadone of reruns and “reality” shows. I know that the rioting will begin any day now, so I am prepared to dispense summary judgment on this matter immediately. And my ruling is:
I don’t care.
I’ve got this gigantic, room-dominating television: high-def, satellite, surround sound – the works. Because when I watch the thing, I like to really watch it. That doesn’t happen much these days and I’ll bet you can guess why.
It is because TV, generally speaking, um…bites. Hard.
So instead of getting your fix from even more substandard garbage than you are used to, you could try:
Reading a book
Going for a walk
Playing a game
Visiting your slightly insane Great Aunt Vera
Talking to your spouse
Writing a vitriolic screed on your blog
You know, turn the thing off and do something else for a bit. See how that works for you. It has to be better than another episode of “America’s Extreme Top Amazing Home Invasion” or whatever the hell it is you are currently watching.
The Hollywood writers aren’t writing and I don’t care. Now if John Ringo, David Weber, Eric Flint and the rest of the good folks published by Baen stop writing, that will be a problem. I’m still bent out of shape at Robert Heinlein for his lack of output, and he has the reasonable excuse of having been dead for about twenty years. (Which doesn’t seem to have stopped V.C. Andrews and L. Ron Hubbard, but still…)
But a lack of television shows? Yeah, I’m good.
But the Dailey Show...
Yes, for the most part TV is going down the tubes. But there have been some rays of hope. Mad Men, Burn Notice, Psych, Monk, Saving Grace, The Closer. Pushing Daisies is pretty good. I watch a lot of TV, but even I have cut out most of the daytime stuff - they took Martha Stewart off and put on TMZ... that was smart.
Trying to get through all these debates without Jon Stewart just isn't right. He must be having a hard time keeping all that stuff in his head. Lewis Black's head must be close to exploding. Maybe they meet Stephen Colbert and have a show in their living room.
American Gladiator is coming back :-) my husband told me. That was a good late night show for when I couldn't sleep.
Peace is Patriotic.