Well, as expected, networks appear to be ramping up reality program as a way of coping with the writers' strike. Ugh. Let me tell you about reality television: Screw reality television. Aside from when I accicentally watched Newlyweds all of the times it was on, I've never been able to tolerate the stuff, and I'll tell you why: It's lowest-common-denominator, mind-deadening, repetitive crap. And most of it's about as "real" as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Anything for which they have to "cast" is not reality, my friend.
This could turn out to be a very effective strategy, however. People love reality television. Looooooooove it. From American Idol to The Surreal Life, it makes up a great deal of television's most popular programming, and compared to scripted shows, which employ actors and directors and, yes, writers, all of whom must be paid, it's fairly cheap to put together. There's some question as to whether there might eventually be some reality TV fatigue -- a real possibility, if this strike drags on for a long time -- but for now, a certain segment of the population (the segment that lovesBig Brother) might see this as a boon. Fewer storylines, more shouting!
Anyway. The last time there was a strike was 1988, and it lasted five months. According to this article from 2001, that strike had brutal effects on television viewership, and nobody won. People turned off their televisions, and a significant chunk (10%, according to the article) didn't turn them back on when TV came back. In addition to this, the curse of the newsmagazine was born in those dark days. God only knows what horrors this strike might have in store if it goes on that long.
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Star Trek V was maimed in part because of that very writer's strike in 1988, as I recall.
(I can't bring myself to put all the blame on Bill Shatner. I may be mean, but I'm not that mean.)
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