Students begin to miss writerless shows

Conan and Leno might be back, but a whole host of TV shows are still writerless due to the screen writers strike, and IU students are getting fed up with watching reruns.\nSince Nov, 5, 2007, the Writers Guild of America has been on strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. \nExecutives and writers are fighting for what they believe is their fair share of the market value of their product, but students say the strike is affecting their usual routines, as well. \nStudents interviewed mostly sympathized with writers, but were disappointed to see their favorite shows’ seasons cut short. Among the most missed will be such popular shows as “Lost.” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “24,” “The Office” and the new series, “Gossip Girl.”\nSenior Kyle Pozan believes the writers are not being paid enough for the creative material they are writing, but he still misses his favorite show. \n“If we don’t get more than eight episodes of LOST, I will be pissed,” Pozan said. “Many of the viewers will be quite disappointed.”\nJunior Betsy Meyer said she is upset about the strike because it will keep her from being able “to chill out and watch my shows.”\n“Bottom line is this is all about money,” Meyer said, “and they are just being greedy and I just want my shows – Grey’s Anatomy, Gossip Girl, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.” \nSenior Josh Thompson believes the writers have a legitimate gripe to make with the executives because they are the “ones that create the shows and all the \ngood material.”\nThompson said he has several reasons for supporting \nthe writers. \n“It seems like all of the success that comes from these shows comes from their creativity,” Thompson said. “It seems unfair, though, to loyal watchers of all of the shows. I mean I’m upset that 24 was scrapped for the whole season, that’s my thing.”\nMany of the big companies like ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX have and will continue to roll out reality shows – NBC, for example, has brought back “American Gladiators” – \nto replace the scripted shows that will go off air in the next \nfew weeks.\nMeyer is upset about the prospect of more reality TV because she feels it has run its course.\n“I’m so over it,” Meyer said.\nThompson agrees that reality shows are no longer entertaining to most audiences. \n“I definitely think the reality show craze is nearing its end,” Thompson said. “A lot of viewers are just completely sick of it.” \nPozan, Meyer and Thompson all agreed that students will most likely now just watch DVDs, videos on the internet and work harder on \ntheir homework.