Strikes/GS Resurgence?

[tpirfan28]

And in case it hasn't been mentioned, there's a reason for all this prime time game show activity at CBS--a Writers Guild strike is on the horizon for all of the broadcast networks and this is CBS' way of preparing for the possibility that the writers may walk off on Nov. 1.

Did a writer's strike (or any strike for that matter) result in any of the GS resurgences in the past years?  (Namely in '72 and '83?)

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'150983\' date=\'Apr 25 2007, 05:48 PM\']
Did a writer's strike (or any strike for that matter) result in any of the GS resurgences in the past years?  (Namely in '72 and '83?)
[/quote]
From what I've read, the two strikes were in 1980 and '88, times when daytime games were still abundant.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'150984\' date=\'Apr 25 2007, 04:52 PM\']
[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'150983\' date=\'Apr 25 2007, 05:48 PM\']
Did a writer's strike (or any strike for that matter) result in any of the GS resurgences in the past years?  (Namely in '72 and '83?)
[/quote]
From what I've read, the two strikes were in 1980 and '88, times when daytime games were still abundant.
[/quote]
You've sparked a question.

Obviously the 1980 actor's strike didn't affect game show production, as P+, MG and the Vegas version of HSq (among others) continued taping.  But why were game shows exempt from the strike?

I don't remember all of the details of the stoppage, so if all of daytime was exempt that's certainly plausible.

[Adam Nedeff]

[quote name=\'SRIV94\' post=\'150995\' date=\'Apr 25 2007, 10:36 PM\']
Obviously the 1980 actor's strike didn't affect game show production, as P+, MG and the Vegas version of HSq (among others) continued taping.  But why were game shows exempt from the strike?
[/quote]
Total guess: Game shows use freelance writers, so a union didn't affect them.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'Adam Nedeff\' post=\'150996\' date=\'Apr 25 2007, 09:52 PM\']
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' post=\'150995\' date=\'Apr 25 2007, 10:36 PM\']
Obviously the 1980 actor's strike didn't affect game show production, as P+, MG and the Vegas version of HSq (among others) continued taping.  But why were game shows exempt from the strike?
[/quote]
Total guess: Game shows use freelance writers, so a union didn't affect them.
[/quote]
Yes, but the 1980 strike was among actors, not writers.  The 1988 strike was among writers (I could be completely wrong, but I do believe Woolery made some on-air references to the writer's strike during episodes of SCRABBLE).

Trying to do a Google search, I wasn't able to come up with many details about what prompted the walkout (obviously I'm missing something).  I did see that only Powers Boothe crossed the picket line to accept his Emmy Award that year, but other than that I haven't been able to come up with much.  Celebs would do game shows and talk shows stayed in production, but as to why they were exempt, I haven't a clue.

[Ian Wallis]

There were actually three strikes in the '80s - 1980, 1981 and 1988.  The '80 and '81 fall seasons were both delayed until late Oct-early Nov time frame.  In fact, some planned Sept series didn't even start until January.

Basically, viewers were left with repeats, and "reality"-type shows such as Games People Play and Real People.  

I believe games, talks and those above-mentioned shows weren't affected because hosts of shows are not considered "actors" and therefore were under a different contract (I could be wrong, but that's the way I remember it).  

I'm not sure what happened in '88, but the fall season got underway in early October that year, exactly when it was scheduled.  The (late)Summer Olympics were in Sept, and pushed back the fall premieres.

[Jimmy Owen]

Does anyone remember the strike of 1967?  I think it was a NABET strike.  I remember seeing daytime reruns of Inger Stevens' sitcom "The Farmer's Daughter" on ABC.  In my TV Guide collection, however, there is no evidence of that.  In doing further research, I found that ABC plugged that in as a stop gap for one of their soaps for a few weeks.  I can't remember any other deviations to the daytime schedule, but I'm sure there were some.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'151017\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 11:31 AM\']
I believe games, talks and those above-mentioned shows weren't affected because hosts of shows are not considered "actors" and therefore were under a different contract (I could be wrong, but that's the way I remember it).  
[/quote]
I guess what I'm asking is why celebs appeared on P+ during that time if they were on strike.  Doesn't a game show appearance for a celebrity constitute a paid gig for which union scale would be the compensation?  (I would think same goes for a talk show.)

Now that I think about it, I believe Ludden briefly mentioned the strike during a summer 1980 P+ episode in conversation with a celeb, but I don't remember if anything further was mentioned.

(If GSN doesn't change the sked in the next six months, we'll probably see said episode.)

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'SRIV94\' post=\'151026\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 11:57 AM\']
I guess what I'm asking is why celebs appeared on P+ during that time if they were on strike.  Doesn't a game show appearance for a celebrity constitute a paid gig for which union scale would be the compensation?  (I would think same goes for a talk show.)
[/quote]
I distinctly remember Letterman still having guests during one of the writer's strikes.

(The writer's strike, in fact, is what bore the Top Ten list, along with Hal Gurnee's Network Time Killers...)

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'151027\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 02:18 PM\']
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' post=\'151026\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 11:57 AM\']
I guess what I'm asking is why celebs appeared on P+ during that time if they were on strike.  Doesn't a game show appearance for a celebrity constitute a paid gig for which union scale would be the compensation?  (I would think same goes for a talk show.)
[/quote]
I distinctly remember Letterman still having guests during one of the writer's strikes.

(The writer's strike, in fact, is what bore the Top Ten list, along with Hal Gurnee's Network Time Killers...)
[/quote]
Understood, but I'm talking about actors being on P+, CARSON, MERV, MG80, Vegas HSq, et al during the actor's strike.

And actually, Dave was doing the Top Ten lists well before the 1988 writer's strike. He trotted one out for the 1986 Emmys he co-hosted with Shelley Long--the category was "Why I (David Letterman) Am Hosting The Emmys." One item was "I thought the mood would be right to hit on Bea Arthur," and #1 was "Bill Cosby said 'no.'" I think some of the lists date back even earlier than that.

[tpirfan28]

[quote name=\'SRIV94\' post=\'151031\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 04:07 PM\']
And actually, Dave was doing the Top Ten lists well before the 1988 writer's strike. He trotted one out for the 1986 Emmys he co-hosted with Shelley Long--the category was "Why I (David Letterman) Am Hosting The Emmys." One item was "I thought the mood would be right to hit on Bea Arthur," and #1 was "Bill Cosby said 'no.'" I think some of the lists date back even earlier than that.
[/quote]
Wikipedia says September 18, 1985.  Interesting fact...something I didn't know.

OBGS:  Letterman played P+.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'151032\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 01:18 PM\']
Wikipedia says September 18, 1985.  Interesting fact...something I didn't know.
[/quote]
Me neither. I could have _sworn_ it happened during a writer's strike. Well, mea culpa.

[Robert Hutchinson]

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'151017\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 12:31 PM\']I'm not sure what happened in '88, but the fall season got underway in early October that year, exactly when it was scheduled.  The (late)Summer Olympics were in Sept, and pushed back the fall premieres.[/quote]
Time to share my one piece of knowledge related to this thread: the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation (which ran in syndication) didn't premiere until late November of 1988. The season was also cut short by four episodes, several of the episodes that did air were "repurposed" from existing scripts, and (possibly not related to the strike) the season ran all the way into July 1989.

[uncamark]

In terms of game shows *attempting* to be fostered in prime time by writer's strikes, Fox tried in 1988 by renewing "Family Double Dare" and ordering "King of the Mountain"--but before either show could go (or return) to production, the affiliates stomped their feet and said that they would not stand for game shows in prime time.  Since Fox was scared that the affiliates would have less patience for the network's growing pains than the network itself would (especially when there were still a lot of movie packages in syndication for filling those prime time hours and fewer regional cable sports networks to take away sports events), Fox relented and instead put in "America's Most Wanted" (which had been airing on the owned stations) and a show called "The Investigators," from the "Current Affair" production team (there was no such thing as Fox News back then).

Obviously, they would not have that problem today.

[BobbyLankford_83]

The strike in 1967 was against the American Federation of Television and radio Artists which went from March 29th-April 11th. The networks headed up by NBC, turned down the unions demands of more pay for  newsmen in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, to place standby announcers on FM radio stations, and to reject the rules that announcers had to retire at 65.

Soaps and other programs including Johnny Carson used reruns of past episodes and Carson was pissed off at NBC for using old Tonight Shows from Christmas 1966 ,and Johnny threatened to quit The Tonight Show and had that happened, NBC would have put Bob Newhart in the chair. Johnny did return on May 1, 1967 two weeks after ABC introduced The Joey Bishop Show with Regis Philbin as Joey's version of Ed Mc Mahon.

I remember when a CBS staffer named Arnold Zenker filled in for Walter Cronkite on The CBS Evening News, and Zenker did so well after filling in on a local broadcast. On NBC, Chet Huntley worked as did Frank Mc Gee, while David Brinkley did not, and Peter Jennings on ABC stayed home. I saw Jennings striking in front of ABC with Howard Cosell, and a child getting an autograph from Edwin Newman of NBC. When Cronkite came back, his first words were , "Good Evening, This is Walter Cronkite, sitting in for Arnold Zenker".

As for the 1980 strike against AFTRA and the Screen Actors' Guild ,both ABC and CBS used reruns , and Fred Silverman at NBC used fresh episodes of some shows like Little House On The Prairie, Quincy and Real People ,along with an updated version of The Flintstones, the mini-series Shogun, with Richard Chamberlain and the 1980 World Series. Shogun was seen by 125 million people and Johnny Carson joked , "Do you realize that's the same amount of people that turned off "Supertrain""?.


Guys and gals, do you think there will ever be another SAG and/or AFTRA strike in this day and age of the internet, IPODS and DVDs?.