Ask the Screenwriter with the Master List - How many Episodes Left?

Cafe Society
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Canada and England writers have been supportive of the efforts here, for the most part. This said, some media moguls have turned around and hired (or tried to hire) some of their writers. That didn’t sit to well with the rest of us. Of course, it also didn’t sit very well with their own unions, either. A scab is a scab is a scab, Bob.

Reality shows are kind of facing an interesting issue: most of them are scripted. That said, most of them do NOT employ WGA writers. This is something we’d like to change, for the sake of the writers themselves. These writers they employ are called “segment producers”, are payed low wages, expected to work 16+ hour days, no benefits, no pensions and are terminated at will. They receive little or no credit for their work and no residuals. Part of our current negotiations involve some jurisdiction for reality shows and animation, ensuring that the writers who work on these shows get some protection too. They are making the Networks money, hand over fist, damn it.

Regarding shows that are filmed in Canada with Canadian crews – there are agreements in place there. These shows are currently affected, as the companies that are involved are considered “struck”. SciFi, for example, makes use of many Toronto and BC (and now Alberta) shooting facilities. The ownership, however, remains an American company. The writers’ product is produced under the WGA umbrella. And 'round we go.
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SmackFu: ** Some of that depends on when the season writing and shoots started. For example, if you take the scheduling for L&O: SVU and L&O:CI, last year, you’d find that SVU started writing its new season in March and shooting in May. CI started writing its new season in July and shooting at the end of August. Why? SVU got its renewal in January, CI’s fate hung in the balance until way later and it got punted to cable (USA Network), where it is doing insanely well and kicking ass and taking names now.

Some of it also depends on the network’s decision to hold onto some episodes and spread them out. For example, Bones still has some unaired episodes. FOX has decided to spread them out over the next few months, to last to sweeps.

Status report for:

**The Unit: ** Expected to have 11 of 22, which I believe was indeed reached, with some struggle.

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I believe the CW had ordered another 3 episode. The show was doing quite well and showed great audience retention with the show it was “paired up” with. It has good potential. It also has a strong creative team that will push for its survival. Let’s hope it does alright despite the strike and manages to hang on.

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Oh, I’ve got one. The Sarah Connor Chronicles. What’s going on with that? It was slated as a mid-season debut, but I think it began shooting ages ago (I’ve seen the leaked pilot). Is it caught up in this too?

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According to Wikipedia, all of the episodes from the first season have been completed.

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Any word on Women’s Murder Club and Moonlight?

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[QUOTE=
**CSI:Miami :**13 of 22 completed.[/QUOTE]

Does David Caruso get killed in number 14? 15?..22? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEASE?

(I know you’r working this thread from the master list, but I’m hoping you also have some other inside information. Horatio is the god awfulest ham in the history of TV. Why is this so? Can’t Caruso play him more naturally, more believably? What kind of feedback does the show get about this from their viewers?)

67

What about Nip/Tuck?

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Thank you for the info. You answered about Burn Notice, but what about Psych? I believe it was originally scheduled to return to USA Network in January.

Also, were the episodes of Jericho completed?

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I dont watch tv much so forgive me if this show has been cancelled for some time:

Still Standing

love it! wish it was on later though.

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Greetings post 20 hour drive to see my folks on the other side of the continent :slight_smile:

**Terminator: The Sarah Conor Chronicles: ** Will have 13 of 13 episodes completed.

Women’s Murder Club: 10 of 13 will be completed in total.
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Moonlight:** 11 out of 12 were completed but they did not get an order for a full season. They are at high risk for cancellation, like all new shows with a half-season and no order.

CSI: Miami: We all wish he would hurry up and die. 13 of 24. sigh

Psych: The news here is, that they have enough scripts on hand to guarantee being able to produce the second half of each season.

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Is there a buzz going around about Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert coming back next week without writers? Is it perceived as somehow threatening?

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How I Met Your Mother?

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Elenfair, I join others in the appreciation of the information you’re posting here, but would you mind sticking only to the information? The reason I ask, with respect, is that those of us who might disagree with certain elements of your soap-boxing will not be allowed to engage you about them here, since this isn’t Great Debates. I, for example, support the right of anyone to collectively bargain voluntarily, but I also support the right of anyone to hire whomever they see fit. I think it would make for an interesting discussion, but you’re pretty much just venting here in some places (“A scab is a scab is a scab, Bob”). I would ask you to impose upon yourself your obvious sense of fairness, and not put those of us who disagree with you in the position of being swatted down by **Dex ** for responding point by point. Thank you.

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Her* thread, her choice of how she wants to present her information.

*Might be the wrong pronoun, if so, my apologies dude. :wink:

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Due respect, but if she chooses to present it as a political statement about unions, collective bargaining, and scabs, then it doesn’t belong in this forum according to the rules:

Cafe Society is for discussion of issues about arts and entertainment. Thus, a discussion about political satire is acceptable here. But a discussion about politics is not: Great Debates is the appropriate forum for discussion of the political issues of our day.In any event, I believe that if you will allow her, she is perfectly capable of speaking for herself.

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So, why your original complaint wherein you complained about how she was speaking for herself? :confused: Why does this rule apply to me but not to you?

If she’s “perfectly capable of speaking for herself”, then let her speak without whining about how she’s speaking. :rolleyes:

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It is remarkable that this must be explained. I asked her a question which I believe she is capable of answering herself. I have not intervened on anyone’s behalf to address you about something you’ve asked someone else. The two are in no way comparable.

I believe that what I’m asking for is reasonable, and I’ve asked for it politely and respectfully rather than reporting the various posts or creating a major stink about it with veiled insults about people “whining” and so forth. If you have an objection to the forum rules (or to me personally, for that matter) there is an appropriate forum for expressing that as well.

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OK, Moderator steppeth in. Liberal and John T, please cool it.

Elenfair, and everyone, I’m going to request that this thread be limited to factual information: how many episodes, how the negotiations are going, etc. If you’d like a discussion about unions in general, it belongs in Great Debates. If you’d like a specific discussion about various Hollywood unions, it can be located in Cafe Society – there’s no reason that debating ONLY needs to happen in the Great Debates forum. However, let’s do that as separate threads, please. OK?

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When you say “13 of 22 completed,” what does that mean exactly? I mean, does it mean 22 have been written and 13 filmed? Does it include the episodes that have already aired?

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What about the Stargate series?