# Why does the Writers Strike stop Talk Shows? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 10, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940 "2007-11-10T18:10:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ec9cab/32.png) [@Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/1 "2007-11-10T18:10:59Z")
The talk shows were the first to be canceled when the writer strike started. I know they have writers for the “jokes” and some links, but its a “Talk Show”, is it all scripted? I had assumed that though the host has a list of questions the answers from the guests were not scripted. How hard would it be for the host to actually, you know, write the questions themselves, along with their researchers (who I assume are not writers)? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2007, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/2 "2007-11-10T18:14:04Z")
On a lot of late night shows the guests don’t start coming on until almost the second half. The first half is all sketches and gags, which are written. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2007, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/3 "2007-11-10T18:17:21Z")
If a host writes their own questions, they’re violating writer’s guild agreements, aren’t they? If you’re a WGA show, all your writers must be WGA. I assume there’s some leeway for extemporaneous chit-chat, but a good percentage of talk shows are scripted. Introductions, segues, exits to commercial, pre-recorded heartwarming human interest stories about roller skating pigeons, that sort of thing. And the reason talk shows, including things like _The Daily Show_, were the first to fall is that they rely on current events to keep themselves going. They’re written the week or even night before filming. They couldn’t stockpile episodes like the dramas and comedies. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/4 "2007-11-10T18:32:35Z")
Also, many of the talk show hosts are supporting the writers in their strikes by refusing to cross the picket lines. I hope that the execs at The Daily Show cut a deal with their writers similar to what was done 20 years ago with the talk show writers so that they can get back to producing new episodes before the strike ends. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/5 "2007-11-10T19:35:00Z")
I can think of three guys who, in their prime, could pull off an entertaining hour with their own off-the-cuff commentaries and celebrity interviews sans writers; Jack Parr, Tom Snyder and Dick Cavett. Today’s talkers don’t have that skill. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2007, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/6 "2007-11-10T19:52:16Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] If a host writes their own questions, they’re violating writer’s guild agreements, aren’t they? [/QUOTE] No, they’re not. In fact, during the previous major strike, most of the talk shows did come back with abbreviated monologues or ad libbed sketches. There’s been plenty of speculation that the same thing will happen if the current strike drags on for very long. Will they? Hard to say. The major argument for coming back is that keeping the shows off the air hurts the rest of the employees, who greatly outnumber the writers and mostly make far lower salaries that they are less able to do without. > [@randwill](#): > > I can think of three guys who, in their prime, could pull off an entertaining hour with their own off-the-cuff commentaries and celebrity interviews sans writers; Jack Parr, Tom Snyder and Dick Cavett. Today’s talkers don’t have that skill. Whether or not you can believe this to be true - Paar and Cavett certainly used writers for their monologues - it’s mostly entirely irrelevant. Today’s late night shows are not in any way talk shows as they were in the old days. They are comedy hours, the first half of which, as **Larry Borgia** noted, don’t involve guests. The rest of the time has little to do with talk and everything to do with promoting movies and other projects. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/7 "2007-11-11T00:07:41Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] No, they’re not. In fact, during the previous major strike, most of the talk shows did come back with abbreviated monologues or ad libbed sketches. There’s been plenty of speculation that the same thing will happen if the current strike drags on for very long. Will they? Hard to say. The major argument for coming back is that keeping the shows off the air hurts the rest of the employees, who greatly outnumber the writers and mostly make far lower salaries that they are less able to do without. [/QUOTE] Some talk shows are owned by their hosts instead of a network, enabling them to strike their own deal with writers. Letterman is one and so was Johnny. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/8 "2007-11-11T01:23:57Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] In fact, during the previous major strike, most of the talk shows did come back with abbreviated monologues or ad libbed sketches. [/QUOTE] Yes, I remember Johnny Carson coming back without his writers after the strike dragged on awhile. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/9 "2007-11-11T02:14:43Z")
Aren’t Jon Stewart and Jay Leno members of the WGA? Anyway, there are at least a dozen writers on those shows, and they never write more than a day or two in advance. And Leno probably isn’t the kind of guy who would use a joke that hadn’t made the cut, just 'cause he was desperate. And this does NOT bode well for the Oscar ceremony… good luck, Jon! ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/10 "2007-11-11T02:40:26Z")
If writing for a late night talk show is anything like the work I did writing for an early morning talk show… Writers will interview guests beforehand, write the best questions (and the answers) for the host, pick video clips from movies/tv shows/whatever else is being promoted, research and write a biography so the host will have some other stuff to throw in if the conversation goes in an unexpected direction, write down the questions that the guest absolutely, positively, will not answer… What, you thought live TV was spontaneous? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/11 "2007-11-11T03:30:36Z")
> [@](#): > > If a host writes their own questions, they’re violating writer’s guild agreements, aren’t they? I may be wrong but I think I recall from a previous writers strike that writer/performers are allowed to write material for themselves during a strike. So a stand-up comedian can still do his act as long as he writes his own jokes. If this is still true, _Family Guy_ could keep going for quite a while. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/12 "2007-11-11T03:39:53Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] I may be wrong but I think I recall from a previous writers strike that writer/performers are allowed to write material for themselves during a strike. So a stand-up comedian can still do his act as long as he writes his own jokes. If this is still true, _Family Guy_ could keep going for quite a while. [/QUOTE] Close, but not quite right. Letterman, and the other hosts worked out a deal where the host could provide some of the material and other parts of it would be done by the crew, with the understanding that once the strike was over, the show would adhere to whatever the Guild and suits hammered out as the contract for the industry. This is how you got the “Hal Gurney’s Network Time Killers” on Letterman. Hal was the one doing the bits, not Letterman or the writers. Oh, yeah. _Family Guy_ goes into reruns after this week due to the strike. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/13 "2007-11-11T03:57:45Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Close, but not quite right. Letterman, and the other hosts worked out a deal where the host could provide some of the material and other parts of it would be done by the crew, with the understanding that once the strike was over, the show would adhere to whatever the Guild and suits hammered out as the contract for the industry. This is how you got the “Hal Gurney’s Network Time Killers” on Letterman. Hal was the one doing the bits, not Letterman or the writers. Oh, yeah. _Family Guy_ goes into reruns after this week due to the strike. [/QUOTE] Many years ago (maybe as much as 10) one night Letterman had absolutely nothing going on. There wasn’t a strike or anything, but for whatever reason they apparently had a ton of time to kill. So they went with a camera into the bowels of the Ed Sullivan theater looking for rats. Bizarre, pointless, and absolutely hilarious. I could see that kind of thing happening again. Maybe we could get 20 minutes of Will It Float? I would actually love to watch that. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/14 "2007-11-11T05:20:29Z")
Isn’t Ellen DeGeneres in trouble for writing her own material and keeping the show goong despite the strike? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/15 "2007-11-11T05:57:02Z")
About the worst television I’ve ever seen was during the last big strike when Letterman seemed to think it was interesting to keep making the same one or two jokes about the strike in an outraged tone. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/16 "2007-11-11T06:20:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Oh, yeah. Family Guy goes into reruns after this week due to the strike. I was making a joke. While several of the show’s writers also perform as characters on the show, I realize that the writing is a group effort and they couldn’t actually individually write dialogue for their own characters. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/17 "2007-11-11T06:25:02Z")
_Family Guy_ needs writers? I thought they just employed thieves. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/18 "2007-11-11T08:02:15Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] _Family Guy_ needs writers? I thought they just employed thieves. [/QUOTE] Manatees, actually. ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/19 "2007-11-11T15:36:27Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Oh, yeah. _Family Guy_ goes into reruns after this week due to the strike. [/QUOTE] Not that I don’t believe you, but…WTF? It’s not like there’s an immediate turnaround on _Family Guy_…those have to be written way in advance to allow time for the animation. I know that \*The Simpsons \* has, according to _Entertainment Weekly_, 18 episodes in the can. How in the hell can \*Family Guy \* only be a week ahead in completed episodes?!? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2007, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940/20 "2007-11-11T15:42:59Z")
[QUOTE=ArizonaTeach] Not that I don’t believe you, but…WTF? It’s not like there’s an immediate turnaround on _Family Guy_…those have to be written way in advance to allow time for the animation. I know that \*The Simpsons \* has, according to _Entertainment Weekly_, 18 episodes in the can. How in the hell can \*Family Guy \* only be a week ahead in completed episodes?!? 😕 [/QUOTE] My guess is that like a couple other animation shows, they’re revising right up to the last possible second (dialoge is apparently pretty easy to replace on animated shows). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-writers-strike-stop-talk-shows/425940.md?page=2)