ONTD

FOX announces their schedule for 2008, assuming the strike does not end.

Fox Shuffles Schedule, Postpones ‘24’

With the writers strike under way, Fox is switching up its 2008 schedule.

The major moves include indefinitely postponing the premiere of “24,” moving up the launch of “Hell’s Kitchen</b>” into spring and setting premiere dates for several new shows.

Overall, Fox plans a mix of reality and repeats, along with running off its remaining stock of scripted originals.

Even with an ongoing strike expected to dry up scripted episodes, a few freshman projects are being dropped into airless Friday nights.

There’s a large number of changes here, so let’s get to it:

Mondays: Fox originally scheduled “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” and “24.” With only a modest number of “24” episodes reportedly complete, the season-seven premiere is being postponed “to ensure that ‘Day 7’ can air uninterrupted, in its entirety,” Fox says. Now “Prison Break” will launch the night, followed by “Connor” starting Jan. 14 (“Connor” will have a special premiere on Sunday, Jan. 13). Factoring in the limited number of completed shows available, the reality project “When Women Rule the World” will fill in at 8 p.m. starting March 3 and “House” repeats will take over at 9 p.m. on March 10.

Tuesdays: “American Idol” has its two-hour season premiere as planned Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. Starting Jan. 22, “Idol” will scale back to one hour and “House” will fall into the 9 p.m. slot. “Hell’s Kitchen” will take over for “House” April 1.

Wednesdays: Some modest shuffling here, with a planned 8 p.m. sitcom block replaced by reality. After a two-hour “Idol” on Jan. 16, the new lie detector game show hosted by Mark L. Walberg “Moment of Truth” (formerly called "Nothing But the Truth") falls into the 9 p.m. hour, then “Back to You” repeats at 9:30 p.m.

Thursdays: “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” and “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” return Jan. 10.

Fridays: Traditionally a dead night for Fox, but several freshman scripted projects are being dropped into the night. Repeats of “Bones” and “House” start Jan. 4. Immortal detective drama “New Amsterdam” takes the 9 p.m. slot starting Feb. 22 (by that time CBS will have presumably run out of episodes of its own immortal detective drama, "Moonlight," which currently airs in the same time period). Parker Posey comedy “The Return of Jezebel James,” originally scheduled for Wednesdays, will be paired with “Til Death” repeats on Fridays starting March 7. Starting April 11, “New Amsterdam” will be replaced by another freshman drama, the courtroom drama “Canterbury’s Law” starring Julianna Margulies, which was once slotted for Thursdays.

Sundays: No changes to the lineup when it launches Jan. 6. On Feb. 3, Fox has the Super Bowl followed by an original of “House” with guest star Mira Sorvino. There’s the “Connor” premiere Jan. 13. On March 2, the comedy “Unhitched” gets a run at 9:30 p.m.

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Why's FOX so quick to announce a schedule that banks on a strike continuing. Well, because they think their shareholders will somehow be reassured by their statement of "We did a really bad job this season, so we'd be better off just calling it a wash. We'll magically do better next season, now that all our best writers are really, really pissed off at us." Read their official statement

comments News Corp. prexy Peter Chernin made during the company's third-quarter earnings conference call on Wednesday.
"We save more money in deals and story costs and not producing pilots than we lose in advertising,” Chernin said on the call. “It will help growth in market share in Fox Broadcasting, and we’re better positioned than any of our colleagues. Our animated shows are a year ahead in terms of scripts, we have ‘American Idol’ and other reality shows coming. A strike lasting longer than eight months or a year would end up hurting other parts of the business.”

A great (and short) article that does some number crunching.

I've Done the Math -- This Ain't About the Money

Let's reduce this big complicated standoff to a few simple numbers.

The WGA wanted a doubling of its residual share from the sale of members' work on DVD. Right now, it's about a nickel per disc, less if it's well below $20. That would have brought them to a dime per DVD. Writers collectively earned $56.6 million from DVD and videocassette sales in 2006. A doubling would have taken them to roughly $115 million annually, or well under what it cost to make "Evan Almighty."

But the WGA, in the interest of expediency and good faith, took the demand to double the DVD formula off the table. Now we're back to $56.6 million out of the studios' collective pocket. The guild has made clear it will settle for nothing less than a fair share of revenue from Internet downloads. In this case, however, "fair share" is almost too generous a phrasing. The studios were discussing a proposal that would pay a scant 1.2% of all license fees from downloads of TV shows streamed on the Internet. That's 1.2% for the professionals without whose creative efforts the show wouldn't exist. If it earned $1 billion annually, let's say -- and right now it's nowhere near that -- that's a mere $10.2 million.

In an entertainment industry that annually rakes in billions for companies and their moguls, this officially qualifies as chump change. And yet the AMPTP side evidently has wavered even over agreeing to that.

So if this isn't about the money from the standpoint of the companies, what is it about? Greed? Ego? Power tripping? While we're waiting to figure it out, the studios stand to dump far more money in revenue lost to the strike than they would over the long haul if they got back to the bargaining table straightaway to hammer something out.

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Random Wednesday strike sightings

We also got this Wednesday morning:

The dudes from Reno 911 are out picketing here at the lovely Sunset/Gower Studios... in full costume. Short-shorts and everything. Really nice guys. Call me weakmesh.

And this Wednesday afternoon:

I can report that the entire staffs (including showrunners) of "Gossip Girl," "Chuck," "Pushing Daisies," and "Cold Case" are out daily, picketing at Warner Bros.

And this Wednesday night:

The showrunners and writing staff of The Riches have been picketing at Culver Studios since the strike began, and were joined by Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver today.

And this Wednesday night:

Rene Balcer, showrunner of Law & Order, picketing at Fox in LA on Tuesday and in NYC at Chelsea Piers (where Law & Order is shot). Won't cross picket line.

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David Duchovny plans to join a group of strikers in New York on Thursday but voiced concern over the mandatory 20-hour-per-week picket requirement being placed on all guild members -- no exceptions! "I'm WGA, but I'm also DGA and SAG," Duchovny said on the telephone Wednesday, "so what I fear is that I'll ultimately be picketing 12 hours a day. Let me just say, that's a pretty big commitment."

(I posted that one just for the stalkers!)

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Lisa Edelstein ("House") picketing in New York on Wednesday.
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I'm posting this one in part because I like looking at the food, even if I can't eat it. Though if I were walking back and forth all day long like the writers, maybe I could eat it.....
But mainly I'm posting this one for the caption. Because the fan geek in me recognizes my people:

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This still doesn't win most random strike pic, though. That honor goes to.....



Jesse Jackson. Lol.
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