TV Reviewers Can Adapt to a Prolonged Strike

By Barry Garron

The WGA strike is only a few days old but, all over town, people are using words like "crippling" and "protracted" to describe it. The bottom line is that a lot of people could be hurt in their bottom lines.

Take me, for example. I review TV programs. Without people to write them, I'm bound to have less to do. At the same time, some short-sighted pencil-pushers at networks and studios could foolishly decide to cut their ad budgets, despite the proven effectiveness and impact of print advertising in, for example, The Hollywood Reporter.

This could have a ripple effect that might leave some employees submerged. TV reviewers, despite their heroic contributions to the industry, are vulnerable.

Here, at The Reporter, we're encouraged to be proactive. So, thinking ahead, I offer this example of a future review to prove that, strike or no strike, TV critics are essential personnel.

'Strikers at Warner Bros.'
8 a.m.-noon, Monday
A WGA production in association with sympathetic SAG members and a Teamster or two

Pickets come and pickets go, but few can rival the powerful performance put on by those at Warner's historic Gate 3, under sunny but cool conditions. Well-cast and flawlessly directed, the picketers were a talented group, reminiscent of the great Minneapolis accountants' strike of 1991 but with stronger production values reimagined for a new generation of honking drivers.

As with any production of this nature, the key is to keep it fresh and credible. This was obvious at the start of the shift when picketers, coffee in hand, held signs erect and walked briskly. Several embellished their roles by shaking fists at drivers who passed through the gate. Others, minimalists by training, used only a single finger. Either way, it clearly showed that what this production is about is not the picketers; it's the relationships.

As the shift wore on, small imperfections in the performance were noted. At one point, one of the artists in the synchronized loop improvised an extemporaneous restroom break. While imaginative, it nonetheless diminished the efforts of his colleagues. Another was forced to ad lib when the sign fell off her picket and blew onto the windshield of an oncoming car. You can bet that driver got the message!

For the most part, production credits were impeccable. In particular, hanging signs on the moving arm that admitted cars to the studio was an inspired touch. Costume design was not overly impressive. Many T-shirts suggested where producers could put their offers. For the most part, the graphic art was superfluous.

Additional performances are scheduled for the same time throughout the week and until further notice.

Tomorrow: CBS Television City, 2nd shift.

(Photo courtesy of Defamer)