tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078779326914378322.post8798486146068469212..comments2024-03-22T14:40:33.276-07:00Comments on Blood, Sweat, and Tedium: Confessions of a Hollywood Juicer: The New Golden AgeMichael Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02569781786039595929noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078779326914378322.post-2668884419899511882010-01-06T21:45:04.660-08:002010-01-06T21:45:04.660-08:00Nahiyan --
I saw that comment too -- what a maroo...Nahiyan --<br /><br />I saw that comment too -- what a maroon. Why is a proud (read: smug) TV hater even reading Goodman's blog and columns in the first place?<br /><br />I'm with you on "The Shield." It had its moments, and the finale was undeniably great, but I never could get into the flow of the regular season. I just popped in and out every few weeks to see what was happening. The intentionally crappy production values -- all that grain, the overexposures, the absurdly kinetic camera -- just put me off, but there's no denying "Shield" blazed new territory for cable and police dramas, and deserves a spot in TV history. Personally, I liked BSG a lot better, even if the ending left much to be desired...<br /><br />As it's been explained to me -- the cable deal came in with HBO back in its very early days. To keep production in the US, the IA agreed to a sidebar deal with reduced hourly rates and longer working hours (14 hours worked before double-time kicks in) to induce the then-fledgling cable network to shoot at home rather than in Canada or overseas. I've no problem with that -- HBO was just getting started, with a minuscule market share and a lot to prove. Unfortunately, there was no "sunset clause" included in the agreement, meaning the cable deal has no expiration date. So now, with HBO pulling in somewhere between 15 and 30 million subscribers every year (depending whose figures you believe), HBO is no longer a 98 pound weakling getting sand kicked in its face by the big bad network bullies. Quite the opposite -- and at $15/month per subscriber, do the math: they're rolling in dough. <br /><br />For reasons I can only guess at, our union reps have thus far been unwilling to reopen and renegotiate the cable deal -- and now, with the Industry reeling under the forces of the economic recession and the digital revolution, there's even less motivation for them to do so. Their line to us is, essentially, "you're lucky to be working at all."<br /><br />Maybe they're right. But it still sucks.Michael Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02569781786039595929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078779326914378322.post-77356486110952790822010-01-06T13:49:37.448-08:002010-01-06T13:49:37.448-08:00To quote one commenter from the Goodman article &q...To quote one commenter from the Goodman article "I am proud to claim that I have never seen any of these shows. Not even one." -hooter96158 <br /><br />That made me laugh for a good 5 minutes. Apart from a few personal quibbles about the order of the list (I wouldn't put The Shield that high up and BSG far too low), I have to agree with the sir Tim on his assertion. <br />When is the cable-union agreement up? Does it not have an expiry date?nahiyanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11160342569479414655noreply@blogger.com