The last time there was a writers’ strike, the producers of a fledgling spin-off sci-fi show in its second season had to raid the archives for scripts to the first proposed spin-off of the mother show, a proposed spin-off which eventually became Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Some of those scripts, (notably “The Child”) originally written for Star Trek Phase Two, became episodes of Star Trek The Next Generation’s second season. This is also the reason for the season finale “Shades of Grey”, a dreaded clip show.

Personally, I don’t see what’s quite so outrageous about the demands of the writers’ guild. With a pie growing remarkeably larger and larger with the increase of DVD revenue, the writers’ cut has failed to grow. Although I can’t find a link, I remember a story told about the promotion for Battlestar Galactica’s third season. A series of short episodes (two minutes or so each), telling the story of those left behind on New Caprica, was written and filmed as a “bridge” between the second-season finale and the third-season premiere. After it was all over, in a responde to whether or not the episodes would be on the DVD release, Ron Moore commented on the fight he had getting the Sci-Fi Channel to pony up the cash in royalties to pay the non-actors who’d worked on the short episodes. Or something.

Anyway, the point is, as the pie of royalties and whatever-other-cash associated with the continually growing home entertainment market grows, the studios remain as greedy as ever, and those who work in Hollywood must fight for what should be theirs.

My hope is that the strike is quickly resolved. What I’ve really enjoyed in the last few years has been the return of episodic drama to television following that glut of reality programming: Lost, Veronica Mars, Heroes, etcetra etcetra. I like scripted televison far more than I like reality crap like Survivor or American Idol or America’s Favorite Whore or any fucking game show. And yet, with shows like The Office shut down (the cast has refused to cross the picket lines), and Heroes filming an alternate ending to one of its episodes in case a prolonged strike forces an early season finale, what we’re most likely to see in television programming are more reality shows.

So. Here’s to a quick end of the strike. May the writers get what they deserve, may the studios get back to producing our favorite TV shows, and may we all win in the end.