Wherefore Art Thou, Boob Toob?
Just today, NBC announced they are scrapping their 2008 pilot season. CBS made the move first, a few days ago. Pundits wait for ABC to follow. What's going on?
With the DGA having made an agreement with the AMPTP recently, talk on the street is of two schools - yay the strike is almost over and holy crap, the AMPTP is running down a union busting playbook with great success. Wavers, things are changing and they are changing fast. It is said, in screenwriting lore, that the strike of 1988 opened the door to the million dollar spec - it was an exciting time for aspiring writers and careers were made. But what will this brave new world look like post this strike? Will the heretofore almost impenetrable system be opened up and democratized? Will it be easier for aspiring writers to get their work produced? There's no easy answer to that; the entertainment industry is intensely competitive and chances are it will stay that way. But more venues and less gatekeepers certainly must mean more opportunity.
With the announcement from NBC, that its pilot slate is perhaps permanently cancelled, the Wave-inatrix instantly thinks of the hundreds of below-the-line workers who will be affected by this move, not to mention the development deals necessarily scrapped as a result. But I am also a great believer that when a door closes, a window opens. Hollywood is content driven - content is king. And it always will be - whether that content is animated, reality or a serialized drama and whether that content is streamed online, played on a iPhone or watched on a home entertainment system. Storytelling is the oldest profession in the world and it isn't going away. In fact, it is my belief that new opportunities are presenting themselves here and aspiring writers should continue to WIPNILLon a daily basis.
Write
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WPNLL©
*side effects may include a robust feeling of creativity, increased imagination and sense of well-being, productivity and monetary gain. 
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