NBC Trumps The Office and I take it personally
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- November
- 21
A lot of people have strong opinions about Donald Trump, but I really don’t—for the most part.
Trump the businessman and real estate developer is an admirable success story and all. It’s Trump the reality show I find kind of grating, as I find most every reality show.
No big deal, right? I can just tune out and watch what I want instead.
Well, NBC, in an apparent move aimed at weakening the U.S. Dollar, eroding family values and generally ruining my day, has decided to replace Office reruns with Trump. The New York Times, citing MediaPost, says that with no more new episodes of The Office or Scrubs, the 9-10 p.m. Thursday timeslot will be filled by The Celebrity Apprentice come January.
The cruel irony is that this is the work of Ben Silverman, the guy whose Reveille Productions created the American Office and who took over at NBC last May.
A halt to new episodes of quality programming was bad enough, but this is just mean-spirited, if you ask me.
Another New York Times piece the other day, however, gives hope for a way out of Hollywood’s current work stoppage. The Times reports that those Lost webisodes Amy Vernon told you about here could provide a model for resolving the ongoing writer’s strike.
It took five months to reach an agreement under which all involved with the Missing Pieces online shorts would be paid directly and receive residuals. ““I think it is a pretty good model,â€? writer Carlton Cuse tells the paper.
Those involved with creating the award-winning Office webisodes last year received essentially no compensation for their efforts and have refused to do any such follow-ups.
The Office writers issued a letter to the show’s fans last week that you can find at OfficeTally.com. Communiques like this one, in a nutshell, are why the writers are winning the PR war with the studios they are striking against.
Obviously, word last week that the two sides would finally resume talks following the Thanksgiving holiday was encouraging. I wouldn’t expect a speedy outcome—labor standoffs are a chess match—but there can’t be a resolution without talks.
Interestingly, Variety.com reported that pressure from agents, high-profile screenwriters and showrunners can be credited for getting the two sides back to the bargaining table.
In the meantime, BuddyTV.com has done a service by rounding up where you can find Office stars during the strike’s duration.
Jenna Fischer and Rainn Wilson will pop up in Walk Hard and Juno, respectively, next month. But it’ll be well into the new year before we see Steve Carell (Get Smart) or John Krasinski (Leatherheads, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men) on the big screen.
And even though it’s not directly Office-related, it’s still worth noting that Ricky Gervais could star with Jennifer Garner in This Side of the Truth, an Indie comedy about a liar, Gervais, in a world without lies. Shooting starts in the spring. Variety.com has the story.
Lastly, Angela Kinsey has updated her blog, which is always a good read.
(Photo: Donald Trump at one of his building projects in Shrub Oak, N.Y., Sept. 21, 2006. Brian Howard/The Journal News)
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 at 10:30 am by Brian Howard.
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Holy cow, Trump instead of The Office re-runs??? Let me just say, new programming is NOT always better than a re-run. How dumb do they think the American viewing public is? I tune in to see quality shows, not just to see new content regardless of what it is.
Thanks for ruining my day too, Brian.