The TV Zone

As anyone who's kept up with the writers' news over the weekend now knows, the producers have walked and it doesn't look they're in a big hurry to walk back. Long and short of it: The strike continues and prospects for resolution are dimmer now than at any point since early November, when the stoppage began.

And just to re-enforce the brute reality of the situation, WGA/East president Michael Winship just sent out a letter to members calling the AMPTP (the negotiating arm of the Big Bad Studios) a bunch of liars. It's an interesting letter because to date, the WGA and the BBS have pretty much stayed away from name-calling. (Mud-slinging? Yes! But not too much in the name-calling realm.) Now that the WGA has crossed the threshold, I wonder what the BBS will call the writers? ("thieves?" "charlatans?" "Bolsheviks?" "Trotskyites?" "scribblers?" "Hacks?" "Pixel-stained punks??" The verbal warfare could escalate to deliciously absurd heights, but it won't get 'em any closer to a deal, of course.)

In any event, here's the opening of Winship's memorable letter, with a couple other brief excerpts:

"Dear Fellow Members of the Writers Guild of America, East:

They lie.

And then they lie again. And then they lie some more."

He continues:

"Because the AMPTP wants to create confusion, doubt, fear and dissension. They want to divide and conquer, to undercut our proven solidarity. They are spending a fortune -- money that better could be used to help cover the comparatively small amount we're asking for -- on newspapers ads, political spin doctors and crisis management consultants specializing in union busting.

The bottom line: Don't believe a word the AMPTP has to say."

No, the bottom line, I'm afraid, is this: Get ready for every conceivable form of reality TV under the sun in just about four weeks.