You know that feeling, in the middle of May, when you're watching the last few first-run installments of your favorite shows - and feel a little sad because you know you're going to have to wait four months to see them again?
Just into the second week of the strike, I feel the same way. Actually, I feel worse.
I feel the same because, after a few more episodes of the scripted series I'm watching faithfully right now, I know those shows are going into hiberation, replaced by reality shows and reruns. Just like summer TV. I feel worse, because this may drag on a lot longer than the equivalent of summertime.
Already, we know that 24 is lost for the season, Heroes may call it quits after the current story cycle, and Lost might be... well, lost. There's such a thing as bad timing. If Fox decides to hold the next season of 24 until the following midseason, to benefit from proximity to American Idol, do you know how long it will be since we last saw Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer, and will next see him?
I do. I just did the math.
Jack Bauer's last very bad day ended in May 2007, six months ago. 24 was supposed to return in January 2008, after an eight-month absence. Now, because of the Writers Guild of America strike, 24 won't be seen until next season. If the series occupies the same midseason slot, and resurfaces in January 2009, that'll be 20 months between first-run episodes.
The Sopranos made us wait that long, on occasion, but almost two years between shows? Viewers should be watching the Olympics every two years - not their favorite dramas.
The damage to TV is becoming so apparent so quickly, that if this strike isn't settled fast, as in the next few weeks, then we're in for a long hot summer. And by summer, I also mean winter and spring. If Hiro from Heroes wanted to save the world of TV, he'd go back in time and avert the strike.
And while he was back there, he could make sure that Cavemen never happened.
I can dream, can't I?