On strike

I don’t generally watch a lot of television. It’s not because I think I’m too intellectual for it or because I feel it rots your brain. It’s just because between work, raising an almost two year old child, and taking care of my house and crazy pets, there is rarely enough time in the day.
However there are a few shows that I genuinely enjoy, like “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart. I watch that show almost religiously. It’s part of my nightly routine. Once everything is done and the baby is asleep, I can sit in the peace and quiet of my house and watch for half an hour before I go to sleep.
Last night I waited patiently, biding my time while I tried to make dinner, do the dishes, feed the animals and attempt to keep my crazy pets from knocking the tree down. I did it all with my two year old in my arms, because he’s suddenly at that clingy stage, but I didn’t mind, because I knew I would get the chance to wind down once I was finished. I got through all of the demands of the day, laid my baby down to go to sleep and turned the television on, eager for some informative humor.
But when I finally got my half hour of television time, I tuned in only to discover that the show would be airing another week or repeats.
I know the writers have big reasons for going on strike, and of course the executives in charge want to get as much as they can for as little pay as possible, but the fact is their negotiations are ruining my wind-down time, and that I don’t appreciate.
It’s not that I think the writers shouldn’t get what they deserve or that I think the executives should automatically cave to their demands, but I’m sick of seeing re-runs every time I have the rare opportunity to turn on the television.
I’m sure I’m not alone in being annoyed. It seems like 90 percent of the shows on the air at any given time are repeats. (Right now it is closer to 99 percent.) And even during a regular season, they air four new episodes of a show, if you’re lucky, before taking a long sabbatical, while the actors and executives can go on vacation. (They just worked for four weeks straight. They deserve a break.)
Maybe it’s just me, but I think if someone is being paid a large amount of money, they should have to work hard enough to earn it. It seems like a simple idea, but I know there is no way it will ever catch on. But think about it, if all of those television stars who work five weeks out of the year and get paid millions of dollars actually had to come to work every day like the rest of us do, we would probably never have to see a repeat again, and that sounds like a good plan to me.