What's a webisode? Those are the short 3-10 minute extras that many television networks and movie studios and using a lot to get people's attention about new shows or flicks.
One of the best uses of webisodes was in the 5 weeks leading up to the season premier of Battlestar Galactica. Every Tuesday and Thursday for those 5 weeks, SciFi released a new 5 minute mini-film that explained some of what went on between the season 2 finale and the start of season 3. Great stuff and they got a lot of hits on their website because of them.
Here's the hitch. SciFi and their parent company NBC Universal are refusing to pay the writers of the webisodes since they claim that the films are "promotional material" and not part of the actual show. HUH? Interestingly enough, MSNBC, the news website for both NBC News and MSNBC on cable, and owned by NBC Universal, is carrying the story here.
Domestic squabbles between the Writer's Union and the Studios are nothing new but this puts me in a very strange place. I love BSG! I loved the Resistance webisodes! I love SciFi... mostly. But I'm having issues with the fact that they aren't paying these people for work they have done. Even worse, there are more webisodes being planned and now Ron Moore, the creator, writer, and motivational speaker in charge the the new BSG, has refused to create them without something being done.
NBC Universal, you to get your head out of you arsehind and clean up this mess and clean it up fast. You have a HUGE hit on your hands and the majority of the thanks goes to the Writers of the show. Good actors can help bad writing but can't save it and if you lose the gem that you have in BSG because you refused to pay people that did work for you, this might rank up there with the debacle that surrounded the canceling of Farscape.
Learn from your mistakes and move on... I beg of you to please move on.
Technorati Tags: Battlestar Galactica, SciFi, NBC, Webisodes
One of the best uses of webisodes was in the 5 weeks leading up to the season premier of Battlestar Galactica. Every Tuesday and Thursday for those 5 weeks, SciFi released a new 5 minute mini-film that explained some of what went on between the season 2 finale and the start of season 3. Great stuff and they got a lot of hits on their website because of them.
Here's the hitch. SciFi and their parent company NBC Universal are refusing to pay the writers of the webisodes since they claim that the films are "promotional material" and not part of the actual show. HUH? Interestingly enough, MSNBC, the news website for both NBC News and MSNBC on cable, and owned by NBC Universal, is carrying the story here.
Domestic squabbles between the Writer's Union and the Studios are nothing new but this puts me in a very strange place. I love BSG! I loved the Resistance webisodes! I love SciFi... mostly. But I'm having issues with the fact that they aren't paying these people for work they have done. Even worse, there are more webisodes being planned and now Ron Moore, the creator, writer, and motivational speaker in charge the the new BSG, has refused to create them without something being done.
NBC Universal, you to get your head out of you arsehind and clean up this mess and clean it up fast. You have a HUGE hit on your hands and the majority of the thanks goes to the Writers of the show. Good actors can help bad writing but can't save it and if you lose the gem that you have in BSG because you refused to pay people that did work for you, this might rank up there with the debacle that surrounded the canceling of Farscape.
Learn from your mistakes and move on... I beg of you to please move on.
Technorati Tags: Battlestar Galactica, SciFi, NBC, Webisodes
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Comments
BSG rocks. Thank the Gods for iTunes (no cable in the boonies, no sattelite among the trees).