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Bryan Caplan  
PERMANENT LINK | JANUARY 29, 2008

Writers' Strike Brings Great Writing to Network TV

Bryan Caplan
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The Government Health Care Sys... My Ongoing Frustration...

A strange unintended consequence of the writers' strike: Dexter is coming to network TV! Given the shortage of programming, CBS worked out a deal with Showtime to air the controversial, beautifully written series.

Of course there's going to be some editing to "sanitize" the show, but not much:

"I am very protective of the show and will make sure the small changes are done very seamlessly," Showtime president Robert Greenblatt told The Hollywood Reporter. "The essence of the show is absolutely there; we haven't compromised the character and his moral compass." Instead, the major cuts will focus on language.
As a fan, I couldn't bear watching the edited version. But it's still going to be far better than anything on the networks back when their writers were working. The first episode is Sunday, February 17; if you've been reluctant to give the show a chance, the Writers Guild of America has just handed you a golden opportunity.

CATEGORIES: Economics and Culture


COMMENTS (5 to date)
Brad Hutchings writes:

They'll have to cut the length down a bit too to fit commercials in. When I first heard about this, I hoped they'd cut it down to 30 minutes, add a laugh track, and call it a sitcom. Maybe let Farberware do product placement. That sorta thing.

Posted January 29, 2008 2:01 PM
Jared writes:

One of my first reactions after the strike was to hope that networks would license British shows for broadcast here. Maybe that's a lot more complicated or expensive than I realize, but it seems like the BBC (or the CBC or any other English-language foreign producer) is an unused mine of material right now. It's good to see they're at least harvesting shows from cable networks.

Posted January 29, 2008 2:39 PM
ErikR writes:

Dexter's sister is going to be heavily altered by a lot of cut dialogue or voice-over or something...

Posted January 29, 2008 2:42 PM
Television writes:

[Comment deleted for supplying false email address. Email the webmaster at econlib.org to request restoring this comment. A valid email address is required to post comments on EconLog.--Econlib Ed.]

Posted January 29, 2008 3:00 PM
FC writes:

CBS will probably also cut the aspect ratio down from 1.78:1 to 1.33:1. This is done to reruns of Angel on TNT and Firefly and Farscape on SciFi, and it sucks. I'll get Dexter on DVD instead.

Posted January 29, 2008 6:46 PM
Comments for this entry have been closed
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