A different point of 'View'

NEW YORK — Among the 300 bundled-up writers who picketed ABC Daytime’s West 66th Street studio in the chilly December air this morning were Andrew Smith and Christian McKiernan, the two WGA writers who work on “The View.”

The daytime talk show may be known for the unpredictable exchanges between its hosts, but the program relies on quite a bit of scripted material. The writers pen all the segment introductions and transitions, as well outlines for the show’s daily “Hot Topics” feature, with suggested talking points for each woman.

“Essentially, if they’re looking at teleprompters, that was written by one of us,” McKiernan said. “If they’re looking at a blue card, that was written by a segment producer or a writer. There are scripts for the show that are obviously suggested, not to take anything away from the show -– it’s driven by the talent of the women at the table.”

“But there is a script, and the script doesn’t come out of the air,” added Smith, who writes jokes for co-host Joy Behar.

While “The View” panelists have expressed support for their writers on the air, the show has continued to air live throughout the labor stoppage. The program hasn’t come in for the kind of criticism that talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has weathered, though Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, canceled an appearance last month because of the strike.

“The only thing I object to is that every now and then, to try to justify what they’re doing on the air, they'll say, ‘We love the writers. We don’t know what they do. But we love them,’ ” Smith said. “As if we were pets.”

“They act like there is no writing,” he added. “There is a script at the end of the day that is read and approved and rewritten, and that’s what Christian and I do.”

            

In a gesture of support, moderator Whoopi Goldberg, a WGA member, had sent out cups of hot chocolate to the strikers earlier in the morning. But Smith said he wished she would go further.

“You can’t ask somebody to be a hero, really,” he said. “But it would be nice if they did something heroic, like Whoopi Goldberg not go on, especially today, because she’s a member of the guild.”

After the show, Goldberg came out to greet the scribes on the line. She said she didn’t feel any qualms about doing the program during the walk-out, since she’d been working as a performer on the show, not a writer. She added that she supported the show's writers.

“I’m in the Writers Guild, so I feel like whatever we need to do, we need to do to make it equitable,” she said. “You’ve got to stand with people who believe strongly that they’re entitled to a piece of the pie. You’ve got to respect that.”

Until the strike is resolved, however, “The View” writers are left with a lot of time on their hands. This morning they sought to channel their creative energy by making a video blog for Smith’s website, writersstrike.com.

When audience members clutching “High School Musical” DVDs began filing out of the studio after the taping, McKiernan trained a camcorder on them.

“Did you know the writers were on strike before the show?” Smith asked as they walked by the picket line.

A woman nodded sheepishly.

“Do you feel bad going to it, knowing that we’re out here in the cold?” he pressed.

The sheepish woman nodded again, then noted hopefully that the “View” hosts had plugged tonight’s WGA Write-Aid benefit at a New York comedy club.

The camera captured the attention of a well-coifed woman striding by with a large curly-haired dog.

“Oh, is this TV?” she asked. “I support you.”

“Did you go to the show?” Smith asked.

“No!” the woman responded with alarm. “Do I look like I would go to 'The View'?'”

“No,” Smith shot back, “but the dog does.”

-- Matea Gold

Comments

[44guy]

maybe instead of handing out hot chocolate to the writers ( who are apid out of a strike fund and residual checks) whoopi should go hand out it to the set the tens of thousands of studio workers who are facing losing their homes so that the writers can make more money. it was a real rotten thing of them to pull what their doing at xmas time. on top of it they want the other unions to support them??? ( even though in the 80's they crossed the teamsters and later on produciton designers picke tlines).

[ted striker]

first of all 44guy, the writers aren't paid a penny from a strike fund, the day the strike started, the writers stopped getting paid. And, did you read the article? The show is still in production, so the only one's facing financial ruin are the writers. Why blame the writers for the strike when the studios are doing everything short of lighting cigars with $100 bills (and Moonves probably celebrated his undeserved and dispicable deal by doing just that)? Anyone who's not on the side of the writers in this case is just not paying attention.

[JozieLee]

I've been watching The View almost daily since the strike began, and almost everyday the women on the show mention their writers and lament the prolonged strike. Tho' the show has continued, they make it clear the show is scripted and they are winging it without their writing staff. As a loyal "View"er, I didn't know the show was scripted until the strike. Although they don't point out daily that the show is scripted, they make it clear the Hot Topics ran more smoothly when their writers were on board. Intentional? Unintentional? Who knows. They make it clear they support their writers. And they stay on the air maybe so that when the strike is over their writers have somewhere to ply their trade? God bless the writers, and may they soon find their way back home.