Monday, New York, New York

Any hit television show, like C.S.I., Grey’s Anatomy or Desperate Housewives, for instance, is successful because of the great scripts that allow the actors to shine in their gripping stories. A TV program or film becomes successful because of the combined talents of producers, writers, directors, actors, editors and all the other artists who sew it together. And most of us are aware that the actors, director and producers receive most of the public acclaim and, of course the most money.

Right away I confess to a biased view here as someone who has been both a performer and a writer. But thinking about the contribution of each of the creative professionals, it seems odd that there is such a disparity in the rewards given to the writers compared to the others in involved in the process. Any of these individuals can make or ruin a program.

Does anyone doubt tat success of such programs as the Daily Show or Leno and Letterman’s monologues and skits keep their audience if they were badly written? Of course not. It all begins with good written material that arms the ret of the crew with what they need to bring something wonderful to the scree. Bad acting gets panned just as poor directing or a lame script. But again, writers are the ones most often short changed when it comes to sharing in the profits of a successful television or film project.

So my sympathy is with the writers as they venture out on their labor action trying to secure a better del for themselves against the television networks. Classic film and television all begin with good scripts. It is what separates the hits from the crashes.

They may not be beautiful or glamorous, but it’s time to give the writers their due.