Any way you cut it, it's been a long, cold winter.
Forget the record snowfall, the inches-thick sheet of ice that coated most of campus for the better part of two months, the treacherous trips back and forth to class across O'Neill Plaza and up and down the million-dollar stairs. Nothing, not even the promise of another particularly brutal New England winter, could have been more chilling than the idea of three and a half months of … reruns.
It started out innocently enough. When the American Screenwriters' Guild initially decided to go on strike, many of us welcomed the opportunity to catch up on missed episodes of our favorite shows. But as the months stretched on, with no promise of a resolution, and the appalling sight of trendy Aaron Sorkin-esque L.A screenwriters in their Converse sneakers and four-day stubble forming - of all things - picket lines appeared continually on reputable news sites, conditions began to grow bleaker.
To borrow Oregon Trail terminology, morale was low.
As we face spring, the promise of a thaw, and new episodes of Lost, let's pause for a moment and remember the ordeal we have only recently begun to understand. What follows is a recap of what may prove to be one of the most challenging pop-cultural recessions of our lives, or at least of the next few years, the winter of our discontent, Deep Freeze 2007-2008.
Early November: Meteorological conditions have just begun to go from chilly to Uggs when the Writers' Guild of America announces its strike. We endure a few weeks of recent reruns. Morale: You go, Writer's Guild! Fight the man!
Late November: The strike stretches on and the decision to air previously taped episodes warms our hearts, though viewers fear this means the strike may go on much longer than originally anticipated. Students are seen wearing multiple North Faces at once. Morale: What time is it? I think I just accidentally watched America's Next Top Model for three days.
December: The holiday season approaches, but without Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Christmukkah episodes of most of our favorite programs. Networks compensate by airing It's a Wonderful Life eight times a day (up from the usual five) and A Christmas Story continually for a period of time believed to be three weeks (most of us lost consciousness after the first six days.) Morale: "You'll shoot your eye out?" Yes, please.
2008 Woodie Awards
