Part of the difference between Casualty and ER will be the budget, Fay. I don't have figures to hand, but I'm willing to bet ER is a $2m an episode or so production (if not more), which would likely pay for several series of Casualty with the BBC.
Certainly, when you look at Doctor Who - a show which has ratings Tim's networks could only dream of, in a country with a fifth of the population - that shows' budget is tiny. If you are wondering why, at the height of it's rating success it's shutting down production - a situation you would never get in the US - I think we can all work out why the people involved in a hit worldwide TV show might be looking elsewhere.
And all power to them. I would, too.
Tamara i tried to watch an ep of Blood Ties and i was supremely bored. not nearly enough vampire for me.
But when he is there, he is very pretty. That's enough. I'm easy.
Just heard - NBC have put Alyson Hannigan on unpaid leave over How I Met Your Mother. The SAG are up in arms as it violates everything, apparently. She's still under an exclusivity deal, but isn't being paid.
ETA: [link]
Kevin, I don't think HIMYM is NBC.
I want to say it's CBS, but Tivo has pretty much destroyed my ability to remember what's on which channel.
Regardless, the article Kevin linked to says it's the production studio, Sony, not the network.
That's odd because, well, I wouldn't expect an actor to have to be paid if production has been shut down.
Somebody scrape me out of the bowl..
Polter-Cow, SAG have this to say: [link]
From the digitalspy article:
The SAG's agreement gives studios three options in the event of a strike: they may hold onto series regulars and pay them a full salary, suspend them on half-pay for up to five weeks, or terminate them. If terminated, they are guaranteed a re-hire when production resumes. The SAG argues that putting the actors on unpaid leave while keeping them tied exclusively to the studio violates its agreement.
