USA Network Forums > Bitty speaks

extex2

Mar 29 2006, 06:09 PM

TVGuide
>In another first, Schram also talks in public for the first time about her leaving Monk. She told TV guide that she didn't want to leave the show but suspected she "was being paid less than many people who got raises" and she couldn't "work out a new contract." Still, she says, Monk "was the best experience of my career.">>

OMGIBACI

Mar 29 2006, 06:42 PM

Bitty Rules!!!

monkfan13

Mar 29 2006, 10:48 PM

That's pretty cool.

Raven

Mar 30 2006, 08:48 AM

It's nice to finally hear from Bitty what was happening then.

extex2

Mar 30 2006, 09:39 AM

but a litle vague on the facts
She was under contract when she left the show and in reference to many actors that got raises,how many is many?There are only 4 regulars.
Tony and Ted have tons of exerience so they will get paid more
The only beef I can see is if Jason was getting paid more
Seems to me a paycheck is always going to be better than no paycheck
From second billed on Monk to 7th billed on a yet another cable show doesn't seem like a great career move.
There is also no mention of wanting to do movies ,like her agent said.
e

Liv

Mar 30 2006, 10:58 AM

Quote:

but a litle vague on the facts
She was under contract when she left the show and in reference to many actors that got raises,how many is many?There are only 4 regulars.
Tony and Ted have tons of exerience so they will get paid more

And Tony is also the exectuive producer.

Quote:

The only beef I can see is if Jason was getting paid more
Seems to me a paycheck is always going to be better than no paycheck

Well, kind of it is and kind of it isn't, it would depend on the circumstances, which even with this, we don't know all of them. I've found myself in a situation where it came down to weighing my paycheck against my self respect and walking off the job. In my case it was a matter of finding out that I was the lowest paid member of the department, not being considered for promotion when much newer members of the department were because of my gender, having everything I did dismissed as nothing and basically being made to feel as if I was of very little value. Except in my case, when I left, the stuff hit the fan. They started failing inspections, couldn't find anything and realised no one else knew how to operate the equipment and couldn't figure it out. It felt really good to tell them all where they could put that job when they asked me to pleaase come back and even promised a raise, better benifits and better scheduling (all things I had been denied when I worked there).

But I can understand how someone might possibly start to feel like their paycheck in comparison to someone else's is an indicator of how much you are valued and appreciated. I just don't know if in her case, this was more or less likely to be the truth of the matter, and really, it doesn't matter now. I'm not going to form an opinioone way or the other. I hope to see her in other things, but I still like the show and I like Traylor Howard.

Quote:

From second billed on Monk to 7th billed on a yet another cable show doesn't seem like a great career move.
There is also no mention of wanting to do movies, like her agent said.
e

MonkMeister

Mar 30 2006, 04:11 PM

It's nice to finally hear from Bitty as to why she left the show. She doesn't seem at all bitter, and I really wish she would guest star. Still, I really like the character of Natalie.

Tami

Mar 30 2006, 08:05 PM

Quote:

There are only 4 regulars. Tony and Ted have tons of exerience so they will get paid more. The only beef I can see is if Jason was getting paid more.

This doesn't seem (to me) to be a good time to admit she "suspected" others got raises and so she tried to renegotiate her contract. She's just been added to the cast (she's not a "guest star") on "Thief" ~~ what if the show gets picked up for a full run and she "suspects" that others get raises and she doesn't? IMO, she should've left it at she couldn't re-negotiate a contract that she was happy with and finished with Monk "was the best experience of my career."

crazychrismonker

Mar 31 2006, 10:27 PM

Well, at least what I interpret from all this is that it wasn't a horribly ugly splitting, although I could be wrong.

At any rate, while I have moved on, I'll admit I do still miss Benjy a bit; I could really relate to him. While it would have been a traumatic on-air experience, I wouldn't having minded if they'd killed her off and he'd stayed on somehow.

CrystalSmith

Apr 1 2006, 01:27 PM

I'd like to know who else she suspected 'got raises' since Ted and Jason also tried to renegotiate their contracts (and didn't get anywhere). I think Bitty tried to pull a Suzanne Somers. (She did the same thing. Suzanne's co-stars did get big raises, but it was because they stuck with their show, not because they tried to throw the power (they really didn't have) around.

But, I'm not bitter.