Los Angeles, CA- It was a morose scene at the office of hit show 24 executive producer Howard Gordon last night. Gordon, also a writer for the show, had, moments earlier, been rejoicing over Barack Obama's victory. However, the reality of what the election of a black man to the presidency meant to the entertainment industry quickly dawned on him. "We had an African American president on our show way before anyone had even heard of Obama," he said, referring to actor Dennis Haysbert 
who played president David Palmer for five seasons. "This is great news for America, but what are the writers supposed to do now?"For years, the Black President character, officially called Archetype 6D, provided valuable information about a script's story. "The idea that our country was being led by an African American was such a far off concept that it really let us set the tone [of the story]," says Deep Impact scribe Michael Tolkin. "It was such an easy character to pull from the shelf and sell the idea that, okay, this movie is going to be purely fictional, almost futuristic." Now, with Barack Obama in the Oval Office, writers are going to need to find another way to show their story takes place in a more idealistic version of America.
But help is on the way, according to WGA president Patric Verrone: "We're doing what we can to find a replacement for Archetype 6D. We've called our reps at the major studios and shows and, some time next week, we'll all meet for a big brainstorming session." He wouldn't expand on their plans, but there have been a lot of rumors circulating on literary message boards about the possible use of the Robot President archetype (6H) in future productions. "I don't know, though," said My Name Is Earl assistant coordinator Darren Wilner. "The possibility of a robotic leader of the free world may not be far enough off for us to get good mileage out of the archetype. I'd say, if the WGA wants to endorse anything at all, it should think seriously about Archetype 6L, Grizzly Bear President."
