Occupy television: are TV stars paid too much?

Actors quit shows for many reasons: Charlie Sheen had mental/emotional/physical/public breakdowns. Steve Carell left "The Office" because of his blossoming movie career. Yeah, he can say he wanted to spend more time with his family all he wants, but I still don't believe him. Chris Meloni left "Law & Order: SVU" due to a breakdown of contract negotiations.

While TV shows provide a certain amount of stability, they can also wear on actors who play the same role year after year. Meloni's show, "Law & Order: SVU," has been on the air since 1999.

Last week, Forbes.com came out with a list of "Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors." For this list, Forbes analyzed Hollywood's 40 top-earning actors and their respective compensation for their starring roles in the last five years and compared it to the operating income on those films. Drew Barrymore, Eddie Murphy and Will Ferrell took the top three spots, respectively, with Barrymore's films only bringing in 40 cents for every dollar she is paid.

It's no secret that movie stars are paid too much, but it got me thinking, what about my beloved television stars? Are they paid too much? Of course the initial response is a resounding YES. Last year's highest paid television actor was Charlie Sheen ... Yeah, Charlie Sheen; he was paid 40 million last year for his final season of "Two and a Half Men." Am I supposed to believe that that psychopath deserved more money than police officers, firefighters, and nurses … put together?

Our country's priorities are somewhat skewed, but it's a fact of life; movie and television actors are paid too much. I am not going to say they deserve every penny of what they are given. However, let's look at the facts. A television star goes to the set every day for five days a week and works anywhere from a couple hours to a seventeen-hour day. It all depends on the actor's part and what kind of show the actor works on. Also, movies normally don't take as long to shoot as television shows, although it is true that some movie shoots can take up to a year or even longer in some cases.

However, television shows are shooting for about nine months out of the year, and if the show runs for multiple seasons, then the actors are working with that schedule for multiple years.

Another benefit with television actors is, they are onscreen every week for most of the year, not only with original episodes but also with re-runs. Now, there are movies that you can watch on TV, of course, but it takes years for that to happen, and they aren't on as often as television shows that are in syndication.

Yes, Hollywood actors are paid too much, and I don't expect it to change at any time soon, but maybe TV actors earned it more than movie actors.