When should we watch TV?

If you want to know when the last few episodes of your favorite shows are going to air -- check out The Futon Critic. Remember - the strike won't end until the studios give the writers a fair deal. (Yes, I'm a little biased. So?)

If you want to get information from the source - check out United Hollywood. Another spot for information on Hollywood issues is Nikki Finke's blog for LA Weekly, Deadline Hollywood Daily. Remember, if you are hearing any information about the strike at all from network news -- for all practical purposes the networks are the studios. If you want your voice to be heard --- Fans 4 Writers has some good ideas.

Most of the scripted TV shows have between one and three episodes before they are out of new episodes. (Lost is an exception; it has eight episodes to air.) There are a few mid-season replacements that will be shown. Terminator: the Sarah Conner Chronicles and New Amsterdam are two I am looking forward to. Unfortunately, most shows are about to be SOL. I've heard a lot of buzz that the back end of this season is a lost cause. I really hope that isn't true!

This should also be the beginning of pilot season, when the networks green-light scripts that they would like to see produced for the 2008-09 TV season. There were a lot of interesting possibilities that I will be disappointed not to see. Particularly, a new show from my favorite writer/creator of all time - Mr. Joss Whedon. Yes - he has a proposal for a new show starring Eliza Dushku (Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) It's a sad day for TV if "the master" doesn't return next season! (In my opinion, he shares that title with the great Aaron Sorkin. I re-watched the pilot of Sports Night this afternoon. Good stuff.)

In other strike news, David Letterman's company, World Wide Pants, has negotiated a deal with the WGA on its own. So - The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Furguson will both return with writers. It will be interesting to see how those shows do compared with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, etc - who will be coming back sans writers. Jay, Jimmy, and Dave have all been paying their staff out of their own pockets. (Dave pays Craig's staff as well.) It is rumored that Jimmy Kimmel, in particular, could not afford to continue doing that for much longer. They are all under contract with the networks and are returning due to threats of lawsuits. It will be interesting to see what they have to say about the strike! (Not that I'll start watching late night TV. I'm in bed by then! I'll catch it on YouTube the next day.) :-) :-)

Anyway - the strike continues. Yuck. If only the studios listened to literature teachers from Kansas...