November 5, 2007 - It has begun. The Writers Guild of America is officially on strike and all writers have stopped work on their projects. Sunday saw a last minute attempt at making a new deal between the WGA and the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers) and to reconcile the issues they've been having, but it all fell apart after more than 10 hours of negotiating.

While there's always the possibility of this strike being a short one, right now things look grim, meaning both the networks and fans need to prepare for the possibility of all of the currently airing programs having heavily shortened seasons. Programs like Smallville, Supernatural, House, Grey's Anatomy and CSI will all likely run through any episodes they already have completed (plus the one or two they might have scripts for and can film right now) by January or February at the latest. According to the LA Times, most of the network series will have somewhere between 11 - 13 episodes completed -- we'll note any big exceptions below.

Sitcoms will be hit quicker, as those series go through a huge amount of on-set rewrites. It's expected that shows like Two and a Half Men and Back to You are not going to be in production this week at all.

This is a big blow for new series of course, which are still in the midst of trying to build their audience. Pushing Daisies, The Big Bang Theory, Private Practice, Samantha Who?, Gossip Girl and Back to You had all received full season orders that they likely won't be able to complete now. The early pick up does at least show confidence from their networks, hinting that even if no more episodes were produced this season, they would still be likely (though not certain) candidates for renewal.

The future is much more murky for several other series however, such as Chuck, Bionic Woman, Moonlight, Journeyman, Reaper, and Aliens in America. If a prolonged strike meant no more new episodes this entire season, the networks would have to make a big decision on whether to bring these shows back. And as we previously reported, the strike likely will mark the end for some series already on the verge of cancellation such as K-Ville and Cavemen.

One thing that could possibly help some of these new shows however is that the strike would cripple the network pilot season. Usually the networks shoot a number of pilots in the spring, in order to make their final decision on which to pick up as a new series. If a strike is underway, that won't be possible, meaning that some of this year's freshman series might have a better chance to return in the fall, if the network thinks they showed promise during their truncated initial run.

24: Fans won't be happy about this. The promotional push for Season 7 had already begun, but given the situation, the show might not debut at all this TV season. Because of the heavily serialized nature of the series and the specific 24 hours over 24 episodes format, FOX and the producers are debating whether it's worth airing only the first few episodes of the season, only to have the storyline be cut off for an unknown amount of time. Sources IGN spoke to have heard that the show has enough scripts completed to only get them through around episode 10 of the season. Beyond that, if production can't resume within a month, it's almost certain to ensure that the show won't be able to complete 24 episodes this season and thus won't be airing at all. Presumably the completed episodes would be held for whenever production does resume and air together during the 2008 - 2009 TV season.

The Office: While the show had one more completed script, it won't be filmed while the strike is underway. Not only is the series' showrunner Greg Daniels honoring the strike, but Daniels has told TVweek.com that most (if not none) of the cast are likely crossing the picket lines. Three of The Office's cast members -- B.J. Novak, Mindy Kaling and Paul Lieberstein -- are also staff writers. In addition, star Steve Carell is a WGA member and is not going to work as well.

The Daily Show / The Colbert Report: Along with most daily talk shows -- Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel -- The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will be shutting down immediately. It's believed that if the strike goes on for a long time, eventually many of these shows will return, as Letterman and Johnny Carson did during the 1980s strike. Not having their writing staff for usual monologues and bits, there will likely be format changes, such as having the hosts simply sit and chat about the day's events at their desks.

so i live in seattle and i saw a commercial for CiCi's pizza today. this made me hungry for pizza. when i go to their website, i find out the closest CiCi's is in colorado...

why do they advertise something they cant offer its viewers in the region?! WTF?

I WANT PIZZA!

i personally always get pissed whenever people who work in the media go on strike. Who remembers the baseball strike? or the hockey strike? and now this! Bitches suck up your 1 million dollars and go back to work, there are fucking people who're happy/desperate to have mimum wage jobs and you're bitching because... wait for it... your job is so goddamn demanding that your million dollar salary just isn't cutting it? Fuck it man, fire everyone on strike.. I'll come to work for 1/16 of what you're paying them every year.

But Heroes will be okay, right?

RIGHT!?!?!

I FINALLY KNOW WHO ADAM IS, DONT TAKE IT AWAY FROM MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeee

'Heroes' Creator Apologizes to Fans

Tim Kring admits mistakes were made at the beginning of season 2, but promises to get back on track

On the chilly Monday morning that Hollywood's writers went on strike, Heroes creator Tim Kring called from the streets outside the Hollywood studio where his NBC series is shot. ''Yes, I'm picketing my own show,'' says the 50-year-old writer-producer. ''So surreal.''

But Kring wasn't calling to discuss labor woes — he was calling to explain why Heroes, suffering a creative decline and a 15 percent ratings drop from the same period last year, went from Human Torch hot to Iceman cold. The good news? A turnaround appears to be under way. After weeks of sluggish storytelling, the Nov. 5 episode recaptured some of last season's fanciful energy. We've also seen the next two episodes — and we like them, too. The cliff-hangers are back. Narrative purpose has been discovered. Old favorites like Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) and Horn-Rimmed Glasses (Jack Coleman) take center stage. Even more encouraging: Kring himself is keenly aware that Heroes is broken. Here's his candid critique:

THE PACE IS TOO SLOW ''We assumed the audience wanted season 1 — a buildup of intrigue about these characters and the discovery of their powers. We taught [them] to expect a certain kind of storytelling. They wanted adrenaline. We made a mistake.''

THE WORLD-SAVING STAKES SHOULD HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED SOONER The premonition of nuclear apocalypse created a larger context that unified every story line last season. Kring now sees that Volume 2 (the first 11 episodes of season 2) would have been better served if Peter's vision of viral Armageddon had appeared in the season premiere rather than episode 7. ''We took too long to get to the big-picture story,'' he says.

THE ROOKIES DIDN'T GREET THEMSELVES PROPERLY New Heroes Monica (Dana Davis), Maya (Dania Ramirez), and Alejandro (Shalim Ortiz) ''shouldn't have been introduced in separate story lines that felt unattached to the show. The way we introduced Elle (Kristen Bell) — by weaving her in via Peter's story line — is a more logical way to bring new characters into the show.'' (That said, Kring says a few newbies won't make it beyond this second volume, which wraps Dec. 3.)

HIRO WAS IN JAPAN WAY TOO LONG Hiro's (Masi Oka) time-bending adventure in 17th-century Japan — where he mentored samurai hero Takezo Kensei (David Anders) — finally came to an end on Nov. 5. But Kring says it ''should have [lasted] three episodes. We didn't give the audience enough story to justify the time we allotted it.''

YOUNG LOVE STINKS Kring regrets sticking Claire (Hayden Panettiere) with a super-dud boyfriend and forcing Hiro to moon over a cutesy princess. ''I've seen more convincing romances on TV,'' he admits. ''In retrospect, I don't think romance is a natural fit for us.''

Yet while Heroes has finally found some dramatic traction, this second volume is pretty much a wash. The Dec. 3 episode has been retooled to function as a potential season finale — a move inspired by the writers' strike and a desire to give the show ''a clean slate'' when it goes back into production for Volume 3. At that point, Kring wants to craft a rebooted Heroes that can attract new fans and win back those who've tuned out: ''The message is that we've heard the complaints — and we're doing something about it.''

It is great, and while I agree with what Tim Kring said, I dont think it really made the show terrible or anything. I think if they make the changes Tim Kring is talking about the show would just be super awesome, rather than just awesome.

Oh and Mikey, have you been keeping up with the comics and with Hana's stuff? Make sure you check this out

http://samantha48616e61.com/

Hana posts a video of Peter exploding in the sky, only its an extended version and from a different angle. Its awesome.

so i live in seattle and i saw a commercial for CiCi's pizza today. this made me hungry for pizza. when i go to their website, i find out the closest CiCi's is in colorado...

why do they advertise something they cant offer its viewers in the region?! WTF?

I WANT PIZZA!