[Televisionary]

On November 13th, this blog and the blogs listed below will be on strike for the day in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America. As fellow writers and as TV fans, we are coming together to express our strong support for the writers and their goals. We believe that when a writer's work makes money for a company, that writer deserves to be paid. Many writers depend on residuals for a stable income, and that income shouldn't be based on an outdated formula which ignores the existence of new media and all but a tiny percentage of DVD sales. The talented writers responsible for so much of what we love about television should and must be paid fairly and equitably, and we will stand with them until they reach that goal. For everyone's sake, and for the sake of television, we hope both sides can come to an agreement quickly. To further that goal, we are calling on our readers to sign this petition and to contact the following television networks, voicing support for the writ

Things might seem bleak with the writers strike raging on outside my windows (and no sign of a resolution from the studios anywhere in sight), but there is one joyous piece of news. Cabler FX has ordered not one, but two additional seasons of its serpentine legal drama Damages , with 26 episodes of the series on tap. Production on Season Two is said to begin early next year... should the writers strike conclude in time. The network also announced that it had secured series leads Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, and Tate Donovan for Season Two of Damages , leading this jaded TV writer to conclude that Ted Danson--who played the maniacal fat cat billionaire Arthur Frobisher, will not be returning to the series for the second season. FX is proud of our status as a leader in fostering bold, high-quality scripted programming,” said John Landgraf, FX's president. “We commend [creators] Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, Daniel Zelman and their magnificent cast, headed by Glenn Close, with pulling

It's Monday morning and Week Two of the WGA Strike begins today, with no sign of resolution anywhere in sight. Today's themed strike: Bring Your Child to Strike Day (it's a school holiday, thanks to Veteran's Day). Expect the big stars to come out on Tuesday for a SAG-supported round of picketing. For those of you who missed my late Friday post, an updated list of which series have shut down production (along with how many shot episodes and scripts remain) can be found right over here . Over the weekend, Lost showrunner Damon Lindelof offered an eloquent and sobering op-ed piece about the strike in The New York Times , entitled " Mourning TV ." Lindelof's piece speaks volumes about the conflicting interests of writers and studios as much as it does signal the (long-coming) end of an era in which we all watched the same television series live, with commercials, on a set-top box. Those of us obsessed with our beloved TiVos knows that the winds of change ble

Last night's episode of The Amazing Race ("I've Become the Archie Bunker of the Home") has got to be one of the funniest installments of the long-running reality franchise to date... and quite possibly showcased one of the most depressingly dysfunctional relationships ever to appear on the series (well, there's always Jonathan and Victoria, but the less said about them the better). On that front, I'm talking specifically about father/daughter team Ronald and Christina, whose interactions had my jaw permanently clinging to the floor. I'll start by saying that Christina exhibits the patience of a saint; throughout last night's episode she managed to rein in her anger and emotions in a way that I know I wouldn't have been able to do under similar circumstances. Ronald for his part does not know how to speak to his daughter, interact with her, or encourage her. In fact, I truly think that Ronald believes that his constant nagging (along with mean-spir

Whither Gina McKee? That's the question on my mind after learning of the latest two cast additions on FOX's supernatural drama The Oaks . Michael Rispoli ( The Black Donnellys ) and Romy Rosemont ( Prison Break ) have been cast in The Oaks , which started production on its pilot last Monday in Pasadena. Neither creator David Schulner nor executive producer/showrunner Shawn Ryan, both not performing writing or producer duties as part of the WGA strike, have been involved with the shoot. According to The Hollywood Reporter , the final cast decisions were made by executive producer Gina Matthews. Rispoli and Rosemont will play a married couple with two children in 1988 in the FOX series about three couples linked in time by a spirit that haunts the home they share in three different time periods. Rosemont replaces British actress Gina McKee as Molly. Allegedly, the 1988 portion of the series will be taken "in more comedic, blue-collar direction." Hmmm. That's really

Televisionary is proud to be a member of the TV Blog Coalition. At the end of each week, we'll feature a roundup of content from our sister sites for your delectation. This week here at Televisionary, I've kept the masses up-to-date on the WGA strike happenings , including up-to-the-minute updates to the list of series that have been affected or gone black as a result of the strike . I also took an exclusive first look at the script for NBC's Knight Rider pilot , complimented the improvement that this week's backstory-laden installment of Chuck brought, sadly lamented the penultimate pre-strike episode of The Office , and celebrated the return of Life on Mars . Elsewhere in the sophisticated TV-obsessed section of the blogosphere, members of the TV Blog Coalition were discussing the following items... BuzzSugar : We wondered about the worst television shows ever , wondered if the writers' strike would make us watch more Web-only programming , and got creeped out i

It's Friday evening and the first week of the WGA strike is winding down with no signs of resolution in sight. For those of us who work in the TV industry and didn't live through the 1988 strike, it really has been a strange, strange week here. Rumors are circulating of a "secret, backchannel discussion" between parties that are being planned for this weekend. However, many insiders believe this to be more wishful thinking than anything concrete. Around town, many writer/producers whose projects aren't currently in production found their term deals suspended as FOX, CBS Paramount, NBC Universal, and ABC Television Studios react to the strike. But what the general television audience is curious about is how the ongoing writers strike will affect their favorite series. Below is the latest production blackout update, sorted by network: ABC Big Shots : Shot episode nine on November 7th. Has 11 of its 13 episode order already written. Boston Legal : Will have 14 of 22