Writers want to get paid for new media content, including internet royalties for movies and TV shows, while the studios argue that there is not enough concrete revenue to include such mediums in writer contracts. With super-catchy chants such as "Network bosses, rich and rude, We don't like your attitude!" and "Hey, hey, ho, ho, management can't write the show," writers are showing that they clearly mean business.

The first casualties this week have been late-night talk shows, who rely on writers to provide current-events-based content for monologues. Many of you are concerned. I understand. I’m fighting a panic attack as I write this. After all, without new episodes of “The Daily Show”, “The Colbert Report” or “Late Night with Conan O’Brien”, how are we going to get our news? Will we actually have to resort to watching the news? I shudder at the thought.

Daytime TV, including live talk shows and soap operas, will soon feel the impact as well. Without writers, who will come up with today’s cutting-edge soap opera content? We may have a long wait before we find out whose evil twin brother is sleeping with the alien-possessed millionaire heiress wife of the murderous chief of police on “Days of Our Restless Hospital ”. Something needs to be done.

The picket lines have star power on their side. “30 Rock” creator and star Tina Fey was spotted outside New York’s famed Rockefeller Center, along with “Saturday Night Live” cast member Seth Myers, while “Seinfeld” alum Julia Louis-Dreyfus picketed in Los Angeles with Jay Leno, who handed out Krispy Kreme donuts. On Friday's "Tonight" show, Leno joked that NBC is readying "a new show for male viewers (with) no stupid writing - just explosions! Three full hours of nonstop, heart-pounding explosions!" It could only be an improvement, Jay.

Many new series that have just been given full season orders, such as “Back to You”, “Pushing Daisies” and “Bionic Woman”, will be facing a difficult road ahead, as initial audiences will likely lose interest as the strike moves on. Upcoming shows like 24 and Heroes: Origins have already been put on hold for the time being. I can’t imagine how we’ll survive if “Cavemen” gets cancelled because there’s nobody to write witty snippets for the hairy Neanderthals. But we’ve got to prepare ourselves. The last writers strike took place in 1988 and lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry a whopping $500 million. Before long, we’ll see a tidal wave of new reality and game shows to take the place of our favorite sitcoms, and David Letterman will have to start writing his own Top Ten lists just to get back on the air, like he did 20 years ago. Does anybody really want that? We may not have a choice.

So do something productive with this free time. Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you to get off your fat asses and actually do something besides watching TV and working on that butt-dent in your couch. Instead, you should take advantage of the opportunity to catch up on all the crap you’ve TiVo’d over the past few months. Before long, those old reruns of “Elimidate” and that “Family Ties” reunion show are going to be looking mighty good.

Header photo from wga.org by Jonathan Stark