And The Golden Globe Goes To...

...(sounds of crickets chirping)...

One of the latest casualties of the strike is that the WGA hasn't granted exemptions to both the Golden Globes and the Oscars, meaning that no writers will be cleared to work on those show.

In addition, all of the writers, plus most of the actors and directors, have said they will honor the picket lines and not attend the awards shows if the strike is still going on when they are supposed to air. That means there will be no one to present the awards and no one to receive them if the producers decide to go ahead and air them anyway. The Golden Globes, set to air in early January, are the first awards show coming up to be affected by the strike.

Though I always have a lot of fun trying to predict who will win what, I can't say I watched any of these shows with any sort of frequency. And this year's Golden Globes nominations were especially annoying with who got picked and who didn't, both on the movie side and the TV side. (I can't think of a movie more overrated by critics for some time than "No Country For Old Men," but that's a discussion for another time.)

Meanwhile, an interesting twist to the strike that may help bring about some sort of resolution has been the willingness of writers to seek out funding for projects other than the studios. With the availability of hedge funds out there as well as new media platforms like YouTube and Google - which have tons of money - some writers are looking to cut out the studios as middlemen and go directly to the Web with their projects.

It's a bit ironic, since the major sticking point between the studios and WGA are residuals for writers from new media broadcasts of their projects. By not giving any ground on this issue, the studios are running the risk of making themselves obsolete.

You can read more about this new idea for making movies at the L.A. Times Web site here: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-webwriters17dec17,1,299083.story?ctrack=3&cset=true.

And, Jimmy Kimmel has announced his late-night talk show on ABC would return to production at the beginning of January, joining both "The Tonight Show" and "Late Night" on NBC.

"SCRUBS" FIX: My brother sent me a link to a very funny Web site, which is good for people wanting their "Scrubs" fix. To learn more about the staff at Sacred Heart Hospital, visit here: http://www.rateyourdoc.org

WEDNESDAY'S BEST BETS: First off, my apologies. CBS listed a new episode for "NCIS" last night, but re-ran the season premiere.

So, be forewarned that tonight's episodes of "Criminal Minds" (CBS, 9 p.m.) and "CSI: NY" (CBS, 10 p.m.) are also supposed to be new. We'll see.

The finale of "Journeyman" (NBC, 10 p.m.), a complex and clever series that never found an audience, airs tonight. The producers have promised to wrap up at least most of the questions surrounding Dan Vasser's (Kevin McKidd) time travel. That's something, at least, though I would have liked to have seen more of this show. It follows "Clash of the Choirs" at 8 p.m.

I won't get into "Duel" (ABC, 8 p.m.) too much except to say I was really glad that woman who hates men got booted last night. Her "Oh, I think a woman should win it all, and if it was up to me, it would only be women in those chairs" comments made my sense of schadenfreude work overtime when she proved to be less smart than a lunch lady. Buh-bye.

Finally, the CW is all-new with "Crowned" and "Gossip Girl."