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."

Late Night Shows To Return

NBC is already rolling out the ads promoting the return of "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno and "Late Night" with Conan O'Brien, scheduled (right now) for Jan. 2.

Both shows had been pulled for the WGA strike, but both are set to return -- without writers. What's another name for a late-night comedy show without comedy writers? Usually, it's train wreck.

This is actually a good thing for the writers, since late-night shows without jokes for the hosts are going to wear thin real quick for viewers, and ratings are likely going to drop fast, putting more pressure on the studios to return to the bargaining table.

Meanwhile, "The Late Show With David Letterman" is negotiating individually its own deal with the WGA through Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants. Once a deal is struck, "The Late Show" would return with a full writing staff. Again, with individual deals being struck, it would again force the studios as a whole to return to the negotiations, something they have refused to do for nearly two weeks now in a gamble to try to break the union.

And once Letterman does return, he's one of the most vocal pro-union guys anyway, so it would give the writers a great forum on the air to plead their side of the strike.

AROUND THE DIAL: Some people have been asking, when will the lone filmed-but-unaired episode of "Desperate Housewives" actually return? According to TVGuide.com, Jan. 6. This is the follow-up to the cliffhanger about the tornado that hit Wisteria Lane. If you don't want to find out who lives and dies before the episode, then DON'T go to TVGuide's Web site, because spoilers are posted. ...

Not a TV item, but the new, frakkin' awesome trailer for "The Dark Knight" is posted here: http://www.atasteforthetheatrical.com. I can't believe I've got to wait another seven months for this movie! ...

MONDAY RECAP: So, I checked out "Duel" last night on ABC. Not bad, not great. Mike Greenberg was solid as a host, but enough with the freaking commercials already. It's as bad as "Deal or No Deal," where they try to make every big moment a cliffhanger by inserting another commercial. Even the contestants last night were exasperated, which was actually pretty amusing. Meanwhile, the contestants themselves seemed to be an annoying group of wankers, with the exception of the girl who is leading right now. She seems OK. The questions themselves haven't proven too difficult, either. You can check it out again tonight at 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, "Journeyman" continues to show great flashes of brilliance, which makes it a shame that Wednesday's episode is the series finale. However, producers have said they anticipated this might be the end, so expect several questions about Dan's (Kevin McKidd) time-traveling to be wrapped up.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: The networks continue to horde new episodes like squirrels with chestnuts, offering them slowly and reluctantly. But CBS is all-new tonight, with "NCIS" leading things off, followed by "The Unit" and "Cane."

"Duel" is followed by new installments of "According to Jim" (ABC, 9:30 p.m.) and "Boston Legal" (ABC, 10 p.m.)

NBC is all-reality tonight, continuing with "Clash of the Choirs" at 8 p.m. and followed by "The Biggest Loser" season finale at 9 p.m. Fear not, "Loser" fans; NBC is returning with "The Biggest Loser: Couples Edition" in January.

Finally, cable puts out some interesting offerings, with a new episode of "Nip/Tuck" (FX, 10 p.m.) But the pick of the night is the insanely clever "Life On Mars" (BBC America, 9 p.m.)

'Clash' vs. "Duel'

With the writers' strike going on, it's hard to tell if some of the programming choices made by the networks would have been made if there had been made if there had been no strike.

Witness tonight, which sees the debut of two new reality game shows that will be airing all week. ABC kicks off "Duel" at 8 p.m., in which sportscaster Mike Greenberg of ESPN's "Mike & Mike" fame serves as host as a group of trivia contestants face off against each other in an NCAA-style bracket for a $1.5 million prize.

NBC counters with "Clash of the Choirs" (NBC, 8 p.m.), in which five choirs, under the tutelage of professional singers, compete in an "American Idol" type format. (Though, would you want to be the judge that disses a choir? I'm sure there's a circle of Hell for people like that!)

Of the two, "Duel" sounds a bit more promising, especially for a trivia nut like me. The problem with a lot of primetime game shows is that the trivia is often not very challenging and the networks overuse the shows. ABC itself did this with "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" a few years ago, showing it so often that people burned out with it.

For me, I'm hoping we have scripted television back soon enough.

WGA UPDATE: Speaking of the writers, the WGA has announced that it will start negotiating with individual studios and production companies, since the conglomerate of studios walked away from the bargaining table over a week ago and refuses to come back. Though there are several hundred production companies to deal with, at least one, David Letterman's "Worldwide Pants" has announced it will eagerly begin negotiating. Hopefully, this tactic will help jumpstart negotiations in general.

'LOST' RETURNS: ABC will give me a slightly belated birthday present (because, yes, it's all about me) when "Lost" returns to the schedule Jan. 31, switching to Thursday nights in February and airing in the "Grey's Anatomy" slot of 9 p.m. Since ABC has obviously been successful in this time slot, it's a good deal for "Lost" fans, especially since it likely won't be going against any new episodes of CBS' "CSI."

MONDAY'S BEST BETS: Pick a new game show, because most of the rest of the offerings tonight are reruns.

Two notable exceptions are "K-Ville," (Fox, 9 p.m.) and "Journeyman" (NBC, 10 p.m.), both of which are likely gone for good whenever the writers do return. "Journeyman" fans will at least get a bonus episode this Wednesday at 10 p.m. Also new is "Notes From The Underbelly" (ABC, 9:30 p.m.), followed by a new "October Road" at 10 p.m. Also new is "CSI:Miami" (CBS, 10 p.m.)

Also of some interest might be "Antiques Roadshow" (PBS, 8 p.m.) which airs three episodes in a row from Savannah.