Look for the union label...

Strike! Strike! Strike!

Here's a very long, very thorough, rundown of the issues, ramifications and likely outcome of the strike (with swear words thrown in to make sure you pay attention). Here's a shorter version.

As I see it, there's little to no chance the writers strike a deal before 2008. It seems like there would be a window of opportunity where the television networks might blink in January, lest they head into February sweeps with a cupboard full of crap (most of the current shows will run out of scripts before then, so the networks will have a chance to try out whatever reality/news/whatever junk they'll use to fill the gaps and see if they can put together some sort of primetime schedule - of course, given the production lead-times, getting fresh shows on the air by February assumes the writers will be churning out scripts while they're walking the picket line).

If nothing's done by February sweeps, the studios won't have any incentive to make a deal for another couple of months. If this sucker lasts through May sweeps, the fall TV season will already be hosed and I imagine the studios will already be hiring scab writers in order to get something on the air.

I dunno, it seems like it's going to be long and ugly. If there's an old show you always wanted to watch on DVD, get in the Netflix queue NOW (and savor the irony that DVD residuals are one of the major sticking points for the union).

The LA Times has a nice rundown on when the networks will run out of what.