(For other coverage on this topic, don't miss our Supernatural Fan Survival Guide, the Writer's Guild Strike and You, and Strike One!)

The strike is upon us, and most people don't even know what's going on yet. The short of it: the Writers Guild of America has called for a strike, effective today. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) could not reach an agreement with the Guild at the eleventh hour. That means if it's written in Hollywood by anyone in the Guild, it's no longer being written, full stop. Scripted shows such as Supernatural, Heroes, and even Battlestar Galactica (which is currently scheduled to come back in April) are no longer having scripts written for them, which means when the current batch of eps in production are finished, there won't be any more for however long this takes to resolve. Movies that don't have their scripts finalized ("Transformers 2," "Shazam!" just to name two) aren't likely to move forward anytime soon.

The LA Times has a handy list of what shows will be affected when and how badly. The fannish round-up:

and The Colbert Report are headed into immediate reruns. The LA Times says Lost should have eight episodes ready to go when the midseason gets in gear. However, series regular Michael Emerson told IGN: "You know, I know that's out there but I don't think that's true. I think that story is not true. To the best of my knowledge, they never have more than one episode beyond what we're shooting."

, another midseason show for ABC, could have all thirteen episodes ready but it's iffy. Moonlight has all but one episode of a 12-ep order ready. Jericho is getting its final seven episodes, to the relief of fans, and wth the lack of competition, there's a good chance of building an audience. Journeyman will have twelve episodes ready. Supernatural, as discussed in our previous article, has up to twelve episodes completed for the season, and possibly five scripts in the drawer they can use IF no changes are made to the scripts. 24 should have eight or nine eps, maybe ten, but that means it won't be able to finish out the twenty-four hours required for a season, and there's a good chance it'll be benched until next year. BSG has ten eps set to go, plus "Razor" in the can, though the strike will likely delay the second half of season four even more. Eureka has not yet started production for next season.

and New Amsterdam, both FOX series, have plenty of eps in the can and may get an extra push from the strike, as the network only has to worry about scheduling them around American Idol. A silver lining for ER fans: the strike may offer the show a shot at another season. One ER insider said to E!Online's Ask Kristin: "There is a small positive [to the strike]. It could force NBC to pick us up for another year, so we can end the story properly." Because of the shortened season, the team won't be able to land the show properly, and after all this time, NBC will likely be okay with it.

This strike may also be just a glimmer of things to come. The Directors Guild and Screen Actors Guild are facing contract renegotiations of their own, and the contract the writers get will almost certainly reflect what everyone else will see in a few months. Screen Actors Guild president Alan Rosenberg said it bluntly: "We'll get what they get."

Diana Son, who writes for Law & Order: Criminal Intent, said, "It's an extremely volatile industry. There's no job security. Residuals are an important part of our income. There's no cushion." Son has three children, and says her residuals paid for her leave after giving birth.

The negotiators for the writers took the DVD residuals off the table yesterday. One of the major bones of contention has been the tiny amount given to writers on the sales of DVD sets (usually about a nickel per set sold). Now everything hinges on whether or not the producers will give residuals on new media (internet downloads, mobile podcasts, etc.). As it is, the people who write the shows we love get exactly nothing when we download eps from iTunes or view them on the web, and since electronic media is the wave of the future, they'd like to change that.

The writers have been joined in their strike by supporters. Jay Leno brought doughnuts to his striking writers. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Tina Fey have joined in, and members of Joss Whedon fansite Whedonesque showed up to the picket lines and brought pizza to striking writers.

Even Presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke up on behalf of the writers.  In a statement Monday, Obama said: I stand with the writers.  The guild's demand is a test of whether media corporations are going to give writers a fair share of the wealth their work creates or continue concentrating profits in the hands of their executives. I urge the producers to work with the writers so that everyone can get back to work."

At Firefox News, we love our shows and we love the people who make them for us. We also embrace new media platforms and as such, we believe the people who write the things we watch should receive fair compensation for their work.

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