The unforgiving minute

The writer's strike has graver consequences than indefinite interruptions of "Heroes" and "Pushing Dasies." Much graver.

In anticipation, [news department] producers are sketching out story ideas and stockpiling shows, with an eye toward delivering new material in January. Last week, "Dateline" staffers were instructed to be ready to produce as many as three hours a week after the new year. The show, which has long served as a fill-in for NBC, has spent this fall readying new episodes, including a few new installments of its controversial "To Catch a Predator" series.

Blaming the writers' strike to justify more cheap, self-righteous, ultra-creepy, voyeuristic crap like "To Catch A Predator"--that's really low.

This could almost make me nostalgic for high-brow "no-writer" programming like "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"

Minute's up.