This year’s TV season has already suffered tremendously because of the writer’s strike that began in November and lasted until March. Ratings across the board have been down about 20% over the last month, including the first week of May sweeps. Now it seems that there is a chance that our fave shows will yet again halt production – this time because of the actors. The Screen Actors Guild is taking issue with DVD sales and online content, and is bringing it to the attention of Hollywood producers. Talks between the two groups broke off on Tuesday. A strike is not a big possibility at this point, but you can’t count it out. Things aren’t looking too rosy right now, though I hope they can learn from the fallout from the writer’s strike and do what they can to come up with a compromise. Another strike could be a disastrous to the industry. More here:

Screen Actors Guild

Probst Promises Another Immunity Idol Blunder

This season has been great for Survivor fans, full of more back stabbings, blindsides, and immunity idol blunders. Probey promises more of the same, and perhaps the best yet, for tonight’s episode:

Immunity Idol


If You Can’t Get Enough Britney

CBS has a video preview of Britney’s second cameo on How I Met Your Mother. The clip is pretty short, but Brit looks good. Yeah, makeup does wonders, but it does appear that she’s doing a great job workin’ on her fitness. See for yourself:

Britney

Ugly Betty Production Crew Gets, Well, Ugly

A crew of 300 production people from Ugly Betty is steaming mad at the decision to move the show’s production to New York City from LA. So much so, they’ve taken out a full-page ad to appear in an upcoming edition of Variety magazine. They’re addressing their concerns primarily to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (those three words STILL sound funny to me). I feel for them. Here’s the first paragraph:

We are writing to you because we just lost our jobs. We are the 300 plus members of the crew of the television show Ugly Betty. We were informed this Tuesday that the production of our show is moving to New York primarily because of the 35% tax incentives being offered by the state of New York. Instead of making good wages and paying our fair share of California state income tax, we will all be collecting Unemployment Benefits. In addition, we will certainly be cutting our spending back to the bone, which will not only cut back our sales tax contributions substantially, but it could end up costing the jobs of the people who provide services and products to us. Not only are these crew positions being lost all of our local vendors are losing our business.

Madonna Announces Tour: Vancouver Date October 30th

Madonna’s touring again, and will make millions doing it. Madonna concert tickets are notoriously expensive, and this tour is no exception. Although tickets for this tour are said to have a low end of 55 dollars, most good seats will run you closer to 150, and up to 300 bucks a pop. Tickets for the Vancouver show go on sale Saturday, May 24th. Although I have yet to see her in concert (she is one of the few big name artists I have missed) I hear the show is worth every penny. The tour is called the Sticky and Sweet Tour. Nope, no innuendo there. More details:

Sticky and Sweet tour

The Gong Show Returns! Unknown Comic’s Participation Unknown

Comedy Central is reviving the show that Chuck Barris made famous in 1976. Comedian Dave Attell will be filling Chuck Barris’s shoes as host of the new version of the show that is to follow the same format as the original – offbeat acts and celebrity judges. It debuts on July 17th in the states, no word as to whether Comedy Network in Canada will carry it.

Sidebar: if you want to see a great movie all about Chuck Barris, the guy who created the Gong Show (as well as the Newlywed Game and the Dating Game), you owe it to yourself to rent the George Clooney-directed film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. An amazing movie.

Last night’s TV Ratings (source: zap2it.com) and More TV Stuff

"Deal or No Deal," 5.0/8, won a soft 8 p.m. hour for NBC. A prime-time "Price Is Right" was right behind at 4.9/8 (the two shows finished in a virtual tie among total viewers). "Wife Swap," 4.6/8, finished third for ABC. FOX took fourth with '"Til Death" and "Back to You," while "America's Next Top Model" earned a 2.8/5 for The CW.

"American Idol" zoomed into the lead at 9 p.m. with a 13.8/21, up a tick from last week's results show. "Criminal Minds," 8.3/13, came in second for CBS. "Deal or No Deal" slipped to third in its second hour. "Supernanny" drew a 3.4/5 for ABC, while week two of "Farmer Wants a Wife" on The CW came in at 1.5/2.

CBS took control at 10 p.m. thanks to "CSI: NY," 8.2/14. "Law & Order" posted a 6.0/10 for NBC. The ABC News special "Audition: Barbara Walters' Journey" delivered a 5.2/9.

Jason Castro was finally sent home last night on Idol. Outside the Idol studios, in homes everywhere, a chorus of boos from 12-year-old girls was drowned out by a tremendous collective cheer from the rest of the world. Rumors have been floating around for weeks now that Castro wanted out anyway.

Tonight make sure to watch CSI (I never thought I would ever see those words coming out of my keyboard – I REALLY dislike the show) to check out how the Two and a Half Men writing team make out taking over the CSI episode. The Office is also back for another new episode, as well as the aforementioned Survivor and Ugly Betty. NHL is back for round 3 of the playoffs with the Stars trying to upset the Red Wings.