The painful writers strike of several months ago could prove a boon to the development of a new web TV channel packed with original content.

The months long Writers Guild of America strike that began November 1 of 2007 touched off a storm from which Hollywood still hasn't recovered. It slowed not only the production of new TV shows but the purchase and development of fresh material. The jury is still out on whether the settlement agreement that ended it all accomplish much for writers -- or merely set-up another strike in 2011.

Reports say, during the work stoppage, a group of top-shelf TV creators decided to step out of the traditional production model and develop material just for the web.

The resulting channel, Machinima, features web series pilots from individual TV writers and teams from shows like The Simpsons and SNL. The five 4 1/2-minute Internet shorts can be edited into a 22-minute pilot if TV networks get interested.

It's no scoop that "online" is the future of TV. But the strike forced successful TV talent to jump into the arena sooner than they would have otherwise. The end result means web series are evolving into a legitimate art form faster than the studios can figure out how to profit from them.