At least that's the somewhat sarcastic conclusion I'm jumping to. As I started watching the east coast feed, an email bounced into the TV Squad inbox from reader 'Jay.' He noted that when he tried to record The Middleman on his PC, he was greeted with an error message. I had to wait three hours for the regular airing on the left coast, but I dusted off an old Media Center PC and got that very same error, as you see in the picture. I like to think that Wendy is showing her shock and outrage at the snafu in that shot. But wait, there's more ... after the jump.

And the winner for The Jeopardy Award for 2008, given to the game show requiring the most skills, is ... American Gladiators!

Out of the five nominees, AG not only got the most votes from the TV Squad staff but also our readers (getting about 50 votes more than Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?).

The show may not require a lot of brain power, but it is so physically demanding that some competitors leave the arena seriously injured.

Each week, four competitors (two women and two men) test their physical and mental strength, endurance and confidence in a series of wacky and challenging events such as the Joust, the Wall, Hang Tough and The Eliminator.

Hear that sound -- a nearly inaudible rumbling coming over the horizon? Everyday it is getting louder and louder. Soon, the stampede that is the return of scripted series back from the depths of the WGA strike will overrun our televisions and computer screens, bringing overwhelming joy to our lives.

Okay, that statement may be a little flowery, but the sentiment is still there. After a very long dry period a good many of our favorite comedies and dramas are returning to the television landscape. We've had a taste of it these last few weeks with the return of shows like The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Dirt, The Riches and Smallville. That was just a preview of what is to come. Over the next few weeks we will see the return of The Office, Scrubs, Ugly Betty, all of the CSIs, Battlestar Galactica, and Lost, among others.

%Gallery-19148%

• Remember Tom Green? He's getting his own late night talk show.
  
• American Gladiators premieres in January, too.