(S05E25) About midway through tonight's show, I was prepared to write about how disappointed I was that only one week out from the conclusion of the Michael Scott Paper Company arc, we were subjected to such a throwaway episode.

Here's what I would have written: "How many times can we see Michael be disappointed that no one wants to join him in his crazy shenanigans? This is a 'go-to' plotline that I wish they would stop going to!" I would have then nodded solemnly at the screen, content that I had proved once again that blogging about TV is the most important job a person can have.

But before I had the chance to craft the rest of that review, something awesome happened. Like most awesome things, it started with two hot girls dancing with each other ...

(S08E09) I was jarred by the beginning of the show. I flip the channels and realize that right after the credits, the show started off with Lil Kim and Derek's performance. Wait, what? Gilles and Cheryl scored better by three points. No matter.

I'll admit that I skipped the performance in favor of Adam Lambert. His performance on American Idol was more interesting than five minutes of a dance I saw before. In the recap, we learned that last night Melissa ripped her dress, which is one of the reasons why she was thrown off.

Remember the '88 Writer's Strike? Well, while it didn't impact scripted television as much as the current strike, as it occurred largely during the off-season. Yahoo! reminds us that it was during this period that a network was finally willing to take a chance on an unscripted series. Nineteen years later, Cops is still on the air. And back then, reality wasn't even a genre.

Now, networks are all about this alternate form of entertainment/schedule filling. Even if the strike is resolved relatively soon, it may be too late to save the new year's schedule, and thus reality shows are being picked up by the bucketloads to fill the gaps. If the strike continues much into 2008 look for more and more to be put on the air.