By Kofi Outlaw

With Hollywood quivering at the knees in fear of a looming writer’s strike, networks NBC and CBS are betting on the continued success of their freshman dramas, putting in an early call for additional scripts to be written while there are still writers to write them.

NBC has picked up three additional scripts for shows BIONIC WOMAN, LIFE, JOURNEYMAN and CHUCK, while CBS has picked up an additional four scripts for its Jimmy Smits vehicle, CANE. The move is a prudent one for the networks, who often opt to secure scripts rather than committing to full-season pickups, but rarely this soon and rarely for this many shows. It is also cheaper for networks to purchase scripts rather than shilling out for full episodes, the move also provides incentive ($$$) for writers to keep doing their jobs.

Since many television writers have most of a season scripted (to varying degrees of completion) before it goes to air, this latest move by NBC and CBS will help the networks secure months of plotlines for their shows well before the strike hits (allegedly on October 31st.)

Most of the shows having additional scripts picked up are currently shooting episodes 8-9, with the exception of BIONIC WOMAN, whose special effects and action-sequences have it paced a little behind the rest. With new scripts fastened securely under their belts, CBS and NBC could continue to air shows well into mid-season without as much as a hiccup—but not much longer after, unless they either shill for more scripts now, or commit to the series altogether. Either choice would most likely keep their writers pockets nicely lined and the writers themselves willing to play ball.

For now it seems that the networks are simply battening down and preparing for the storm. However with only 9 episodes in the can, and four more on deck for production, one has to wonder: if this strike really does go down come October 31st, what is to become of my beloved sweeps week? If watching the SOPRANOS has taught me anything, it’s that waiting years between halves of seasons only makes me more angry with God than I am already.