TVSquad

It's been so long that we've heard anything about a possible actors strike that I kinda forgot all about it. Now it looks like we don't have to worry about it.

The Screen Actors Guild has made a tentative deal with producers and studios, so there will be no crazy interruption/chaos in our TV entertainment choices like we saw with the writers strike last year (remember that? Wasn't that fun?). The two major sticking points were compensation for new media (DVDs, online, etc) and when the contract would end. The two-year deal will be finalized this Sunday when the 71 member national board meets and votes on it. I'm sure a lot of members won't like the new contract but only half of the members have to vote for it to pass.

So if you've been worrying about a possible strike, you can exhale now. And get to work worrying about whether or not your favorite show will make it to the fall.

Today, game developer Gameloft is going to announce a multi-year agreement with Touchstone Television; under the agreement, Gameloft will develop mobile phone games based on Touchstone-produced shows. It will also be announced that the first two shows to get the mobile game treatment will be Lost and Desperate Housewives.

Now, with all the mysteries and symbols and codes that float around Lost, I can easily see how that can be made into an engaging game. But Housewives? What are they going to have the game players do in that one? Have Gabrielle sleep with the housepainter instead of the gardner? Have Bree kill another husband? Give Lynette another screaming kid? Since Gameloft has also made The O.C. into a video game, I'm sure they're capable of creating something interesting. But I don't think a Housewives game would hold my interest while I take the train into the city.

You're stuck in Indianapolis on a business trip and facing the prospect of staring at a hotel TV that has the four networks and the History Channel. Not looking promising, is it? Well, fear not road warriors, because if the hotel you're in has On Command, you'll soon be able to drift off to sleep to Beetlejuice, Jeff the Drunk, or -- best of all -- Carmen Electra riding the Sybian.

Yes, that's right, folks, Howard TV is coming to a hotel room near you!  On Command, who runs the in-room pay-per-view services for most hotel chains, and iN DEMAND, who provides on-demand programming for cable companies, have signed an agreement to offer content from Howard Stern's channel in rooms across the country. So, if you're in the right frame of mind, you'll be able to find entertainment for the night that will be funny and maybe a bit... uh... bawdy, but won't be embarrasing to see on the bill you get the next morning.

Oh, and if the last sentence of my first paragraph read "blahblahblahblahblah Carmen Electra blahblahblahblah" to you, well... there's always Modern Marvels...