Here's a new one: a Japanese arrest warrant has been issued for Hayden Panettiere over her efforts to prevent the slaughter of a pod of dolphins by fishermen. I realize this sounds like the sort of douchey dilletantism that seems to mark most celebrity activism. But if you watch the video of the protest, it's pretty clear she's not just dicking around with this. I have to think it would be impossible to witness what she did and not be affected by it, though. And despite the arrest warrant, I feel pretty confident she won't do any time on this.

Yay! The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre is hosting live stage shows of 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live, the latter hosted by Michael Cera!

Except...boo! I didn't know about it until it was already sold out! What a roller coaster of emotions!

On the other hand, I do have tickets for the ASSSSCAT show on Sunday night. If Michael Cera is in town on Saturday, maybe he'll hang around on Sunday? Dare I dream?

Speaking of Michael Cera and SNL, did you hear that one of the episodes that got cancelled due to the strike was to have been hosted by Jonah Hill? Superboo.

Oh my God, you guys, did you see yesterday's Oprah?! If you didn't, don't worry: it's a two-parter that's wrapping up today, and I'm sure they'll do an extensive recap of Thursday's episode at the top of Friday's. It's one of my favourite talk-show topics: compulsive hoarders. Yesterday, Oprah did a little disclaimer about how the point of the episode was to offer help to viewers who might have hoarders in their own families and need help in how to confront them, and not just to give everyone a voyeuristic peek into strangers' embarrassing problems. But come on, Oprah. That's why 99% of us were watching -- to feel superior that we just might be a few months behind in shredding our old bills.

Glark is crossing through the room while The Real Housewives Of Orange County is on, in the background with no one really paying attention, just as one of the Housewives throws back a Jell-O shot.

McSweeney's predicts the ripple effects of the ongoing WGA strike. Some doubters might say it's an absurd exaggeration, but frankly, if any more of our favourite shows run out of new episodes, "love ends" will not be a joke in this commentator's household.

If you don't regularly read Jane Espenson.com, it's worth checking out -- especially of late.  She's got a strike Fan Day update in her latest entry, and she's still talking about writing stuff as well.

 

"What's Fan Day?"  Click here to visit Fans4Writers.com, a resource for viewers who want to get involved.

When she's not playing ass-kicking strike captain, Pamie is undoubtedly wishing like hell she could get back to work at Samantha Who?, which has just received a (quite deserved, in my never-humble opinion) People's Choice nod. Way to go, lady. We think about you every day.

So in the great tradition of list-making for the sake of list-making, Entertainment Weekly brings you the 50 Greatest TV Icons Of All Time Ever Bar None No Matter What, or whatever they're calling it. It's not that I don't enjoy a good photo gallery as much as the next person, but damn, a list of 50 and the only way to see them is to click through every one individually? That is diabolical, man.

Anyway. A few questions:

1. Jimmy Smits is a bigger icon than Larry Hagman? Really? I mean...I guess so? But Jimmy Smits wasn't involved in the biggest television-changing event of all time, to be honest. He was good on L.A. Law and very good on NYPD Blue, but now he's in Cane, and in case you haven't noticed, nobody cares.

2. Enough with Lassie, TV nostalgia people. I'm serious.

3. Jon Stewart should be higher than #41. That's television-changing television he's involved with, and he is the face of it, no matter how hot Colbert is now. He invented what he does, really, or he at least perfected it, and before him, it was a show trying to do the same thing and doing it only one-tenth as well.

4. I was totally jazzed to see Heather Locklear at #25, because: absolutely. Absolutely. My best friend and I have discussed her as a great example of why you should always try to be great to work with. She's had a million chances to make "comebacks" she really doesn't need, and you can tell everybody loves to work with her. She's always funny, she's criminally underrated as a charismatic presence, and she overcame a totally insubstantial cheesecake image to turn into a lady I'm always happy to see on anything I watch. And I think it's completely adorable that she's dating Jack Wagner. Good for them. Go be happy together, '80s icons!

5. I continue to believe that some of the most famously "beloved" television comedy was not funny. The TWoP book is on record as anti-Lucy, and while I'm not exactly anti, I can certainly say I don't get what the fuss is about. Ditto Milton Berle, because Jesus, I'm not a person who laughs at just a man in a dress.

6. You can't have Simon Cowell and have no representation from Survivor. Shoulda had Hatch, I think.

7. I was all set to complain about the lack of anything remotely recent, but I'm prepared to admit that honestly, aging well is part of what being an icon is about. I'm sure there are people appearing right now who will one day be icons, but it's hard to say who they are. Patrick Dempsey? Conan O'Brien? Hayden Pannetiere? Kyle Chandler? No idea. But EW will be there with click-through pictures of every one of them.

If you're anything like the Conan writers, you grew a strike beard. And good on you.

What...what's that racket coming from outside the window at TWoP Towers? Is that a cop directing traffic down on 49th? A Writers Guild picket line? A fire department emergency drill? Someone noisily telling people where to put the strands of lights on the Rockefeller Christmas tree? A homeless man with a bullhorn and a sandwich board, ranting about the apocalypse like in the New York City of our imagination? (We could go on...)

Oh, right. It's just Access Hollywood's Billy Bush, filming his stand-up segments for tonight's show. This isn't the first time the tranquil, serene mood of the TWoP bullpen has been violated by Billy's inane ramblings, but we still manage to be amazed, every time, by how effing loud he is. Not to mention that fake TV anchor's voice that sounds like it was manufactured in a lab. And the hair, which: ditto. And the shiny turquoise tie.

If we think of anything else to make fun of Billy Bush for, we'll let you know.