Multiple choice:

High school + football + locker rooms + hormones = ___________

a.) haven of male bonding
b.) homoeroticism
c.) the set of Friday Night Lights
d.) all of the above

If you ask me, the answer is D.

However, Kyle Chandler toes around the idea of a gay storyline on Friday Night Lights in an interview with The Advocate. He says, “I think it would make a pretty interesting story line, but it’s a rough time to be bringing that up seeing as though we’re in the middle of a strike. Now you call me and suggest it!”

He goes on in the interview to express anxiety about aging.

But is it a bit depressing to be surrounded by a bunch of 20-year-olds in their physical prime on Friday Night Lights?
Hell, yeah, it’s depressing! Bastards. Especially that Taylor Kitsch, showing himself off in all those damn muscle magazines and everything. Meanwhile, I’m counting my extra gray hairs every morning. But it’s neat to see those guys do well. I was there at one point, so I know where they are. They’ve got great years ahead of ’em.

Read the rest over at The Advocate’s Web site.

A lot of times, when I recommend stuff as gift ideas it is actually code for “I want this, buy it for me.”

This is no exception.

In case you’ve already forgotten about it (which, I can’t blame you for), the short-lived American version of Creature Comforts is now out on DVD. It’s the one with the stop-motion animation animals voiced by real Americans. It’s all hilarious and good clean fun.

Furthermore, it really is a great gift idea. Like the best animated movies, it has jokes for adults that will fly over the kids heads. They’ll just laugh at the dogs sniffing each others’ butts.

Here’s a clip I dug up on YouTube:[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/pDo_vs3Aip4" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

If you still have to buy someone a gift, take this coupon to the Banana Republic by tomorrow.

• Appendix issues have forced Cheryl Burke off the Dancing with the Stars tour.  (Yes.  Slow news day.)
• Tila Tequila picked a boy.
• Um, interview with Michael Chiklis, anyone?
• USA has canceled both The 4400 and The Dead Zone.
• Take a look at the third chapter of Heroes.
• Go Fug Yourself targets Mischa Barton.

There are some oasises (oasi? oasium?) in the barren landscape of new programming. For instance, we can already look forward to The Wire. In fact, here’s the trailer for season five right here.[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/O7HoWd7mY8E" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

So, let’s get to know each other a little bit, shall we?

One thing you may not know about me is that I menstruate.

Not actually, but close enough.  Despite (or maybe because?) I have no experience with babies (I’m the youngest of two), I’m completely fascinated by them.  One day, I hope to acquire a few, Jolie-Pitt style.  For now, though, I’m looking forward to someday becoming an obsessively doting uncle.

On that note, I thought I’d share this commercial I am obsessed with because it is so fucking cute. It’s for Giant — the mid-Atlantic grocery chain — and features this baby spontaneously making weird-ass growling noises. Take a look.

In case you’ve missed Cristin’s recaps of The Hills, the good folks at Best Week Ever have sponsored a one-minute video recap of the entire season. Admittedly, it’s not laden with pirate references or meta-pop culture touchstones, but it is pretty damn funny. Have a look-see.

The pair you see are comedy duo Gabe and Jenny and I am in love with them. They’ve got the gay boy/straight girl dynamic down, but instead of making it all Will and Grace-y, they’ve opted for a more absurd take on comedy. And I really think that absurdity is where it’s at these days — sarcasm and cynicism need to take a break.

Anywho, while you’re thinking about them take a look at this sketch that they made about online dating.

Don’t watch this at work if, you know, you don’t want to get caught/fired/sold into prostitution.[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/P4TUQ9MpT94" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Side note: I just want to say that Best Week Ever is a really great blog and you should be reading it constantly. That and Go Fug Yourself. Two really smart, really funny blogs that redeem the blogosphere for the shit it continually churns out.

I don’t know how I’ve managed to not get sick so far.

• Letterman’s back on Jan. 2 — with writers. Jimmy Kimmel too — without.
• Rob Thomas is talking to DC about a comic on Veronica Mars (and more in Ask Ausiello).
• NBC is going to start airing Monk and Psych.
• New York and Tailor Made are now living together.
• E-Kristin talks to the cast of Scrubs.
• Denise from Survivor has turned down Mark Burnett’s check after admitting she was less than honest on the Survivor finale.
• Simon Cowell has, um, smaller boobs.
• Ali Larter from Heroes got engaged.

I miss The Daily Show. We all do.

One day, the strike will be over and there will be new episodes. We will lie in the sun and laugh and frolic.

But for now, winter is here. To help you with the lack of Daily Show in our lives, I’ll be posting some classic clips until this thing is resolved. They’re obviously dated, but two-week-old clips are pretty much just as good as four-year-old ones. And not that I want to force even more reruns on you, but hopefully these will be some cheerful reminders of how wonderful Jon and company are.

For instance, this is a Samantha Bee segment on undecided voters in the 2004 election that I thought was hysterical the moment I saw it. Obviously out of date — still hilarious.

As someone who works in the movie business, I’ve been following the WGA strike very closely, although so far it has affected me a lot more as a fan of television than as an employee of the Hollywood Dream Machine TM. I’m not sure I’ve ever even worked on a movie that had a WGA writer. Yeah, it’s a glamorous life. I am in the Editors Guild, which is part of IATSE, which is officially mad at the WGA for putting us all out of work. But I’m definitely in favor of the writers. They should take whatever they can get. I wouldn’t mind getting a piece of those new media revenues too, but editors don’t get any residuals for old media either.

The news so far has been pretty boring. Our favorite TV shows are dropping like flies, while movies will continue for a long time without any theaters going empty or filling their screens with artsy foreign and independent films. But I think the recent news that the WGA refused to allow the Golden Globes or the Academy Awards to show any movie clips is fascinating. I can imagine an awards show without writers. It might even be fun. But take away clips from the movies and previous awards shows, and we’re getting pretty close to the pure, masturbatory essence of the Oscars.

WGA member Jon Stewart is hosting the Oscars this year and it seems pretty unlikely that he’ll do anything more creative than introduce people. Even if he starts with some prepared remarks about supporting the strike, that would be writing. In fact, his main job as a WGA member should be to make the show as boring as possible. A lot of people will be watching the show, and the Worst Oscars Ever would be a good reminder of the importance of writers.

In other strike news, the WGA wants to negotiate separate contracts with everyone now. They’re sick of dealing with the AMPTP (who was already refusing to negotiate with them anyway) and now want to divide and conquer. One of the first producers to make a deal will be David Letterman. His production company Worldwide Pants owns his and Craig Ferguson’s shows, and as a long-time WGA member he will be happy to make a good deal with the WGA. If he can bring his shows back along with is writers, it will give him an advantage over Jay and Conan, who are both just hired guns at NBC and will have to convince the network to make a deal with the WGA in order to get their writers back. It will put some nice pressure on NBC. Jay and Conan are coming back January 2nd, with or without their writers. I’d love to see Jay’s ratings finally plummet, but the truth is he’ll probably be just fine. People who watch Leno are obviously not watching it because it’s so well written.

Throughout the strike, the members of the WGA have been busy making their case on the Internets. The Late Show Writers on Strike blog—written by Letterman’s writing staff—is my favorite. There’s been a mostly lame series called “Speechless” where famous actors don’t say any of the witty or moving things they usually say, you know, indicating that they don’t make it up on their own. The only one that I’ve really liked is with Woody Allen, who actually does make it up on his own.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/CgMCfi4HhyA" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

The Late Show Writers did their own version which is also funny.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/vI7stT8rS8c" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

There’s a new Battlestar Galactica promo going around that’s all stark and minimal and dramatic. Says one of the dudes at Sci-Fi, “Battlestar Galactica is often misconstrued as a visual effects-driven show, when in actuality it is a well-scripted, character-driven series. Sci-Fi wanted to focus on the characters.”

While I have yet to indulge in Battlestar Galactica — though I’m sure it is a heapin’ helping of sci-fi goodness — I’m sure the TiFaux devotees will treat this clip like the bucket of chum it is.

There are no clips of the next season, just so you know. Don’t get too worked up.

The new season begins in March.[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/aNPJID5ztyw" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]