November 1st is the date the WGA contract runs out. It’s also the first day of National Novel Writing Month. Coincidence?
Heroes: Origins: Gone
I can confirm that the plug got pulled on the six Heroes: Origins episodes, one of which I was slated to write and direct. The possiblity of a WGA strike ((I’m bucking convention by not saying “looming” in reference to the strike.)) made NBC hesitant to prep a series they might never be able to shoot.
I had literally just hit “Print” on my revised outline when I got the call from Tim Kring. So, yeah. I’m bummed. But I get it: It was a lot of money to spend in a very uncertain time. And if the labor situation resolves in an orderly fashion, the series could find itself out of the deep freeze for next season. ((One favorite topic of conversation is what will happen to this TV season if there is a prolonged break. It’s not unlikely we’ll get a second, shorter season to finish up the year.))
In case we never get to shoot it, my episode is/was called “Rehab.” Not everyone is good with their powers. Not everyone is good, period.
Puppies and air vents
Ever since I called “Hack!” on characters crawling through air vents, readers have delighted in sending me stories of real-life duct-sliders. Here’s the latest installment, courtesy of Derek Haas.
Gravatars
For the last week, you may have noticed little pictures in the comments section. They are called avatars, and they’re hosted by a service called [Gravatar](http://gravatar.com/).
If you’d like one, you can [register](http://site.gravatar.com/signup) and upload an image. ((Note that it sometimes takes a few minutes for newly-uploaded images to show up, so don’t panic if it doesn’t register right away.)) It’s free and painless. Conveniently, the same picture will show up any blog that uses the Gravatar system, which will likely be a growing number, since the WordPress.com folks just [bought the company](http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/10/17/automattic-acquires-gravatar/).
I debated for several weeks whether or not to use them. Avatars feel a little social-networky, which this site certainly isn’t. But we get a lot of comments — sometimes 80+ — and being able to put a “face” with a name helps a lot. Also, I tend not to remember the names of people who post, but with photos, frequent commenters stand out.
The gravatars are a trial-basis thing. A couple of weeks from now, I might switch them off if I find they’re more annoying than useful. But feel free to use this comment thread to test them out, and offer any opinion on the issue.