Ellen and the Scabs...well

While ELLEN DEGENERES hasn't publicly shed any tears over the writers' strike, the union is trying its best to make her feel bad about continuing production of her talk show. The eastern branch of the Writers Guild of America has vowed to picket her show when it tapes in New York next Monday and Tuesday. Referring to DeGeneres' emotional conflict over the adoption of a dog last month, the WGA East said, quote, "We find it sad that Ellen spent an entire week crying and fighting for a dog that she gave away, yet she couldn't even stand by writers for more than one day."

DeGeneres did not report to work on the first day of the strike, but later taped a show that aired Friday. She acknowledged the strike on the episode, saying she would not perform a monologue in support of her writers. The producer of The Ellen DeGeneres Show claims that DeGeneres is not breaking strike rules since she's performing her own material. The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or AFTRA, which represents TV personalities such as DeGeneres, also defended the comedian. She's a member of both AFTRA and the Writers Guild.

The major late-night talk shows have aired repeats since the strike began last week. An executive producer for The Tonight Show said in a statement Friday that it has considered using guest hosts in place of JAY LENO. When asked about that report yesterday, Leno replied, "I hope not."

Several primetime series have also felt the effects of the strike. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Scrubs creator BILL LAWRENCE says several episodes for the current season, which is the series' last, have yet to be written. He also says he earlier turned down a request to write a rushed finale to wrap the series in the event of a strike.