On Variety's strike blog, our Season Pass panelist Cynthia Littleton has posted the results of a survey of the general public, conducted by research firm OTX, about the WGA strike.

Results indicate that the public is highly aware of the battle between the scribes and studios, but there doesn’t seem to be as much support for the labor action among non-pros as there is inside the biz.

The survey of 3,100 viewers between the ages of 13-64, conducted Nov. 26-Dec. 2, found that 73% of respondents were aware that the Writers Guild of America has gone on strike against the majors. Of those who were aware of the strike, 41% of respondents said they supported the strike. That stat is interesting in contrast to last month’s Daily Variety strike survey that found 54% of 999 our subscribers believed that the strike was necessary.

The results specific to television indicate that only 16% of respondents said they expect to watch more original content on the Internet while 51% said they were disappointed that their favorite TV shows are poised to serve up repeats for the foreseeable future, with 44% saying they will continue to watch their fave raves in repeats. But 29% said they’re likely to lose interest in the season’s new shows if they are stuck in rerun-mode for too long. And 26% of respondents said they will likely watch more reality programming as a result of the strike.

As if the new shows hadn't already had a tough enough road.

The strike is claiming its earliest victims with sitcoms "The New Adventures of Old Christine," "Back to You" (pictured below), "’Til Death," "Rules of Engagement" and "The Office" already shut down. And of course the latenight shows immediately went dark. For more details see the story from our TV gurus (and fellow Season Passers) Mike Schneider and Joe Adalian here.

After this morning's rally by showrunners, who convened outside ABC, there should be several more shows going dark as more folks at the helm of shows realize they can't, in good conscience, picket the companies as writers and then turn around and work for them as producers.

"Ugly Betty" exec producer-creator Silvio Horta explained the dilemma succinctly saying “The perfectionist in me wants to participate, the Norma Rae in me wants to support my union.”

For more reactions like this, see the story above and Variety's new strike blog, Scribe Vibe.

Buckle up folks, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

— Kathy Lyford