Post TV columnist Lisa de Moraes was online Friday, Feb. 8 at 1 p.m. ET to hope hope hope for a deal on the writers strike this weekend, sum up this year's "American Idol" audition shows and debate about which network's Super Tuesday coverage met expectations.

The transcript follows.

Lisa Watches So You Don't Have To: "Grey's Anatomy" | TV columns | On TV discussion transcripts.

De Moraes has written "The TV Column" for The Post since 1998. She served as the TV editor for the entertainment industry trade publication the "Hollywood Reporter" for almost a decade.

____________________

washingtonpost.com: Lisa de Moraes will be a few minutes late this afternoon.

_______________________

Satchmo: Don't know if you listen to him or not, but Kornheiser has become enthralled with your use of "craptastic"

Lisa de Moraes: Hi. Sorry I'm late. Writers strike story is hopping today ... but, on more important subject, "craptastic" is one of my fave words. It's so useful, don't you think? So concise...

_______________________

Brooklyn, N.Y.: "Friday Night Lights" ain't coming back in the fall, is it?

Lisa de Moraes: I read an interview the other day, with NBC's Ben "The TV Industry Has Never Seen Anything Like Me" Silverman, head of the network's programming. The interviewer said his favorite show was "Friday Night Lights," which the reporter said was (paraphrasing) the best show on TV. Silverman's response was something like (paraphrasing) "Really? You need to start watching '30 Rock.' '30 Rock' is the best show on TV." Now, I don't know about you, but me -- I don't think that's a good sign for "Friday Night Lights."

_______________________

Anonymous: Any new insight on when the writers strike will be over? Also how did "House" do Sunday vs. Tuesday?

Lisa de Moraes: Sunday, with qualifiers: Striking entertainment-industry writers are, on Saturday, being presented with the deal their big cheeses have brokered with the alliance of studios. If the membership doesn't riot, then the writers guild east's "council" and the writers guild west's "board" each will meet, as soon as Sunday, to approve sending the deal out for vote and -- some sources say -- will tell writers to go back to work. But the WGA insists the strike absolutely is not over and won't be until the members actually ratify the deal...

_______________________

San Diego: How can Lisa be late? What could possibly be going on this weekend that she would have to report on?

Lisa de Moraes: Ha ha ha ha ha ... and I was worried, with the writers strike killing the press tour and the networks' lineups and pilot season, there would be nothing for me to write about...

_______________________

Severna Park, Md.: In the ads for "Big Brother," Julie Chen says "it's gonna be great." Is that true? I don't think that's true.

Lisa de Moraes: But she is a journalist for CBS News. She wouldn't lie ... would she?

_______________________

Connecticut: Why does it seem as though Leno has been singled out for criticism by the writer's union? Much has been made of his monologues, why don't you hear much fussing about Stewart and Colbert? Clearly some of their material is prepared.

Lisa de Moraes: If I had a buck for all the inconsistencies in the way the WGA is playing this out, I could afford to buy a house in Santa Monica....

_______________________

Writer's strike: Two sort of strike related questions: Will "Pushing Daisies" come back? Any chance for any more episodes this season? If it's not back this season, can we expect to see it next? I love, love, love this show! Also, why isn't ABC airing "Men in Trees" when there are original episodes? Does this mean it is done for?

Lisa de Moraes: "Pushing Daisies" is happily one of those freshman "bubble" shows that most people believe was performing well enough it would survive, and will not be among those -- as I said in today's column -- that will be lined up against a wall and executed the instant this strike is over. I don't have the inside dope on "Men" scheduling strategy in particular, but I assume if they have extra episodes they were being banked for a sweeps period, which we're in now and which will happen again in May...

_______________________

washingtonpost.com: Remember the Way Things Used to Be? Strike That (Post, Feb. 8)

_______________________

Midlothian, Va.: Rats. I was getting stoked for the networks to start running recent feature movies during prime time again. ABC ran "War of the Worlds" on Sunday night, for example.

Lisa de Moraes: Yes, the feature film has been brought back from the dead on the broadcasters' schedules. But I'm too busy TiVo-ing all the fab movies being presented on Turner Classic Movies during its "31 Days of Oscar," or whatever the heck they call it. They had "Lolita" on last night. Brilliant.

_______________________

Enamored with Pookie: Hi Lisa -- no real question here. Just wanted to tell you that you're the reason I come to the washingtonpost.com every single day - especially with "American Idol" gearing up in full swing. Your recaps of the shows are better than the shows themselves! Sign me a fan of LdeM forever.

Lisa de Moraes: How nice ... thanks. Contrary to some of the commentators on that blog, I adore "Idol" like it was my own child who accidentally had been dropped on its head by Nanny...

_______________________

Alexandria, Va.: Thoughts on "Lipstick Jungle"? Is that the girl from Beverly Hills 90210? I think she was Steven's wife?

Lisa de Moraes: That's Brooke Shields -- gak -- and the adorable chick from "Coupling," Lindsay Price. And the chick from "24" and, I think "The Nine," Kim Raver ... I really don't get why guys think she's so hot..

_______________________

Firth Alert: After cycling through some pretty bad adaptations of Jane Austen books (in my humble opinion), PBS is set to show your favorite, "Pride & Prejudice" with Colin Firth. Hooray!

Lisa de Moraes: I never get tired of that swimming-in-the-moat scene, and I'm absolutely confident that had Jane Austen thought of having Darcy swim in the moat and get his clothes all clingy to his very hot body, she would have written that scene into the book. Glad the producers corrected that oversight on her part...

_______________________

Kansas City, Mo.: When the strike first started, my snooty intellectual frenemies said "oh, maybe people will start reading books again." Are people reading books again?

Lisa de Moraes: I have not checked book sales ... my bad. Anybody?

_______________________

Washington: How come writers from Canada and the U.K. can still be writing? Wouldn't it make sense for the studio heads to just keep hiring them?

Lisa de Moraes: Well, glad you asked, because the networks actually have bought some shows that already were being produced in Canada; CBS bought a cop show the other day -- a real departure for CBS -- that stars some Canadian who is well known in U.S. and probably many people didn't even realize he's Canadian. Maybe Enrico Colantoni from "Veronica Mars" and "Just Shoot Me" -- or did I just dream that? Yes, it's gotten to the point where I have dreams/nightmares about the strike at night...

_______________________

Wilmington, Del.: The Brooke Shields show is supposed to be like "Sex in the City," but from the ads (of which I've seem plenty) it seems like it's only about three gals, where "Sex in the City" was about four gals. So they must be completely different, is what I'm saying.

Lisa de Moraes: It's from the same woman who wrote the original "Sex and the City" ... she's distinguishing it from that show by having this one about three woman instead or four, like you said...

_______________________

Anonymous: What's your take on "Apprentice"? I thought Omarosa should have been gone, but I get the feeling the only reason she is still around is because the ratings/drama will drop if she is kicked off.

Lisa de Moraes: If ratings keep people on the show, shouldn't the creepy Kiss Simmons guy still be on? People seem really drawn to him for some reason -- maybe it's a Moth to Flame syndrome...

_______________________

Submitting Early So You Don't Have To: Last week on the chat, you said: "All John Stewart's writers/correspondents had to go back to work because they're here on work visas and striking is grounds for deportation. ... Who knew Brits, Canadians, etc. were a good strike contingency plan?" How can this be true? Is he lying about having no writers? And he's as awful as he's been with writers? Explain yourself, Pookie!

Lisa de Moraes: Wow, did I really say that? What was I smoking? Correspondent Oliver is back, and they actually said on-air that it's because he's a Brit and non-work would be grounds for not renewing his work visa. .. It sounded good to me at the time. But yes, I'm sure network execs are taking note and in the future will insist that every scripted series employ a certain number of Canadian and British writers here on work visas. ... It's nearly as foolproof a strike contingency plan as a large stash of reality series...

_______________________

Car Talk Plaza: "Car Talk" comes to TV -- will it be any good?

washingtonpost.com: Car Talk Web site

Lisa de Moraes: I'm told it's an animated series, complete with wacky next-door-neighbor type, adorable dog, etc. ... I'm cautiously optimistic ... I adore Car Talk; it is my favorite radio program (sorry Tony)...

_______________________

Anonymous: What are the writers who were unemployed before the strike going to do now that they will have no picket lines to go to?

Lisa de Moraes: start writing scripts and trying to get "showverall" deals (see today's column). "Showverall" is my favorite new word..

_______________________

Washington: Yes, Lindsay Price played Janet on 90210. If you have SOAPnet you can watch hours of it every weekend. Hurray!

Lisa de Moraes: I prefer to think of her as that adorable chick from "Coupling."

_______________________

Four Corners, Md.: The Colbert-Conan-Stewart "war" has been pretty entertaining the past few weeks. Can we only expect this type of crossover in strike situations?

Lisa de Moraes: I'm guessing NBC will discourage Conan from doing things that only help promote competitors' late night shows once he has writers and, in theory, does not need to vamp...

_______________________

Alexandria, Va.: For being responsible for the survival of the entire human race, young John Conner seems to be left alone quite a bit. Seems like hot, young Tia Carrere Terminator should stick by his side more, don't ya think?

Lisa de Moraes: Exactly! Why hasn't mom hired him a body guard or two...

_______________________

Brooke Shields show: And two of the women are married, whereas in "Sex in the City" none of them were married in the beginning...

Lisa de Moraes: Another major difference. Plus, Brooke Shields is really old...

_______________________

"Coupling": Wow ... a reference to the horrible American remake of the great British sitcom ... and I prefer the British "Office" to the American version as well. The droll humor of Ricky Gervais (also of "Extras") works better than Steve Carell's outbursts.

Lisa de Moraes: Any show that stars Ricky Gervais in the lead is going to be better than one starring Steve Carell, with all due respect to Carell. And more importantly, any show that knows when to "fold 'em" is better than a show that does not...

_______________________

Washington: Did Fox cancel "The War at Home"? I didn't hear that it had died, but I haven't seen it for a while ... (cries)...

Lisa de Moraes: If there's a god in heaven, it's dead, dead, dead...

_______________________

Anonymous: Do you think the writers still are writing, or at least thinking about when they go back already having ideas about what is going to happen with, for instance, Pam and Jim in "The Office"? You can only hold up big signs and walk in a circle for so long.

Lisa de Moraes: Of course, they're just talking it out into their digital recorders instead of putting it into their computers. ... I'm guessing when they wrote the "pencil's down" rule, they overlooked the all-important "recorders off" and "brains off" clauses...

_______________________

Remaking Foreign Shows: Why does this happen? Why don't we just import the shows and show the originals? "The Office," "Kath and Kim," "Top Gear" -- these are all awesome shows in their original formats. Especially the car show, where I completely don't understand what is gained by substituting American hosts. Have you seen "Kath and Kim"? Will that even translate to American? Most of the charm is the exaggeration of low-class Australia.

Lisa de Moraes: Ah, but "Kath & Kim" is written in English, and the scripts already are written and it probably cost less to get 13 episodes, or whatever, then to buy 13 episodes of a new show.. The reason they don't just show the overseas version is because, I'm sorry to report, large swaths of the U.S. population will not watch a show with "foreigners," according to studies through the ages. It's okay for BBC America to show the Gervais version of "The Office" because if half a million people watch that's huge for them, and for HBO to air Gervais in "Extras" for the same reason -- and because "It's not TV, it's HBO," let us not forget. But NBC needs to get 13 million viewers. Okay, they'd settle for 6 million these days if the product were cheap enough and the audience were young and rich enough...

_______________________

Washington: Given that the NBC guy said "30 Rock" was the best show on TV, is it a decent assumption that they'll make it to another season?

Lisa de Moraes: You bet...

_______________________

Re: Gervais: The final "Extras" was really, really weak.

Lisa de Moraes: I spoke to Gervais about that on the red carpet of the SAG Awards. He stared daggers at me. He is a very scary man...

_______________________

Are people reading books again?: I am -- I get at least two sentences done a night before nodding off. It's going slow.

Lisa de Moraes: Which means for the price of just one book, you're entertained for months ... I call that a bargain!

_______________________

Bozeman, Mont.: Re: Kim Raver's Hotness -- if she's good enough for Jack Bauer, she's good enough for any man. In fact, being one degree of separation from Jack Bauer is an added turn-on. In all seriousness though, she's not that hot, but the constant look of helplessness she has on "24" is kind of cute.

Lisa de Moraes: But her face is so crooked. Like Picasso in his crooked-face period -- that's the period of his work right after "blue" and before "selling out."

_______________________

I'm With Pookie: Kim Raver ... I just don't get it. Please if you're a male, 'splain yourselves. I say she has Vera Miles syndrome ... always looks like she's on the verge of tears. Maybe that's it -- men want to rescue her ... then tear the clothes off her skinny little body.

Lisa de Moraes: It appears they find her crooked helpless look attractive...

_______________________

New York: Does Brooke Shields still have postpartum depression?

Lisa de Moraes: I think she's better now that she has found the right toothpaste...

_______________________

Bethesda, Md.: How many networks really are going to put shows back into production if the strike ends now? I just don't see the point of putting people back to work for a couple of weeks when the networks have shown that even debuting new episodes of great shows ("Lost") cannot change the fact that fewer people are watching broadcast TV, and that nonscripted shows are doing just fine at holding ratings.

Lisa de Moraes: Each network is going to make a different decision based on where they are in the ratings, how long it would take to get that show back up and running (were there scripts that nearly were done, does the show involve a lot of location work, etc.). ... And,just because fewer people are watching, they will be motivated to get as many originals back on as they can -- unless they decide to just write off this season and focus on next seasons...

_______________________

Washington: Not TV, but it once was: Should I fear that J.J. Abrams is going to screw up the latest incarnation of "Star Trek"? And what's the deal -- how can there be no Shatner?!

Lisa de Moraes: If you're a "Star Trek" purist, be afraid, be very afraid. If you like J.J. Abrams' style -- which these days seems to involve hiring cameramen with the shakes and giving them hand-held cameras and providing your audience in movie theaters with vomit bags when they get motion sickness -- you're in luck...

_______________________

Final "Extras" episode: The only really funny part (for me) was when Maggie was playing the prostitute that Clive Owen had just spent the night with, and he went on and on about how he never would pay for someone like her. It's that British thing about being very funny and completely cruel at the same time.

Lisa de Moraes: I loved it...

_______________________

The Final "Extras": I thought it was weak too but wondered if maybe we miss a lot of U.K. references. Maybe even having some of the celebrities on is really funny and we don't realize how funny it is. And I love that actress who plays the dim-witted Maggie character.

Lisa de Moraes: Gervais told me, menacingly I thought, that the final episode was not intended to be funny. ... All I can say is that I was very glad to be separated from him on the red carpet by a very large plastic hedge behind which they had planted the print press...

_______________________

Your esteemed colleague Mr. Shales, on Kim R:"The three main characters are almost interchangeable, but they're all quite watchable, too, especially Raver as Nico. She has a Meredith Vieira kind of beauty and a sensitivity that even the trashy script (by two women and a man) can't subdue." Hmmm, I'd take that as a compliment, myself!

washingtonpost.com: 'Lipstick Jungle': NBC's Thick Application of Gloss (Post, Feb. 7)

Lisa de Moraes: Meredith Vieira and "beauty" in the same sentence. Interesting...

_______________________

Re: Kim Raver and "24": Is she off that show? The last thing I remember is Jack was trying to rescue her ... but now she is in New York working as a high power executive and cheating on her husband. Jack wouldn't be proud!

Lisa de Moraes: He probably would kill her. After torturing her. After sex with her.

_______________________

Re: Gervais on the red carpet: Was that before or after the woman from E! asked him the really insulting question? If it was after, he still may have been projecting daggers at her.

Lisa de Moraes: Missed that. What was their really insulting question?

_______________________

Los Angeles: "Then tear the clothes off her skinny little body." Being a man, that part I get.

Lisa de Moraes: Really? I do not understand men...

_______________________

Kim Raver -- Hot or Not?: Don't you all remember her from the cop/fireman show a few years back? (Lisa will know the name of it.) She was barely tolerable then, and that was like a hundred years ago!

Lisa de Moraes: I think you're talking about "Third Watch." This is exactly my point. Why does she keep getting work on such high profile shows? She's not a good actress, she's scrawny and her face is crooked ... no, I'm not bitter...

_______________________

Re: "Extras": How very American of you to expect jokes in Ricky Gervais's comedy show. No wonder they have to remake all those shows.

Lisa de Moraes: "How very American of you" is about the funniest insult anyone has ever tried to hurl at me. You must be some international cosmopolitan type ... I said I liked the finale, Pookster. "I liked it" is an American phrase meaning "I thought it was well done."

_______________________

Anonymous: There's an astonishing lack of conversation about Super Tuesday coverage. Ha.

Lisa de Moraes: I'm game. Let's talk: in the 10 p.m.-11 p.m. hour, the super smackdown Super Tuesday hour, when ABC, NBC, CBS all were doing Super Tuesday coverage (NBC did not jump in until 10 p.m.  because they had to show a Very Special Episode of "Biggest Loser"), and CNN, Fox News and MSNBC were as well, CNN actually beat CBS and Fox News nearly beat CBS. That's very sad for CBS...

_______________________

Annapolis, Md.:"Meredith Vieira beauty": Shales has been nursing a crush on Vieira since she first appeared on "60 Minutes." What I think he meant was, she's hot for a smart news chick. (This was before she deteriorated into "The View"/"Millionaire" Meredith.) Once hot, always hot to Shales, I guess.

Lisa de Moraes: Really, I do not understand men...

_______________________

"Idol" Chit Chat: I think Paula was loopy in only one of the auditions ... that one where "her flight was late." Please tell me she will be back to her usual self in the live episodes.

Lisa de Moraes: She has been remarkably sane this season to date. I'm kinda liking it. She's fun when she's sane...

_______________________

Gervais "Extras" question: The reporter asked him how he felt about the fact that Steve Carell was so much more famous than Ricky.

Lisa de Moraes: "How American of their reporter..." I'm now liking this new insult. It's very useful...

_______________________

Hot doctor fan: In your column this morning you suggested that post-strike, the networks would cut way back on orders for new scripted dramas in the next few years. Does this mean that current hits like "House" might have their runs extended beyond the original five to seven year arrangements?

Lisa de Moraes: "House" will be around until it's ratings go bust. Fox will of course keep it around beyond its original arrangement, unless its ratings tank for some unforeseen reason, like they being back Sela Ward to have her non-chemistry relationship with Hugh Laurie...

I'm out of time. Bye.

_______________________

Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.