Slice of SciFi News Briefs

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) adopts Vulcan logic by wearing T-shirts today on the picket lines with a familiar quote from Star Trek’s Mr. Spock. Waving picket signs with emotional fervor that would make even a Vulcan blush, the strikers wore shirts that say, “Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” It’s enough to make Surak, the father of Vulcan logic proud, if he were willing to show that human emotion.

It’s been 50 years since Alvin and the Chipmunks first burst on the public scene and a half a century later, creator Ross Bagdasarian’s dream is still alive and flourishing. A new Chipmunks animated film featuring Alvin, Simon and Theodore will be hitting theaters and their 1958 grammy winning Christmas song is still a hugh seller.

Gillian Anderson, the actress who will reprise her famous role of FBI agent Dana Scully for the upcoming new X-Files movie, has another new job to add to her extensive resume. She will now be one of the official hosts for the PBS award winning series “Masterpiece Theater.” The revered anthology series will be split into three mini-seasons, each with its own theme and host — one of whom is Anderson, already familiar to “Masterpiece” fans for her 2006 performance as Lady Dedlock in “Bleak House.” She was recently seen starring in the award winning film the “Last King of Scotland” with Forest Whitaker and James McAvoy. Whitaker took home the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as dictator Idi Amin in the film.

Due to the ongoing WGA writer’s strike the Television Critics Association says it’s canceling its annual January meeting, where networks and cable channels promote upcoming program schedules. This is furture proof of the debilitating impact the strike is having on television production for the upcoming 2008 season.

TV veteran host Regis Philbin has a distinctive record. He holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a TV camera. Philbin began his long and successful career on television in the 1950’s. Now he will add more face time and hours to that record by becoming the announcer and greeter for this coming year’s official Oscar Red Carpet show. The famous celebs will begin arriving at 5PM ET, February 24, 2008 on ABC. The 80th Annual Academy Awards will be presented beginning at 5:30PM ET.