The Hollywood writers’ strike is less than a week old, and already the walkout threatens to have dire consequences for the new TV season. The talk shows are airing reruns, Lost and Heroes are looking at severely truncated seasons, and 24 is on hold indefinitely. But every cloud has a silver lining: we’re entering a Golden Age of reality TV. One of the first signs of this coming apocalypse golden age is the renewal of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which got greenlighted for eight more episodes of hijinks featuring Kim’s gargantuan derriére and various other members of the Kardashian clan.

If the strike drags on for, say, six more months, we can probably expect to see Keeping up with the Kardashians five or six times a day, sort of like Simpsons reruns on Fox. Other reality shows will be similarly ubiquitous. If the subtle character interaction of The Real World: San Diego is too demanding for you, there’ll be plenty of chances to enjoy the timeless humor of America’s Funniest Home Videos, with yet another variation on “baby with a nail gun.” Television in 2008 is absolutely going to rock.