PACIFIC PALISADES, California — That’s the set-up of an unscripted new reality show that circumvents the strike while exploiting the twisted minds of anxious writers. Most writers see reality TV as the enemy, but more than a few writers agreed to participate in the new reality show.  Fox-TV enticed the striking writers with a lucrative deal (well, actually $400 per week) to sell their souls, and approximately 10,000 writers responded. 

Fox's logline for Scabland is revealed in the press release: "Five wordsmiths struggle to make sense of their strike-driven reality.  It's like Shakespeare meets Survivor in Dante's Inferno."

We see wily Ron, who constantly baits his cohorts with comments like "take a note" or "that's a good idea — jot that down," but he's actually an early loser when he gets caught carving a lifted logline into his bedpost.

Bill, Edgar and Tony seem stable enough, but each is tested when a neighbor tries to bait them with free pens and paper.  After some infighting, they dramatically come together and agree not to buckle under the pressure to write.  But does their resolve hold up when, in a later episode, they find a new Apple laptop in the garage?

And it'll be no surprise to viewers that Tim is the first to go. Made to do overtime duty on the faux picket line because he couldn't remember who penned Sophie's Choice, it's not long before he goes crazy and gives into scribal pressure by writing an entire script in the dirt in the backyard.

If you liked I'm Working for Kathy Lee — Fox's acclaimed child labor reality show that aired in 1998 — then you'll love Scabland.