The Time-Killa in Manila

The 3-month-old writers strike has been hard on everyone in the entertainment industry, but especially struggling have been late-night talk show hosts. Unlike Letterman, whose production company was able to make nice with the union, schlubs like Leno and Kimmel have been chugging along with C-list guests, even resorting to appearing on each others' shows, just to pass the time until the picket lines dry up.

Similarly affected have been two of Comedy Central's top properties, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report." Both shows have been making do with a modicum of success, but the strain is apparent. Colbert, for example, has resorted to featuring two-to-three interviews a night, and Stewart rarely diverts from discussing the election -- something that's already such a circus he could ad-lib on it all night. That's not to say the shows aren't worth watching anymore -- if anything it seems to be sharpening the hosts' improv abilities. But when a good running gag comes along, both Colbert and Stewart are only too happy to let it drag on for as long as possible.

Enter Conan O'Brien, himself sans writers and looking for ways to kill time. Back in mid-January, O'Brien made a claim that he was responsible for Mike Huckabee's success in Iowa, because O'Brien had resurrected Chuck Norris' career, and Norris in turn has been seen stumping for the Republican presidential hopeful. This claim ruffled Colbert's on-screen feathers, because Huckabee had been a three-time guest on "Report," and thus Colbert claimed Huckabee's success for himself.

This back-and-forth continued for weeks, even dragging Stewart in, and culminated last night when all three men appeared on each others' shows with the intention of instigating a cross-network brawl. After two half-hours' worth of teasing, viewers had to stay tuned for "Late Night" to catch the epic ass-whooping. The fake fight featured baseball bats, fire extinguishers, a flight of stairs, ice skates, a dance-off, and a freeze-frame finish straight out of "Rocky III."

It was a gut-bustingly funny way to waste some time, and probably couldn't have been written better.

In case you're wondering, here's the latest news on what's going on with that supposed agreement between the writers and the studios. Fingers crossed!

-- Adam Reinhard, lifeisfunnybutnothahafunny@gmail.com