Those wacky people that have published a weekly TV listing until last year have a terrific Q&A with Eric Kripke from the show Supernatural. Here is a sample from the article:

If we don’t get a full Season 3, what would happen with Dean’s deal? Would the big climax be in the middle of Season 4 or would it be extended to the end of Season 4? — acsgrlie
Kripke: That’s a very smart question, and one that’s currently haunting my dreams. There’s a simple answer (we’ll definitely save the climax of Dean’s Deal for Season 4, no question)… and there’s a more complicated answer. Not many showrunners will admit it, but the strike is throwing a lot of stories on a lot of different series up in the air. I mean, how do you get back on the story track in an elegant, artful way? You can’t just throw in the climax in the middle of the next season, and then move on to a whole new story. That would be clumsy. But you can’t draw it out over the entire season either, because that would become boring. I’m probably being more honest than I should be, but this is a question that I’m still wrestling with. If I had to guess, I’d say I’m probably going to end up combining the Season 3 and Season 4 mythologies into one big story to play out next season. I’m going to spend a crap load of time going over everything, again and again, polishing all the edges, but it is going to have to evolve and mutate a little bit, to fit our new schedule. It’s interesting how real world issues affect the creative storytelling of the show. There’s no doubt that, because of the strike, I’m going to end up telling a slightly different story than I had originally intended, or at least one with a different order of events. Knowing how these things go, however, it’ll probably end up being a better one. Happy accidents usually result in better stories.

We have to admit we love Supernatural and have always fretted over the ratings. Hopefully it can continue because we like the characters so much. We love the writing and how they can mix the comedy with such serious material. Let’s hope the story-telling continues to be good and that the network keeps it on the air.