Author Michael Crichton passed away on Tuesday, November 4th, in Los Angeles. I am truly shocked and saddened by this news. So many amazing people have passed on this year…is there something going on? These baby boomers were not built to last, that’s for sure. I am so sorry for his family’s loss.

Michael Crichton was the fin de siecle Richard Matheson : his work shaped and informed American pop culture in incalculable ways. Perhaps it is best that his TV show, “ER,” will wrap its final season in May.

My favorite Crichton work is the “13th Warrior,” the film adaptation of his novel, Eaters of the Dead. Encore cable channel broadcast the film last weekend and scheduled another airing on Saturday, 11/8.

Uncanny. Do TV programmers coordinate these moments or is it all just coincidental? I’ve always wanted to know more about how and why tv programmers schedule films on cable. I know most flicks are scheduled to coincide with a new theatrical release. You think it’s just a coincidence that HBO airs “Atonement” the week before the release of Kiera Knightley’s “The Duchess.”

Notice all those Keanu Reeves flicks suddenly on the schedule? I am sure it’s got nothing, nothing to do with the release of his latest flick, “The Day the Earth Stood Still” remake.

Anyhoo, I wonder if there’s a private Deathpool list cultivated by programmers, who gather intel on ailing creators.