Artist Artur Silva, sitting at his computer.

Author Traci Bray

Zack "Legend" Pasley

As the light of the sun fades earlier and earlier each day, we're retreating inside to the glow of the television. It is in TV programming that we often find common ground, moments of heavy cultural significance -- or simple water cooler talk.

But with the TV writers' strike affecting the shows we tune in to on a weekly or nightly basis, the hope is that the glory days of television will not completely disappear.

We spoke with some local "celebrities" to get their small-screen favorites. See which ones you share with them.

THE ANCHOR

Gene Rodriguez, 35, is weekend anchor for WISH-TV's 24-Hour News 8 newscasts. She anchors weekends at 6, 10 and 11 p.m.

How many hours of TV do you watch a week? "A lot. Too many -- about two hours a night. I watch a lot of news."
What is your must-see TV night? "Thursday nights."

What's your favorite :

Guilty-pleasure show? "There's several. I love reality TV. The new season of 'Project Runway' started. I love fashion, I love clothes."
Reality show? "'The Hills.' That's supposed to be reality."
Sitcom? "'Seinfeld.' It's a highly quotable show. It's a show about nothing and everything. You can relate."
Network TV show? "'Sex and the City' is syndicated, so I watch that all the time."
Cable TV show? "Probably 'Project Runway.'"
What show do you watch to unwind? "I really like the 'Law & Order' series and the 'CSI' series. I'm going to pick 'CSI' over 'Law & Order' sometimes. I'm a girl so, 'Sex and the City.'"
Do you wake up early for? "The news. I'm a news junkie, too. I watch us (WISH-TV) and the other stations, and all the morning shows. I flip through them."
Do you stay up late for? "The news. I stay up for the news."
What is your all-time favorite show? "Seinfeld."

THE ARTIST

Artur Silva, 31, is a visual artist whose work can be seen on Downtown windows, as well as in local galleries. To check out his Web site, go to www.artursilva.com.

How many hours of TV do you watch a week? I'm going to say about six hours.
What is your must-see TV night? "Tuesday, which is 'Frontline' day."

What's your favorite:

Kid-friendly show? "'Mister Rogers.' I was watching that the other afternoon. I didn't Grow up in this country -- he's pretty nice."
Guilty pleasure show? "I watched a few episodes of 'Flavor of Love.' I have to confess, that was funny. It was a joke from the beginning, but at least it was interesting to fantasize the first season that he (Flavor Flav) was looking for something."
Reality show? "One show that I used to watch was called 'Rob and Big.' It's about a skateboarder and a friend of his, who is also, I think, a bodyguard.
Network TV show? "If network TV includes PBS, that would be 'Frontline.' It's more in-depth journalism than most journalistic programming out there, as far as mainstream media is concerned. 'Frontline' really does a good job of digging out the materials to sup-port the story. They do give opportunities to both sides to speak."

What show:

Do you watch to unwind? "It's got to be '(Late Night With) Conan O'Brien.' He's the best comedian out there. Even though he's in the mainstream media, he's just extremely funny."
Do you wake up early for? "Unless it's the World Cup in Japan (nothing). That was the last time that I woke up for something."
Do you stay up late for? "Conan."
What is your all-time favorite show? "My image is going to go down 10 percent. It's so dorky. It's 'Nova.'"

THE AUTHOR

Author Traci Bray, 37, was in the studio audience the day Oprah Winfrey gave every guest a Pontiac G6. Bray sold her car and used the money for a down payment on a motor home. She and her family traveled the country in the RV for a year, a trip that was the basis for "Vicariously Yours: Letters and Lessons From the Ultimate Road Trip."

How many hours of TV do you watch a week? "Between five and 10. Since it's football season, I watch more."
What is your must-see TV night? "Sunday (for the football)."

What's your favorite:

Kid-friendly show? "'Ned's Declassified.' That's kind of where my son is right now."
Guilty-pleasure show? "I would say, 'CSI.' Any of them -- 'Miami,' probably, because I just love David Caruso."
Reality show? "I'm an 'American Idol' junkie. I love Simon (Cowell). I love his brutal honesty."
Sitcom? "I don't watch sitcoms. They're not as good as they used to be. I used to love 'Seinfeld.'"
Network TV show? "I started watching 'Life' on NBC."
Cable TV show? "I would say 'Dirty Jobs.' In this house, that's like the big one. Mike Rowe, the host -- the willingness that he has to do the grossest things ... he's very brave."

What show:

Do you watch to unwind? "'Law & Order.' Watching someone else go through a difficult time makes me feel like my life's not too bad."
Do you wake up early for? "I wake up early for nothing."
Do you stay up late for? "Jay Leno ('The Tonight Show') He just cracks me up. I love the stuff that he does with the people on the streets. I love when he talks to real people. His topics are usually dead-on."
Has the most drama? "'Dancing With the Stars.' It's ridiculous. It just blows me away. When Marie (Osmond) fainted, everybody talked about it."
What is your all-time favorite show? "'Law & Order,' and every version that they've ever had of it. I just love 'Law & Order.'"

THE COLTS FAN

Zack "Legend" Pasley, 30, is best described as a "super" Colts fan. His observations can be seen at www.colts.com/zacklegend and at www.myindianafootball.com.

How many hours of TV do you watch a week? "Probably 10, tops."
What is your must-see TV night? "Thursday night, by far. 'My Name is Earl,' '30 Rock' and 'The Office.' Goodness, gracious, if I don't live by those three shows, I don't know what to do with myself."

What's your favorite:.

Kid-friendly show? "'SportsCenter.' I started watching it as a kid."
Guilty-pleasure show? "MSNBC's 'Lock-up,' about the prisons. I don't know if it's an internal fuse that's lit, I'm just so curious about it. And watching some of this stuff, I'm so grateful about where I am now."
Reality show? "'Rock of Love.' I'm a huge Poison fan in the first place. It was funny just watching these people go out for him (Bret Michaels), and then realizing the winner didn't want him. These women were willing to do whatever it took."
Sitcom? "The Office."
Network TV show? "'30 Rock.' They do such a witty job of calling out the obvious, and even making fun of their own network."
Cable TV show? "It used to be 'The Sopranos.' I don't even know if I have a new one because of that. That is kind of in a lull."

What show:

Do you watch to unwind? "'The Office.' I just think it's absolutely one of the funniest shows on (TV). It's so witty, and I love the storylines. It's neat seeing the characters develop."
Do you wake up early for? "'SportsCenter.' It starts at 5 o'clock in the morning and goes on until noon. I make sure I'm up early enough to watch it. If I pick up halfway through it, I know I can watch the rotation. I feel lost in my day if I don't have 'SportsCenter.'"
Do you stay up late for? "'The Office,' '30 Rock' and 'My Name is Earl.' I DVR all of them. I have to watch all of them before I move on to Friday."
Has the most drama? "The police videos on Spike TV. I'm engrossed by that. That's real-life drama."
What is your all-time favorite show? "'SportsCenter.' It's the one show, since I was the age of 13, I have watched religiously -- even when it gets down to hockey season. I feel like I've grown with the sports anchors."