Do the pins themselves make noise? Or does the Kripkedoll make little noises as the pins go in? Inquiring minds wonder.
One possible way ahead I've heard is that productions would gear up and crank out as many eps as possible through June, rather than the usual through April, and have eps in the hopper ready to go in the fall, after hiatus. Ordinarily hiatus could be pushed back, but this year SGA is scheduled to strike in June, so...NSM with the filming ahead. Of course if the actors' demands are met, there wouldn't be a need for a strike, and filming might proceed. It's still wait and see.
Also, all those BTL workers have been released, and at least some of them have gone off to find other employment. Hiring more, competent, people at short notice may not be all that easy.
Any way you slice it, it looks like arc-y shows like SPN won't have an arc resolution this season. Which sucks. And also plays merry hell with DVD release. Not to mention the upfront charge on unbox or iTunes season passes--which may or may not transfer, per ep, to another show or another season. On the other hand, with no pilot season and no new fodder for networks to gamble on, they're going to be holding tight to the series they already have in production. Which pretty much guarantees us a S4 SPN. Whether it's a longer season, i.e., more than the usual 22 eps, with a single, more slowly developing arc, or the planned S3 arc AND a shortened S4, is anybody's guess. Well, maybe Kripke has an idea.