Additional Scrapers

In the initial Gen 2 releases, it was stated that users could contribute additional scrapers. I have an interest in this. Presently, I use XBMC for viewing many podcasts, which the current software can not handle, due mainly to the fact there is no central listing to properly get the info from, nor naming conventions recognized by XBMC.

I'm considering a few approaches to this on the XBMC end of things, including using scripts, custom compiling the source with proper handling for podcasts, or just handling them as TV shows. Media companion seems an excellent way to preform the latter.

As there is no central podcast database that indexes the various shows I'm interested in, it would require working outside of an established API and using variable sources, potentially a huge undertaking that won't list all shows, or may become obsolete as authors change the mechanics of their pages. Still, the few sources I'm really interested in, like Revision3 and other large productions would be manageable.

I'd be interested to see what's involved in making a scraper for media companion. If it proves maintainable, I may pursue it. If the structure doesn't lend it's self to the task, there are other options I can look into.

If nothing else, I'd love to tinker a bit with the existing scrapers and work out a few quirks with non-English characters. Would it be possible for me to get a sample source for a scraper? I'd be happy to publish any changes or additional modifications I make to it, and remain perfectly content to not change the core functionality of the program it's self.

EDIT: I just realized many podcasts do indeed have IMDB listings. The episode info isn't kept current, but the artwork and genral description work.