What to Watch When There’s Nothing to Watch

Have you ever watched an episode of "Deal or No Deal" or "Beauty and the Geek" and wondered what game show and reality show proposals get nixed if these are the ones that get put on the air? The unfathomable answer to that question could come soon. This morning more than 12,000 television and film writers walked off the job, taking the unfortunate social lives of millions (myself included) with them. It's unclear how long the strike will last, though the pace of the negotiations does not bode well. Most scripted network shows have enough completed episodes and scripts to last through the end of the year, but if the acrimonious mediation isn't complete by January, repeats will start sprouting up all over. Worse still, networks will likely fill their schedules with new game shows and reality shows, which employ nonunion labor.

But before you dust off the board games and renew your library card, consider the silver lining. If the shows you typically watch go on hiatus, it'll provide a great opportunity to watch what I like to call "exercise shows," the shows you know are good for you, the ones that will make you feel great once you watch them, but you just don't feel like it. We've all got those shows, and while you may be putting them off now, when "Temptation Isthmus" premieres, you might reconsider.

So instead of waiting to see how all this will play out, let's take a more proactive approach to getting ourselves through the winter months, shall we? First, you'll need a DVD-by-mail service, like Netflix. Why? Because DVD box sets are expensive, and hardly anyone watches them more than once. Not to mention TV writers don't get a healthy cut of the sales (a crucial sticking point in the negotiations), and we don't want to upset them more, do we? Mail services are perfect for catching up on shows you've missed, because their all-you-can-eat pricing plans are cost-effective and allow you to course-correct if you find out there was a legitimate reason you weren't watching a show all along.

Next comes the easy part: pick the shows you've been missing out on and start queuing them up. Everyone's exercise shows are different, but here are five suggestions to get you started:

"The Office" (U.S. version)
Anglophilic types will insist that Ricky Gervais's BBC version of the deadpan faux-documentary is the superior of the two, but the dirty little secret they'll almost never tell you is that they haven't actually seen the American version. Paper supply company supervisor Michael Scott (Steve Carell) is such a virtuosic boob he'll send you rushing into Hallmark to secure a National Boss Day gift. And unlike David Brent, Gervais's version of the same character, Scott is not just a jerk—he's a lonely, insecure person completely oblivious to how his actions alienate those around him. In other words, he's like your in-laws, but funnier.

"Lost"
Get it all out: "But it's too complicated!" "But it doesn't make any sense!" "Those writers don't know where the plot is going!" "A mysterious hatch? Huh?" Look, I get it. "Lost" is a show that requires a huge leap of faith. Mulder and Scully hurt a lot of us, and we're afraid to love again. What the pessimists don't seem to realize is that regardless of the endgame the show features one of the finest writing teams and perhaps the best ensemble cast on television. Will it all play out satisfactorily? Who knows? But season three's epic finale is enough proof that "Lost" will provide an absorbing journey, if not a satisfying destination.