thePeanutBloggery

The WGA contract expires at midnight, and the possibility of a writers’ strike is high. This will mean no new screenplays or scripted television. You probably won’t notice the effect on movies, as the studios have been stockpiling scripts for months. Television is a different story. Episodes are written only weeks in advance, and writers remain an integral part of the process after scripts are handed over to the director. Unlike movies, writers have to approve all script changes, and many even act as producers. If the strike goes on for more than a week, production on many shows will likely shut down, and scripted programming will be replaced by reality television (partially scripted by non-union writers).

What can you do? Plan ahead. We have a compiled a list of classic TV shows available on DVD that will help fill the void left by your current favorites.

If you’re missing “30 Rock”, check out “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. Long before single working girl and feisty brunette Liz Lemon was contending with divo Tracy Jordan, Mary was battling dim-witted anchorman Ted Baxter. Mary might have thrown a better cocktail party than Lemon, but she was just as likely to burst into tears in her dispassionate boss’s office and laugh through the funeral of a beloved clown. (Seasons 1–4 available)

If you’re lost without “Men in Trees”, rediscover “Northern Exposure”. Like Marin Frist, Dr. Joel Fleishman abandoned New York City to live among the quirky characters of Alaska, who spent more time trading gossip in the local bar than working. And like Marin Frist, Chris Stevens philosophized about life and love over the local airwaves, making us wonder if the cold makes people smarter. (Seasons 1–6 available)

If you can’t get enough of “Smallville”, try “Superboy”. Like the former, the latter chronicled Clark Kent’s early years before he became the Superman of comic books and movies. In this 1988 syndicated series, Clark was a college journalism major who hung out with Lana Lang and fought bad guys like school-mate Lex Luther. (Season 1 available)

If you’re addicted to “Scrubs”, fulfill that need with “M*A*S*H”. Like buddy doctors JD and Turk, Hawkeye and Trapper (or BJ in the later years) balanced childish humor and sex-capades with an excellent bedside manor. And like the doctors at Sacred Heart, the surgeons of the 4077th made you laugh out loud for 20 minutes, yet somehow left you feeling depressed. (Seasons 1–11 available)

If your Thursdays belong to “Ugly Betty”, get “Popular”. Just as “Betty” is a parody of a Spanish soap opera set in the New York fashion world, so too “Popular” is a spoof of night soaps like “Dynasty” set in a public high school. Yet the social commentary is always secondary to the story. Both have bitchy back-stabbing, class struggle (in-vogue vs. ordinary), and hottie nerd Christopher Gorham. (Seasons 1–2 available)

If you’re a “Friday Night Lights” fanatic, give some love to “The White Shadow”. This 1970’s drama starred Ken Howard as an inner city basketball coach, and like Coach Taylor, Coach Reeves helped his young players navigate the choppy waters of adolescence. Unfortunately, “Shadow” is also similar to “Lights” in that despite critical acclaim, it never built much of an audience. (Seasons 1–2 available)

If “The Big Bang Theory” is your cup of tea, satiate your thirst with “Frasier”. Like physics geniuses Leonard and Sheldon, Frasier and Niles were intellectually superior beings that had trouble with normal concepts like ordering coffee. Leonard and Sheldon have Penny forcing them to deal with ordinary people; Frasier and Niles had their father and his dog Eddie. Frasier did better with the women than Leonard, but he was older. Leonard just needs time. (Seasons 1–9 and 11 available - Season 10 will be out on December 11)

If you’re jonesing for “Reaper”, take a hit off “Joan of Arcadia”. Sam is a young snarky slacker, who finds himself following vague and cryptic instructions from Satan to send escaped souls back to hell, thus helping mankind. Joan was a snarky slacker high school student who followed vague and cryptic instructions from God to help mankind. Sam likes a girl named Andi. Joan liked a boy named Adam. It’s all the same. (Seasons 1–2 available)

If you can’t live without “Women’s Murder Club”, look into “Cagney & Lacey”. Mary Beth and Chris were the ones who made female detective shows possible. Sure women had fought crime before, but usually in corsets (“Wonder Woman”) or without bras altogether (“Charlie’s Angels”). Like the women in the “Club”, Cagney and Lacey were real women who talked about love and sex without being sexually exploited. (Season 1 available)

If you’re dying without “Chuck”, let “The Greatest American Hero” save you. Like Chuck, Ralph was an average curly-headed guy from California who suddenly found himself saddled with superpowers (his came in the form of a red suit with no instruction manual). And like “Chuck”, “TGAH” was comprised of more fumbling, crashing, and apologizing than actual crime fighting. (Seasons 1–3 available)

Good luck with the strike, and sorry about the puns!