As the strike drags on interminably and we get subjected to more and more reality program, studies have shown that people are actually turning off the TVs and moving to the internet for their entertainment. Blasphemers! Stop watching YouTube clips of dramatic rodents and realize that there's still plenty of good television out there, it's just on DVD. In fact, the first few weeks of 2008 have produced enough good TV on DVD releases that you can easily make it through the strike without missing your TV fix or giving in to viral videos. With just DVDs on the New Release shelf at Best Buy, you could watch a season of the brilliant Torchwood, the guilty pleasure The Girls Next Door and the excellent Damages: Season One hits next week. But arguably the best TV show on DVD this month is FX's The Riches, which landed a couple weeks ago in an excellent set from 20th Century Fox. FX has turned into the best network on television and The Riches is one of its better shows. Don't give in to reality TV. Watch The Riches on DVD.

Created by Dmitry Lipkin, The Riches stars Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver (in two award-worthy performances) as the patriarch and matriarch of the Malloys, a family of travelers. Yes, they still exist. Pulling scams across the country and dealing with an extended clan that is a little reminiscent of a cult, Wayne Malloy has always wanted more. When it looks like his daughter is going to be married to another traveler in a very creepy arranged ceremony, Wayne and the rest of the Malloys steal some cash and take off. In their escape, they get involved in a car accident that kills a family about to move to a very privileged suburb. So, the Malloys become the Riches. Wayne becomes Doug and actually gets a job at a real estate company as in-house counsel even though he doesn't know the first thing about the law. He's just that good a con man. Meanwhile, Dahlia (Driver) has to deal with her emotional and substance abuse problems (like those are rarities in suburbia), all while both the Malloys' past and their very shaky present threaten to collapse around them.

Like a lot of FX series, The Riches takes some time to get used to. After a couple of episodes, I was intrigued but not blown away and I actually didn't watch it on FX, only catching up to it this year on DVD. By the middle of the second disc, I was completely hooked. Also like a lot of FX series, The Riches is primarily character-driven. As we get used to the people and their quirks and needs the show becomes more riveting. And that's truly the best word for The Riches. What makes it riveting is that, despite the unusual concept, The Riches has completely relatable themes. Many of us have skeletons in our closet or are living lives we don't think we deserve or are forced to exist in a world where we feel don't belong. At its best, The Riches is reminiscent of Six Feet Under, another show that took an unusual family and mined its idiosyncrasies into something completely relatable. All your entertainment doesn't need to come from the internet. Pick up Torchwood, Damages, and definitely The Riches on DVD and wait out the strike. You won't be disappointed.