What I look for in TV shows

I'm very specific with what shows I give my time to since recently I don't seem to have lot of it. Unfortunately I just finished the episodes of Doctor Who on Netflix and am in this television limbo where I don't have a show anymore. Of course the obvious question now is What should I watch next? I could just passively follow Netflix's intense suggestions and advertisement and watch Orange is the New Black but I don't think Netflix entirely understands my taste. That made me start thinking, what do I look for in TV shows? The past shows I intensely followed were Scrubs, 30 Rock, It's South Park, How I Met Your Mother, Doctor Who, and Arrested Development. The first thing I noticed is that I love shows that can make me laugh. So obviously it'll have to be some kind of sitcom or comedy. All of these shows had very strong characters that I easily Sympathized for. JD from scrubs, The Doctor from Doctor Who, and Ted from How I Met Your Mother are all strong, quirky, but powerful characters. They all have such a passion for people whether they're looking for a wife in Ted's case or they're saving the universe in the Doctor's case. All of these characters demonstrate a passion for people and that's what I think I love so much. It reminds of how we talked about creating a backbone for a character that influences every decision they make. For Ted he's always looking for a wife. For JD it's trying to help the patient. For the Doctor it's protecting all forms of life. That aspect of deeper meaning in shows is what I really love.

The next quality I think the writing. All of the shows I've listed here are so beautifully written. In Arrested Development almost every line is joke that also pushes the story line forward. In Doctor Who there are so many different story arch's beautifully intwined in each other that I can't even comprehend how they do it. For 30 Rock the characters are all so exaggerated but the situations and dialogue they're given makes it all seem like a normal thing.  Southpark still blows me away because they make it all seem so stupid and crude but are still able to make informative statements on current events. That's something I really respect because I have no idea how they do it.

The third quality I think I look for is a show that makes statements about current issues. I feel like it's hard to get a lot of people to informatively look into a current issue and have a stance on it but I think TV can help show people an exaggerated version of both sides. 30 Rock very obviously did it especially during the 2012 election. As I stated about South Park earlier, it does a really nice job on that but it also makes both sides look equally ridiculous so no one group of people feel put off by it. Doctor Who has been involving many characters who represent their stance on same sex marriages. It shows to me that they are paying attention and are really trying to make a difference with their medium.

Going from here and with suggestions from friends I think I will be starting Parks And Recreation this weekend. All I've been hearing about it from friends is how great all the characters are and how good it is.