TV Tropes Will Ruin Your Life

I put a lot more thought into television than is really healthy. I'm pretty sure that most of the reasons that people bitch about television as an inferior medium for telling a story are full of shit, and it has just as much potential as literature or film, if not more. The entire idea of watching characters evolve over an extended period of time and seeing how the world, both in and out of universe, affects how that happens.

As many people have mentioned, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a pretty fantastic example of what a television show should do. I would say Joss Whedon in general is pretty good at that, but honestly... I dunno. Angel kind of sucked, and I'm not all that familiar with his other work. Honestly, I think that I'd probably hate Firefly if I watched it for the same reasons that I don't like Doctor Who or Mass Effect or Monty Python. I'm also pretty sure that I'm going to get shot for most of what I'm saying in this paragraph, so back to Buffy. It did a lot of things that most shows just don't do well. Long-running plots (*cough* Angel), consistent and meaningful character development (*cough* Glee), and even the musical episode was pretty damn fantastic. As other people have mentioned, it was able to seamlessly go between serious and comical, and that's just something that is hard to pull off.

One show that I've been knitting to lately has been Grey's Anatomy. I went into it not really knowing what to expect, and after getting through the first seven and a half seasons, I think I really like it. In one episode, someone brings a gun to the hospital and begins a killing spree. Despite knowing exactly who would die and who would survive, it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I was emotionally involved in the episode, and I think this is a huge factor in what makes a show good. Too many shows today try to get by on shocking twists as a substitute for actual momentum, and that's terrible. If a show is going to throw curveballs at you, they should serve a meaningful purpose. They should not be cheap, and they should make you feel something.

Another show I've been watching has been Glee, and if you haven't watched it, dear god, don't. It's a terrible and addicting show that's actually as awful as it sounds. I only still watch it because I'm too invested to get out, but I can't think of many episodes that ended in something other than wanting to punch Ryan Murphy in the face. This show has done things that I consider offensive on multiple occasions, and I really don't think I have any positive things to say about the show aside from the music occasionally being really good... I'm not really sure what the point of this was.

Special mention goes to Friends, which I have seen all the way through multiple times. It's kind of my go to example for what a sitcom should do. It also has a lot of issues that I'm very critical of in other shows, but I can overlook them for the most part because it has that special place in my heart. I really like it, and I'm not sure that I can provide much reason beyond that.

All of this being said, I'm looking for new shows to start watching as I'm running out of Grey's Anatomy. Any suggestions?