I like tv shows that make me think. Sure, something trivial and mindless is good at times, but I don’t find that very satisfying. From cartoons to crime dramas, they’re just hollow entertainment that doesn’t go beyond what you see on the screen. 

My favorite types of shows are ones that, in some way, reflect the real world in a deeper way. They bring up issues about how they way we live results in consequences we can’t foresee, about how the quest for progress isn’t always a good thing, about the perceptions and filters we have when it comes to certain circumstances or other people. I want a show that makes me look at the world in a different way. And yes, a lot of these “thinkers” are in the scifi genre because that’s where the larger questions can be explored and still make sense within the confines of a television show.

Take Westworld, for example, which just finished a fantastic first season. It seemed relatively straightforward at first, but within a couple episodes there were questions about what was real and what was a “glitch”, who (or what) certain characters really were, how and when and where this was all happening. And this moved outside the show itself – it raised questions about consciousness, self-awareness, decision-making, morals. Sure, you could take the show at face value, but you would get so little from it when there’s been an effort on the part of the creators to delve deeper.

Considering it’s a very “geek thing”, I hope I’m preaching to the choir on this. But if I’m not, and you prefer to not have to think when you enjoy some couch time, then that’s cool. But don’t be surprised when I start bringing up philosophies and life lessons based on scifi during conversation!