The Ultimate Mensa Thread:Mensa thief left footprint trail to his house
An "Oldie But Goodie"
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Posted on 02/15/2008 2:39:53 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
With television writers – presumably the brains of the whole operation – going back to work after their four-month strike, it seemed like the perfect question to ask: What are the smartest TV series of all time? Star Trek? Hill St. Blues? Taxi? West Wing? Boy Meets World? Fancast posed the question to Jim Werdell, Chairman of MENSA International, the worldwide organization for “people from every walk of life whose IQ is in the top 2 % of the population.” In addition to a soaring intellect, the 63-year-old retired Northern California government official enjoys his TV. Werdell keeps his set on as he tackles daily MENSA duties on his computer, estimating that time about 10 hours of background listening. “I’m actually watching and paying attention about five to six hours a day,” he says. Like his IQ, that’s still way more than the 170 minutes a day the average American spends watching TV. With those qualifications (MENSA member for 29 years, 12 years on the board of directors of MENSA America, and IQ of – well, “we don’t talk about that,” says Werdell), he seemed the perfect individual to ask for a list of the 10 Smartest TV Shows of All Time, a task he studiously and seriously took on. “It was difficult,” explains Werdell. “There were programs that were good in their time, but the way shows are made today has improved.”
Werdell says the smartest shows he currently watches include CSI: New York, Law & Order: SVU, House, Stargate SG-1, NCIS and Numb3rs. But for the ultimate list of Smartest All Time shows, he ventured beyond his personal viewing habits. As he says, “I was a Star Trek fan. It was on the original list. It was groundbreaking, no question. But the follow-up, Next Generation, were better programs than the original, in my opinion, and smarter.” “I had a number of shows in that situation,” he adds. His criteria?
“They weren’t pure comedy, mystery or action,” he says. “They tended to be shows that dealt with issues in the world, and from my perspective that’s considered smart. Some sitcoms reach a higher level of intellect than others, and you can say the same about some of the dramas. The stories may be cliché, but the characters and dialogue are smarter.”
Finally, continues Werdell, “after much thought – well, a bit of thought anyway – here are my selections for the top 10 Smartest TV Shows of All Time:” Top ten smartest shows of all time (in no particular order): 1. M*A*S*H – It had smart repartee and was so much more than a comedy. 2. Cosmos (with Carl Sagan) – Sagan was able to communicate something extremely complicated to the layman and do it well, and that’s unusual for a scientist at his level. 3. CSI -- The way they use science to solve their programs is intriguing to viewers. 4. House – Again, it’s high level type of show; it’s the personality that makes it a winner, plus it deals with science. 5. West Wing – you had to pay attention to stay up with it. The repartee was fast and furious and you needed a fairly high level intelligence to keep up with it. 6. Boston Legal – It’s primarily because of the characters. The story lines are okay, but the characters are incredible and the writers give them great dialogue. 7. All in the Family – The show dealt with social issues before its time and was on the forefront of trying to show people’s feelings, beliefs and the complexities of personality, in both a serious and comedic way. 8. Frasier – The repartee was sensational; the main characters were very good. Even though they portrayed people who were likely of high intelligence, they also showed their weaknesses. 9. Mad About You – It’s a personal favorite, I loved the characters and the back and forth. It was very smart. 10. Jeopardy – It’s about the only game show that really tries to test people’s intelligence. There’s very little luck involved, and there are few game shows like that. I don’t watch it all that much honestly, but from what I’ve seen it tests more than knowledge, it tests intelligence too.
Any list that doesn't include Family Guy is nothing but fluff
easy... South Park.
Most of these are the “smartest” in dumbing down and indoctrinating the “masses”.
Raises in my mind a question about the inherent bias found in any sort of testing, and is it true MENSA favors those of a totalitarian bent.
“Television has made me smarter. Everytime someone turns it on I go away and read a book.”
—Groucho Marx
House is a great show as is Frasier.
I think this guy either needs a thesaurus, or gets off on using the word, "repartee."
My ACT or ASVAB scores qualify me for membership in MENSA; but I hear that it’s a confederation of losers, bitter because they’re “so darn smart” but still live in Mom’s basement, etc..
MR. PEEPERS with Wally Cox was the smartest show ever on tv.
FREAKS AND GEEKS and the original PHIL SILVERS SHOW are right up there too. Many presentations of PLAYHOUSE 90 and THE US STEEL HOUR were very smart. Ditto DEATH VALLEY DAYS hosted by Ronald Reagan and MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000. Just a few I like.
I think whoever wrote this list should get cable or a dish and get off the networks.. While some of the shows mentioned are fun, I don’t think they are all that ‘intelligent’. CSI’s representation of science is very unrealistic.
Yup. All the shows mentioned are as sophisticated as wine in a box.
Ouch! LOL
There’s more bragging rights in being a former MENSA member, IMO.
And I’ll bet you can guess why LOL!
The Ultimate Mensa Thread:Mensa thief left footprint trail to his house
An "Oldie But Goodie"
Click the Pic
Thumbs Up: House
Thumbs Down: (Tie) MASH & West Wing
Missing: King of the Hill (Sorry...I’m hooked)
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