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.
Good call on Bob Newhart.
Besides, "Hi, Bob!" was SUCH a fun game in college - anyone else ever play?
A Friday afternoon institution at my college!
[That's a bit harsh....].
For one, Jeopardy doesn't test intelligence, but knowledge.
The original “What’s My Line”, with John Daly, Bennett Cerf, Arlene Francis, and Dorothy Kilgallen.
Barney Miller
Friends
Roseanne (early years)
Fawlty Towers
Absolutely Fabulous
Wow, that's about it. Hm.
Oh common, we all know that NASCAR, NFL, MLB are rated higher and more enlightening than all mentioned.
SpongeBob Squarepants.
......with the original Looney Tunes a close second.
The list of the smartest shows has to include The Prisoner, Mystery Science Theater and South Park.
Infotainment, liberal propaganda. Soft sell the agenda under the guise of being a “regular” entertainment “escape” but really push the DNC talking points OVER and OVER and OVER again.
No Benny Hill?
Davey and Goliath
I don’t know why I liked Friends so much. It was silly, but I liked it. Are You Being Served was pretty good. Actually, the first two seasons of House were good too, but then it got kind of repititious for me. For the most part, I gave up on TV 10 years ago, as you can probably tell.
Cosmos is the only thing on that list I agree with. How can “sitcom” and “smart” be in the same sentence together?
Is the thread still exclusive when it isn't the first thread?
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