Kevin's Watch

OK,,,I'll try...

10..The Outter Limits
9..Have Gun,,Will Travel
8..Secret Agent
7..Nothern Exposure
6..Alfred Hitchcock Presents
5..The Phoenix
4..Twilight Zone
3..Nowhere Man
2..The Prisoner
1..LOST

was Twin Peaks mentioned at all?

The criteria for that Mensa list seems a little loose. I've only seen five of the shows, but only two (Jeopardy and Cosmos) out of the five would fit my idea of what a "smart" TV show is. I might have included CSI if I had not come to understand how the show poses many of its slick forensic techniques as real science. (I guess that really wouldn't make the show any less "smart" - just less accurate in terms of the science.) I have to wonder if Mr. Mensa Chairman is playing some kind of joke.

I agree with Sarge: where are the Discovery channel shows? PBS? Nova doesn't qualify?

Honestly, I'm going to draw up my list based upon characterization, good stories, insight and the ability to surprise rather than scientific accuracy. In fact, I've included some fantasies. Limiting myself to fictional series on American Broadcast television (but not PBS) which I myself have seen sufficiently to make a judgment...

TOP TEN SMARTEST (in no particular order)
The Prisoner
The West Wing
House, M.D.
M*A*S*H
Frasier
Dexter (now that it is on CBS)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
LOST
Northern Exposure
The Rockford Files

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Twin Peaks
Forever Knight
Firefly
Touching Evil
The X-Files
Brimstone
Babylon Five
Popular

Note: The "Honorable Mentions" in my mind were more uneven in quality or simply didn't last long enough.

I've stopped watching TV altogether, and I already feel much smarter.

Allright, you lured me into this thread again finally. Here are my top 10, in no particular order...

-Futurama
-The Venture Bros.
-Battlestar Galactica
-Dexter
-The Sopranos
-Seinfeld
-South Park (MUCH smarter than it gets credit for!)
-Firefly
-The Daily Show/Cobert Report
-Lost

The Dreaming wrote: -South Park (MUCH smarter than it gets credit for!)

Clever does not equal smart. I like South Park as well, and they are definitely the most daring in satire, but I wouldn't exactly call it smart. Just my opinion though.

There's a fine line between stupid and clever, and South Park pole-vaults over it too regularly.

You realize that's a David St.Hubbins quote right?

Just because a show has the occasional *low* humor, doesn't mean it can't be smart. Hell, Futurama is riddled with penis jokes, and tell me the difference between "The Contest" and the average SP episode? I honestly think SP is the highest satire (and the most egalitarian!) in any media outlet today.

Actually, I believe both Nigel and David deserve credit for that one.

South Park has its moments, but too often it crosses the line and ceases being either smart or funny. Futurama is a different story. Seinfeld was neither smart nor funny.

I can't believe Fantasy Bedtime Hour didn't make the list....

Cail wrote:Actually, I believe both Nigel and David deserve credit for that one.

South Park has its moments, but too often it crosses the line and ceases being either smart or funny. Futurama is a different story. Seinfeld was neither smart nor funny.

That's just because they have played against your biases. When they fit in with your biases, are they funny then? Do you think the people that are offended that go with your biases don't feel the same way? It only stops being funny when you are offended, but it doesn't stop it from being clever to another group. While I have laughed at Seinfeld, I see your point, although I find Seinfeld funnier than Friends.

I never found Friends funny.

My biases have nothing to do with whether or not I like South Park. The show has never offended me, it just fails at both humor and commentary all too often.

The condom episode was funny as hell, especially the way Mr. Garrison showed the kids how to put one on. In contrast, the "how many times can we say shit" episode fell flat. Look, I loved the SP movie, and I'm one of the few people that think Baseketball is an under appreciated masterpiece, but SP (the show) just ain't all that.

What about Man-Bear-Pig? (He's half man, half bear, and half pig, and he the single greatest threat to life on this planet)

That was OK. The North American Marlon Brando Look-Alikes was hysterical.

This article covers things a little more and gives a little bit of info about him.

thebiz.fancast.com/2008/02/exclusive_me ... ks_th.html

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.

And agreed the list is bad, at least in terms of the way he reasons it IMO.

As far as SP goes, my gut says I prefer the older eps to the newer ones but I think it's good enough. Would probably make my top 10, but that's only because I rarely watch tele series (there are maybe 15 shows I am pretty familiar with).

Yesterday I listened to the Steven A. Smith Show on ESPN radio...must have been a programming glitch because they don't really air him. He has a really grating, loud and obnoxious voice so I'm really glad they don't. Anyway he had Steve Harvey, D. J. Hugley, Deion Sanders and some other athelete on for a round robin on strides and setbacks made by black entertainers and atheletes in the media. Harvey was talking about contracts for many black shows and comedy that HAD to include at least one token white person.

Then he said, "On the other hand, this wasn't the case on primarily white shows at the time, for instance Friends, now how do six people live in New York City all these years and never have any black friends?" I almost drove off the road laughing.

I might be outing myself by saying this, but didn't Ross have a black girlfriend?

The Dreaming wrote:I might be outing myself by saying this, but didn't Ross have a black girlfriend?

Wiki says she appears in the 9th season, which says to me "response to criticism." Because I know that has been noted before.

...right, the second I saw Ross' paleontologist, anthropologist or whatever girlfriend I said, they're making up for something...