Thinking as a Hobby

Here's a link to The 10 Smartest TV Shows of All Time, but out "by Mensa" (though I think it's actually a list of shows mentioned by Mensa's director, so this is one person's preferences, and not some kind of official, by-committee edict):

Frasier
The West Wing
Boston Legal
Jeopardy
Cosmos
House
CSI
All in the Family
Mad About You
MASH

Some of these are good. Some are just dumb. Boston Legal is one of the goofiest shows I've ever seen. The show it spun off of, The Practice, was more intelligently written. Cosmos was a documentary mini-series. I tried to watch it recently, and I couldn't get past the dated music and production values, even though I'm a huge fan of Sagan. It just seemed way too cheesy. But if you're going to allow for PBS specials, where's all the high-brow programming, such as Masterpiece Theater and Nova?

I've watch a lot of House recently. I didn't like it at first, but it grew on me, and it consistently upheld a rational approach to the world. But I think it jumped the shark in the middle of the third season. I thought the resolution to the vengeful David Morse cop storyline was lame, but what cinched it for me were a couple of horrible episodes. One where they erased a patient's long-term memory with electroshock therapy to cure him from broken heart syndrome, only to find out that it had been caused by false memories. That episode was ludicrous. It was soon followed by the "wandering toothpick" episode, in which a stray toothpick was traveling through a young man's innards, puncturing organs along the way. Um, out of the thousands of dollars of tests they did on him, if an MRI wouldn't show a toothpick in your gut, how about a stupid x-ray?

Same deal with CSI. The scenarios are so elaborate and silly they defy one's ability to suspend disbelief.

I've seen some other criticism around the web that solid SF shows like The Twilight Zone and any of the Star Trek's weren't included. There have also been some very smartly written cop shows, but none were included. So again, I think labeling this "10 Smartest TV Shows" was just to grab people's attention. It was really just a list of one guy's favorites.

But what else should be in the top 10 smartest shows that wasn't listed here?




	Thinking as a Hobby Home Get Email Updates LINKS JournalScan Email Me Admin Password Remember Me 3478554 Curiosities served Share on Facebook				2008-02-22 8:51 PM 10 Smartest TV Shows of All Time Previous Entry :: Next Entry Read/Post Comments (5) Here's a link to The 10 Smartest TV Shows of All Time, but out "by Mensa" (though I think it's actually a list of shows mentioned by Mensa's director, so this is one person's preferences, and not some kind of official, by-committee edict): Frasier The West Wing Boston Legal Jeopardy Cosmos House CSI All in the Family Mad About You MASH Some of these are good. Some are just dumb. Boston Legal is one of the goofiest shows I've ever seen. The show it spun off of, The Practice, was more intelligently written. Cosmos was a documentary mini-series. I tried to watch it recently, and I couldn't get past the dated music and production values, even though I'm a huge fan of Sagan. It just seemed way too cheesy. But if you're going to allow for PBS specials, where's all the high-brow programming, such as Masterpiece Theater and Nova? I've watch a lot of House recently. I didn't like it at first, but it grew on me, and it consistently upheld a rational approach to the world. But I think it jumped the shark in the middle of the third season. I thought the resolution to the vengeful David Morse cop storyline was lame, but what cinched it for me were a couple of horrible episodes. One where they erased a patient's long-term memory with electroshock therapy to cure him from broken heart syndrome, only to find out that it had been caused by false memories. That episode was ludicrous. It was soon followed by the "wandering toothpick" episode, in which a stray toothpick was traveling through a young man's innards, puncturing organs along the way. Um, out of the thousands of dollars of tests they did on him, if an MRI wouldn't show a toothpick in your gut, how about a stupid x-ray? Same deal with CSI. The scenarios are so elaborate and silly they defy one's ability to suspend disbelief. I've seen some other criticism around the web that solid SF shows like The Twilight Zone and any of the Star Trek's weren't included. There have also been some very smartly written cop shows, but none were included. So again, I think labeling this "10 Smartest TV Shows" was just to grab people's attention. It was really just a list of one guy's favorites. But what else should be in the top 10 smartest shows that wasn't listed here? Read/Post Comments (5) Previous Entry :: Next Entry Back to Top