# Smartest TV or Movie Character? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204 "2010-08-23T20:54:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bramma23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@bramma23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bramma23)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/1 "2010-08-23T20:54:17Z")
I’m pretty open to the rules but I’d prefer they be human and based in this world and somehow aren’t divinely inspired or created for the purpose of knowing all the answers intuitively like an oracle or something. Maybe if there’s enough nominations it could be a poll? It’s up to you how to define intelligence. Problem solving skills? critical thinking skills? wisdom? high test scores? etc. Here are some of my thoughts: Will Hunting House Josiah Bartlet Doc Brown (he did invent a time machine) ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/2 "2010-08-23T21:00:22Z")
Doc Savage and Buckaroo Banzai would have those guys beat. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/3 "2010-08-23T21:02:55Z")
Agent 86 Maxwell Smart 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/4 "2010-08-23T21:04:35Z")
Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory? Certainly he would think so. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/5 "2010-08-23T21:05:20Z")
Dogbert or Dilbert’s garbage man (they qualify due to the TV series). ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/6 "2010-08-23T21:07:21Z")
Nero Wolfe hands down. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/7 "2010-08-23T21:08:05Z")
Reginald Barclay during “The Nth Degree”. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/8 "2010-08-23T21:08:50Z")
I don’t watch a lot of different shows, but of the ones I do watch I’d say Greg House . . . at least professionally. His personal life doesn’t indicate much intelligence though. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/9 "2010-08-23T21:09:20Z")
Peggy Hill! She’s got a 180 IQ (self-estimated)! ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/10 "2010-08-23T21:22:48Z")
Dr Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds would be up there. Graduated high school at age 12, holds Phds is mathematics, engineering and Chemistry plus 3 other BA’s and has an IQ of 187. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/11 "2010-08-23T22:40:39Z")
Batman’s a scientist. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/12 "2010-08-23T22:42:07Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > Reginald Barclay during “The Nth Degree”. He’d be my vote. ---
**Author:** ![Stauderhorse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Stauderhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stauderhorse)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/13 "2010-08-23T22:54:36Z")
Sam Beckett, _Quantum Leap_. Has an IQ of 267 and graduated from high school at 16. Completed four years worth of classes at MIT in two years. Has seven doctoral degrees (Music, Medicine, Quantum Physics, Archeology, Ancient Languages, Chemistry, and Astronomy) and speaks 11 languages (including English, Spanish, French, Russian, German, and Japanese). Developed the string theory of time travel. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/14 "2010-08-23T22:55:58Z")
stewie ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/15 "2010-08-23T22:59:32Z")
Sherlock Holmes, of course. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/16 "2010-08-23T23:55:21Z")
> [@Stauderhorse](#): > > Sam Beckett, _Quantum Leap_. > > Has an IQ of 267 and graduated from high school at 16. Completed four years worth of classes at MIT in two years. Has seven doctoral degrees (Music, Medicine, Quantum Physics, Archeology, Ancient Languages, Chemistry, and Astronomy) and speaks 11 languages (including English, Spanish, French, Russian, German, and Japanese). Developed the string theory of time travel. And then has most of his mind taken away from him by the swiss-cheese effect. Anyways, unless there was a population explosion in the far off year of 1999, there is no way he could have a 267 I.Q. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/17 "2010-08-24T00:22:09Z")
doogie howser, m.d. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/18 "2010-08-24T00:23:44Z")
Do the characters have to be fictional? Because Einstein and Newton have appeared in TV shows and movies. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/19 "2010-08-24T00:46:30Z")
No love for Perry Mason? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204/20 "2010-08-24T00:46:34Z")
Hannibal Lecter, M.D. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartest-tv-or-movie-character/551204.md?page=2)