# What is the Smartest TV Show? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202 "2014-11-20T21:40:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/1 "2014-11-20T21:40:38Z")
What would you consider to be the smartest TV show? You can define “smart” however you want but non fiction shows like Cosmos or Frontline are not eligible. I would nominate “Frasier”. It had a protagonist that was smart, worldly and cultured which doesn’t happen anymore. It told jokes that would possibly go over audience members heads with confidence but it was still relatable. What would you say? ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/2 "2014-11-20T21:51:46Z")
Futurama has to be on the list. Lots of science in-jokes amidst all the cartoony stuff. [They even invented their own theorem for one episode.](http://theinfosphere.org/Futurama_theorem) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/3 "2014-11-20T21:58:14Z")
I know advocating for The Wire is a cliche, but the way it was structured, in which the criminals and the po-po were constantly solving the mysteries created by the other, was pretty wonderful. It relied very little on cheap exposition and was willing to let mysteries hang for a long time. I’d put one vote there, and the other vote on the rococo iambic pentameter beauty of **Deadwood**. Frasier, alas, wouldn’t show up in my top ten. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/4 "2014-11-20T22:08:02Z")
Certain seasons of _The Simpsons_, certainly. _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ was written by English majors, and it showed in its use of language and metaphor. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/5 "2014-11-20T23:37:21Z")
My votes would be for MacGyver and House M.D. (and, way way back, Quincy M.D.) –G! ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/6 "2014-11-21T00:04:51Z")
_Big Bang Theory_ is a special combo platter of smarts and dumb-ass-ness. I think that’s why it’s so popular with the denizens of this board. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/7 "2014-11-21T00:23:21Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I know advocating for The Wire is a cliche, but the way it was structured, in which the criminals and the po-po were constantly solving the mysteries created by the other, was pretty wonderful. It relied very little on cheap exposition and was willing to let mysteries hang for a long time. I thought “The Wire’s” older brother, “Homicide: Life on the Street”, was also smart and willing to let storylines slow cook. > [@](#): > > I’d put one vote there, and the other vote on the rococo iambic pentameter beauty of **Deadwood**. I’ve never seen “Deadwood” but that description makes me want to at the first opportunity! ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/8 "2014-11-21T00:32:14Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I know advocating for The Wire is a cliche, but the way it was structured, in which the criminals and the po-po were constantly solving the mysteries created by the other, was pretty wonderful. It relied very little on cheap exposition and was willing to let mysteries hang for a long time. I’d put one vote there, and the other vote on the rococo iambic pentameter beauty of **Deadwood**. > > Frasier, alas, wouldn’t show up in my top ten. In order to not say exactly the same, I’m going to put Deadwood first. It required intellectual effort to understand the motivations of people from what they said, but things always made sense. I’m not sure what would be number three. Perhaps Death Note, at least until […] dies. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/9 "2014-11-21T01:15:33Z")
**Homicide** , **Deadwood** , **Key: The Metal Idol** , **The Sandbaggers** , and **Breaking Bad**. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/10 "2014-11-21T01:33:30Z")
If anyone seriously says Big Bang Theory I will build an alligator pit just to dump you all in. ---
**Author:** ![Orr\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ee59a6/32.png) [@Orr\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orr_G)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/11 "2014-11-21T01:39:05Z")
Although I wouldn’t claim it as the smartest TV show ever, **Arrested Development** is one of the most clever (if not exactly of high intellect) comedies I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/12 "2014-11-21T01:46:17Z")
If by “smart” one were to mean “an awful lot of thought and subtlety went into the writing and construction of each and every episode,” then I would nominate _Mad Men_. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/13 "2014-11-21T02:05:38Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > If by “smart” one were to mean “an awful lot of thought and subtlety went into the writing and construction of each and every episode,” then I would nominate _Mad Men_. Oh yeah. I’ve only seen the first two seasons so far, but I second your nomination. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/14 "2014-11-21T02:06:02Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Certain seasons of _The Simpsons_, certainly. _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ was written by English majors, and it showed in its use of language and metaphor. Aren’t most story-based TV shows, indeed, most fiction of any kind,written by English majors these days? (No doubt there are lots of exceptions, but even so, _most_.) I think why most people become English majors is that they want to be writers. Most won’t make it, but some do. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/15 "2014-11-21T02:24:29Z")
If you go back in the history of TV, _The Dick Van Dyke Show_ was so far above its contemporaries in both script quality and sophistication that it really stood alone in its era. There are more shows today that have smarts, but I’m willing to argue that judged in its own class, DVD was the smartest show of all time. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/16 "2014-11-21T02:24:46Z")
**Homicide** and **The Sandbaggers** , definitely. There’s also the short-lived British series **Star Cops** , which is the most scientifically accurate science fiction show ever on TV (a low bar, but still…) **Hill Street Blues** The first two seasons of **Hu$tle.** ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/17 "2014-11-21T02:52:59Z")
QI from BBC. A very smart quiz show… except all the contestants are comedians and score keeping is vague and not related to any prizes. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/18 "2014-11-21T03:02:50Z")
[This article](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/magazine/24TV.html) from The New York Times is a few years old but it goes into how the complex interlocking plot threads of shows like Hill Street Blues and The Sopranos demands more attention and patience from the viewing audience. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/19 "2014-11-21T03:50:33Z")
I’m going with the show that often referenced ancient philosophers, classics of literature, sociological and psychological theorems: Monty Python’s Flying Circus! ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/20 "2014-11-21T05:01:55Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > QI from BBC. A very smart quiz show… except all the contestants are comedians and score keeping is vague and not related to any prizes. We can count in quiz shows from the BBC? How about [Only Connect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Only_Connect)? Holy cow, from what I’ve seen it’s very difficult and exciting, in its quiet, nail-biting way. And the players are a brainy, brainy bunch. Very enjoyable to watch. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202.md?page=2)