# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/21 "2014-11-21T05:14:32Z")
Jeopardy? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/22 "2014-11-21T05:32:06Z")
My vote is for _Sherlock_. So dazzling and brilliant. The way that it somehow manages to simultaneously tell the original stories and be a contemporary show, while tossing off all sorts of arcane references and being hysterically funny just leaves me in awe. > [@Grestarian](#): > > My votes would be for MacGyver and House M.D. > (and, way way back, Quincy M.D.) I’m currently watching a season of Quincy on DVD, and I’m very impressed. Just when I think that they are telling a cliche story, there’s a really smart and interesting twist. ---
**Author:** ![meanoldman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@meanoldman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meanoldman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/23 "2014-11-21T05:43:06Z")
Justified. Almost any of the dialog spoken by the character Boyd Crowder. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/24 "2014-11-21T05:43:12Z")
This one was supposed to be smart: [Meeting of Minds.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meeting_of_Minds) I’ve only ever heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/25 "2014-11-21T06:28:54Z")
I was always surprised by how many out-of-the-way references **30 Rock** had. I guess since they had such a high joke-per-minute rate, the producers were less concerned that some stuff might go over some peoples heads. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/26 "2014-11-21T08:45:57Z")
The original _ **CSI** _ and the first few years of _ **CSI: New York** _. _ **Meeting of Minds** _, yes! On BBC, _ **Mastermind** _. Second both _ **Frasier** _ and _ **DvD** _. I’ll add _ **Cheers!** _ to the mix. _ **St Elsewhere** _. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/27 "2014-11-21T08:50:50Z")
If _ **Jeopardy!** _ is eligible, then so is the original _ **Split Second** _, with Tom Kennedy. That show moved so fast and the contestants were so damned smart, I was always left in a blur when each episode was over. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/28 "2014-11-21T08:54:48Z")
It may seem old hat now, but I still love watching _ **Columbo** _, even though I know each episode by heart and exactly how the murderer is going to give him/herself away. But I always think of when I saw them for the first time and wondered “How on _Earth_ is he gonna nail him/her???” ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/29 "2014-11-21T09:09:19Z")
I would say **SCTV** , for the way it assumed the viewer had a wide knowledge of pop culture marginalia, plus an appreciation of how to reinterpret such material with irony. **Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman** struck me as a pretty brainy show as well. Also for its irony, and the ambiguity of its dialogue. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/30 "2014-11-21T10:18:30Z")
> [@Savannah](#): > > 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. I think when it gets into the semi-final and final stages, _Only Connect_ has some of the toughest questions I have ever seen in a TV quiz. Things like \*Mastermind \* are about testing your memory and general knowledge. _Only Connect_ needs general knowledge and actual reasoning and lateral thinking. Of course, that doesn’t make it brainy in the way a well-written serious drama is, but yeah, as entertainment shows go it must be up there. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Bragg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@Stealth\_Bragg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Bragg)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/31 "2014-11-21T11:39:02Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > I think when it gets into the semi-final and final stages, _Only Connect_ has some of the toughest questions I have ever seen in a TV quiz. Things like \*Mastermind \* are about testing your memory and general knowledge. _Only Connect_ needs general knowledge and actual reasoning and lateral thinking. Of course, that doesn’t make it brainy in the way a well-written serious drama is, but yeah, as entertainment shows go it must be up there. What about the much branier (but short lived) [Never Mind The Full Stops](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Mind_the_Full_Stops) ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/32 "2014-11-21T13:19:55Z")
I would nominate Mystery Science Theatre 3000 - MST had quick, witty writing, wasn’t afraid of obscure jokes, and to catch all of them (or even most of them), you needed deep cultural literacy, knowledge of previous episodes, and often a strong base in science, religion and philosophy. They would make a Proust joke one minute, then a joke about apes throwing their poo the next. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/33 "2014-11-21T13:27:48Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > If anyone seriously says Big Bang Theory I will build an alligator pit just to dump you all in. Settle down, Howard! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/34 "2014-11-21T15:05:30Z")
_The West Wing_ deserves a mention. Even if you don’t agree with the politics, you have to concede it was smart articulate characters dealing with important issues. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/35 "2014-11-22T00:16:04Z")
The BBC series, Yes, Minister. ---
**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 22, 2014, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/36 "2014-11-22T01:38:28Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > This one was supposed to be smart: > > [Meeting of Minds.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meeting_of_Minds) > > I’ve only ever heard of it. The first thing you had to get past was that Jayne Meadows seemed to play [every](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XNqkzDHkATY/hqdefault.jpg)[important](https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/247/3263186929_4539bc575a.jpg) [woman](http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/MEETINGC.jpg) [in](http://www.kcet.org/about/50/meeting-of-the-minds.jpg)[history](http://www.jaynemeadows.com/Photoalbum/jayne_marie.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![butterfiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@butterfiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butterfiles)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/37 "2014-11-22T01:56:07Z")
Sherlock Sopranos Carnivale Breaking Bad Boardwalk Empire Frasier & Cheers NYPD Blue \*agreed on Monty Python’s Flying Circus and…I think South Park! ---
**Author:** ![butterfiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@butterfiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butterfiles)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/38 "2014-11-22T01:57:18Z")
p.s. The Dick Cavett Show ---
**Author:** ![butterfiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@butterfiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butterfiles)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/39 "2014-11-22T01:58:29Z")
oops, I forgot The Twilight Zone. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/40 "2014-11-22T02:41:00Z")
I will boringly nominate the first 15 years of The Simpsons. Any show which can so easily appeal to adults and children, smart folks as well as dumb folks is working on a higher plain than almost any other series. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202.md?page=3)