# 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:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/61 "2014-11-22T19:29:01Z")
> [@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. _KLAXON_ Minus five points - most of the contestants are comedians, but there’s a sprinkling of actors, journalists and scientists. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/62 "2014-11-22T19:44:13Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > _KLAXON_ > > Minus five points - most of the contestants are comedians, but there’s a sprinkling of actors, journalists and scientists. And some do double duty: Ben Miller got his undergraduate degree in the field of Quantum mechanics and was getting a PhD in Physics from Cambridge when he turned to comedy. Here he explains in QI about why there is no such thing as nothing and basing that on the (then) search of the Higgs field / bosom: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no-Aiwl83EU) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/63 "2014-11-22T22:15:18Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **The Americans** _. For me, I actually have to “turn off my brain” a lot of times when watching this show due to numerous unrealistic and just plain stupid things it does. My nom: _Louie_. ---
**Author:** ![DonLogan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/64 "2014-11-22T23:31:14Z")
_ **Get Smart** _ ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/65 "2014-11-23T00:32:37Z")
> [@DonLogan](#): > > _ **Get Smart** _ Well, D’uh! Of course. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/66 "2014-11-23T02:15:41Z")
LA Law and St Elsewhere both introduced viewers to the complexity of legal arguments and the ethical dilemmas of medicine. Hill Street Blues did the same for police. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/67 "2014-11-23T02:30:55Z")
> [@Orr\_G](#): > > 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. I agree. Extremely intelligent and tight screenwriting, perhaps the best I’ve seen in TV comedy, but I understand not everyone sees it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/68 "2014-11-23T04:28:36Z")
Inspector Lewis on Masterpiece Mystery is pretty good. I thought Boston Legal was surprisingly smart for a silly show. My favorite episode was the one with the Supreme Court. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/69 "2014-11-23T06:08:30Z")
_The Practice_ for its complexities of law and clever dialogue; _House, M.D._ for its complexities of science and its clever dialogue; _The Newsroom_ for its complexities of life and clever dialogue. ---
**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 23, 2014, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/70 "2014-11-23T08:34:17Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > For me, I actually have to “turn off my brain” a lot of times when watching this show due to numerous unrealistic and just plain stupid things it does. Really. I’m just finishing the first season on-line, and I quite enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/71 "2014-11-23T13:03:56Z")
I think it is worth making the distinction between shows with smart characters and smart shows. My two nominees, neither previously mentioned, were chock full of characters who were not the sharpest quills on the porcupine but were very (IMO) smartly written. \*\*Fernwood 2Night \*\*and **The Beverly Hillbillies**. What the hell, throw in \*\*Green Acres \*\*as well. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/72 "2014-11-23T13:21:24Z")
[Numberwang](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjOZtWZ56lc&list=PL58691C0469CA3F54) ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/73 "2014-11-23T15:19:57Z")
I’m a moderately intelligent guy, but my no means a genius. I know people who are smarter/more educated then me, and sometimes they say things that go over my head. Lots of TV shows have characters who are geniuses, or are at least super-smart. The only time I’ve heard anything on television that went over my head was a joke Hodgins made while talking to Zack in an early episode of _Bones_. I respected that immensely. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/74 "2014-11-23T17:30:25Z")
I believe \*\*The Larry Sanders Show \*\*was mostly brilliant. The cast was amazing and the humor was sharp. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/75 "2014-11-23T20:18:39Z")
**Numb3rs** , although my husband thinks it could have been “mathier”. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/76 "2014-11-24T05:20:45Z")
> [@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 love Only Connect, although I find myself yelling at the screen during the Connecting Wall round whenever I find the similarities obvious but the contestants are selecting everything at random. The Missing Vowels round seems out of place for this smart game as it is the easiest of the four rounds by far. Agreed that this is a very smart program, and puts all American quiz shows to shame. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/77 "2014-11-24T05:45:05Z")
> [@Reloy3](#): > > 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. I agree, and you summed it up much better than I could hope to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/78 "2014-11-24T18:13:10Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > 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? IMHO, nah, the show was well written, generally, but to call it smart? Sure, the main character, and his brother were sophisticated, erudite, pompous, etc., but that was just the hook of the show. A show like Roseanne used blue-collar types as the hook, but neither indicates if the show would be considered “smart”. Don’t mistake whether outward intelligence is an attribute of the main characters as indicating if the show is equally intelligent. See: [Scorpion](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3514324/?ref_=nv_sr_1) as an example. ---
**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 24, 2014, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202/79 "2014-11-24T18:21:42Z")
Frasier wasn’t smart because the characters on it were smart. It was cleverly written. It used a sitcom staple - dramatic irony - in a consistently excellent way. The jokes often built up upon previous jokes organically. The characterization was consistent. There was some subtle humor, although not nearly to the degree of something like arrested development, but they respected your intelligence. Your criticism would be much more appropriate for something like the Big Bang Theory, where the characters are drawn as highly intelligent types, but the actual humor is on the level of any other low brow sitcom, and somehow people mistake this for intelligent writing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-smartest-tv-show/705202.md?page=3)