Mensa Choses 10 Smartest TV Shows of All Time

[MzNov]

I agree mostly, except for . . .

http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/6076


Mad About You??? It was OK, but what little of it I did watch did not offer any great mental challenges. I guess it's different for all of us.

:bounce:

[Kingofalldems]

1. What? No Hee Haw?

How about Car 54?

[MzNov]

14. There's a hold-up in the Bronx

Brooklyn's broken out in fights....

[MzNov]

15. oops, I meant this under Car 54

[Elwood P Dowd]

23. Get you shit together Muldoon!

:spank:

[DemoTex]

103. Khrushchev's stuck at Idlewild ..

(JFK International airport's former name, for you youngsters)..

[Bluzmann57]

2. And as far as entertaining tv...

How about "Green Acres" and "Bullwinkle"? The Mensa shows were, and are, by and large pretty good, but sometimes it's cool to just watch something that is sheer entertainment. Although, the aforementioned shows were damn fine satire at times.

[dawniedarling]

3. Moose und Skvirrel

"Bullwinkle" should have been on there

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

36. Wassamatta U

guys at Mensa--you left out one of the best series!

[Blue_In_AK]

70. Definitely Rocky and Bullwinkle...no question.

[Turbineguy]

4. Hogan's Heroes

Sgt Schultz was the smartest guy in Hitler's Army.

[Elwood P Dowd]

8. "I know NOTH....ING. I see NOTH.....ING."

I loved that ole' show.

[Thothmes]

self deleted

[Thothmes]

35. Sgt. Schultz was in the Luftwaffe

[Turbineguy]

72. You're right

That should have occured to me. Luftstalag 13.

OK, the was the smartest guy in Hitler's Air Force. And he was slimmer than Goering too.

[chelsea0011]

5. I thought the same about MAY. Why noTwight Zone?

No Outer Limits? This must be a young crowd. B&W is out

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

39. No That Was The Week That Was

from 1963. I agree that they missed some gems.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

129. Yep. David Frost and Nancy Ames.

Cool show.

What, no Let's Make a Deal?

"It's time for America's top trader, TV's big dealer -- MONTY HAAAALLLLL!!"

It's so much fun to watch people make idiots of themselves. And Monty Hall made some clever comments that went over the heads of the contestants.

Like the lady who dressed up as a jockey, and she was nervous and wiggling a lot so he said "Hmm you've got this Native Dancer-thing going". :)

[mdmc]

6. if northern exposure isn't on there

:mad:

[IDemo]

9. The first show that occurred to me also n/t

[jazzjunkysue]

105. Yup Joel.Maggie, Chris, the Brick. Best TV ever.

[MzNov]

11. Yes! Good one.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

40. should have been

I think they ignored some of the really great programs to do with only popular pap.

[NashVegas]

81. It's Not. Neither Is St. Elsewhere

Screw Mensa.

[mdmc]

98. Interesting... the pilot episode of northern exposure mentions

St. Elsewhere:kick:

[BoneDaddy]

127. Loved that show

watched it religiously. Very deep and dealt with so many great topics.

[mdmc]

133. I still try to take it in on DVD

but the music is different:cry:

[tularetom]

7. Thank god I'm not qualified to join Mensa

Frasier sucks (Can't visualize chubby doughy kelsey Grammer attracting all these hot babes).

CSI is tedious - I've tried to watch it several times but I can't stay with it

MASH pretty much went down the shitter after Henry Blake was killed

House is OK but it's sometimes hard to identify with somebody with such a negative view of humanity

and Mad about You? WTF??? They just stuck taht in to see if we common folk were payin attention. It totally blew.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

43. The only one I've seen is M.A.S.H.

and the TV show was a pale imitation of the movie.

[hyphenate]

64. I disagree with you about House

He might be as cynical as you can get, but I think that he's hiding an awful lot under that tough exterior. Both Hugh Laurie and the writers show that to a tiny degree every week. Although you need to see a lot more episodes to see that in some circumstances. The most obvious times were with the recent episode, "Frozen," the one with the young champion swimmer (can't remember the ep. name), and the one with the autistic boy (again, can't recall the title).

My SIL is the one who got me watching House--it's difficult when there are two separate TV shows named "House" and one is a dreaded "reality" show. Two seasons had already passed when I started to watch it.

CSI was unique when it started in 2000, and while there have been many knock-offs, it still remains smart. I think a large part of that is the characterizations. In the earlier episodes, they didn't play so much with the cases without interjecting some element of the lives of the investigators--it made them human. As we got tiny looks into the characters, they seemed to back off too much. I know they went the opposite with CSI: Miami, and began to put the cases in as an afterthought or making it part of the main characters way too much, and that made it boring after awhile. At least the original show hasn't made too many cases be about the characters, except as season cliffhangers, and that's only because if it were about just regular cases, we might not be so eager to keep watching!

[Kitty Herder]

10. Boston Legal? Are they kidding? nt

[MzNov]

12. It's mensa. They don't kid.

[SharonAnn]

84. Oh yes, we do. We really do have a good sense of humor. And we collect

"Mensa stories" about silly things we or hypothetical Mensans have done.

Then, of course, there are the "feghoots". Long, wordy, story type puns. Like one that concludes with "Transporting gulls across staid lions for immortal porpoises." Or, "Pardon my Roy, is that the cat that chewed your new shoes?"

[TexasBushwhacker]

63. My thoughts exactly!

And why do they keep calling it a drama? Shatner is such a buffoon :eyes:

[Giant Robot]

13. No MST3K??

Oh fuck that.

Mad About You? And no MST3K?

Double fuck that.

[blm]

17. With you on that one. "Why does a monster have to use a handrail?"

That one STILL makes me laugh.

[Retrograde]

29. It seems limited to broadcast TV

but I agree with you - you have to be pretty well up on culture in general to get even half of MST3K's quips.

Mad About You????

[tridim]

34. MST3K is the best show in television history

And IMO it always will be.

Come on Joel, give us more!

[tridim]

51. Wow, KO just did a birthday tribute to Joel Hodgeson

That's so freaky!

[Marr]

136. Seriously?

That's awesome. Man, I love MST3K so much.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

45. MST3K rocks

and I wish it were still on....hey, why can't those three sit and comment on the Republican debates?

[Hallie Burton]

125. MST3K

If you're a MST3K fan, you might want to check out rifftrax.com. It lets you download a new MST3K soundtrack to your comp. Then you pop in a movie you own or have rented, synch it up with the soundtrack and watch it on your PC. I've done this several times and I love it. MST3K lives!

[Marr]

137. I've done that!

Awesome site. I really wish they'd go back on TV, too.

[me b zola]

16. Even geniuses can make mistakes...

The 'Rosanne' show wasn't just great entertainment, it was brilliant. Mensa dropped the ball when they neglected Rosanne.

[blm]

20. Agree with you on Rosanne, too.

.

[Triana]

142. The mensans I knew made a LOT of mistakes - they just never admitted it..

...too narcissistic.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

18. And just where is My Mother the Car?

:rofl:

Hiya sweetie! :hug: :loveya:

[MzNov]

19. SCE !!!

:rofl: :loveya:

I'm fine, howareyadoin???

I never watched that one! I guess it would have to be intelligent if the car was talking!! LOL

[SalmonChantedEvening]

25. I am okies :)

:hug: :loveya:

Quick lie back before Malloy time!

Jerry Van Dyke and a one season wonder back in 1968, I'm gonna guess.

[MzNov]

26. Johnny Cakes in for Mike tonight.

:puke: are we going to listen?

:smooches: :loveya:

[AlCzervik]

21. Mad about you? eeww, that show sucked and blew.

[MzNov]

28. I thought the dog was extremely intelligent.

What was his name?

[AlCzervik]

30. the dog, ok the dog is full of the win, the rest of the show sucked.

[zanne]

99. I loved Mad About You.

I was upset when it went off the air.

[Swamp Rat]

22. Where's Beavis and Butthead?

They're lame... uhuhuhuuhuhuhhhh......

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

24. Nova, my favorite TV show didn't even make the cut

whereas Mad About You, one of my least favorites did.

[Bright Eyes]

27. No Dukes Of Hazzard???

:P

[stevedeshazer]

31. The Simpsons

Maybe I don't belong in Mensa, but how the hell could they leave out the best show of ALL TIME?

Showing my age here, I'd add Steve Allen and Ernie Kovacs.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

37. Glaring omission. Also Malcolm in the Middle. Black Adder.

Can't have humor or satire without intellect.

[stevedeshazer]

50. Malcolm ITM was also a great show

Good one.

[malletgirl02]

61. Black addler

I only had the chance to see a few episodes of Black Adder Goes Forth on BBC America and part of an episode of Black Addler III. I don't normally like British humor, but I agree Black Adder is brilliant. I wish I could see the rest.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

65. I think Netflix has the series as do many video stores.

Try to watch them in sequence. They build and just get more and more hilarious. (PS - it's "Adder" like the snake although considering the character "addler" is apt)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/blackadder/

[malletgirl02]

73. Thanks nt.

[tomg]

119. Steve Allen was brillant.

I still remember when they had a contest where you could win a howitzer that they had gotten, I think, from Sweden. Hilarious. ( His meeting of the minds show was also pretty sharp)

[Perry Logan]

32. What about "The Prisoner"--a 60's British TV show that actually has a cult following?

[TheMightyFavog]

46. WHAt? I've heard of college courses taught about The Prisoner!

That show has been used to illustrate concepts by guys like Marshall McLuhan for chrissake. IIRC, there's even rumors that The Prisoner was heavily influenced by McLuhan!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

47. Apparently Mensa thinks there is only American TV

Personally, I would rather watch British comedies than American ones--and The Prisoner was one of my favorite shows-remember watching it all summer in the 60s (it was on as a summer replacement).

[panzerfaust]

53. Apparently. Which is odd as

The Menseurs did, I believe, originate in the twilight of the Empire.

British that is.

[Pharlo]

100. Adding British options, I would include

'Yes Minister' which evolved into 'Yes Prime Minister' and 'Battlefield' - as well as the aforementioned 'Blackadder' series.

[Canuckistanian]

66. What about Max Headroom?

Now THERE was a TV show WAY ahead of it's time. 20 minutes ahead, to be exact.

[derby378]

86. YES!

My favorite exchange of all was this one between Edison Carter and his producer:

"Since when has news been entertainment?!?"

"Since it was invented?"

[Canuckistanian]

88. I liked the concept of the "blanks"

Such as "Blank Reg".

People with no record of being in any kind of government database. Living "off the land", as it were.

[derby378]

89. If this REAL ID scam is taken to its logical conclusion...

...I think "blanks" will become a very real occurrence here in America.

BTW, I've got the original UK pilot on VHS. It's still one of the smartest and most prescient shows aired on television anywhere in the world.

[Canuckistanian]

95. Cool.

I always like the show. Max was my avatar image for quite a while.

BTW, Matt Frewer was a Canadian who grew up not far from where I live now.

I have to look up where to get copies of the show.

[MzNov]

33. Perry Mason was exceptional as a who dunnit

[MediaBabe]

38. MENSA and Network TV? The dumbing down of America is complete.

I can't imagine anything less worthy of being used in a sentence with MENSA as Network TV.

[lukasahero]

94. Yes folks, we have a winner

'bout says it all now, doesn't it?

[kevinbgoode]

41. But...but what about Steed and Mrs. Peel?

They not only were the smartest agents around....but...there are few things smarter than a young Diana Rigg karate chopping up evil men in a lovely leather catsuit.

[MzNov]

44. The Avengers! That was really good.

[BurtWorm]

56. Monty Python's Flying Circus, the Blackadders, The Young Ones, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin,

Oops. Never mind. They're all Brits.

:patriot:

Carry on.

[AlCzervik]

59. maybe they were limited to us shows? I hope so but their list is sadly deficient.

mad about you, c'mon.

[MindPilot]

117. Yes, Mrs Peel was very smart in that tight catsuit.

Very, very smart. In fact I believe she was the motivation for the invention of the DVR.

[flvegan]

42. "Mad About You" but no WWE Smackdown?

I blame Diebold for these results.

[pscot]

48. Monty Python

Johnny Carson, Smothers Brothers; my top ten would look completely different.

[panzerfaust]

49. B HillBills - MUST be on there?

Incidentally, 'mensa' is 'table' in Latin, and its most modern use was for the upper slab of an altar in a Christer church until it was takeover by the faintly pathetic group referred to here.

I just love the mmembers who want to make sure you see their "Mensa VISA Card" - apparently in the hope that yu won't no longer consider them the fools they seem to be.

Wonder if Einstein or Feynman were members ...

[BrotherBuzz]

128. I think Groucho Marx can speak for Feynman and Einstein...

I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members.

[ixion]

52. Mad about you??

I never considered that show very intelligent at all. I agree with many of their other choices, but that one in particular seems out of place.

[CatWoman]

54. where the hell is MST3K????

:)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

58. Mystery Science Theater 3000

A guy and his two robot buddies sit down and critique some of the worst sci-fi movies ever made---you have to watch one episode to really appreciate it.

Read about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Science_Theater_3000

[Elwood P Dowd]

55. What about Alfred Hitchcock Presents?

I loved that show back in the day.

[MzNov]

57. A.H. was a true progressive. Way ahead of his time.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

60. That show gave me the creeps

I'm 57, and still get goosebumps remembering the episode about the ventriloquist and his dummy--and which was which.....

[tabasco]

62. Mensa is a bunch of dumbasses.

I mean that seriously.

[devilgrrl]

68. You got that right.

eom

[Lydia Leftcoast]

108. I've heard that they're a bunch of antisocial and arrogant nerds

No direct knowledge, but a friend joined in the hope of meeting some intelligent men. She found arrogant pompous asses with no social skills, but not necessarily especially intelligent except in a test-taking sort of way.

[blondeatlast]

110. My sister thought the same; people who couldn't really even function

among thise of us out of their circle and didn't really care to.

She found them so narrow-minded that they were terribly boring. I think she went to two meetings total and that was years ago.

[Elidor]

112. He picked CSI as one of the top 10 smartest shows

In other words, yes. Stupid so deep, it's in the bones.

[Richard Steele]

113. I agree completely- that "CSI" jumped right out at me.

That is NOT an "intelligent" show.

It's a show ABOUT intelligent people,
WRITTEN by a bunch of dumbasses who
have no idea what they're talking about.

[mac56]

67. I'd concur with "Mad About You" far before I'd agree on "Frasier".

"Frasier" was too precious by half. Salf absorbed. "Look at me! I'm clever!"

And I agree. No MST3K? No Twilight Zone? No Rocky and Bullwinkle?

[Jeffro40]

69. Mensa Choses?

That's too funny.

[MzNov]

77. you're obviously an honorary member or just use spell check

so I forgot an "o". I wondered how long it would take for the remark.

[Feron]

71. Mensa's list is full of fail.

No Northern Exposure, Profit, The Twilight Zone, or The Prisoner? And that's just to name a few.

Hell even the show Angel has more depth to it than Frasier. I'll admit that I used to watch Frasier, but there is nothing deep about that show.

I don't expect Mensa's list to mirror my own tastes, but come on.

[Bluebear]

74. "MENSA choses".

:silly:

[lanlady]

75. Seinfeld didn't make the cut?

That I can't understand at all. Boston Legal was okay, but if Mensa wanted a Shatner show on there, it should have chosen Star Trek.

I agree with All in the Family though, my favorite show of all time. But Mad About You? As Archie might say, Mensa's a bunch of meatheads.

[MzNov]

78. I can't believe Seinfeld didn't make the list but House did???

Seinfeld is brilliantly about nothing. I say put it at 5 Stars.

[BigDaddy44]

76. 30 Rock

New show, but very sharp. Everytime i watch i catch new things.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

79. No way

Barney Miller

Soap

Twilight Zone

All In The Family

Taxi

Rocky and His Friends

The Prisoner

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Laugh-In

The Ernie Kovacs Show

The Simpsons

Hill Street Blues

Sanford and Son

The Honeymooners

Late Night With David Letterman

M*A*S*H*

Monty Python's Flying Circus

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman

And THE BEST show in the history of television?

Saturday Night Live

[Elidor]

130. Soap was great. I was addicted to it when I was 11

I've thought about getting it on DVD, but I wonder whether I'll still enjoy it so much, not being 11 anymore. Richard Mulligan is one of the funniest actors who ever lived. He's just criminally underappreciated.

Err...was. I just looked him up. I had forgotten he died. :cry:

[NashVegas]

80. Mensa's a Bore

Mensa is the organization for smart people who want recognition for being smart.

No St. Elsewhere on that list? That's dumb.

[Elwood P Dowd]

82. The incredible "Kitchen Symphony"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0ImgssNloY

[gmudem]

83. How about Arrested Development?

That show was brilliant. And CSI, yeah it's sciency but it becomes pretty repetitive after a while.

[Elwood P Dowd]

85. What about the smartest news shows?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1sHWumLDoY&feature=related

[Blue Belle]

87. Please... "Mad About You" had nothing on "Sports Night"..

or "SOAP" - but then again I'm not a part of MENSA.

[scarletwoman]

90. Oh good grief. How very conventional wisdom. pffft.

Smartest TV Shows of All Time?!? Are they fucking kidding?!?

What about the Smothers Brothers? What about Steve Allen? What about Sid Caesar? What about Dick Cavitt?

These people don't know SHIT. I am SO not impressed.

sw

[provis99]

91. No Dukes of Hazzard? oh damn. someone above scooped me

well that's two DUers who voted Dukes of Hazzard. This list sucks.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

92. The Wire? The Sopranos? Seinfeld? Where are they?

[tchunter]

93. a couple missing shows

red dwarf - british sci-fi show from 1989-1997 approx. the writing was so good that for the majority of the episodes only 3 or 4 characters were involved
twilight zone - the best story telling and writing EVER, Rod Serling was an incredible an
simpsons - in the future people will watch this CARTOON to see what the 20th century society was like
arrested development - among the wittiest shows in recent memory
the wire - a beautifully realistic depiction of the decline of industrial cities in america

there was one more i thought of but now can't recall, probably the result of watching too much television

[JackRiddler]

96. MENSA confirms its usual status as a serial embarrassment machine.

Can't these geniuses afford HBO?

Want to see dumbing down in action: Watched Jeopardy lately?

CSI?!

[NeedleCast]

97. I wish Firefly had made their list

Although it was very short-lived, I think part of the reason it didn't succeed was that it was to smart for a lot of people.

[travelingtypist]

101. No Gilmore Girls?

About a girl whose ambition is go to go Harvard and the show's
dialogue had cultural references...

No need to go on.

Bah.

[Elspeth]

124. The verbal repartee was wittier than Frazier too

I think Mensa doesn't like girls for some reason. Could it be bad memories of not going to prom?

[bedazzled]

102. get smart! missed it by THAT MUCH!

i bought the series for my son for christmas.
it's just as awesome as i remember it! there
is a lot of snide political commentary, and it
hasn't dated like, say, laugh-in.

besides with mel brooks and buck henry, how
could you lose?

[DemoTex]

104. I'm no genius, but I love my "Reno 911."

[Recursion]

106. Neither "Connections" nor "The Day the Universe Changed" is on there

Why do they hate James Burke?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

107. Whoever compiled this list must be very YOUNG

What about

The Defenders
The Twilight Zone
East Side/West Side
The Voice of Firestone
Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts
Playhouse 90
The Bell Telephone Hour
The Prisoner

Huh? Huh?

And as far as recent shows go, what about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Simpsons, both of which are shows that run on several levels at once?

[blondeatlast]

109. No Green Acres? Best. Satire. Ever.

Dumbasses.

[WritersBlock]

111. The Smothers Brothers - How can they leave that out??

And Rocky & Bullwinkle - both highly intelligent and hilarious shows. A helluva lot better than Frasier & Mad About You. Gad.

[kskiska]

114. "10 Smartest TV Shows of All Time?"

Most of the programs listed are from the latter part of the 20th century. There was little or nothing from the 50s - shows like David Susskind's "Open End" or Alistair Cooke's "Omnibus." There were numerous intellectually oriented talk shows back then - even Jack Paar's Tonight Show featured writers and artists of a caliber far superior to today's Letterman guests. Then there were Leonard Bernstein's "Young People's Concerts," on PBS. There were many live drama shows like "Playhouse 90," "Studio One," and the "US Steel Hour." "The Twilight Zone" began in 1959. Some good early 50s comedy programs include Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows," "The Goldbergs," "Mr. Peepers," and Ernie Kovaks shows.

And doesn't PBS's current "American Experience" rate a mention?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

131. Yes, I pointed that out, too

Not only a bunch of nerds, but a bunch of very young nerds.

[havocmom]

115. Frasier? Did they miss Cupid?

Frasier? Has to be hero worship or something. Do they know that was fiction and a character like that would go all Rambo at a MENSA meeting?

Frasier? That had to have been picked because the character got all the babes.

CUPID <----------<<<< The show too good from prime time.

[Marr]

138. Cupid really was a good show.

It didn't last nearly long enough.

[MindPilot]

116. Long before "House", there was "Rafferty".

Starring Patrick McGoohan as a cantankerous old diagnostician who was so edgy he had a lawyer with him all the time. And for good medical shows, how about Ben Casey? That's how I learned all those symbols.

Boston Legal over LA Law or Perry Mason?

Like Rafferty, which ran for one season, truly smart shows generally don't last very long. Brisco County, Herman's Head, Liveshot, Cavemen, Matt Waters...

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

118. Seinfeld, LA Law, Northern Exposure, Thirty Something, Masterpiece Theater, Arrested Development,

Sopranos...

[johnfunk]

120. Nobody remembers "College Bowl" on NBC during the 50s and 60s?

Now that was a smart game show...

Same goes for "Prisoner" and "MST3k."

[havocmom]

134. loved it! And miss it. Glam for bright college kids instead of jocks

That it wouldn't sell now is a very sad commentary on our society.

[S n o w b a l l]

121. Twin Peaks is missing.....nt

[Elspeth]

122. Its top 3 shows are all about VERBAL intelligence: witty repartee

In that case, "The Gilmore Girls" should also be included because it uses the same kind of fast and multi-layered verbal delivery.

[Elspeth]

123. And, where is "Numb3rs"?

That show is all about the application of mathematical models to criminal investigation. I'd put it up there above CSI.

[Johonny]

126. Who is Mensa?

A group of people so stupid that they reify a number from a test under the false notion that IQ can be quantified as a single, scalable measurement. So why do I care what they watch on TV?

[margotb822]

132. Mensa is still around?

Is anyone a member or know anyone who is?

(I want my invitation! hahaha)

[Marr]

135. Frasier...? That was just pretentious.

Not enough sci-fi on that list.

[gauguin57]

139. Six Feet Under, Weeds, Northern Exposure, and Slings and Arrows all missing from the list.

Four more of the best-written, smartest shows on TV.

If you aren't familiar with the three seasons of "Slings & Arrows," you MUST rent the DVD's ... it's a Canadian series about a Shakespeare company and all the crazy things that go on backstage as they present Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear (each season builds up to the production of one of those plays).

It is a FABULOUS show! Check it out!!!!

[Iwillnevergiveup]

140. Yikes

Mensa left out "The Rockford Files" and "Soupy Sales."

[Triana]

141. I've known people in Mensa and I gotta say..

...Mensa is highly over-rated. The folks I knew - while fairly nice people - were just not all that.