1. M*A*S*H
2. Cosmos
3. CSI
4. House
5. The West Wing
6. Boston Legal
7. All in the Family
8. Frasier
9. Mad About You
10. Jeopardy!

Here's the article from FOXNews with comments about the shows:

Quote :

" The head of genius organization Mensa has picked the 10 Smartest TV Shows of All Time —sparking debate in the blogosphere, especially over the inclusion of the 1990s sitcom "Mad About You." Jim Werdell, chairman of Mensa International, selected the shows after being posed the question by Fancast.com. “They weren’t pure comedy, mystery or action,” Werdell said. “They tended to be shows that dealt with issues in the world, and from my perspective that’s considered smart. Some sitcoms reach a higher level of intellect than others, and you can say the same about some of the dramas. The stories may be cliché, but the characters and dialogue are smarter.” Here's the list with Werdell's comments: 1. "M*A*S*H" – It had smart repartee and was so much more than a comedy. 2. "Cosmos" (with Carl Sagan) – Sagan was able to communicate something extremely complicated to the layman and do it well, and that’s unusual for a scientist at his level. 3. "CSI" — The way they use science to solve their programs is intriguing to viewers. 4. "House" – Again, it’s high level type of show; it’s the personality that makes it a winner, plus it deals with science. 5. "West Wing" – You had to pay attention to stay up with it. The repartee was fast and furious and you needed a fairly high level intelligence to keep up with it. 6. "Boston Legal" – It’s primarily because of the characters. The story lines are okay, but the characters are incredible and the writers give them great dialogue. 7. "All in the Family" – The show dealt with social issues before its time and was on the forefront of trying to show people’s feelings, beliefs and the complexities of personality, in both a serious and comedic way. 8. "Frasier" – The repartee was sensational; the main characters were very good. Even though they portrayed people who were likely of high intelligence, they also showed their weaknesses. 9. "Mad About You" – It’s a personal favorite, I loved the characters and the back and forth. It was very smart. 10. "Jeopardy" – It’s about the only game show that really tries to test people’s intelligence. There’s very little luck involved, and there are few game shows like that. I don’t watch it all that much honestly, but from what I’ve seen it tests more than knowledge, it tests intelligence too. Fans have been responding on various blogs, arguing over the lack of recognition for "The Twilight Zone," "Gilmore Girls," "Battlestar Galactica," "Rocky and Bullwinkle" and others. "

2/19/2008 4:32:17 PM

MASH is a good choice, situationally and verbally.

2/19/2008 4:34:24 PM

Quote :

"3. CSI"

Wat? It has science, it MUST be smart!

2/19/2008 4:35:06 PM

I've probably only watched 15 episodes of MASH but I've enjoyed every episode and enjoy the witty conversations and puns as much as Frasier.

2/19/2008 4:37:40 PM

MASH was one of my dad's favorite shows. When I was quite young, the theme song used to stop me from crying every time I heard it.

2/19/2008 4:40:18 PM

CSI blows so much compared to Law & Order.

2/19/2008 4:43:00 PM

what a horrible list

2/19/2008 4:43:58 PM

How many episodes of Mad About You have you actually watched?

2/19/2008 4:44:45 PM

i really question the presence of CSI and House on that list

2/19/2008 4:48:43 PM

CSI and House do NOT deserve to be on that list. Personally I think arrested development was a smart comedy

2/19/2008 4:56:26 PM

^ yeah, i was hoping for some more comedies. Would definitely include Arrested Development and 30 Rock on a "Smartest Comedies" list

2/19/2008 5:13:16 PM

I would place Lost in there. So much is going on in that show it is amazing. I would replace Law and Order or the Wire for CSI.

2/19/2008 5:34:50 PM

and i guess it goes without saying that all these shows are american shows.

yeah the wire easily kicks the shit out of CSI

i mean hell there are a lot more "smart" shows out there. they just weren't necessarily popular and/or on an american broadcast network

[Edited on February 19, 2008 at 5:36 PM. Reason : .]

2/19/2008 5:35:08 PM

csi: miami does not deserve to be on that list

2/19/2008 5:41:46 PM

West Wing was good, but than it just got to be "Republicans are bad" thrown at you constantly.

2/19/2008 5:50:18 PM

Quote :

"I would place Lost in there"

hahahahaha

2/19/2008 5:55:20 PM

I agree with M*A*S*H, Jeopardy and All In the Family and I haven't seen Cosmos.

The rest? Eh... What about NOVA, or Wild America or any number of other informative and long running shows?

Mad About You? Seriously? That show was fucking horrendous. Even when they brought in the writer from Seinfeld, it couldn't save that show.

I guess it's okay since the dude who compiled the list admitted it was a "personal favorite".



[Edited on February 19, 2008 at 6:19 PM. Reason : .]

2/19/2008 6:19:10 PM

MENSA is just a bunch of jerk offs who need to feel better about themselves.

2/19/2008 6:21:24 PM

This is one guy. I think to really come up with a list worthy of debate, you need a group of MENSA members who have a wide array of tastes. This guy couldn't have possibly watched every show that'd likely be nominated. He might as well have said "These are my favorite shows, and I'm smart so they must be too."

Seinfeld definitely belongs on there before Mad About You.

2/19/2008 6:27:34 PM

MENSA just lost all credibility that they had.

Putting "CSI" and "science" in the same sentence... ha!

[Edited on February 19, 2008 at 6:42 PM. Reason : ]

2/19/2008 6:42:28 PM

Where's ALF?

2/19/2008 7:20:54 PM

lost goes #1 no doubt. theres not 1 viewer smart enough to know whats going on. its

2/19/2008 7:29:07 PM

people are made because gilmore girls isn't on there

I hate america.

2/19/2008 8:52:24 PM

Arrested Development?

2/19/2008 8:58:24 PM

arrested development should so be on there. and law & order.

2/19/2008 9:05:52 PM

Quote :

"people are made because gilmore girls isn't on there"

seriously. i guess they think the more words in the script the smarter the show.

2/20/2008 11:39:19 AM

CSI is a detriment to scientific knowledge for the general public..... or at least to the scientific and judicial processes....

2/20/2008 11:47:28 AM

Not all of CSI's science is bunk, but they certainly have non-existent technology (you can't process DNA in hours or determine the exact chemical structure of some residue in minutes! And luminol doesn't work nearly that fast). But one of the things that's very unrealistic is how the main cast are involved in every fucking thing: evidence collection and processing, suspect interrogation, etc.

2/20/2008 11:54:19 AM

SPORTS NIGHT

end of story

2/20/2008 12:00:42 PM

This is all malarkey

and so is MENSA

2/20/2008 12:13:31 PM

Quote :

"blogosphere"

2/20/2008 12:22:38 PM

Quote :

"SPORTS NIGHT end of story"

seriously. that show was awesome. Should have lasted a lot longer than it did.

2/20/2008 12:31:42 PM

sports night was the first primetime sitcom that i can recall that didn't use a laugh track.

i greatly appreciate this. it was also a good show.

2/20/2008 12:53:31 PM

The early episodes had one. I think much of the first season did. By the end of the first season and the beginning of the second season, it was gone, though.

And it was much better for it.

2/20/2008 1:07:10 PM

HAHHAHA I watch mash all the time
and csi
house doesn't seem bad but i don't watch it
and i don't even know wat cosmos is

but i'm a mensa member (touch me twice)

2/20/2008 1:12:54 PM

i watch house and watched the west wing. i agree arrested development and sports night deserve consideration.

2/20/2008 2:10:31 PM

Quote :

"3. CSI"

2/20/2008 2:13:21 PM

The smartest thing is to read books rather than watch TV shows.

2/20/2008 3:21:59 PM