UPDATE: Former Milwaukee greasers Leonard “Lenny” Kosnoski and Andrew “Squiggy” Squigman have filed suit in Milwaukee County (Wisc.) Circuit Court against Mensa International. The suit claims defamation, based on the fact that the 1950’s-themed sitcom on which they were secondary characters, “Laverne & Shirley” was not included in Mensa’s 10 Smartest TV Shows of All Time.
In a related story, neither Kosnoski, Squigman, nor the backup members of their musical act, Lenny and the Squigtones, claim any involvement in the Clinton campaign’s cover-production of their show’s opening theme, “Making Our Dreams Come True”, which appeared on You Tube just days before this week’s Wisconsin Primary.
Okay, okay…my apologies to anyone with an IQ above 140, but today is a slow news day and after last night’s Barack v. Hillary debate we’re all in need of something completely different.
The Chair of Mensa International, Jim Werdell, has released his list of the 10 Smartest TV Shows of All Time. His list (and my commentary):
1. “M*A*S*H*” - okay, not bad. I would place it on this list. The show had some of the best writing in the business and it dealt with war in a way that had never been tackled.
2. “Cosmos (with Carl Sagan)” - Leave it to the late Cornell Univ. astronomy professor to make this list. There are billions and billions of better entries that could been listed. But I am sure Hayden Planetarium Director Neil DeGrasse Tyson TIVO’d it!
3. “CSI” - It’s all because of Det. Brass, right?
4. “House” - Hugh Laurie makes me nervous. I would have preferred his natural British dialect…
5. “West Wing” - Always admired the althetic dialog on this series. Plus, this was the president we would rather have had these past 7 years.
6. “Boston Legal” - Uh-uh. No way. As much as I like William Shatner it would never be my top-ten fave.
7. “All in the Family” - This show should be in the top-three. It was groundbreaking television for the early 1970s, although now it would be considered too politically-incorrect to make a network’s schedule.
8. “Frasier” - The Crane boys and “Eddie” brought British-style farce to the masses. It had more double-entendre and door-slamming than has ever been done on the small-screen.
9. “Mad About You” - Actually, I liked this show a lot. The writing was terrific.
10. “Jeopardy” - I’ll take the 80s and 90s for 100, Alex. A sure-fire fave for Mensa fact-gatherers!
Personally, I think the chief brainiac missed some big picks, including:
“The Wire” - The best-show ever to run on HBO…and maybe the small-screen. The writing is spectacular and there’s never been one bad performance. I am already grieving that it is in its final season.
“The Twilight Zone” - Amazing television. Creator Rod Serling gathered some of the best stage actors of the time to star in Twilight Zone episodes. And that theme song. SPOOKY!
“Your Show Of Shows” - From way back in the day, it was staged before a live audience well before the advent of videotape. Supported by America’s best comedic writers - including Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Mel Tolkin, Neil Simon and Sid Caesar - the troupe of Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Howard Morris, and Carl Reiner performed a weekly comedic high-wire act without a net that has never been equalled. Sheer brilliance!
“The Carol Burnett Show” - With side-splitting performances by Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, and Vicki Lawrence, this was probably the last-successful variety show on television.
“The Bob Newhart Show” and “Newhart” (A TIE) - Stoic Bob Newhart perfected the “last sane man” character. His take on group therapy was hilarious, and his series-ender for “Newhart” was the best that has ever been done on TV.
“Mary Tyler Moore Show” - Who could take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile? Mary Richards, that’s who. This show about a single woman making it on her own was ground-breaking, and funny as all get-up.
“The Dick Van Dyke Show” - It’s bench-strength derived from Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows, it was a pitch-perfect situation comedy….OH, ROB!
So Fred2Blue asks you to channel your inner Tom Shales: What shows should have been on Mensa’s top-ten list?
(Discuss.)
Filed under: Humor, National Media
CSI and Boston Legal? They COMPLETELY lost me with those two.
The Simpsons, Seinfeld, and any number of HBO shows; The Sopranos, The Larry Sanders Show, The Wire, etc.
First of all, I completely agree about The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart. Newhart’s timing and expressions were pure comic genius.
I’ll add Sports Night. It only lasted 3 seasons, but I thought the writing was very clever.
Ya know, I should’ve included The Simpsons, Seinfeld, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Didn’t think of Sportsnight with Peter Krause who was also great in Six Feet Under. I have a friend from college days, a senior producer at ESPN, and Sportsnight must’ve seemed like his life.
Have never seen Mad About You. Loved seeing West Wing on this list. Also, I agree that Carol Burnett should have been listed, along with Jeopardy. Not crazy about CSI being on the list (too much gore, not enough character development, plus CSI Miami with the preening Horatio character makes me barf). And I TOTALLY agree with the Twilight Zone and the Simpsons being added to this list. I love Boston Legal, but would probably agree it’s not the braininess but the brash turning of the legal world on its head which attracts me.
CSI?!? Are you kidding?
The greatest cop show ever on the teevee was Homicide: Life on the Street.
Still showing on basic cable, Andre Braugher is awesome!
Oh, and you boys may hate it but Sex in the City…c’mon, there was more to offer than Kim Catrall’s serial nudity…..
Who knew TV preferences could inspire such passion?
Homicide: Life on the Street. Great show…and the foundation for The Wire (above).
SITC, was certainly a ground-breaker…and I’m sure we all know one or maybe all of those personalities from our real-life experiences.
Fun stuff ! Guess the shows:
1) A “visionary” show that was way ahead of its time…survivors on a small island having to fight it out with the elements and each other …..(hint: not Survivor)
2) this show focused on the socio-economic and cultural conflicts of a “mixed marriage” in a rural setting. The main female character was mechanically challenged and the main male character was emotionally distant. Hint: the “smartest” character was a pig named Arnold.
green acres is the place for me! mr. haney had a greater sense of morality than the current occupant at 1600 penna ave nw which is saying a lot
What a ridiculous list! The idea that 7 of the 10 ’smartest’ shows ever on TV should come from the last decade assumes that TV today is smarter than ever. Does anyone actually believe that? I certainly don’t. And the list is not for the ten best shows ever, just the ten smartest, so I’d include Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes on the list, along with NOVA and Nature. In fact the entire list should probably be PBS shows.
Lin Floyd is right. From the Golden Age of television, it’s early years in the 50s, “Playhouse 90″ and from the 60s “The Defenders.”
“I Love Lucy” was so quietly subversive. It was about the crazy schemes of a dissatisfied middle class urban housewife who yearned for a career.
Remember the context. In the 1950s, women were supposed to be content with cooking, cleaning and making babies. Wanting to have a career was considered unfeminine and even scandalous.
Anon, you are spot-on! I Love Lucy was definitely subversive. It was also technologically advanced for the day. Desi Arnaz was a genious; he perfected the three-camera shoot. Back before there were zoom lenses on studio cameras, a camera operator had to turn a stubborn “turret” to set a wide shot, a medium shot, or a close up. So the three-camera shoot made shot selections easier, and more-interesting.
I have to agree with Lin Floyd that PBS fare is almost always excellent, especially Masterpiece, NOVA, and Frontline. Bill Moyers’ new show, especially when Prof. Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the U Penn Annenberg Center is the featured guest. Their politics discussions are riveting!
Mensa’s head genius doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
(Hey, mom and dad! I am finally using my 4 years of Communications School knowledge!)