• By Seth
    Feb 14, 2008 1:42 PM 4,218
    read more: #defamer, #valuejudgments, #tv, #kidnation, #lists, #realitytv, #defamer

    Smartest And Most Appalling TV Show Lists Have Surprisingly Few Crossovers

    kidappalling.jpgMENSA International, the V.I.I.Q. club who claims amongst its brainy members such luminaries as Steve Martin, Geena Davis, Jodie Foster, Sharon Stone and Jimmy "180" Woods, has issued a list of what they deem to be the Top Ten Smartest TV Shows of all Time. It's a highly subjective topic sure to provoke debate, as much as for who made MENSA chair Jim Werdell's list (CSI, Boston Legal, Mad About You) as for who didn't (The Sopranos, Quantum Leap, Passions). The full list after the jump:

    Top ten smartest shows of all time (in no particular order):

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

    Your thirst for lists of TV shows grouped by virtue not fully quenched? For a nice contrast, we refer you now to EW's 20 Most Appalling TV Shows Ever. Admittedly the task was an easier one, but, in our estimation, their curatorship of the greatest armageddon-hastening popular entertainments proved far more successful than its four-eyed counterpart. That is, with the exception of #3, Kid Nation. They dismiss the CBS reality experiment as child exploitation, but fans know it was so much more: Nothing less than the birth of the next metropolis, grown from virtually nothing into greatness by fearless leader Jared's brilliant manipulation of a saltwater-taffy-based economy. The full Appalling list follows:

    Moment of Truth
    Jail
    Kid Nation
    Britney and Kevin: Chaotic / Hey Paula!
    The Anna Nicole Smith Show
    The Swan / I Want a Famous Face
    Temptation Island
    Cheaters
    Flavor of Love, Flavor of Love 2, Flavor of Love 3, I Love New York, and I Love New York 2
    Keeping Up With the Kardashians / The Bad Girls Club
    Shows centered around the concept of ''millionaires''
    Wife Swap / Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy
    Chains of Love
    Big Brother / The Real World
    The Simple Life
    My Super Sweet 16
    MTV's Entire Programming Slate
    The Littlest Groom / Age of Love
    The Bachelor
    The Jerry Springer Show


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