I recently interview five of my colleagues ranging in age from 19 to 27 about the affect the television they watched had on them. They all unanimously agreed that television makes them much, much stupider.
Maybe it's because my parents had a library of educational entertainment videos ready for me when I crawled out of the womb, but I've always felt like the shows I watch make me smarter.
Don't be mistaken, I'm not talking about Nova or CSPAN. I'm a member of a group of people that will defend to the death that Dumb and Dumber is one of the smartest films ever written. What I'm saying is that there are television shows from all genres that doesn't cause "Kardashian Rot"...as the medical community is now labeling it.
10) House of Cards
House of Cards is one of the first of its kind. Released all at once in its first season's entirety to Netflix, it's the epitome of a binge-viewing. Oscar winner Kevin Spacey stars as a bitter, sneaky Congressman who, with the help of his wife, seeks revenge on the people who betrayed him.
9) Sherlock
Benedict Cumberbatch took the role of the world's most famous detective two years ago for a revamped, modernized take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. In a unique format, there are three episodes per season with episodes at ninety minutes each. Sherlock's third season airs in the United States in January on BBC America and PBS, and seasons one and two are available now on Netflix.
8)The West Wing
Considered by some (Southern Torch's Editor) to be the greatest show of all time, Aaron Sorkin's political drama about the White House staff during the presidency of Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) is so smart that Charlie Sheen rebelled against his Dad and starred in one of the dumbest shows of all time. I won't name any names, but it's about two men and a half of one.
7) Arrested Development
If you’re craving intelligence in the form of hilarity, look no farther. Arrested Development was so smart when it came out that America couldn’t handle it. Airing originally in 2003-2006, the show’s intricate storyline follows the well-to-do Bluth family as they try to maintain the illusion of wealth after the father of the family is imprisoned for doing business with Saddam Hussein. It doesn’t seem like that long ago, but in 2003 only a handful of people had DVD players, and DVR was completely unheard of. Therefore, viewers who hadn’t kept up with the show from the beginning were utterly confused by the running gags. The show was revived in May after 8 years off the air by Netflix due to its cultish popularity.
6) Lost
No one who has ever seen it will disagree that it is, without a doubt, the biggest head-scratcher of all time. I watched the series in its entirety over the course of two months. I didn’t sleep. I lost twelve pounds. I heard Jorge Garcia’s voice chanting the numbers “4,8,15,16,23,42” in radio static. My brain worked harder on Lost than it ever did in school.
5) Homeland
Based on the post-9/11 world of Homeland Security, this high intensity drama showcases the inner workings of the CIA and Washington, D.C. when it comes to interrogation and anti-terrorism protocol from both sides of the coin.
4) The Newsroom
Aaron Sorkin has a knack for being not stupid. The West Wing’s creator turned his sight to the hectic nature of broadcast journalism and this is what he came up with this Emmy candy.
3) Family Guy
Don’t roll your eyes. Think about it. Since 1999 Seth MacFarlane has built an empire on the Griffin family. It’s not even the characters, per se. Sure, a baby who’s bent on world domination is clever, but the cutaway gags about what really happened to the Linderbergh baby or what really happened with O.J. Simpson are nothing shy of brilliant. Just think about it.
2) Downton Abbey
They all have a British accent and maybe it’s more fancy than smart, but I’d put money on it having more intellectual value than Two Broke Girls.
1) Doctor Who
The British know how to do it. This show aired originally in 1963. 1963! Barring a hiatus between 1989 and 2005, people have been following the adventures of the Doctor for fifty years with different actors playing him and a foolproof story to back up how he can look different. Because of that brilliant bit of writing, the Doctor will be saving the universe for years to come.