10. Get Smart - Anything that Mel Brooks lays his hands on deserves attention. And this witty send-up of spy thrillers really earns a lot of big laughs. Cheeky and clever.
9. Junkyward Wars - This game show challenged real-life contestants to work together and build machines or contraptions out of junkyard rubbish. It required scientific thinking, mechanical know-how, and a clever mind to build the best contraption and keep us so entertained at the same time. Who knew science could be so much fun?
8. The Mole - Stop cringing! This reality show actually was very intelligent. Contestants participated in daily games of physical and mental endurance to build up a prize money jackpot, knowing that there is a "mole" in their midst who is secretly sabotaging their efforts. Players are elminated based on not only their guess of who the mole is, but also how well they've kept track of the mole's activities.
7. The X-Files - This show just oozed smartness, sometimes literally. The writing always kept us guessing and challenged our perceptions of our world and universe.
6. Seinfeld - The show about nothing. And everything. It's the show about us and our flaws and failures. It made us see how ugly we can be, and made us laugh about it.
5. Arrested Development -The writing was so sensational, so bizarre, and so flat-out humorous that it makes other shows look like amateurs. Now this was real comedy.
4. All in the Family - Ground-breaking. Gasp-inducing. Funny. This show crossed the line over and over and made us laugh at our own flaws time and again. Astonishingly clever and unafraid.
3. M*A*S*H - This show always amazes me at how it can be so funny, and yet so dramatically sad at the same time. The writers and directors knew how to sway moods carefully to elicit the right emotional response.
2. The Daily Show - A fake news show is one of the most trusted news sources for millions of viewers. What does that tell you about its ability to report real news and events, lambaste the issues, and make us laugh at the same time?
1. Lost - Who didn't see this coming? It's a giant puzzle wrapped in a riddle. The show is an ever-changing thatrical-release quality masterpiece of science-fiction, mystery, and human condition. The characters are superbly developed and complex, the writing keeps us on our toes, and the plot leaps off the screen into a world beyond our television sets. Interaction with the show continues on websites, hotline phonenumbers, jigsaw puzzles, podcasts, and a number of other mediums. We're not just watching this show - we're playing a game, too. Absolute brilliance.
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