Intellectually stimulating TV shows

[Edd Nigma]

Hopefully LOST starts a trend with the intellectual intensity of programs. A few shows are already starting to adapt the methodology. Flash Forward is probably the next best one so far. For Mystery television, it's time to steer away from this CSI-everything phase. I was bored with that after the first season of Las Vegas.

[Rohsiph]

Flash Forward looked good on paper, but I couldn't get into it. Maybe I just need to give it another shot; actually, I couldn't get into LOST at first either, not until after I caught on to the Hatch storyline.

I'd actually call Fringe the next best intellectually-stimulating fiction on network television in the US. There's some good stuff on cable, too, but not enough to run year round. (USA Network's action/comedies often do the trick: Monk (alas, no more), Burn Notice, Psych; Breaking Bad on AMC is wonderful)

[Edd Nigma]

Flash Forward looked good on paper, but I couldn't get into it. Maybe I just need to give it another shot; actually, I couldn't get into LOST at first either, not until after I caught on to the Hatch storyline.

I'd actually call Fringe the next best intellectually-stimulating fiction on network television in the US. There's some good stuff on cable, too, but not enough to run year round. (USA Network's action/comedies often do the trick: Monk (alas, no more), Burn Notice, Psych; Breaking Bad on AMC is wonderful)
I find Fringe to be a bit too predictable, boring. They really highlight the emotional aspect of whatever is going on, and the main characters exhibit no personality evolution (which is needed to keep the viewer interested in the long term). Each episode is basically the same story, told a different way. It has more parallels to these pseudo-CSI shows than LOST, imo.

Flash Forward took me a little while, but now the show is interesting. Only problem is that they repeat things (like what characters saw in their flash forward) more than what is necessary.. Breaking Bad is excellent.

[Seriously]

I couldn't get into Flash Forward. To be honest I thought it would probably go the way of "The Nine" and didn't want to invest time in it.

[Rohsiph]

I find Fringe to be a bit too predictable, boring. They really highlight the emotional aspect of whatever is going on, and the main characters exhibit no personality evolution (which is needed to keep the viewer interested in the long term). Each episode is basically the same story, told a different way. It has more parallels to these pseudo-CSI shows than LOST, imo.

Flash Forward took me a little while, but now the show is interesting. Only problem is that they repeat things (like what characters saw in their flash forward) more than what is necessary.. Breaking Bad is excellent.

Interesting take on Fringe. I think I see where you're coming from, and, to wit, I imagine I'd be far less interested in it without Walter Bishop and Astrid. Neither character is really developing from episode to episode (though I think Walter has shown the most progression overall so far), but Walter is such a dynamic character to begin with, and Astrid a nice foil, that my interest has been sated thus far. So far I'd liken the character play closer to House than CSI--even if it's mostly too predictable, there's that one character I can't get enough of.

What turned me off early in Flash Forward was the seeming importance of the cliched infidelity storyline. I didn't care about those characters nearly enough to invest for the possibile destruction of their relationship to have any significant effect, yet they kept repeating the "mother walks out to find a man in her home she doesn't know" flash so often I just got sick of it. The Asian guy, who didn't see anything, was by far the most interesting character from what I watched, and they were giving him very little screen time.

There can't be enough love for Breaking Bad :) No single scene has unsettled me more than the "tortuga" bit. If only more shows were so daring.

[knick4life]

Hopefully LOST starts a trend with the intellectual intensity of programs. A few shows are already starting to adapt the methodology. Flash Forward is probably the next best one so far. For Mystery television, it's time to steer away from this CSI-everything phase. I was bored with that after the first season of Las Vegas.

I was hoping Arrested Development would do the same for sitcoms. Needless to say, it didn't happen.

[Jimmy Jazz]

I was hoping Arrested Development would do the same for sitcoms. Needless to say, it didn't happen.

I agree that Arrested Development has not revolutionized comedies to the degree that it should (I blame FOX) but I think How I Met Your Mother has at least utilized a more complex plot line (similar to Lost with its use of foreshadowing and self-referencing) that is actually taking the audience through a larger story arc instead of just a bunch of unrelated anecdotes that most sitcoms are.

[Brittle]

I had great expectations for Flash Forward, but it really didn't grab me at all. I found the whole thing very... meh! (I really wanted to like it though!)

Oldies, but goodies for me are Frasier and the original CSI (although Grissom's departure left a huge hole).

I tend to enjoy a few of the local debate/discussion style programs, such as Insight and Q & A (Richard Dawkins was a guest on the panel last night and that was interesting!).

Mythbusters is always fun :)


It's a shame so many of these networks feel the need to dumb-down to the masses.

[Bluesea]

I really enjoyed Alias with Jennifer Garner. I like the clinical thinking in House and Boston Legal's lateral problem solving not to mention dry intellectual humor!

[darynthe]

Nice thread! I don't like any shows right now. The only show I catch up with is Bones. Otherwise I watch no TV.

But for the past I found Buffy the Vampire Slayer super stimulating, I love the dialogues and the metaphor and the whole complexity of the universe. The comedy was top notch. It was probably the best show ever, IMHO.

Second I loved the X-files. There was pure magic to show in the first seasons. Incredibly well written, I can mentione a handful of eps that should be all time classics of TV. It became a mess later though, they should have axed it at season 6.

[Edd Nigma]

I was hoping Arrested Development would do the same for sitcoms. Needless to say, it didn't happen.
Yes, but Arrested Development was not as popular or long lasting as LOST. Unfortunately, that show only became a hit after FOX discontinued it.

[Zelda]

Breaking Bad. Chemistry teacher turned meth kingpin...best show to come out in the past few years.

[Syntax]

I really enjoyed Alias with Jennifer Garner.

I liked the show's premise and I was really into it for a few seasons...but then I realized that J.J. Abrams had no intention of allowing any of the story-lines to resolve themselves. Every episode was a cock-tease("Do I finally get to figure out what the Rambaldi manuscripts mean?!?!") with an unrealistic plot twist and/or deus ex machina which served no other purpose within the series than self-perpetuation.


This is why I refuse to watch even a single episode of Lost. I know damn well Abrams is doing the same thing with that show and I learned my lesson.

[plotthickens]

Jeeves & Wooster.

Doc Martin.

Bullsh!t.

US network shows are geared to glue the most eyeballs possible to the screen. Gotta look elsewhere if you want something worthwhile.

[Bluesea]

I liked the show's premise and I was really into it for a few seasons...but then I realized that J.J. Abrams had no intention of allowing any of the story-lines to resolve themselves. Every episode was a cock-tease("Do I finally get to figure out what the Rambaldi manuscripts mean?!?!") with an unrealistic plot twist and/or deus ex machina which served no other purpose within the series than self-perpetuation.


This is why I refuse to watch even a single episode of Lost. I know damn well Abrams is doing the same thing with that show and I learned my lesson.

That's interesting as I had not realised it was the same person who did these two shows. I liked Alias as the stories about the women - sisters and mother/s- and fathers as well as the Sydney and Michael Varten's relationship did develop well through the programme. yes the Rambaldi manuscripts was eternally ambiguous and based on a myth of power and the corruption and destruction that occurs for those most passionate about it, as much on the manuscripts real capacity, but it fell into the realm of science fantasy on that one for me so I accepted it as an added dimension - spy and sci fi mixed - great!

Lost however I could not stand. I watched a couple of episodes as was bored to tears, saw a few odd episodes many apart from each other and the same old thing was going on, was worse than Days of our Lives. How many conversations and experiences of bullshit between people stuck on an island together can you really tolerate? Me - not much. Never get people's total obsession with Lost. The charachter's, the story, the scenario, all very limited. Now add in that it was the island off the old 60's show 'The Prisoner' (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) and get some aliens from another time zone looking like people arriving on the scene and that might just get me hooked.

What about Torchwood? That was ok for a while.

[Scatterbrane]

I've been enjoying ReGenesis. I especially enjoy the more human take on science and scientists, as opposed to yon standard underdeveloped egghead, or the suave eggheads of CSI and its ilk.

They do have a resident Asperger's egghead though, and the star character seems to be about a hair's breadth from being as megalomaniacal as the ethically challenged bioengineers who's work he unravels.

David Sandström gets all the INTJ ladies. Who knew co-authoring a paper with someone could imply so much?

[Lesondemavie]

I liked the show's premise and I was really into it for a few seasons...but then I realized that J.J. Abrams had no intention of allowing any of the story-lines to resolve themselves. Every episode was a cock-tease("Do I finally get to figure out what the Rambaldi manuscripts mean?!?!") with an unrealistic plot twist and/or deus ex machina which served no other purpose within the series than self-perpetuation.

This is why I refuse to watch even a single episode of Lost. I know damn well Abrams is doing the same thing with that show and I learned my lesson.

Lost however I could not stand. I watched a couple of episodes as was bored to tears, saw a few odd episodes many apart from each other and the same old thing was going on, was worse than Days of our Lives. How many conversations and experiences of bullshit between people stuck on an island together can you really tolerate? Me - not much. Never get people's total obsession with Lost.

Thank you! Lost is exactly the way that Syntax describes Alias, and for that reason coupled with some of the reasons Bluesea mentions, I can't stand it. I find nothing about it intellectually stimulating. I hope that it starts a trend only to further my loss of interest in television so that I have more time for homework and other hobbies.

I've started liking a few shows, but it seems that they all start to become far too contrived or I tire of them after a season or two due to their repetitious nature. I do still end up watching quite a bit of t.v. It's become part of my morning routine - coffee and shows that I can watch half asleep.

[Wolfe]

Penn and Teller: Bullsh!t
Mythbusters
Burn Notice (I don't think it get enough publicity or recognition but it's brilliant, Matt Nix is a great writer)
Derren Brown (all of his shows! Very intellectually stimulating if you're interested in mentalism/magic, hypnosis, psychology and general trickery etc.)

[Onigumo13]

1.Mythbusters
2.Penn and Teller
3.House md
4.CSI all MIAMI , Las Vegas , new york
5.Fringe
6.Lost (lost the count of series , haven't watched it a long time ago :) )

my preferable selection of chanel's are :
1. National Geographic Chanel
2. Discovery Chanel
3. MEZZO Classical Jazz TV Chanel
4.Viasat Explorer .

[thebainteaser]

I'm not really into Anime, but I found the show Death Note very intellectually stimulating. It even makes you rethink your morals and values. It's better to watch it in Japanese with subtitles. Really, one of the best shows I've ever watched.

[HAL 9000]

Mystery Science Theater 3000 was the most provocative show ever made.

[Shauru]

Mystery Science Theater 3000 was the most provocative show ever made.

HAHAHA YES!!!!!!! They were so hit or miss, but when they hit, it was priceless. FYI Mike and Joel still do it with the original cast members. Mike does a program called Rifftrax and Joel does Cinematic Titanic. Personally I find the Rifftrax are better.

As far as intellectually stimulating TV, good luck. I personally watch a program called QI(Quite Interesting) from Britain. Its basically a show where comedians sit around and test their knowledge of the truth behind common misconceptions. Hosted by Stephen Fry, the show is as it is name Quite Interesting.

Lost is holding me for now.
Mythbusters is good.
I like Bullshit, but in re-watching it I have found the need to remind myself to think critically about how they are posing their arguments.

I think a lot of anime shows are good because I they seem to hold deeper meanings and have larger messages compared to American cartoons.
Ghost in the Shell was absolutely great and made me think a lot about identity in digital world.
Full Metal Alchemist is a good one. I'm also going through The Big O right now.

[plotthickens]

I'm also going through The Big O right now.

O_O .................................tmi, maybe?


Nova

Nature

ScienceNOW

[Brittle]

Breaking Bad. Chemistry teacher turned meth kingpin...best show to come out in the past few years.

Agh.. I had SOOOO wanted to watch this, missed the first couple of episodes and figured there was no point trying to catch up after that. I was also really intrigued by the main character being played by the dad from "Malcolm in the Middle" (another huge favourite) which seemed such a change of pace.

Might have to get it on DVD.



Never get people's total obsession with Lost.


Ahhhh...... Sawyer..!!! :lovestruck: (Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!)

[JCrow]

I think the problem is shows like 'Lost' ask a lot of its viewers. That's why I love it, because I am constantly going: "oh, that's ___, that they mentioned back in season 3". But for most people its too much. My roommate watches 'Lost' with me and is always saying "wait, who is that?", "I thought he wanted this?", etc. Most people don't seem to have the memory or attention to detail for a show like 'Lost'.

[Synapse]

I don't watch a lot of television and I generally steer towards what I think are "intellectually stimulating" shows (in no particular order):

1. Mythbusters
2. House
3. Futurama (nerdy physics/math in-jokes FTW)
4. Most things on Nat. Geo./Discovery Channel/History Channel
5. Jeopardy (one of the few intelligent game shows on television and yes, I cannot resist the compulsion sometimes to answer)

[Causa Mortis]

The only intelligent drama I've seen in years is The Sopranos. That its also satisfying on Dionysian levels is gravy. Curb Your Enthusiasm and the british Office are both intelligent and funny.