The Top 25 Smartest TV Characters

Who Has the Biggest Brain?

From mind-melding Vulcans with unparalleled logic to desert island castaways capable of building anything under the sun with only bamboo sticks and coconuts, TV smarties have been gracing our television screens, showering us with their brilliance for a long, long time.

While some may be nerdy and others may be evil, their genius is undeniable. But which of these brainiacs really is the sharpest tool in the shed? That's what we're aiming to find out today, kids.

With the assistance of my world-renowned mad scientist research team and the utilization of the extensive DVD collection that's been sucking my life dry of all meaning and exercise since the days of yore, I've gotten down to the nitty-gritty of this grueling question once and for all.

So sit back, relax, and be prepared to be awed by the top 25 smartest TV characters of all time.

25. The Brain (Pinky and the Brain)

Actor: Maurice LaMarche

A mix between Orson Welles, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Don Quixote, this adorable little genius, whose intelligence has been significantly raised due to Acme Labs experiments, is hellbent on taking over the world by any means necessary.

To do this, Brain—whose name is an acronym for "Biological Recombinant Algorithmic Intelligence Nexus"—with the assistance of his dimwitted friend, Pinky, develops complex plans for global domination through politics, cultural references, and a cornucopia of brilliant inventions.

24. The Professor (Gilligan's Island)

Actor: Russell Johnson

With a list of degrees from numerous schools (including USC, UCLA, SMU, and TCU) The Professor was the sanest castaway on Gilligan's Island. He was also the only one to display a lick of usefulness. With only the aid of coconuts and bamboo, The Professor conjured up a number of inventions, including battery chargers, a lie detector, and a sewing machine.

Granted, he wasn't clever enough to build a raft to get himself and the other castaways the hell off that infernal island, but hey, that's why he's at 24 on the list.

23. Gus Fring (Breaking Bad)

Actor: Giancarlo Esposito

While little is known about his past, Gus Fring from AMC's hit series Breaking Bad, was clearly one smart cookie. Other than being one of the most prominent and successful methamphetamine distributors in the southwestern United States, he also owned and operated several legit businesses, including a chain of fast-food restaurants and an industrial laundry facility.

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Gus was meticulous, methodical, and always remained one step ahead of the DEA and other drug kingpins out to get him. And while in the end, he may have met his match in Walter White, Gus deserves his due respect for being one of the smoothest evil geniuses to ever blast onto television.

22. Professor Farnsworth (Futurama)

Actor: Billy West

He may be a deranged, senile, old codger who does more harm than good with his genius. Nevertheless, anyone who can construct a plethora of doomsday devices, not to mention a mind-boggling invention like the Smell-O-Scope, is most certainly a genius.

21. Malcolm (Malcolm In the Middle)

Actor: Frankie Muniz

Being the middle child of a highly dysfunctional family, things were bad enough for poor Malcolm. However, he was also alienated from the rest of his peers because he was a brilliant child prodigy. He attended special classes for gifted children, mocked by other students calling them "Krelboynes."

The last we saw of Malcolm he was earning his way through Harvard by mopping floors.

20. Dr. Cal Lightman (Lie to Me)

Actor: Tim Roth

Dr. Cal Lightman from the short-lived TV series Lie to Me was a highly intelligent psychologist with an expertise in body language—predominantly microexpressions based on the real-life scientific discoveries of American psychologist Paul Ekman.

Lightman was also founder and namesake of The Lightman Group, a private company that operates as an independent contractor to assist investigations of local and federal law enforcement through applied psychology.

19. The Doctor (Doctor Who)

Actors: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith

As if being a Time Lord weren't enough, The Doctor uses his expertise in science, technology and history to outsmart a cornucopia of monsters, gods, demigods, and demons while travelling through time and space.

The Doctor also has the unique ability to magically regenerate his body whenever he's near death. This is an ability especially useful in keeping Doctor Who as the longest-running science fiction television franchise in the world.

18. Lex Luthor (Smallville)

Actor: Michael Rosenbaum

From comic books, to movies, to TV, Lex Luthor has always been one of the most notoriously brilliant archnemeses and criminal masterminds in superhero history. With the addition of his extensive wealth and power, Lex is the embodiment of the classic TV villain intent on using his brilliance for evil.

17. River Tam (Firefly)

Actor: Summer Glau

A child prodigy with outstanding athletic capabilities and a mind capable of understanding the most complex subjects and scenarios, River was sent to a government learning facility known as "The Academy" at the age of fourteen. This was supposed to be for the teaching of gifted children, but in actuality The Academy was molding perfect assassins and conducting experiments on its students.

16. Temperance "Bones" Brennan (Bones)

Actor: Emily Deschanel

A forensic anthropologist, kinesiologist, bestselling author, and trained in three types of martial arts, Bones, like most TV geniuses, is an extremely rational and straightforward character, with limited social skills.

And while it has never been explicitly stated in the show's plot, her character is said to be based on a person with Asperger’s syndrome.

15. Lisa Simpson (The Simpsons)

Actor: Yeardley Smith

In "Lisa the Simpson," the 17th episode of Season 9 of The Simpsons—originally aired March 8, 1998—Lisa learns about a dreaded "Simpson gene," which has the potential to turn her into ... well ... Homer. Luckily, she discovers that this gene only affects the male side of the family.

With a broad knowledge of many different fields and an IQ of 159, Lisa Simpson is one of the select few accepted into the Springfield chapter of Mensa—right up there with Professor Frink himself!