Both. It's actually a small dose of smart in a suspension of stupid.
The best humor is in the subtleties.
For example, when Marco and White Debbie are standing outside Quinn's quarters in "Vacation." Marco tells Debbie about how he had to support his family when his mother, "you know,...died." The sad little Marco says "died" is funny. Then Debbie responds, "My folks got divorced when I was in high school."
Immediately, Marco says in an evaluative tone "Nnnot really the same thing, is it?" The subtlety is in Marco's responce where where he begins in an evaulative tone, and changes it to a softly indignant tone.
It doesn't do so well to describe it in text. It something that has to be heard.
Later episode, Neptunati. Yes, it has Shanks. But it still has smart humor.
Quinn: "Well, I'd rather die than join that creepyass cult, you sockdologoizing old mantrap."
Miniature John Wilkes Booth appears, and shoots Quinn: "Sic Semper Tyrannis!"
There's more dialogue, then Mini Booth says something about helping himself to some Salisbury steak. He jumps off the table, and says "Ow, my leg!"
The real John Wilkes Booth planned to shoot Lincoln during a play where the line "Well, I guess I know enough to turn you inside out, old gal, you sockdologoizing old man-trap." It was supposed to elicit uproarious laughter from the audience, which Booth could use to conceal the gun's report.
After he shot Lincoln, and wrestled with someone in Lincolns Cabinet, Booth is alleged to have lept from the balcony and broken his leg.
If you don't know this before watching it, describing it, or explaining the joke, doesn't make it retroactively funny unless you go back and watch it again, and reset your mind to be fresh.
There's LOTS of this stuff in Sealab 2021 in all four seasons. But if you don't know a lot of background history, or what a priapism is, or have seen G.I. Joe the movie, or know this or that, it's not going to be funny, it's going to go right over your head. The "smart" in Sealab is there, but it's surrounded by stupid.
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