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Smart Ball: Difference between revisions
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Sometimes, a good joke has a great punchline, but none of the characters are witty enough to know it, or a story can't move forward since none of the characters know some crucial skill or fact. What's an author to do? [[Out-of-Character Moment|Toss them]] the Smart Ball!
Characters who catch the Smart Ball become knowledgeable regarding some trivia or discipline needed to deliver a punchline, discover clues, or implement a [[Batman Gambit|foolproof solution]] to whatever problem they face when [[Fawlty Towers Plot|normally such attempts fail]]. They may also become far better at [[Poor Communication Kills|effectively communicating]] information, allowing several character to put their clues together to discover the villain's [[Evil Plan]].
Using the Smart Ball is [[Tropes Are Not Bad|not necessarily bad]]. While it ''can'' be an [[Ass Pull]] if [[The Ditz]] suddenly demonstrates [[You Didn't Ask|a keen skill at molecular biology]], it's not much of a stretch to imagine the [[Jerk Jock]] also knows the results for every Superbowl since 1975. If a character is tossed the Smart Ball enough times, they may even get [[Character Development]] that makes the smarts permanent.
Mind, excessive use of this trope can be considered negatively if an author has to resort to this sort of thing too often, using it essentially as a [[Deus Ex Machina]] to get the heroes out of a tight spot or to [[Railroading|railroad]] a plot in a given direction. If it's a comedy though, no one minds thanks to the [[Rule of Funny]].
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** In another episode he takes forever to finish reading a very short poem, but instantly grasps what its symbolism is about.
** In yet another episode, Joey (who is working as a waiter at Central Perk) brings the group their check and mentally calculates what each person owes, very swiftly and accurately. Chandler remarks, ''"This, from the man who couldn't divide our $80 phone bill in half."''
* All of the officers on [[Reno 911]] are poorly educated morons who get humiliated and defeated by random criminals. But the episodes tend to be...episodic, with the officers taking care of various criminal complaints. In most of these complaints, one of the otherwise moronic cops displays impressive intelligence and insight when dealing with the criminals.
* ''[[Boy Meets World]]'' has Eric Matthews. Given his [[Flanderization]] into an idiot in later seasons, seems to pick up the ball to revert to his earlier characterization in "Brotherly Shove." Lampshaded by his friends by noting that he seemed to be "well-rested."
* [[Days of Our Lives]] fandom refers to the local Smart Ball as the Salem Brain. Considering many Days fans love snarking at plot holes, this evidently doesn't show up nearly as much as it needs to.
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== Western Animation ==
* Brittney in ''[[Daria]]'' is usually such a big [[The Ditz|airhead]] that she could double as a zeppelin. However in the episode the class plays in two teams with paintball, she turns out to be a superb warrior with impressive tactical skills, almost singlehandedly assuring her team victory. This little [[Hidden Depths|hidden depth]] of hers [[Rule of Funny|is never referenced again.]]
** To be fair we never really see Brittney in another situation that would call for tactics. For all we know she's giving the football team advice during games.
* Happened in ''[[Futurama]]'' when during a [[Fantastic Voyage]] in Fry's body, Dr. Zoidberg amazed his colleagues by demonstrating a knowledge of human anatomy to help them survive a sneeze... knowledge gained by watching a TV commercial about a nose decongestant.
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* Bouncing Boy from the ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes]]'' cartoon suddenly reveals a master strategy to save an entire planet from storms ala [[The Chessmaster]]. Second Season, never mentioned again. Similarly, Shrinking Violet reveals a knowledge of advanced technology just in time for fixing LL's arm. Also never mentioned again.
* Similarly, Patrick from ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]''.
* ''[[Storm Hawks]]'' usually gives Piper or Stork the Smart Ball in regards to finding the solution to a given episode's technobable or wilderness survival, respectively. In Piper's case, she's the resident specialist (as the opening credits helpfully remind us) and Stork is [[Crazy Survivalist|so paranoid]] he's usually [[Crazy Prepared]] with contingencies for most disasters.
* Waffle from ''[[Catscratch]]'' has about as much common sense as your average brick, but throughout the course of the show, he constantly defines words such as "imprinting", "fulcrum", and "caldera" the other characters, to the point of stopping the action dead just to launch into a spelling bee-esque delivery.
* ''[[Winx Club]]'': Stella and Layla's ability to enter Realix and stop Darkar in the season 2 finale hinges on solving a puzzle of color cards. Stella solves it, and it's justified differently depending on which version you're watching:
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** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNZD1ul0--U Video] (and presenting [http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=162100&page=2 a dissenting opinion on the dub being an Ass Pull])
* Done [[Rule of Funny|for laughs]] in the [[Powerpuff Girls]] when Him tells the girls has the the Professor in "the place where it's boiling and freezing at the same time". The girls rack their brains trying to figure it out only for [[Cloudcuckoolander|the Mayor]] [[Big Lipped Alligator Moment|to appear out of nowhere]] and claim that converting the boiling and freezing points of water into geographical coordinates points to a Townsville street. "Or maybe [[Fridge Logic|there's an ice cream truck on fire]]".
* Happens fairly often in ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'', due to many characters being a [[Genius Ditz]] to some degree. Hank is one of the more consistently stupid characters, but occasionally pulls out a bit of obscure knowledge that the adults can't even fathom where he would have picked it up. [[Jerkass|Dermott]] also surprisingly once gave some very competent advice on relationships to the brothers, prompting amazement from them, as he usually doesn't know ''anything''.
* In ''[[Justice League]]'', the Flash is typically portrayed as just a goofball [[Plucky Comic Relief]], but he has instances of outwitting other villains, one of whom was an alternate version of Batman. Granted, the regular Batman admits that he could not predict the Flash either. He has another instance later in the same episode where he tries to convince the alternate [[Knight Templar]] Superman that killing him is something he would never do because how the death of his Flash hurt him. That, unfortunately, merely prompts the other Superman to reply "I've done [[Moral Event Horizon|a lot of things]] that I thought I'd never do these past two years. One more won't hurt."
** Justified in that in his "day job," the DCAU Wally West is a forensic scientist for the police. He just loves cartoons and immature jokes.
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[[Category:The Plot Demanded This Index]]
[[Category:Smart Ball]]
[[Category:Ball Index]]
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