Four-Man Band

A Four Man Band, despite assumptions, is not simply a smaller version of the Five Man Band archetype. While the Five Man Band have skills just crying out for an action or an adventure story, the Four Man Band is a primarily comedic group, designed for a sitcom or domcom. The four distinct personalities are specifically designed to play off each other, and Hilarity Ensues.

Please note that in a Four Man Band there is NO The Hero. The focus is evenly spread between them. If there is a Main Character (rare) they can easily be any one of the Band, or it can just be switched between episodes to give focus to different characters.

Compare and contrast Four Temperament Ensemble and of course, Five Man Band. The band most commonly includes:


 * Only Sane Man - Or maybe just the guy who comes the closest to being sane most often. Every zany gang must have a straight man, and the other three leads have to share one. While his (or her, although the role is usually male) friends act out, the Normal Guy's role is to Lampshade and be embarassed by their behaviour. He will be more successful with the opposite sex than his friends, notably The Pervert.
 * The Smart Guy - More intelligent than his friends. His Five Man Band equivalent can do research for the group or explain some of the tougher concepts to the rest of the band or the audience, but this variant is primarily geared towards Lampshading the relative stupidity for the others and being humiliated for his arrogance. Alternatively he may be a Mad Scientist type, with insane inventions.
 * The Pervert - This guy has a perverted mind. He usually takes one of two common forms - the Loveable Sex Maniac whose high sex drive is his most memorable trait, or the Comedic Sociopath, who has bursts of hilarious violence. In lighter examples, certain concepts may be Played for Laughs, whereas in darker examples the character may draw on Black Comedy Rape.
 * The Butt Monkey - A character who serves as a target for the others' jokes. There are a few tropes that could make the Band's Butt Monkey; The Ditz, the Extreme Doormat or others. This member has remarkably less charisma than his friends or is a better target for jokes. The others will pick on him frequently and make him the target of practical jokes. Sometimes, however, this character may get one over on his bandmates, and this will thoroughly humiliate the others.

Anime/Manga
Lucky Star
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 * Only Sane Man||Kagami Hiiragi||
 * The Smart Guy||Miyuki Takahara||
 * The Pervert||Konata Izumi||
 * The Butt Monkey||Tsukasa Hiiragi||

Film
American Pie
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 * Only Sane Man||Kevin/Oz||
 * The Smart Guy||Oz/Kevin||
 * The Pervert||Finch||
 * The Butt Monkey||Jim||

Ghostbusters
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 * Only Sane Man||Winston Zeddmore||
 * The Smart Guy||Dr. Egon Spengler||
 * The Pervert||Dr. Peter Venkman||
 * The Butt Monkey||Dr. Raymond Stantz||

The Beatles in A Hard Days Night and Help
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 * Only Sane Man||Paul McCartney||
 * The Smart Guy||George Harrison||
 * The Pervert||John Lennon||
 * The Butt Monkey||Ringo Starr||

The Goonies
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 * Only Sane Man||Mikey Walsh||
 * The Smart Guy||Data||
 * The Pervert||Mouth||
 * The Butt Monkey||Chunk||

Stand By Me
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 * Only Sane Man||Gordie LaChance||
 * The Smart Guy||Chris Chambers||
 * The Pervert||Teddy Duchamp||
 * The Butt Monkey||Vern Tessio||

The Hangover
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 * Only Sane Man||Doug Billings||
 * The Smart Guy||Dr. Stu Price||
 * The Pervert||Phil Wenneck||
 * The Butt Monkey||Alan Garner||

Live Action TV
The Big Bang Theory
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 * Only Sane Man||Leonard Hofstadter||
 * The Smart Guy||Sheldon Cooper, and how.||
 * The Pervert||Howard Wolowitz||
 * The Butt Monkey||Raj Koothrappali. He's shy to the point he can't even speak to women unless drunk, and is generally awkward.||

The Inbetweeners
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 * Only Sane Man||Simon Cooper. Not, however, the Main Character.||
 * The Smart Guy||Will Mackenzie, who speaks French and is something of a high flyer||
 * The Pervert||Jay Cartwright, who has been singularly attributed with bringing the word clunge back into the popular lexicon||
 * The Butt Monkey||Neil Sutherland. While he is more successful with the opposite sex than the others, he takes The Ditz to extreme levels and is the target of the others' jokes||

Only Fools and Horses
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 * Only Sane Man||Denzil||
 * The Smart Guy||Boycie, a Chessmaster and manipulative car salesman who always seems to get the better of Del||
 * The Pervert||Del. His brother Rodney qualifies as well, with his, ahem, interest in uniforms||
 * The Butt Monkey||Trigger. With his sub-par intelligence he is often a pawn in Del's schemes. The other members of the band ridcule him frequently||

Red Dwarf
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 * Only Sane Man||David Lister||
 * The Smart Guy||Kryten. ||
 * The Pervert||The Cat. Loveable Sex Maniac||
 * The Butt Monkey||Arnold Rimmer||

Los Simuladores / The Pretenders
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 * Only Sane Man||Medina||
 * The Smart Guy||Santos||
 * The Pervert||Ravenna||
 * The Butt Monkey||Lamponne||

The Nanny
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 * Only Sane Man||Fran Fine||
 * The Smart Guy||Maxwell Sheffield||
 * The Pervert||Niles||
 * The Butt Monkey||C.C. Babcock||

Seinfeld
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 * Only Sane Man||Jerry Seinfeld||
 * The Smart Guy||Cosmo Kramer||
 * The Pervert||Elaine Benes||
 * The Butt Monkey||George Costanza||

Western Animation
Family Guy
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 * Only Sane Man||Peter Griffin||
 * The Smart Guy||Joe||
 * The Pervert||Quagmire, who brings this character to its most outrageous (and darkest) levels||
 * The Butt Monkey||Cleveland Brown. He personifies Extreme Doormat in his pre-spinoff appearances||

The Cleveland Show
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 * Only Sane Man||Ex Butt Monkey Cleveland Brown||
 * The Smart Guy||Tim the Bear||
 * The Pervert||Holt Richter||
 * The Butt Monkey||Lester||

South Park
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 * Only Sane Man||Stan||
 * The Smart Guy||Kyle||
 * The Pervert||Cartman/Kenny (Comedic Sociopath and Loveable Sex Maniac)||
 * The Butt Monkey||Butters||

The Penguins of Madagascar
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 * Only Sane Man||Skipper||
 * The Smart Guy||Kowalski||
 * The Pervert||Rico, Comedic Sociopath||
 * The Butt Monkey||Private||

King of the Hill
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 * Only Sane Man||Hank Hill||
 * The Smart Guy||Dale Gribble||
 * The Pervert||Boomhauer||
 * The Butt Monkey||Bill Dauterive||