Cloudcuckoolander/Live-Action TV: Difference between revisions

** Also from ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', Tracy Morgan's sketch character named Brian Fellow who interviewed various animal trainers and made inane comments about the animals. Usually at the end, he would have a daydream about the first animal in the sketch that sometimes was completely random. For example, at the end of a sketch featuring a bunny, he imagined a bunny cutting its hair. And then he reacts to the delusion--indelusion—in a way that his real second guest can hear!

** Dewey is the archetypal [[Cloudcuckoolander]], and attracts others of his kind without trying. (Wide-eyed, silent Egg: cute enough--inenough—in his extremely dorky way--toway—to avoid [[Creepy Child]] status.) It's revealed in one episode that whatever Mom is really saying in earshot of him, he just hears "Dewey Dewey Dewey...".

** And Hal. [[It Runs in The Family]]

** In one episode, he not only wonders who would win if robots fought werewolves, but also mentions how impressed Vikings would be if they could travel through time and see all the glow in the dark stuff we have.

** Phoebe Buffay is probably the most well-known example for a mass-media audience, though most of the characters have "Cloudcuckooland" moments at one time or another, as does Rachel's sister Amy.

* Barbra Jean from ''[[Reba]]'' is the queen of this trope, plus she's also the [[Dumb Blonde]] AND [[The Ditz]], Van has his share of "cloudcuckooland'' moments as well.

* Trudy from ''[[Reno 911!]]!'' tells a story of how she mistook a goat for a Turk (or maybe vice versa), and seems to think that she's in a relationship with the openly gay Lt. Dangle.

* ''[[Power Rangers]]'': Bridge of ''SPD'' is definitely one of these. {{spoiler|Being a human tricorder and having [[Power Incontinence|no way to really turn it off]] will do that to you.}} One episode revolves around his weirdness actually being an asset. In ''Operation Overdrive''{{'}}s [[Reunion Show]] some seasons later, the only one who really got him was ''Overdrive''{{'}}s resident Cloudcuckoolander Dax. The others look on in astonishment.

** [[Fridge Brilliance|Curiously]], [[Stealth Pun|Bridge is a case of a "Space Cadet" being a literal Space Cadet.]]

** Trip of ''[[Power Rangers Time Force]]'' and Ziggy, Gem, and Gemna from ''RPM''. Ziggy's the [[Only Sane Man]] among the Ranger Series Operators, even calling out the others for passing judgment on Rangers Gold and Silver's zords. ("Look in the mirror, people: We're in no position to be sitting in judgment of anything weird!") Gem and Gemma are adult children who, like Dr. K, have been raised in a government think tank codenamed "Alphabet Soup". And, since very little backstory is given for the duo, no one really knows just ''how'' they got their personality quirks.

** Save the two [[Sixth Ranger|Sixth Rangers]]s mentioned above, most happen to be Green Rangers, heh...

{{quote|'''Racer:''' [[Summer Glau]]! Wow, you were the best part of ''[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles|Chronicles]]''.<br />

'''Summer Glau:''' I eat my body weight in food every 31 days. That's slightly faster than the human average.<br />

'''Nathan Fillon:''' ... Yeah, there's a reason she only plays strange roles.<br />

** Definitely the latter, in a kind of subversion of the trope. The people of Hooterville operate on their own weird plane of illogic that, nonetheless, seems perfectly normal to them (and ''works'', in a surreal little town where the laws of phsyics, cause and effect, etc. seem to be suspended). Ditzy Lisa fits right in and is attuned to their mindset (she even understands Arnold the Pig's grunts, as do the townsfolk). It's ''Oliver'' who in this bizarro world is the Cloudcuckoolander -- hisCloudcuckoolander—his appeals to logic, science, law, and "common sense" are viewed by Hootervilleans as somewhat "out there."

* Rose Nylund of ''[[The Golden Girls]]'' and her frequent tales of the complete insanity of her hometown of St. Olaf, Minnesota. And [[The Cloud Cuckoolander Was Right|it was all true]].

* [[Meaningful Name|"Howling Mad"]] Murdock from ''[[The A-Team]]''. Each new chapter comes with a new personality/distorted reality. Still he's a remarkable pilot and as skilled as the other member in most areas.

** The episode "The Doctor's Wife" demonstrates that {{spoiler|the TARDIS}} is '''even more''' of a Cloud Cuckoo Lander than the Doctor, with a heavy dose of [[The Cloud Cuckoolander Was Right]]. Having {{spoiler|your mind spread across all of time and space}} will do that to you.

* Tyler from ''[[My Hero (TV)]]'', one of the few characters who know about George Sunday's alter ego, Thermoman. This isn't the crazy part; the crazy part...what ''is'' the crazy part? The tea parties with [[The Lord of the Rings|Frodo Baggins]] seems the most likely candidate.

* While there are few characters in ''[[The Mighty Boosh]]'' who ''don't'' meet the full Cuckoolander criteria, The Moon probably tops them all - and he's so popular with fans that he has his own [https://web.archive.org/web/20131105133027/http://www.imthemoon.tv/index.html Web site]. And yes (for those unfamiliar with the series), the ''Moon'', as in the actual celestial object, is a recurring character within the show. He typically appears a couple of times per episode, grinning down benignly from the heavens and treating us to some staggeringly random asides and anecdotes in a curious Eastern European accent. His comments never bear much, if any, relation to the plot (then again, the Boosh is a [[BLAMNon Sequitur Episode|Big Lipped Alligator Show]] if ever there was one) although the other characters ''do'' seem able to interact with him on occasion. Tony Harrison once stopped and asked him for directions, only to be greeted by a completely uninvited rant about telescopes. Tony was forced to deem him an "alabaster retard" and move on.

* Barney from ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'' at times seems to be a more grounded version of one of these. He's perfectly capable of functioning in the world, but occasionally displays a brand of logic that wouldn't make sense to anyone else but him. For example, when he, Robin and Lily are trying to sneak into a high school prom, one of his plans involves asking Robin how capable she is with a crossbow. There's also this exchange in 'The Possimpible' when Barney is trying to make Robin a video resume:

** From the same show: Roger names his dental tools after ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' characters, and Abi is... Abi, and that's really all there is to it.

* The title character of ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' probably comes across this way to the other characters at times (the scene where he tells Gwen he's checking her house for giant rats, stealing Arthur's food 'to keep him in shape', accusing apparently innocent people of being trolls and demons), but his actions all make perfect sense to the audience.

** How about the Hybrids? They're constantly spouting what seems to be gibberish, but can often be interpreted as speaking prophecies. It's mentioned that one theory is that because they live their lives as the minds of starships traversing the galaxy, they simply have a clearer view of the universe. Another theory is that they have seen the face of God, and it has driven them mad.

* Adam Savage of ''[[Myth BustersMythBusters]]'' is ''made'' of this, used as a deliberate contrast to Jaime, who is [[The Comically Serious]]. Tory is the Build Team's Adam, though Grant is close competition.

* Every character in the main cast of ''[[The Addams Family]]'' exemplifies this trope. They are consistently portrayed as out of step with the day to day norms of society, yet they believe [[Only Sane Man|they are the normal ones]] and everyone else is odd. Due to the macabre nature of their [[Ax Crazy|idiosyncrasies]], most of the other cast members on the show (particularly the Normanmeyers from the second animated incarnation) consider the Addams to be [[Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant|Nightmare Fuel Station Attendants]]s, but because the audience is in on the joke and invited to see things from the Addams' point of view, the horrified reaction of the other characters becomes a bigger joke than how out of step the Addams themselves are.

* Klinger of ''[[MASHM*A*S*H the Series(television)|M*A*S*H]]'' often acts like a [[Cloudcuckoolander]] trying to get a section 8.

** This is cited by most characters as evidence that he is the sanest person in the unit, as he's the only one who is actually using any means to get the fuck out of there before he's killed or driven insane, instead of playing along and waiting to be discharged.

* Brick from the [[Spiritual Successor]] of ''[[Malcolm in the Middle]]'', ''[[The Middle]]'', who even looks like Dewey, loves books to the point where he treats librarians as some sort of celebrity, has an unusual knowledge of fonts, and tends to repeat things after saying them. <ref> ...saying them.</ref> These are some of the more normal things he does.

** Fred Willard has been the walking embodiment for this trope for his entire career, right back to Fernwood/America 2Night.

* ''[[Top Gear]]'''s James May usually comes across as fairly sensible, but during the news segments he tends to go off on random tangents or draw strange conclusions that leave his co-presenters wildly confused or [[Squick|squickedsquick]]ed.

* Abby Sciuto from [[NCIS]]. The resident [[Lab Rat]] and [[Perky Goth]], she often befuddles and confounds her coworkers with [[Non Sequitur|Non Sequiturs]]s, tales of various [[Noodle Incident|Noodle Incidents]]s and tangential directions she takes from normal conversation topics.