Five-Man Band/Live-Action TV/A-F

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


0-9

24: Season 7

The Hero and The Big Guy Jack Bauer
The Lancer Renee Walker
The Smart Guy Chloe O'Brien
Sixth Ranger Tony Almeida
The Mentor Bill Buchanan
Token Evil Teammate Tony Almeida

A

Alias

The Hero Sydney Bristow
The Lancer Michael Vaughn
The Big Guy Marcus Dixon (sometimes The Lancer)
The Smart Guy Marshall Flinkman, Rachel Gibson
The Chick Will Tippin
The Mentor Jack Bristow, Arvin Sloane

'Allo, 'Allo (The Resistance)

The Hero Rene
The Lancer Edith
The Big Guy Officer Crabtree
The Smart Guy(s) LeClerc (subverted in that he's terrible at it) and Michelle
The Chick(s) Yvette and Maria, later Mimi
Tagalong Kid(s) Fairfax and Carstairs
The Load Fanny
Team Dad Monsieur Alphonse

'Allo, 'Allo (The Germans, who would be a Five-Bad Band if they didn't SUCK at it!)

The Hero / The Big Guy Colonel Von Strohm
The Lancer Captain Geering, later Captain Bertorelli
The Smart Guy / Token Evil Teammate Herr Flick (Yes, he's the bad guy in a Five Man Axis Band!)
The Chick(s) Lieutenant Gruber (Camp Gay) and Helga (Ms.Fanservice)
Team Dad General Von Klinckerhoffen

Andromeda

The Hero Dylan Hunt
The Lancer Beka Valentine
The Big Guy Tyr Anasazi, later Telemachus Rhade
The Smart Guy Seamus Harper
The Chick Trance Gemini
The Mentor Rev Bem
Action Girl Rommie

Angel (Seasons 1-4)

The Hero Angel
The Lancer Doyle (first 10 episodes), Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
The Big Guy Charles Gunn
The Smart Guy Wesley for Magic/Demon related research and Fred Burkle for science and technology
The Chick Cordelia Chase
Tagalong Kid Connor (also a Sixth Ranger after a plot-relevant age-up)

Angel (Season 5)

The Hero Angel
The Lancer Spike (also the Sixth Ranger due to his past history with Angel)
The Smart Guy Wesley Wyndam-Pryce for Magic/Demon research, Fred Burkle for science and technology and Charles Gunn for his legal skills
The Chick Lorne
Sixth Ranger/Token Evil Teammate Illyria

The Aquabats! Super Show!

The Hero MC Bat Commander
The Lancer Eaglebones Falconhawk, although Crash is second in command, Eaglebones fits the trope more closely, and Crash fits the big guy trope
The Big Guy Crash Mc Larson
The Smart Guy Jimmy the Robot
The Chick Ricky Fitness, with his Adorkable OCD

Are You Being Served?

The Hero Captain Peacock (in his own mind, of course; Mr. Lucas would also qualify as this in earlier episodes)
The Lancer(s) Mr. Humphries (Ensemble Darkhorse) and Mr. Lucas, later Mr. Spooner
The Big Guy Mrs. Slocombe
The Smart Guy Mr. Rumbold (again, in his own mind) and Mr. Mash, later Mr. Harman
The Chick Miss Brahms
Sixth Ranger(s) Mr. Grainger, Mr. Tebbs, Mr. Goldberg (any of the senior salesmen, really)
Team Dad Young Mr. Grace, later Old Mr. Grace

Ashes to Ashes

The Hero Gene Hunt
The Lancer Alex Drake (Rarity in that Alex is the viewpoint character)
The Big Guy Ray Carling
The Chick Sharon 'Shaz' Granger
The Kid Chris Skelton

The A-Team

The Hero Hannibal
The Lancer Face
The Big Guy B. A. Baracus
The Smart Guy Murdock (if anything for his skills in infiltration and being an aircraft pilot)
The Chick Amy (first two seasons)
Sixth Ranger Frankie Santana (season five)

B

Babylon 5 - Command Staff

The Hero Sheridan
The Lancer Ivanova
The Big Guy Garibaldi
The Smart Guy Franklin
The Chick Delenn

Band of Brothers - Roles vary depending on episode

The Hero Maj. Winters
The Lancer 1st Sgt Lipton/Lt. Compton
The Big Guy Capt. Speirs
Intelligence Officer Cpt. Nixon
The Chick (The Medic) Cpl. Roebuck

Barney Miller

The Hero Barney
The Lancer Yemana, later Harris
The Big Guy Wojo
The Smart Guy Harris, later Dietrich
The Chick Liz (Barney's wife), later (while both Yemana and Dietrich were on the squad) Harris
Tagalong Kid Levitt
The Mentor Luger (subverted in that he's terrible at it)

Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series) (among the pilots specifically)

The Hero Apollo (leads the pilots)
The Lancer / The Smart Guy Helo (most intelligent, strongest morality)
The Big Guy Starbuck (most aggressive)
The Chick Boomer, later Athena (most emotional)
Sixth Ranger The new pilots, notably Hot Dog and Racetrack

And the Final Five Cylons:

The Hero Saul Tigh
The Lancer Ellen Tigh
The Big Guy Samuel Anders
The Smart Guy Galen Tyrol
The Chick Tory Foster

Better Off Ted:

The Hero Ted
The Lancer Veronica
The Smart Guy(s) Lem and Phil
The Chick Linda
Tagalong Kid Rose

Between the Lions

The Hero Lionel
The Lancer Cleo
The Big Guy Theo
The Smart Guy / The Chick Leona
Team Pet Click the Mouse

The Big Bang Theory - Sheldon seems to have his own version in his mind (not counting The Hero and The Lancer). When asked why he has to carry the heavy things, Sheldon tells Howard: "In our ragtag team of scientists with nothing to lose,"

The Smart Guy Sheldon ("I'm the smart one")
Kid Appeal Character Howard ("Wolowitz is the funny one")
Token Minority Raj ("and Koothrappali is the lovable foreigner who struggles to understand our ways and fails.")
The Big Guy Leonard ("That leaves you, by default, as the muscle.")

Blackadder Most obvious in Blackadder goes Forth, but if you think about it, the five principle actors fall into these roles as well.

The Hero Rowen Atkinson as Blackadder
The Lancer Tony Robinson as Baldrick
The Big Guy Stephen Fry as Melchet
The Smart Guy Tim McInnerny as Darling
The Chick Hugh Laurie as George, and obviously Miranda Richardson as Nurse Mary
Sixth Ranger Rik Mayall as Flashhart

Black Hole High

The Hero Josie
The Lancer Lucas
The Big Guy Vaughn
The Smart Guy Marshall
The Chick Corrine
The Mentor Professor Z

Blake's 7

The Hero Blake
The Lancer Avon
The Big Guy Gan, until his death
The Smart Guy Vila
The Chick Jenna series 1, Cally series 2
The Sixth Ranger Cally series 1
The Mentor Zen
Team Pet Orac

In series 3 and 4,

The Hero Avon
The Lancer Tarrant
The Big Guy Dayna
The Smart Guy Vila
The Chick Cally in series 3, Soolin in series 4
The Mentor Zen series 3
Team Pet Orac

Boston Legal

The Hero Denny Crane (in his own mind, at least. Rotates in this role with Alan.)
The Lancer Alan Shore (rotates in The Hero role with Denny), Claire Simms (was The Lancer to everyone else)
The Big Guy Brad Chase, later Whitney Rome (Coho tried to usurp Brad's role as this.)
The Smart Guy Paul Lewiston, later Carl Sack and Jerry Espenson
The Chick(s) Clarence Bell (only male example), Tara Wilson, Sally Heep, Lori Colson, Denise Bauer, Katie Lloyd
Tagalong Kid(s) Garrett and Sara (the junior associates from the second season)
Sixth Column Jeffrey Coho
Team Mom / Only Sane Man Shirley Schmidt

C

Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future

The Hero Captain Jonathan Power
The Lancer Major Matthew 'Hawk' Masterson
The Big Guy Lieutenant Michael 'Tank' Ellis
The Smart Guy Sergeant Robert 'Scout' Baker
The Chick Corporal Jennifer 'Pilot' Chase

Carrusel - La Patrulla Salvadora

The Hero Daniel
The Lancer Pablo
The Big Guy Jaime
The Smart Guy David
The Chick Cirilo, Mario
The Sixth Ranger Adrian, Kokimoto
Sixth Ranger Traitor Jorge

Carrusel - The Girls

The Hero Valeria
The Lancer Maria Joaquina
The Big Guy Laura
The Smart Guy Carmen
The Chick Margarita, Marcelina
The Sixth Ranger Alicia, Bibi

Charmed

The Hero Piper Halliwell
The Lancer Phoebe Halliwell
The Smart Guy / Big Sister Mentor Prue Halliwell (seasons 1-3)
The Chick Paige Matthews (seasons 4-8)
Sixth Ranger Leo Wyatt
The Obi-Wan(s) Patti and Penny Halliwell

El Chavo del Ocho - The Kids

The Hero Chavo
The Lancer Quico
The Big Guy Nono
The Smart Guy Chilindrina
The Chick Popis
The Sixth Ranger Godinez

El Chavo del Ocho - The Adults

The Hero Don Ramon...though he's more of an Anti-Hero
The Lancer Dona Florinda
The Big Guy Senor Barriga
The Smart Guy Profesor Jirafales
The Chick Dona Clotilde
The Sixth Ranger Jaimito

Chef!

The Hero Gareth (No, really!)
The Lancer Everton
The Big Guy Gustave
The Smart Guy Lucinda, later Alphonse
The Chick Janice (Subverted in that she's an extremely capable businesswoman)

Chuck - In later seasons.

The Hero/The Smart Guy Chuck
The Lancer Sarah
The Big Guy Casey
The Chick Morgan

The Closer

The Hero Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson
The Lancer Sgt. Gabriel
The Big Guy(s) Lts. Provenza and Flynn, Det. Sanchez
The Smart Guy(s) Lt. Tao, Det. Sanchez
The Chick Det. Daniels
The Mentor Chief Pope
Sixth Ranger FBI Agent Fritz Howard
  • Varies A Lot: Detective Sanchez knows the streets and and the ins and outs of gang activity; he switches between The Big Guy and The Smart Guy depending on the case.
    • Provenza and Flynn are not dumb; however, they do have a habit of getting themselves into trouble.

Clueless (the series)

The Hero Cher
The Lancer Dionne
The Big Guy Murray
The Smart Guy Sean
The Chick Amber

Coach

The Hero Hayden
The Lancer Luther
The Big Guy Dauber
The Smart Guy Howard (By process of elimination)
The Chick Christine (The only female character that lasted the whole run of the show)

Community

The Hero Jeff
The Lancer Britta/Pierce
The Smart Guy Abed
The Big Guy Troy
The Chick Annie/Britta
Team Mom Shirley
Token Evil Teammate Pierce

Criminal Minds

The Hero Aaron Hotchner
The Lancer Jason Gideon, followed by David Rossi
The Big Guy Derek Morgan
The Smart Guy Spencer Reid and Penelope Garcia
The Chick Jennifer "JJ" Jareau
The Sixth Ranger Elle Greenaway, followed by Emily Prentiss
  • Varies A Lot: The Big Guy, Smart Guy, and Chick roles on this show get traded around more often than you'd expect, and there's generally a whole lotta subvertin' goin' on, but the pattern does hold more often than not.
    • A further subversion is that Hotch and Gideon (and later Rossi) trade The Hero and The Lancer roles back and forth. Hotch is, after all, the Unit Chief.
    • Actually, Hotch is The Hero pretty straight since he is the unit cheif. Even when Morgan is chief he's more of a figure head. Gideon and Rossi are the scruffy more laid back contrast to Hotch's uptight straightforward leading which is right inline with The Lancer. Reid is far too useful to be The Chick.

CSI

The Hero Nick Stokes
The Lancer Sara Sidle
The Big Guy Warrick Brown
The Smart Guy Greg Sanders
The Chick Catherine Willows
The Mentor Gil Grissom

CSI: After Season 8, had cast members leaving or dying, which lead to quite a shuffle.

The Hero Catherine Willows
The Lancer Riley Adams, now Morgan Brody
The Big Guy Nick Stokes
The Smart Guy Ray Langston or Sara Sidle,sometimes DB Russell
The Chick Greg Sanders
The Mentor DB Russell
  • This will likely keep changing, since more cast shake ups are happening.


CSI: NY

The Hero Mac Taylor
The Lancer Danny Messer, sometimes also either Don Flack,Jo Danville or Stella Bonasera
The Big Guy Don Flack or Danny Messer
The Smart Guy Stella Bonasera and Lindsay Messer used to trade off between this and The Chick, now it's Jo Danville and Lindsay Messer. Sometimes also Hawkes
The Chick See above, also Aiden Burn sometimes in first season
The Sixth Ranger Sheldon Hawkes

A Polish tv series: Czterej Pancerin i Pies (in english, it would sound Four tank-men and a dog)

The Hero Janek
The Lancer Gregoriy
The Big Guy Gustlik
The Smart Guy Olgierd
The Chick Marusia
Sixth Ranger Tomus

D

Danger 5

The Hero Tucker
The Lancer Jackson
The Big Guy Ilsa
The Smart Guy Claire
The Chick Pierre

Degrassi: The Squatch

The Hero Craig
The Lancer Jimmy
The Big Guy Spinner
The Smart Guy / The Chick Marco
Sixth Ranger Ashley

Dad's Army: Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard

The Hero Mainwaring
The Lancer Wilson
The Big Guy Jones and Fraser
The Smart Guy Walker
The Chick Pike and Godfrey

Doctor Who Season 1

The Hero/The Smart Guy The Doctor
The Lancer Ian Chesterton
The Big Guy Barbara Wright
The Chick Susan Foreman

Doctor Who: The 12-episode mammoth The Dalek's Master Plan (the only episode to actually get there - The Chase got rid of Barbara and Ian before adding Steven, so it doesn't really count)

The Hero The Doctor
The Lancer Bret Vyon
The Smart Guy Steven
The Chick Katarina
The Big Guy Sara Kingdom

E

The Electirc Company (2009 series)

The Hero/The Big Guy Hector
The Lancer Jessica
The Smart Guy Keith
The Chick Lisa

Elmo's World

The Hero Elmo
The Lancer Shade
The Big Guy Door
The Smart Guy Drawer
The Chick TV
The Sixth Ranger Computer (in Season 32)
Team Pet Dorothy

Eureka: At least in Season 4, in which these five characters become separated from the group for a big reason.

The Hero Jack Carter
The Lancer Allison Blake
The Big Guy Jo Lupo
The Smart Guy Henry Deacon
The Chick Douglas Fargo
Sixth Ranger Trevor Grant (after he gets brought back from 1947)

F

Fantastic Journey

The Hero Varian (also aspects of The Smart Guy and The Medic)
The Lancer Willaway (also aspects of The Smart Guy)
The Big Guy Fred (also aspects of The Smart Guy and The Medic)
The Smart Guy Lianna (also aspects of The Chick)
The Chick Scott (also Tagalong Kid)
Team Pet Sil-El

Firefly - before the series began:

The Hero Mal
The Lancer Zoe
The Big Guy Jayne
The Smart Guy Wash and Kaylee
The Chick Inara
Sixth Ranger River, Simon, Shepherd Book

Fraggle Rock

The Hero Gobo
The Lancer Wembley
The Big Guy Boober
The Smart Guy Mokey
The Chick Red

Frasier

The Hero Frasier
The Lancer Roz
The Smart Guy Niles
The Chick Daphne
The Mentor Martin
Team Pet Eddie

The Fresh Beat Band

The Hero Kiki (also The Chick) (Guitarist and Violinist)
The Lancer Marina (Drummer)
The Smart Guy Shout (Keyboardist)
The Big Guy Twist (Turntable and Beat Box)
The Mentor Their teacher

Fringe

The Hero Olivia Dunham
The Lancer Peter Bishop
The Big Guy Charlie Francis (before his death in Season 2.)
The Smart Guy Walter Bishop
The Chick Astrid Farnsworth