Geek Reference Pool: Difference between revisions
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Unless, of course, that thing is ''not'' ''[[Star Trek]]''.
There is a very specific set of interests that Hollywood ascribes to anybody who self-identifies as (or is identified by others as) a nerd, dork, geek, dweeb, [[Totally Radical|spazzoid]], what have you. Not only is that the Holy Canon of Geek Interests, but for some reason, ''every geek'' is obsessed with not one, or some, but ''all of them''. The only time ([[One of Us|mostly]]) any shows [[Subverted Trope|subvert]] that last part, it's to make a joke where [[Hypocritical Humor|one stereotype calls another stereotype a dork]] for liking one geeky thing instead of another geeky thing ([[Truth in Television|* cough*
As noted, "exception to this trope" is nearly synonymous with "show [[One of Us|written by geeks]]". If you notice a work where you think one applies but not the other, either check the credits again or ask your nerd friends if they really do speak Klingon ([[The Masquerade|they do, seriously]]), because you're missing something. And there's actually a reason for that; if we weren't into things nobody else had ever heard of, we wouldn't be very good geeks, now would we? It's basic math: the more devoted fans of X are, the less of them there will be, and more importantly, the less normal people will even ''know what X is''. It's like [[The Law of Conservation of Detail]], but applied to popularity. And an actual ''law of nature'', apparently, because it is ''very rarely broken''. The only exception is, again, mockery; some things are the sole domain of such Eldritch cabals that they become famous solely because people like making jokes about them so much. ''Somebody'' has to be buying all those [[Dude, Not Funny|-trails off-...]]
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This is a [[Sub-Trope]] of [[Small Reference Pools]] and exists for the same reason that trope does. Namely, the show is targeting a general audience with only limited familiarity with geeky and nerdy interests.
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=== The Canon
== [[Anime]] & [[Manga]] ==
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== [[Comics]] ==
* There are no [[X-Men]] other than Cyclops, [[Wolverine]], Professor X, Nightcrawler, Storm, Jean Grey (A.K.A Ms.Marvel), and, if we're lucky, Gambit and Rogue. Because everyone remembers [[X-Men (animation)|the animated series]] and some people saw [[X-Men (film)|the movies]]... more often than not, however, [[Wolverine Publicity]] wins out every time. There exist no X-Villains besides Magneto, Sabertooth and Mystique, and they are always affiliated with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
* There are no [[DC Comics]] heroes that were not created in the Golden Age. Etrigan? [[Hellblazer|John Constantine]]? A [[Green Lantern]] who is not a WASP? What vivid imagination you have, you NERD!
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== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* ''[[Star Trek]]'' has turned [[Gene Roddenberry]] into some kind of patron saint of [[Nerds Are Virgins|male virginity]]. Every geek in fiction can speak Klingon, name every species in the Federation, draw a diagram of the original Enterprise freehand, and fight with a Bat'Leth ''if you know what that even is''
** Fights about whether Kirk or Picard is the one true captain. Nobody will ever argue for Sisko or Janeway. Nobody will argue for Archer either, but that's [[Hatedom|accidental accuracy]].
** References to notable moments from [[Star Trek: The Original Series|the Original Series]] and/or ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan|The Wrath of Khan]]'', also known by television writers as "the ones I've seen" (or [[Popcultural Osmosis|seen parodies of]]).
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' has become ''the'' shorthand for social failings and maladjusted virginity. Sure, it's one step better than [[You Can Panic Now|the Satanic Panic days]], but really. And apparently the hobby consists ''only'' of ''Dungeons and Dragons'', and games like ''Warhammer'' and ''Vampire: the Masquerade'' do not exist (unless [[The New Rock and Roll|you're doing a true crime show on a "vampire killer"]]).
** Since the writers will have [[Did Not Do the Research|no idea]] how the game is actually played, depictions will vary wildly if characters actually play on screen instead of just refering to the game, but there are a few constants: expect players to wear costumes and use elaborate props (at the very least the Dungeon Master, if there is one, will wear [[Robe and Wizard Hat|a cape or pointy "wizard" hat]]), speak in [[Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe]], and engage in ritualistic behavior like chanting "all hail the Dungeon Master!" at the start of each session (if a non-geek regular character has been dragged to the
** Its also common to depict the death of a player's character as having an unusual level of finality to it. There is no resurrection ([[Death Is Cheap|very common in D&D]] or even rolling up a new character. Similar to the way when your character dies in [[Super Mario Bros.]] the cartridge permanently self destructs and you kill yourself out of grief. This is getting better with the widespread popularity of MMO's and Console RPG's helping more writers and audience members realize how ridiculous this is.
** What the hell is GURPS?
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* When it comes to [[Video Games]], all geeks will play [[Ultra Super Death Gore Fest Chainsawer 3000]]. Unless they've caught [[Pac-Man Fever]] and still play 8-bit games. These days they've started mentioning ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' (for [[Murder Simulators|its bad influences]]) and ''[[Halo]]''.
=== Aversions
== [[Film]] ==
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* ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'' has many easy jokes from within the reference pool, some of which are a little outdated, however the references are usually ''exactly correct''. It also includes a lot of science jokes and more obscure references. There have been moments in episodes referencing the then-ongoing ''[[Batman|Batman: Battle for the Cowl]]'' and ''[[The Flash|Flash: Rebirth]]'' storylines. Definitely in the "made by geeks" category.
* ''[[CSI]]'' had an episode about a murder at a Brand X ''[[Star Trek]]'' convention, which may seem bizarre at first; CBS and Paramount, which owns the Trek rights, are both Viacom subsidiaries (sort of. It's complicated). Turns out they needed to obscure the name for plot purposes. Also turns out [[Shown Their Work|they did their research]] into Trek [[In-Joke|In Jokes]] and culture, as well as cameoing ''[[Battlestar Galactica]]'' producer Ronald D. Moore and Ellen Tigh.
* On ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', resident geek Hiro Nakamura usually stays within the
** Hiro's actor translates the lines the writers give him into Japanese himself, sometimes [[Bilingual Bonus|inserting references which don't show up in the subtitles]].
** Hiro's [[Character Blog]] makes his geekery over ''[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]]'' more obvious.
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** Hiro makes another reference outside of the 'pool' when describing his love interest to his past self:
{{quote|"She's the Mary Jane to your [[Spider-Man]]! The [[Chrono Trigger|Marle to your Crono!]]"}}
* ''[[Leverage]]'' goes takes the ''made by geeks'' [[Up to Eleven]]
{{quote|'''Parker''': I really like Elliot slash Sophie. Could you do Nate slash me? No! Nate slash you!
'''Hardeson''': Please, please stop. }}
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