Mad Scientist Laboratory: Difference between revisions

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All of the film, TV, and comic versions of the Mad Scientist's Lab derive originally from Gothic horror stories of the 18th and 19th centuries, the most famous of them being [[Mary Shelley]]'s novel ''Frankenstein'' and [[H. G. Wells]]' ''The Island of Doctor Moreau.'' The concept developed from older stories about the lairs of alchemists and sorcerers. The Enlightenment put paid to many kinds of mystical dabbling by dilettantes, tinkerers, and wealthy eccentrics, but these characters were replaced in the public imagination by gentleman scientists—many of them self-taught, many very eccentric—who built laboratories and observatories in their homes and made a number of important discoveries in the new disciplines of chemistry, physics, and biology.

The age of the gentleman scientist was ending by the 1850's, when the most famous of them, [[Charles Darwin]], published his Theory of Evolution. More and more, experimental research became associated with facilities provided by universities, foundations, museums, governments and industry. However, the romantic image of the mad ~~scientist—isolated~~ from his fellows and angry with a world that would suppress his ~~ideas—has~~ deep archetypal power. It's also [[Economy Cast|dramatically compact]], needing only the scientist, an assistant, and a faithful servant or two as characters. The ~~[[Me Me]]~~'s emotional energy and enactment efficiency has kept it alive into the 21st Century, and it's even routinely projected into future scenarios via television shows like ''[[Star Trek]]'' and ''[[The Outer Limits]]''.

The age of the gentleman scientist was ending by the 1850's, when the most famous of them, [[Charles Darwin]], published his Theory of Evolution. More and more, experimental research became associated with facilities provided by universities, foundations, museums, governments and industry. However, the romantic image of the mad scientist — isolated from his fellows and angry with a world that would suppress his ideas — has deep archetypal power. It's also [[Economy Cast|dramatically compact]], needing only the scientist, an assistant, and a faithful servant or two as characters. The meme's emotional energy and enactment efficiency has kept it alive into the 21st Century, and it's even routinely projected into future scenarios via television shows like ''[[Star Trek]]'' and ''[[The Outer Limits]]''.

This is edging toward becoming a [[Discredited Trope]], at least in the classic beaker/Jacob's Ladder/operating table configuration.

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[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

[[Category:Medical Horror]]

[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]

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[[Category:Home Base]]

[[Category:Older Than Television]]

[[Category:Mad Scientist Laboratory]]