Talking Lightbulb: Difference between revisions
m
clean up
m (update links) |
m (clean up) |
||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
The '''Talking Lightbulb''' is some visual effect, often a simple blinking light, that flickers away whenever a robot or computer speaks, for no reason other than to look cool. Maybe it's supposed to help the audience focus on a character that doesn't move its face when it speaks, generally because it has no face. It is often used in combination with [[Robo Speak]]. Can be [[Justified Trope|justified]] as an user-friendly feature, since for people on ''both'' sides of [[Fourth Wall]] it's the simplest way to make obvious at a glance which one speaks when several robots, computerized appliances and talking alarm clocks are around.
{{examples}}
Line 25:
* Many of the robots in ''[[Futurama]]'' have this effect. Bender is the one exception, he has a panel with a wave similar in appearance to an oscilloscope that is lipsynched to his speech. ''Futurama'' also parodied "The Menagerie"'s wheelchair when the characters had to testify in court in "Where No Fan Has Gone Before".
* Karen, Plankton's computer wife in ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'', uses the oscilloscope version.
* Bit from ''[[Tron]]'' can fit this. As a bit, he is only capable of two responses--"yes" or "no"
** [[Fridge Logic|Makes you wonder where he got his "usual" shape from]]. [[Don't Explain the Joke|Bits are not supposed to]] [[Take a Third Option|take a third state]] [[Schroedingers Cat|apart from "yes" or "no"]].
*** Positive charge, negative charge, NO charge
| |||