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Meddlesome Patrolman: Difference between revisions

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This is the beat cop who wears a uniform, patrols the neighborhood, controls traffic at cross-sections, and watches for infractions to the road code. Heroes who break the law whether unwittingly or out of childish mischief will likely end up on his wrong side, and be given a fine or taken to the local police precinct. Neither a [[Rabid Cop]], a [[Cowboy Cop]], nor an [[Old-Fashioned Copper]], the [[Meddlesome Patrolman]] is still liable to be as annoying as the [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]].
 
A frequent recurring minor character in classic [[Franco- Belgian Comics]] and an obvious foil to protagonists who are either street urchins or just regular children who use the streets as a playground. So, expect some examples to be found in older American shows and comic strips (basically dating from before the rise of suburbia). The meter maid is a possible variation.
 
{{examples}}
 
== Anime & Manga ==
* Hotori, the main character of ''[[Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru (Manga)|Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru]]'', has a long running feud with the stressed neighbourhood cop Matsuda, although besides being cheeky, playing hooky and sneaking out at night she isn't exactly a delinquent.
 
 
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* ''Agent 212'' is an interesting case of a Meddlesome Patrolman who is also the protagonist of a series rather than a supporting character.
* Agent Bodard in ''Corinne et Jeannot''. His main purpose seems to add insult to injury caused by Corinne on Jeannot.
* Agent 22 was a recurring nemesis of [[Boule Etet Bill]] in the early albums.
* Agent Dussiflet or his peers get to slap a fine on [[Achille Talon]], or drag him in handcuffs to the local police precinct, on more than one occasion.
 
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== Films -- Live-Action ==
* The motorcycle cop played by Tim Robbins in [[Robert Altman]]'s ''Short Cuts'' takes advantage of his uniform to pull over good-looking women and ask them for dates.
* In ''[[Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai (Film)|Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai]]'', one policewoman pulls over a car with a seriously wounded passenger and insists on the full formal procedure before allowing to move him any closer to the medical attention. Unfortunately for her, the wounded guy is a gangster, and, well... definitely ''[[Would Hit a Girl|isn't]]'' a "fuckin' male chauvinist pig".
* The French movie ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058135/ Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez]'' and its five sequels are a film series were not only the main character (played by Louis de Funès) but most of the supporting cast is this kind of cop, of the [[wikipedia:National Gendarmerie|National Gendarmerie]] subtype.
* Another (older) Louis de Funès movie is ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051989/ Ni vu, ni connu]''. This time, the protagonist is a poacher, and he's outwitting a Meddlesome Forest Guard.
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== Literature ==
* Mandatory ''[[Discworld (Literature)|Discworld]]'' reference: that would be Sergeant Colon and possibly Corporal Nobbs. Colon especially hits the Meddlesome Patrolman wall ''hard'' when he is temporarily promoted to Captain during the events of ''[[Discworld (Literature)/The Fifth Elephant|The Fifth Elephant]]''.
* If border guards count, then ''[[The Tamuli]]'' has a great example in the form of some Cynesgan guards who were deliberately trying to stall Sparhawk. This being a work starring Sparhawk, [[Murder Is the Best Solution|constructive Elenishism]] ends up taking care of the problem.
* A rural-village version often appears in the writings of [[PGP. WodehouseG. (Creator)Wodehouse|PG Wodehouse]].
 
 
== Live-Action TV ==
* Karen and Davis from ''[[Corner Gas (TV)|Corner Gas]]'' occasionally do this.
* ''Marie Pervenche'', a French live-action TV series from the 1980s. Although the eponymous character doesn't spend much time doing that job before adventure calls. OTOH, Danièle Evenou, the actress who played her, is wacky enough in real life to be compared to [[Gaston Lagaffe]].
* Bruce "The Goose" Hopkins, the council bylaws officer from the Australian kids show ''Streetsmartz''.
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== Music ==
* "Lovely Rita" by [[The Beatles (Musicband)|The Beatles]].
{{quote| ''Standing by a parking meter<br />
When I caught a glimpse of Rita<br />
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== Web Comics ==
* ''[[Casey and Andy (Webcomic)|Casey and Andy]]'': Quantum Cop, except during story arcs, when he becomes a protagonist.
* A ''[[PvP (Webcomicwebcomic)|Pv P]]'' arc had Brent get on the wrong side of a bike cop that turned into a mixture of one of this with a full-blown stalker.
 
 
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