Square One Television: Difference between revisions

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Its stated goal was "To promote positive attitudes toward and enthusiasm for mathematics by showing that: A. Math is a powerful and widely applicable tool useful to solve problems, to illustrate concepts, and to increase efficiency. B. Math is beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. C. Math can be understood by, be useful to, and even be innovated by nonspecialists." For all the claims of being overly entertaining, it did an excellent job in this, presenting an engaging introduction to a fair number of deep mathematical concepts, including Fibonacci Numbers, Pascal's Triangle, Bases Other Than 10, The Golden Section, Imaginary Numbers and Diophantine Equations.

 

Recurring animated segments featured Mathman (an affectionate parody of [[Pac-Man]] in a Wolverines helmet, who existed to demonstrate common mathematical errors, and who would be eaten by his nemesis, Mr. Glitch, in a truly freaky [[Family-Unfriendly Death]] for getting answers wrong) and Dirk Niblick of the Math Brigade (a [[Roger Ramjet]]-like character on the far shallow end of the [[Badass Normal]] scale, who uses his skills in math to help his friends and defeat scam artists). Every episode ended with part of a five-part "Mathnet" story (featuring a supposed "Mathnet" wing of the Los Angeles, and later New York, Police Department, whose members would use their skills in mathematics to solve crimes). "Mathnet" was particularly filled with Parental Bonuses (largely due to it being a parody of ''[[Dragnet]]'') to the extent that collections of each serial were run in prime time on various PBS stations.

{{tropelist}}

* [[20% More Awesome]]: There's a skit with a man singing about how he was giving "Eight Percent of my Love" to his girlfriend, with a breakdown for where the other 92% was going.

* [[Abnormal Ammo|Abnormal Weapon]]: The Mathnetters on ''Mathnet'' carry calculators as their primary weapons, instead of handguns.

* [[As Himself]]: In ''Mathnet'', Sam and Steve, played by real life LAPD officers Sam Salazar and Steve Fellman.

* [[The Bermuda Triangle]]: In a "Mathnet" segment titled "The Case of the Bermuda Triangle," Pat and George debunk the Bermuda Triangle myth on television, leading to a case where a sunken boat could prove a man's innocence of treason.

* [[Cliff Hanger]]: Generally used at the end of every ''Mathnet'' segment except the final one in a set.

* [[Day of the Week Name]]: Kate Monday, Pat Tuesday.

* [[Droste Image]]: Used in a sketch to demonstrate the concept of infinity.

* [[Evil Gloating]]: Inverted in a ''Mathman'' sequence where Mathman disputes the idea that math is only used in school. Unfortunately, he monologues so long that he neglects the seven-second timer, and gets eaten.

* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: In the music video for "Graph of Love", the intro concerns a group of teenage girls noticing that a friend's relationship must've gotten serious, as there is a "diagram" in her purse.

** Part 5 of the ''Mathnet'' episode "The Trial of George Frankly", when the real George arrives at the courtroom, with just his undershirt and heart boxers, to expose the fake one.

** Likewise, the original ''Mathman'' pilot had Mathman eat numbers that were smaller than 1/2. In that episode, the narrator says "When a number crosses your path...", instead of the usual "When you encounter a number...". An extremely earlier version of that episode (Mathman approaching a 1/3) can also be seen briefly in the opening credits to seasons 1-3, with a very funny-looking early version of Mathman and Mr. Glitch.

** '''Season 1 -''' 101-175

** '''Season 2 -''' 201-240

** '''Season 5 -''' 501-535

* [[Every Episode Ending]]: Each episode of ''Mathnet'' usually ended with George Frankly and Kate Monday (later Pat Tuesday) giving each other a high-five, followed by a picture of the recently-arrested criminal, and a narrator explaining what became of said criminal.

* [[Goofy Print Underwear]]: ''The Trial of George Frankly''.

* [[Hey, It's That Guy!]]: In the original Los Angeles-based episodes of ''Mathnet'', the chief, Thad Green, was played by [[James Earl Jones]]. Despite a change in chiefs with the move to New York City, Jones made one appearance via phone in a season 4 episode.

* [[Kaizo Trap]]: Mr. Glitch once ate Mathman ''[[The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard|during the introduction]].''

* [[Laser-Guided Karma]]: Mr. Glitch cheated a couple of times, eating Mathman too soon. When Mr. Glitch himself ran the maze, he screwed up quickly, once getting eaten by Mathman's dog.

* [[Latex Perfection]]: The fake George Frankly in one episode of ''Mathnet'' was revealed to be wearing a latex mask.

* [[Meaningful Name]]: If you can puzzle out what Mrs. I.O. Privacy's first and middle names were, {{spoiler|you'd know that she dood it}}.

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: In the ''Mathnet'' episode, "The Problem of the Missing Monkey", George makes a reference to the fictional movie star, [[Sylvester Stallone|Sly Balboa]].

* [[No Pronunciation Guide]]: In "The Trial of George Frankly" episode of ''Mathnet'', there's a running gag about the pronunciation of the last name of the two criminals (two brothers) that might be trying to have George framed for a bank robbery.

* [[Parody Commercial]]: "'Oops' is brought to you by erasers! Don't make a mistake without one!"

* [[Ratings]]: Primarily the subject in an episode of ''Mathnet'' called "The Case of the Deceptive Data". Beloved children's programming host, Mike Pliers, lost his show due to poor ratings, which were more in favor of ''The Viscious Vinnie Vermin Show''. But it was later revealed that {{spoiler|the ratings were all a lie, that the people who allegedly watched Vinnie Vermin, were actually fans of Mike Pliers. To make matters worse, the ratings were tampered with by none other than Vinnie Vermin himself, who also was a representative for the Hoover Ratings System named Wellworth Watching.}}

** Mathman wears a Michigan helmet.

** This memorable line from the ''Mathnet'' episode "The Trial of George Frankly":

* [[Signature Laugh]] - George Frankly of ''Mathnet''.

* [[Spiritual Successor]]: ''Numb3rs'', much like ''Mathnet'', has detectives using mathematics to solve crimes.

* [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]]: When Kate Monday left, Pat Tuesday replaced her.

** Likewise, when ''Mathnet'' moved to New York, Joe Grecco replaced Thad Green as the duo's leader, while Benny Pill replaced Debbie Williams as their technical analyst and back up support.

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{{reflist}}

[[Category:Edutainment Show]]

[[Category:American Series]]