39,327
edits
TV Genius: Difference between revisions
m
Mass update links
(Import from TV Tropes TVT:Main.TVGenius 2012-07-01, editor history TVTH:Main.TVGenius, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported license) |
m (Mass update links) |
||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
In TV land, it seems, intelligence isn't just a matter of being able to learn quicker, reason better, and understand more easily. The [[TV Genius]] is what you get when intelligent characters conform to an unintelligent person's idea of how an intelligent person acts. A [[TV Genius]] bears [[Improbably High IQ|an impossibly or immeasurably high IQ]], never uses a short word [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness|when a sententious alternative might elicit advantageous conversation]], and has the full package of exaggerated traits and strange behaviors Hollywoodland associates with "big brains". This is especially obvious when [[You Suck|the lead character]] is [[Viewers
While intellectuals often do have interest in obscure topics, the [[TV Genius]] is inexplicably baffled that other people have different interests than themselves. Their only pastimes will be [[Genius Book Club|reading thick tomes]] and [[Smart People Play Chess|playing chess]]. They will frequently rattle off statistics and calculations to [[Ludicrous Precision|implausible degrees of precision]]. These may be relevant to the plot at hand but not their assumed field of study; statistics and math articles are like Playboy magazines to these folks.
In social situations, a [[TV Genius]] will come across like a human robot: their brain is so filled with jargon and minutiae that it leaves no room for [[No Social Skills|interpersonal skills and social graces]]: either they have no idea how to communicate their thoughts without seeming blunt and insensitive , or they carry themselves with a sort of overbearing arrogance that comes from remaining emotionally detached and logical-minded in contrast to their sentimental colleagues (a la [[The Spock]]) and can expect to be the [[Straw Vulcan|token Vulcan]] of a [[Five
If a character becomes smarter, for instance through a [[Transformation Ray]], [[Screw Learning I Have Phlebotinum|they'll instantly acquire all sorts of knowledge that they never actually learned at any point.]] Someone who becomes suddenly smarter may also suddenly acquire a lab coat and [[Nerd Glasses]] and start speaking like [[Spock Speak|Mr. Spock]], though this is usually limited to the more comedic examples. They may learn to appreciate their 'normalness' from the inner unhappiness that comes from being too smart for one's own good.
Line 12:
Often overlaps with [[Ambiguous Disorder]]. Compare [[The Rainman]], a.k.a. the [[TV Genius]] taken [[Up to Eleven]]. The [[Teen Genius]], [[Mad Scientist]], and [[Extraverted Nerd]] all contain aspects of this.
See also: [[Science Is Bad]], [[Dumb Is Good]], [[Straw Vulcan]]. When done intentionally (and everyone in the story realizes too that the person is not a real genius) it is [[Know
{{examples
== Anime and Manga ==
Line 69:
** Her primary assistant for the first 3 season, Zack Addy, is an even better example, to the point where [[Word of God]] is that he does have Asperger's, but is undiagnosed.
** The show subverts this somewhat with the other [[Smart Guy]] of the show, Jack Hodgins. He's likable enough to hang out and have a beer with ex-military guys, and dates a number of women, including {{spoiler|co-worker and [[The Chick]] Angela}}.
* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'''s Willow is something of a subversion. Despite having a formidable IQ and computer hacking skills, [[Buffy
* Almost everyone on ''[[Frasier]]''.
** At first blush, perhaps. As his character had to move closer to normality when he became the lead in his own series, Frasier himself is only intermittently this when his social aspirations get the better of him - as he himself says, "I'm a teamster compared to [Niles]" and, in a direct reference to ''Cheers'', "I used to have a regular bar and a regular bar stool, I even had a tab". He does seem to be largely aware of his social shortcomings compared to "normal" people like his father and Roz, while at the same time occasionally happily going to barbecues with his work colleagues or joining his father down at his local bar for a beer. Even Niles's self-awareness increases throughout the series.
Line 76:
* Subverted in ''[[Malcolm in The Middle]]''. The title character has a genius IQ, but deliberately the only way the writers ever actually showed this was in spending days coming up with complex solutions to the problems of an episode, then portraying Malcolm as coming up with the same ideas in seconds.
** Also, Malcolm is really irritated by his classmates who exhibit stereotypical nerdish behaviour.
* Billy of ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]''. He is very upset from getting a "B", yet he received the grade because he didn't have even an elementary school level knowledge of insects. There's also Dr. K of ''[[Power Rangers RPM (TV)|Power Rangers RPM]]'', but she's justified as essentially being [[For Science!|Raised For Science!]] and being very [[No Social Skills|screwed up]] as a result.
* In the 4th-season episode of ''[[Star Trek the Next Generation]]'' called "The Nth Degree", Lieutenant Barclay is struck by a Cytherian probe and becomes a [[TV Genius]].
** Though at least they give an explanation for how he suddenly had knowledge he couldn't possibly have acquired normally.
Line 114:
== Western Animation ==
* The title character of ''[[Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius]]'' is an elementary school student who is not only excessively prone to [[Techno Babble]] and [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness]], but has invented time travel, faster-than-light warp engines, [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|and the best candy in the history of all existence and everything.]] [[Throw It In|Also,]] he has a [[My Brain Is Big|giant head.]]
* In an episode of the ''[[Aladdin (Disney)|Aladdin]]'' cartoon series, Aladdin's head was separated from his body. The head, containing the brain, suddenly became a [[TV Genius]] and was able to spout scientific knowledge that ''no one'' in this period (barring perhaps genies) should have access to, such as how nerves work. Aladdin's headless body, containing his good heart, became an embodiment of [[Dumb Is Good]], whereas the head turned into an [[Anvilicious]] [[Straw Vulcan]].
* ''[[Ben 10 (Animation)|Ben 10]]'' has a morph, Grey Matter, that greatly increases his intelligence. As Grey Matter, Ben knows a lot of information that he couldn't possibly know, speaks in unnecessarily long words (unlike his usual, typical ten-year-old method of speech), and appears to lose common sense and the ability to talk to normal people (when asked "where are you?" he begins to give information that could find his geographical position, such where he is in reference to a mountain, until prompted for the name of a street).
Line 132:
** Mostly averted with Lisa -- while she sometimes has problems with [[Intelligence Equals Isolation]], she's actually one of the most well-adjusted characters on the show. Her level of knowledge ''is'' totally implausible for an eight-year-old, but it depends entirely on [[Rule of Funny]].
*** Lisa does at very least have [[Insufferable Genius]] qualities and on occasion is rather blindly obnoxious and self serving in her ethics, to the point of being a [[Soapbox Sadie]]. She also has some obvious [[Innocent Prodigy|childlike follies]] on occasion. These flaws obviously became less significant as the rest of the cast was Flanderized excessively but her shortcomings still show on occasion.
* Brainy Smurf from ''[[The Smurfs]]'', with his [[Nerd Glasses]] and library full of self-written books, is arrogant and condescending, always ready to boast about his vast intellect while being a top-notch [[Know
* Patrick of ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants (Animation)|SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' was once made smart for an episode, but he voluntarily returned to stupidity after he realized he was turning into an [[Insufferable Genius]] and growing apart from [[SpongeBob]].
* In ''[[Transformers Generation 1]]'', Grimlock gets an IQ boost after chewing into a supercomputer. Not only does it boost his intellect, it makes his speech far more intelligible to the point of snooty. He becomes the go-to guy for the Autobots' problems, but the rest of the Dinobots don't think he's fun anymore.
| |||