The Professor: Difference between revisions

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[[File:Doc-~~Brown_5440~~.jpg|link=Back to The Future|right]]

[[File:Doc-Brown 5440.jpg|link=Back to The Future|right]]

{{quote|'''Hermes Conrad''': Professor, can you [[Plug N Play Technology|wire my head directly into the BattleGrid]]?<br />

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The [[Super Intelligence|nearly impossibly]] [[The Smart Guy|smart guy]]; A [[Stock Character]] exemplified on ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'' and ''[[MacGyver]]''. Probably started off as a [[Teen Genius]] and is capable of many an [[Ass Pull]], [[Deus Ex Machina]], or, um, [[Reverse Polarity|Polarity Reversal]]. May or may not rely on [[Techno Babble]]. Is the source of much [[Applied Phlebotinum]], but is incapable of providing a solution that would thwart the show's premise (the Professor couldn't get the rest of the gang off that darn island, Ziggy couldn't bring Sam home on ''[[Quantum Leap]]''). Often gets to be [[Mr. Exposition]]. Fluent in [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness]] and [[Sounds of Science]]. If he plays a game, it's inevitably [[Chess]], because [[Smart People Play Chess]].

Compare [[Omnidisciplinary Scientist]] and [[Absent-Minded Professor]], may study a [[Fantastic Science]] instead of a regular one. May have hints of being a [[SPOCK]], but this is usually not central to the figure. Combining this figure with the [[Mad Scientist]] is a common subversion. Sometimes, in fact, The Professor ''is'' an ex-[[Mad Scientist]] who has pulled a [[Heel Face Turn]] and now works for the good guys. Or just a [[Reluctant Mad Scientist]] or sufferer of [[Science-Related Memetic Disorder]] who happens to not be evil. Or a regular [[Mad Scientist]] among [[Villain Protagonist~~|Villain Protagonists~~]].

Compare [[Omnidisciplinary Scientist]] and [[Absent-Minded Professor]], may study a [[Fantastic Science]] instead of a regular one. May have hints of being a [[SPOCK]], but this is usually not central to the figure. Combining this figure with the [[Mad Scientist]] is a common subversion. Sometimes, in fact, The Professor ''is'' an ex-[[Mad Scientist]] who has pulled a [[Heel Face Turn]] and now works for the good guys. Or just a [[Reluctant Mad Scientist]] or sufferer of [[Science-Related Memetic Disorder]] who happens to not be evil. Or a regular [[Mad Scientist]] among [[Villain Protagonist]]s.

Contrast the more pragmatic [[Gadgeteer Genius]] who is more of an eccentric [[Mr. Fixit]] who constructs elaborate [[Rube Goldberg Device~~|Rube Goldberg Devices~~]]. [[The Professor]] can be Mr Fixit too, provided he [[Reed Richards Is Useless|gets it working on the first try]].

Contrast the more pragmatic [[Gadgeteer Genius]] who is more of an eccentric [[Mr. Fixit]] who constructs elaborate [[Rube Goldberg Device]]s. '''The Professor''' can be Mr Fixit too, provided he [[Reed Richards Is Useless|gets it working on the first try]].

If The Professor is quite older than the [[Five-Man Band]] / [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits]] / [[Nakama]] he works with, he's very likely to be the [[Team Dad]] or [[Team Dad|Team Grandpa]].

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* ''Faust'' is possibly the granddaddy of this trope. Although he has been presented in different lights, Christopher Marlowe depicted him as the most learned scholar on earth but so hungry for more knowledge that he sold his soul for it. Once this happens, instead of doing anything intelligent, he hits the pope with a fish. It makes sense in context.

* Professor William Race of ''[[Temple]]'' by [[Matthew Reilly]].

* Blackberry of ''[[Watership Down]]'', given his limitations as [[Everythings Better With Bunnies|an animal,]] is also [[The Professor]]. He may not understand the physics involved, but he'll devise plans that rely on buoyancy, tensile strength or leverage just the same.

* Blackberry of ''[[Watership Down]]'', given his limitations as [[Everythings Better With Bunnies|an animal,]] is also The Professor. He may not understand the physics involved, but he'll devise plans that rely on buoyancy, tensile strength or leverage just the same.

== Live Action TV ==

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* On ''[[Doctor Who]]'', Ace called the Seventh Doctor "Professor". Despite his irritation at this sobriquet, all of the Doctor's incarnations have had at least an element of The Professor about them.

** And, of course, there's Professor [[You Are Not Alone|Yana]] from ''Utopia''

* On the Spin of of Doctor Who. The Sarah Jane adventures episode "Death of the Doctor" says that Ian and Barbara became Professor. <ref>Okay it was also said they hadn't aged since the 60's, though that could mean anything.</ref>

* On the Spin of of Doctor Who. The Sarah Jane adventures episode "Death of the Doctor" says that Ian and Barbara became Professor.<ref>Okay it was also said they hadn't aged since the 60's, though that could mean anything.</ref>

* The actual Professor from ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'' (his [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"|rarely-used real name]] was Dr. Roy Hinkley) used lots of [[Bamboo Technology]].

* Mohinder Suresh from ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]''.

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* Scotty from ''[[Star Trek]]''.

** On ''[[The Next Generation]]'', Geordi Laforge and Data often trade off on this role. Whenever the crew needs to do something that doesn't involve diplomacy or combat, it's good odds one (or both) of them will develop the [[Applied Phlebotinum]] solution.

* Dr. Helen Magnus from [[Sanctuary]] is a [[Hot Scientist|hot]] [[Omnidisciplinary Scientist|scientist]] who specializes in [[Fantastic Science|crypto-zoology and xenobiology.]] Very much [[The Professor]].

* Dr. Helen Magnus from [[Sanctuary]] is a [[Hot Scientist|hot]] [[Omnidisciplinary Scientist|scientist]] who specializes in [[Fantastic Science|crypto-zoology and xenobiology.]] Very much The Professor.

* Ray Langston from [[CSI]], who actually picked up the nickname "The Professor" due to his being one before becoming a CSI.