They Called Me Mad: Difference between revisions

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* Subverted in the sixth ''[[Pokémon]]'' movie. The mad scientist in question, a member of Team Magma, was shunned because his method of resurrecting Groudon ''didn't work''. This leads him to become obsessed with finding a way to do it right, just so he can show them. {{spoiler|He ends up succeeding, sort of, though [[Nightmare Fuel|it's definitely not what he expected.]]}}
* Subverted in the sixth ''[[Pokémon]]'' movie. The mad scientist in question, a member of Team Magma, was shunned because his method of resurrecting Groudon ''didn't work''. This leads him to become obsessed with finding a way to do it right, just so he can show them. {{spoiler|He ends up succeeding, sort of, though [[Nightmare Fuel|it's definitely not what he expected.]]}}
* In ''[[Angel Cop]],'' the friendly mad scientist who rebuilt Raiden as a cyborg (no, not ''that'' [[Metal Gear|Raiden]]) gloats that those who once mocked his genius would now be destroyed by it. Raiden makes short work of all the bad guys attacking the facility.
* In ''[[Angel Cop]],'' the friendly mad scientist who rebuilt Raiden as a cyborg (no, not ''that'' [[Metal Gear|Raiden]]) gloats that those who once mocked his genius would now be destroyed by it. Raiden makes short work of all the bad guys attacking the facility.
* This is Waver Velvet's motivation for joining the Holy Grail War in ''[[Fate/Zero]]''. After Lord El-Melloi tore up his "delusional" thesis<ref>"Delusional" because it attacked the accepted belief that ability in magecraft was determined by lineage and effectively fixed at birth</ref>, Waver stole the catalyst needed to summon his Servant and entered the war in hopes to prove that his low-birth status didn't hinder his skill in magic.
* This is Waver Velvet's motivation for joining the Holy Grail War in ''[[Fate/Zero]]''. After Lord El-Melloi tore up his "delusional" thesis,<ref>"Delusional" because it attacked the accepted belief that ability in magecraft was determined by lineage and effectively fixed at birth</ref> Waver stole the catalyst needed to summon his Servant and entered the war in hopes to prove that his low-birth status didn't hinder his skill in magic.




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* Alfred Bester's wonderful short time-travel story ''The Men Who Murdered Mohammed'' notes that "The patient reader is too familiar with the conventional mad professor, undersized and over-browed, creating monsters in his laboratory which invariably turn on their maker and menace his [[Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter|lovely daughter]]. This story isn't about that sort of make-believe man. It is about Henry Hassel, a genuine mad professor..." It goes on to contain one of the best lines from short SF: "In exactly seven and one-half minutes (such was his rage) he put together a time machine (such was his genius)."
* Alfred Bester's wonderful short time-travel story ''The Men Who Murdered Mohammed'' notes that "The patient reader is too familiar with the conventional mad professor, undersized and over-browed, creating monsters in his laboratory which invariably turn on their maker and menace his [[Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter|lovely daughter]]. This story isn't about that sort of make-believe man. It is about Henry Hassel, a genuine mad professor..." It goes on to contain one of the best lines from short SF: "In exactly seven and one-half minutes (such was his rage) he put together a time machine (such was his genius)."
* A minor character from the history of the ''[[Discworld]]'' seems to have had to deal with this trope. Achmed The Mad, Necromancer and compiler of the Necrotelicomnicon, was apparently irked by his most common moniker and preferred to be known as 'Achmed the I Just Get These Headaches'.
* A minor character from the history of the ''[[Discworld]]'' seems to have had to deal with this trope. Achmed The Mad, Necromancer and compiler of the Necrotelicomnicon, was apparently irked by his most common moniker and preferred to be known as 'Achmed the I Just Get These Headaches'.
** It seems to be rather common among [[Mad Scientist|Mad Scientists]] in [[Discworld]], to the point where its absence is noted by [[The Igor]] in ''[[Discworld/Making Money|Making Money]]'', who comments that he finds it easier to perform his work if his employer is indulging in an [[Evil Laugh]] and saying things like "They said I was mad, but this will show them!".
** It seems to be rather common among [[Mad Scientist]]s in [[Discworld]], to the point where its absence is noted by [[The Igor]] in ''[[Discworld/Making Money|Making Money]]'', who comments that he finds it easier to perform his work if his employer is indulging in an [[Evil Laugh]] and saying things like "They said I was mad, but this will show them!".
* Doctor Impossible of ''[[Soon I Will Be Invincible]]'' receives this treatment for his obsession with the Zeta Dimension, though he's also a [[Super Villain]] because his vast intellect [[Science-Related Memetic Disorder|compels him to be so]].
* Doctor Impossible of ''[[Soon I Will Be Invincible]]'' receives this treatment for his obsession with the Zeta Dimension, though he's also a [[Super Villain]] because his vast intellect [[Science-Related Memetic Disorder|compels him to be so]].
* The astronomer in ''[[The Little Prince]]'' who discovered Asteroid B-612 got this treatment - not for anything particularly revolutionary in his work, but because he presented it while wearing traditional Turkish costume. A subsequent presentation in western dress was better received.
* The astronomer in ''[[The Little Prince]]'' who discovered Asteroid B-612 got this treatment - not for anything particularly revolutionary in his work, but because he presented it while wearing traditional Turkish costume. A subsequent presentation in western dress was better received.
* Non-SF example: In Conan Doyle's [[Sherlock Holmes]] story "The Dying Detective," Culverton Smith is a skilled amateur scientist--working with diseases--but the scientific community doesn't take him seriously (seeing him not as mad, but just not a serious scientist), which embitters him.
* Non-SF example: In Conan Doyle's [[Sherlock Holmes]] story "The Dying Detective," Culverton Smith is a skilled amateur scientist—working with diseases—but the scientific community doesn't take him seriously (seeing him not as mad, but just not a serious scientist), which embitters him.
* In ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' former Maester Qyburn is a magical version, stripped of his chain by the Citadel for his research into magic and what lies beyond death. While the Citadel does appear to disapprove of magic, the main reason was probably that his research involved ''vivisecting'' people. He seems pretty normal most of the time, but it's worth noting that he's had two known jobs since that happened: as a member of a famously vicious band of sellswords who wouldn't care if he cut open the odd screaming prisoner, and as spymaster for someone whose massive paranoia supplied him with ready access to well sound-proofed dungeon cells and people who should never be seen again.
* In ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' former Maester Qyburn is a magical version, stripped of his chain by the Citadel for his research into magic and what lies beyond death. While the Citadel does appear to disapprove of magic, the main reason was probably that his research involved ''vivisecting'' people. He seems pretty normal most of the time, but it's worth noting that he's had two known jobs since that happened: as a member of a famously vicious band of sellswords who wouldn't care if he cut open the odd screaming prisoner, and as spymaster for someone whose massive paranoia supplied him with ready access to well sound-proofed dungeon cells and people who should never be seen again.


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** In the [[Alternate Universe]] episode where the Stargate was never discovered, Jackson had been reduced to teaching English as a Second Language classes.
** In the [[Alternate Universe]] episode where the Stargate was never discovered, Jackson had been reduced to teaching English as a Second Language classes.
** This happens to both Daniel Jackson and his grandfather. The man found a crystal skull, said it was made by aliens and was laughed at for 40 years. ''Even by Daniel, as they laughed at each other.'' He fell into depression and had himself committed to a mental institution. And later [[Stay with the Aliens|stayed with the aliens.]]
** This happens to both Daniel Jackson and his grandfather. The man found a crystal skull, said it was made by aliens and was laughed at for 40 years. ''Even by Daniel, as they laughed at each other.'' He fell into depression and had himself committed to a mental institution. And later [[Stay with the Aliens|stayed with the aliens.]]
* Meanwhile, in another corner of the Stargateverse, Dr. Rodney McKay fulfils the same role on ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]''. In one episode, he is invited to a symposium by an old rival, and is summarily mocked by the entire theoretical physics community for his lack of (unclassified) output -- including [[Bill Nye the Science Guy]] and Stephen Hawking -- even after he saves the world from behind the scenes. On the plus side, he gets the girl at the end of the episode. On top of all this, his sister is generally considered the smarter one, despite the fact that she retired from physics to become a stay-at-home mom. She occasionally helps out when Rodney or Atlantis is stuck.
* Meanwhile, in another corner of the Stargateverse, Dr. Rodney McKay fulfils the same role on ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]''. In one episode, he is invited to a symposium by an old rival, and is summarily mocked by the entire theoretical physics community for his lack of (unclassified) output—including [[Bill Nye the Science Guy]] and Stephen Hawking—even after he saves the world from behind the scenes. On the plus side, he gets the girl at the end of the episode. On top of all this, his sister is generally considered the smarter one, despite the fact that she retired from physics to become a stay-at-home mom. She occasionally helps out when Rodney or Atlantis is stuck.
* The scent guy in ''[[Pushing Daisies]].''
* The scent guy in ''[[Pushing Daisies]].''
* ''[[Black Books]]'' briefly parodies this as Bernard deteriorates under stress into a "[[Mad Scientist]]" as he and his friend/BumblingSidekick try to create a replacement for a priceless bottle of wine they have inadvertently drunk.
* ''[[Black Books]]'' briefly parodies this as Bernard deteriorates under stress into a "[[Mad Scientist]]" as he and his friend/BumblingSidekick try to create a replacement for a priceless bottle of wine they have inadvertently drunk.
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* Walter Bishop of ''[[Fringe]]'' owns this trope. Of course, Walter spent the better part of two decades in a psychiatric hospital after having had parts of his brain literally ''removed'' by his oldest friend, at his own request. They called him mad because he ''was'' mad.
* Walter Bishop of ''[[Fringe]]'' owns this trope. Of course, Walter spent the better part of two decades in a psychiatric hospital after having had parts of his brain literally ''removed'' by his oldest friend, at his own request. They called him mad because he ''was'' mad.
* In ''[[SCTV]]'' - mad scientist Dr. Tongue, hammily emoting "They laughed at me in Budapest...THEY LAUGHED AT ME IN PRAGUE!!!" - hunchback assistant Bruno chimes in "They laughed at you in Buffalo too."
* In ''[[SCTV]]'' - mad scientist Dr. Tongue, hammily emoting "They laughed at me in Budapest...THEY LAUGHED AT ME IN PRAGUE!!!" - hunchback assistant Bruno chimes in "They laughed at you in Buffalo too."
* Mad Scientist Dr. Mehendri Solon in ''Dr Who,'' "The Brain of Morbius." He combines this with fanatical devotion to the defeated evil Time Lord Morbius--his unholy experiments are to give Morbius a new body.
* Mad Scientist Dr. Mehendri Solon in ''Dr Who,'' "The Brain of Morbius." He combines this with fanatical devotion to the defeated evil Time Lord Morbius—his unholy experiments are to give Morbius a new body.
* One episode of ''[[Get Smart]]'' featured a Control agent who developed a formula that turns people older by being applied to their photographs and later kills those people by having their photographs ripped. The Chief didn't believe the idea. Because of this, the agent decided to sell the formula to Kaos, where he did get a chance to show the formula does work.
* One episode of ''[[Get Smart]]'' featured a Control agent who developed a formula that turns people older by being applied to their photographs and later kills those people by having their photographs ripped. The Chief didn't believe the idea. Because of this, the agent decided to sell the formula to Kaos, where he did get a chance to show the formula does work.


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* ''[[Order of the Stick]]'', [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0345.html here]: "NOW who is advancing the cause of environmental preservation?"
* ''[[Order of the Stick]]'', [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0345.html here]: "NOW who is advancing the cause of environmental preservation?"
* [http://www.absurdnotions.org/an20000316.gif This] ''Absurd Notions'' strip.
* [http://www.absurdnotions.org/an20000316.gif This] ''Absurd Notions'' strip.
* ''[[Girl Genius]]'' -- See the title on the right book on the second shelf in the second panel [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040204 here]?
* ''[[Girl Genius]]''—See the title on the right book on the second shelf in the second panel [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040204 here]?
** It runneth over with [[Mad Scientist|Mad Scientists]], so this is a surprisingly restrained example [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090109\].
** It runneth over with [[Mad Scientist]]s, so this is a surprisingly restrained example [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090109\].
** Othar's [[Twitter]] also shows a mild one: [http://twitter.com/#!/Othar/status/17434649633 Part 1] [http://twitter.com/#!/Othar/status/17593592230 Part 2].
** Othar's [[Twitter]] also shows a mild one: [http://twitter.com/#!/Othar/status/17434649633 Part 1] [http://twitter.com/#!/Othar/status/17593592230 Part 2].
* Touched upon with [http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1010 Hannelore's father] in ''[[Questionable Content]]''.
* Touched upon with [http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1010 Hannelore's father] in ''[[Questionable Content]]''.
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/They_Called_Me_Mad"