History AlternativeCharacterInterpretation / LiveActionTV

** Sheldon Cooper seems to have Asperger's Syndrome, despite the creators denying this. He displays the usual signs of Asperger's: heightened vocabulary, lack of caring towards people's feelings, monologue-like speeches, difficulty in understanding social norms, obsessions, altered brain chemicals with coffee, etc. He could be "Clark Kenting" to what he thinks all geniuses should be, copying a professor/doctor/whatever who had Autism whom he idolized when he was growing up in a highly religious part of Texas. Now he has become the mask. He has stated twice that his mother had him tested for insanity; signs of being on the autistic spectrum should've popped up, and so he might not have autism. On the other hand, a personality disorder is not "insanity" - and given that Sheldon is extremely LiteralMinded he may be just [[MathematiciansAnswer reacting]] to the terms "insane" or "crazy" [[ExactWords only]]. Also, his mother mentioned (in [=S05E06=] "The Rhinitis Revelation") after confirming that she had him tested as a child and he's fine:

*** Those sound more like symptoms of TV Asperger's than real Asperger's.

*** Or he was successfully diagnosed with autism as a child and, quite simply, no one feels the need to bring it up on any regular basis.
*** There have been lots of hints (some subtle, some not so subtle) that Sheldon's family life was not exactly ideal: his father was an abusive drunk and his mother uses religion as a form of denial. Losing his father no doubt added to the trauma. And then there was the analogy Sheldon once drew between schmoozing wealthy university donors for grant funding to being molested in the back of a van...[[{{Squick}} which was probably a little ''too'' descriptive]] for the otherwise overly literal Sheldon to be making an extended metaphor. One gets the impression that Sheldon's childhood was horror even leaving aside the bullying he experienced as a result of his obnoxious personality. Combined with at least three severe emotional breakdowns we've seen him have, Sheldon's arrogance and aloofness may well be a defense mechanism which is breaking down over time.
*** Another aspect of his home life that might be affecting his social ability: Sheldon is extremely logical and scientific. His mother is TheFundamentalist. He was raised by someone who, from his perspective, believes in irrational superstitions that there is no evidence for. He would have been terrified at living with and being raised by a person who went around talking about, or even to, a being that doesn't exist; imagine hearing the story of Abraham (almost) sacrificing his son, and worrying that your own mother will act this out on you.
*** It gets worse when Sheldon talks about how his grandfather was the only one in the family who ever encouraged him to pursue science, and how his father and siblings treated him. Sheldon's mom is usually played as nice, but some of her comments, which border on racist, if unwitting, really show she's not all that better from Leonard's mom, just on the other side of the spectrum(Science vs. Religion). She's a fundamentalist who seems to have a very old-fashioned and limited view on the world, which she took just to compensate for her husband's cheating and uses it as a crutch to keep going. She could be [[InnocentBigot just ignorant]], but sometimes she seems like an unbuilt form of [[Franchise/HarryPotter Dolores]] [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain Umbridge]]. Everyone just tends to look the other way because she's nicer than Leonard's mom and tends to put a leash on Sheldon's antics, but she may very well BE the reason for Sheldon's antics. She's once described him as "one of God's special children", so she thinks, or at least once thought, he was retarded or insane, and seemingly preached this idea to Sheldon's sister. Sheldon's slightly autistic behavior could be the result of being treated as one, despite and because of his genius intellect.

*** Perhaps with a bit of {{Fridge Brilliance}} - he claims ''"I'm not insane, my mother had me tested"'' - well, a personality disorder is not '''insanity''' - [[MathematiciansAnswer strictly speaking]].

*** It's worth noting that just as Autistics have varying levels of intellectual functionality, Aspergics also have varying levels of social functionality - some can limp along with encouragement, and some, like Sheldon, can be almost crippled by their literal thinking.

** Is Penny secretly a Trekkie? Most of the times that she accidentally reveals a geeky side, it has to do with Star Trek. See her mentioning Leonard and the guys not "having their shields up" to the new neighbor; she recognized Leonard Nimoy on sight when he came into the restaurant and got his autograph; she was able to contradict Sheldon's claim about the Kobayashi Maru by knowing that "Kirk cheated"; and most tellingly, she tries to comfort Sheldon with an anecdote from the Star Trek movie, that he missed when he and all the other guys were in the arctic. With all of them gone, did she actually go to see the movie on her own initiative?

* Lorelai loves her daughter cleary and unconditionally, to the point of viewing her as a paragon of pure perfection, and raised her as such. You s this because she genuinely feels this way and, like all parents, views her child through Rose tinted glasses? Or is it because she feels her daughter is a reflection of her and her parenting, and that if her child is indeed perfect, it combats any and all critics that say she “made a mistake” in getting pregnant as a teenager and that she herself is a “perfect” parent? It’s worth noting that all the fights between Rory and Lorelai happen whenever the latter is forced (usually against her will) to acknowledge that the former is FAR from perfect, and actually has faults and flaws.

* The surprisingly large ''Series/LazyTown'' fandom is known for its interpretations of character backstories. Fanfiction writers often give Robbie Rotten a tragic past. A few diehards have created interpretations of the mythical "Number Nine", mentioned only in one episode. A lot of fan theories revolve around Nine being Sportacus' father.
** Another story interpretation is in [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.55409#404534 this thread]]; Robbie Rotten is a TragicHero, and the series actually takes place AfterTheEnd so his goal to keep the kids inside is actually to protect them from radiation.

** Skeen's words and actions after the [[TheHeist Aldhani heist]] invites some speculation from the fans. To summarize: the heist almost went completely wrong at the last minute, and a good portion of the team either died at the scene, leaving only Cassian, Skeen, Vel, and a critically injured Nemik to escape in the freighter. While a doctor is operating on Nemik and Vel is with them, Skeen comes to Cassian and proposes taking the entire enormous haul for themselves and making a run for it. Most fans take this at face value, given that we learned earlier that Skeen is a [[TattooedCrook tattooed ex-crook]] and in a later episode it's noted that Luthen was concerned about Skeen's loyalty. However, Skeen had also been paranoid about Cassian ever since Cassian was brought into the operation, so some fans believe that Skeen's offer might have been a test to see if Cassian, who had earlier admitted to being OnlyInItForTheMoney, was willing to backstab the group over the haul. And if one takes Skeen's words at face value, there's still the question of when and why he turned on the group. Did he always hope to take the money for himself, or did temptation only get the better of him because of the casualties the group suffered and how close they all came to dying in the operation? Was Vel's initial reluctance to take Nemik to a doctor (despite the fact that Nemik saved Cassian during the heist and later saved the entire group during the getaway), and her willingness to let the kid die a breaking point for Skeen, or did he only insist on trying to get Nemik treated so it would give him an excuse to conspire with Cassian? Even Skeen's seemingly most clear cut statement, when he tells Cassian "I don't have a brother" (Skeen earlier told Cassian that he joined the Rebellion because the Empire seized his brother's land, leading to the brother's suicide) made some wonder if Skeen was being literal and saying he made up the story entirely, or if he meant it in a more metaphorical way, essentially saying "Hey, my brother's dead, I'm still alive, and I have to look out for myself." This is goes double considering the paranoia Luthen has displayed and the level of knowledge he had about Cassian; it's hard to believe Luthen would have missed such an enormous lie in a recruit's story, and judging by his recruitment of Cassian, Luthen preferred to employ people with genuine grudges against the Empire, or at least very good reason to hate it. (Granted, it's implied Luthen has never met any members of the team besides Vel and maybe Cinta face to face, so Skeen could have been recruited for the position by someone else within Luthen's rebel cell or referred by the underworld contacts Luthen likely has for stealing and transporting Imperial military technology.)

** Connor: AxCrazy with a serious case of OedipusComplex, or unable to overcome his distrust from being trained to hate Angel from infancy and clinging to the only person in his life who's nice to him?

* ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'': The entire family-- are they murderous, or are they just creepy enough to fantasise about murder but not evil enough to actually commit it? A common point of debate is Wednesday's comment in ''The New Addams Family'' about whether Pugsley ate the third Addams sibling.[[note]]Some think this is Pubert from the movie, but that can't be true, since in the movie, Grandmama is Morticia's mother, while in the series, she's Gomez's.[[/note]] Some people interpret this as true, while others interpret it as a bluff.

** Q. Character development aside, it's easy to look at his seemingly immature meddling and misuse of godlike powers as a Film/MaryPoppins act. There are hundreds of possible interpretations for Q out there; is he a maladjusted PsychopathicManchild who uses mortals as toys for his amusement, FauxAffablyEvil, a harmless childish prankster, a ChaoticGood rebel struggling against his people's repressive society, a supremely alien being following some BlueandOrangeMorality only he understands, humanity's self-appointed TricksterMentor, is he all? None? Is it even possible to give him labels? The appearances he's made throughout the franchise strongly imply that Q is acting as a TricksterMentor, as he shows up with a purpose of making those he encounters more aware of the world around them and better for it. Rarely does a Q episode not result in this ending.

** Skeen's words and actions after the [[TheHeist Aldhani heist]] invites some speculation from the fans. To summarize: the heist almost went completely wrong at the last minute, and a good portion of the team either died at the scene (or, in Cinta's case, was left behind to find a way to sneak off planet later), leaving only Cassian, Skeen, Vel, and a critically injured Nemik to escape in the freighter. While Vel is with Nemik while a doctor is attempting to operate on him, Skeen comes to Cassian and proposes taking the entire enormous haul for themselves and making a run for it. Most fans take this at face value, given that Skeen is a [[TattooedCrook tattooed ex-crook]] and in a later episode it's noted that Luthen was worried about how loyal he would prove to be. However, Skeen had also been paranoid about and wary of Cassian ever since Cassian was brought into the operation, so some fans believe that Skeen's offer might have been a test to see if Cassian, who had earlier admitted to being OnlyInItForTheMoney, was willing to backstab the group over money. Furthermore, if one takes Skeen's words at face value, there's still the question of when and why he turned on the group. Did he always hope to take the money for himself, or did temptation only get the better of him because of the casualties the group suffered and how close they all came to dying in the operation? Was Vel's initial reluctance to take Nemik to a doctor (despite the fact that Nemik saved Cassian during the heist and later saved the entire group during the getaway), and her willingness to let the kid die until Skeen and Cassian overruled her a breaking point for Skeen, or did he only insist on trying to get Nemik treated so it would give him an excuse to conspire with Cassian? Even Skeen's seemingly most clear cut statement, when he tells Cassian "I don't have a brother" (Skeen earlier told Cassian that he joined the Rebellion because of the Empire seizing his brother's land and causing his brother to commit suicide) made some wonder if Skeen was being literal and saying he made up the story entirely, or if he meant it in a more metaphorical way, essentially saying "Hey, my brother's dead and I have to look out for myself now."

* ''AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/TheUmbrellaAcademy2019''

** In ''TB'', Giovanni Sforza is an EntitledBastard [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rapist]] who hates the Borgias but marries one for money, manipulated by Lucrezia and the Pope into declaring himself impotent for [[KickTheSonOfABitch additional shame]]. In ''B:F&F'', he is an insecure NiceGuy that is ''really'' impotent, used as a pawn by his wife and family.

** Skeen's words and actions after the [[TheHeist Aldhani heist]] invites some speculation from the fans. To summarize: the heist almost went completely wrong at the last minute, and a good portion of the team either died at the scene (or, in Cinta's case, was left behind to find a way to sneak off planet later), leaving only Cassian, Skeen, Vel, and a critically injured Nemik to escape in the freighter. While Vel is with Nemik while a doctor is attempting to operate on him, Skeen comes to Cassian and proposes taking the entire enormous haul for themselves and making a run for it. Most fans take this at face value, given that Skeen is a [[TattooedCrook tattooed ex-crook]] and a later episode will note that there were some worries about how loyal he would prove to be. However, Skeen had also been paranoid about and wary of Cassian ever since Cassian was brought into the operation, so some fans believe that Skeen's offer might have been a test to see if Cassian, who had earlier admitted to being OnlyInItForTheMoney, intended to try to backstab everyone and take all the cash for himself. Furthermore, if one takes Skeen's words at face value, there's still the question of when and why he turned on the group. Did he always hope to take the money for himself, or did temptation only get the better of him because of the casualties the group suffered and how close they all came to dying in the operation? Was Vel's initial reluctance to take Nemik to a doctor and her willingness to let the kid die until Skeen and Cassian insisted on trying to get treatment for the younger man what pushed Skeen over the edge, or did he only insist on trying to get Nemik treated so it would give him an excuse to try to conspire with Cassian? Even Skeen's seemingly most clear cut statement, when he tells Cassian "I don't have a brother" (Skeen earlier told Cassian that he joined the Rebellion because of the Empire seizing his brother's land and causing his brother to commit suicide) made some wonder if Skeen was admitting to having made up the story about having a brother entirely, or if he meant it in a more metaphorical way, essentially saying "Hey, my brother's dead and I have to look out for myself."

* Discussed in an episode of ''Series/JonathanCreek'', when Jonathan receives a EurekaMoment after seeing a reproduction of Edvard Munch's ''The Scream''. He reveals that his inspiration was that sometimes you need to look at something from a completely different perspective in order to solve a mystery and brings up an alternative interpretation some art historians have about the painting; that instead of depicting someone screaming in horror as is commonly believed, it in fact depicts someone ''hearing'' a scream and reacting in horror.

** And is Ben Linus a power hungry sociopath, or just a man who's life has has slowly destroyed by a Jerkass God with nothing but a promise of destiny, forcing him into killing people due to being obedient to His orders? Notice he never kills anyone who is an innocent, only targeting those who threaten the Island in some way (excluding Keamy and Widmore, but they were the ones who had [[spoiler: his daughter killed]], and admit it, Keamy had it coming...)

** The season 1 finale implies the MadScientist from "Red Kiss" is working for the Valhalla Project (or is at least their UnwittingPawn) as Wylie recounts all of their rumored projects. However, the scientist's dialogue in "Red Kiss" (and his lack of military bodyguards or advanced technology) also gives rise to some additional possibilities that he's a WellIntentionedExtremist working to counter the Valhalla Project's actions or a mere SnakeOilSalesman who lies to justify his actions to Kurdy and/or himself. Likewise, Farralon from "City of Roses" is working on a vaccine project that seems to be benefitting the Valhalla Sector, but some minor heroic characters seem to trust that he is working to contain the virus rather than help weaponize it (although they could be wrong) and he seems understaffed given what the Valhalla Sector has. Whether the two scientists are truly operating on behalf of the Valhalla Sector or are only reacting to Valhalla Sector scientists bringing back the disease to other areas is never positively confirmed.

* ''Series/{{Jeremiah}}'': The season 1 finale implies the MadScientist from "Red Kiss" is working for the Valhalla Project (or us at least their UnwittingPawn) as Wylie recounts all of their rumored projects. However, the scientist's dialogue in "Red Kiss" also gives rise to some additional possibilities that he's a WellIntentionedExtremist working to counter the Valhalla Project's actions or a mere SnakeOilSalesman who lies to justify his actions to Kurdy and/or himself.

* Sam Puckett of Series/ICarly displays classic signs of [[TheSociopath sociopathy]] such as a lack of empathy and guilt, a parasitic lifestyle (leeching money off Carly and the gang), impulsiveness, poor behavior control (always beating Freddy and everyone else), being manipulative (any time she makes up a plan), being emotionally shallow, a poster child of juvenile delinquency, superficial charm, need for stimulation (the eagerness of her wanting to hurt someone or make them suffer) as a way to relieve boredom. Also Carly could know this already and willing to exploit it as she rarely has qualms about Sam beating Freddie mercilessly on any occasion and the fact that in "[=ILookalikes=]" she doesn't bother letting Spencer get beat up and go against his wishes a lot of the time. She could be a two-faced bitch that just manipulates people to get the highest ratings on the internet for her show in a smaller case of sociopathy.