History Series / TheChampions

[[quoteright:188:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Champions_3508.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:188:[[Music/{{Queen}} They are The Champions, my friend.]] Left to right: Craig, Richard and Sharron.]]

* BackToBackBadasses: A lot.

* CheshireCatGrin: All of them have it at some point or another when coming up with a plan that one of the others won't like.

* DeadpanSnarker: All of them, of one sort or another, though the award for best (and most frequent) snarker must go to Richard.

* InnateNightVision: Another of their powers.

* PowerTrio
* PsychicLink: The Champions can experience one another's emotions and see through the other's eyes if the emotion is strong enough (which, yes, includes the, erm, romantic ones), and Craig and Richard feel phantom pains when the other is getting tortured.

* SuperSenses: They have much better hearing than normal humans and they can also hear frequencies that are unheard by the normal human ear, which combined with them being able to speak at a different frequency allows them to communicate without being overheard.

!!

!!!Tropes shared by The Champions

* CasualDangerDialog: Lots!

* SuperSpeedReading: Also another power the Champions share.

* UndercoverAsLovers: Craig and Sharron often masquerade as this.

!!Episode Tropes:

* AmnesiacHero: Richard for part of "Happening."
* BackToBackBadasses: A lot.
* BreakTheCutie: "Autokill" is mostly about this being done to Richard.
* CasualDangerDialogue: Lots!
* CheshireCatGrin: All of them have it at some point or another when coming up with a plan that one of the others won't like.
* ColdBloodedTorture: Happens to Richard and Craig with some frequency.
* ColdWar: The Red Chinese are the villains in some episodes.
* CombatPragmatist
* DeadpanSnarker: All of them, of one sort or another, though the award for best (and most frequent) snarker must go to Richard.
* DemolitionsExpert: Each of them have varying levels of expertise with defusing bombs (and different expertise with different sorts of bombs), though Richard probably has the most training and enjoys planting bombs (while waiting at a rendezvous point with an ally, the ally wonders whether they'd be able to see the explosion from the bombs Richard designed and is planting; Craig assures him that, knowing Richard, you'd be able to see it from the moon).
* ElectricTorture: The favoured method of torture of the villain in "The Fanatics."
* FictionalCounterpart: Nemesis is one to Interpol, which makes the heroes the fictional counterpart of {{Interpol Special Agent}}s.
* FightingYourFriend: What happens when [[spoiler: Richard is [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashed via drugs into believing Craig is his worst enemy]].]]
* HealingFactor: A power shared by the Champions. Craig's seems to work the fastest, which is probably a good thing since he's a risk taker and the most likely to get into a big scrap.
* ImpliedLoveInterest: Sharron and Craig. They're never seen to act on it, but they're pretty clearly attracted to each other, never more so obvious then when they occasionally go UndercoverAsLovers. Though YMMV.
* InnateNightVision: Another of their powers.
* ISurrenderSuckers: Richard allows himself to be abducted in "The Gilded Cage" to find out why someone would want to abduct him and bring them down.
** In "The Fanatics" he masquerades as someone else who is 'rescued' by the villains, allows them to torture him until they are convinced he's the person he was masquerading as, then takes them all down from the inside.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: Richard, though it's not permanent; he's brought BackFromTheDead a few minutes later by Sharon's PsychicSurgery.]]
* MindRape: Happens to [[spoiler: Richard. He's doped up on drugs that make him highly suggestible and then brainwashed into creating and reliving FakeMemories of Craig torturing and killing his loved ones (some fictional) again and again to try to make him assassinate Craig.]]
* NaziNobleman: Field Marshall von Splitz from "The Final Countdown", who attempts to detonate a German atom bomb in order to start WorldWarIII.
* ShamgriLa: Where the heroes got their powers.
* SpyDrama

* FightingYourFriend: What happens when [[spoiler: Richard is [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashed via drugs into believing Craig is his worst enemy]] ]]

!!Regular Characters:

* UndercoverAsLovers: Craig and Sharron often masquerade as this.

!!!Craig Stirling (Stuart Damon), one of The Champions
* AcePilot: Was one in the U.S. Air Force.
* BadassArmFold: Frequently.
* BadassInANiceSuit
* TheCharmer: His roguish charm tends to have women falling over themselves to oblige him in anything he asks.
* LiteralistSnarking: The usual way that he conveys snark, and which is usually the only method to both annoy Richard and beat Richard in snark.
* {{Determinator}}
* EtTuBrute: Handled the torture in [[spoiler: "The Interrogation]] just fine, but that [[spoiler: it was Nemesis who tortured him with Tremayne's (forced) approval and that Richard]] put HonorBeforeReason and would not reveal their powers by rescuing him pretty much sends him into the DespairEventHorizon.
* {{Fauxreigner}}: Craig (an American) will often [[ObfuscatingStupidity play being an amusing or stupid tourist]] while in Britain to get villains or people under suspicion to think him harmless. He is actually, over all, quite adjusted to British life and culture.
* GoodOldFisticuffs: His WeaponOfChoice.
* JadeColouredGlasses: Gains a pair after the events of [[spoiler: "The Interrogation"]], but we never get to see the aftermath since the show got canceled.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Craig is a mild version of this.
* LanternJawOfJustice: Has one.
* ManlyTears: When he is forced to [[spoiler: beat a BrainwashedAndCrazy Richard into unconsciousness]].
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Often pretends to be just dumb muscle or a ditzy tourist to get underestimated by villains
* RealMenCook: He's good at grilling things, and does steak on the grill for dinner with a girl he's on a date with.
* [[RedOniBlueOni Red Oni]]: To Richard's blue. He's compulsive, extraverted, emotional, prone to be rash and use [[IndyPloy Indy Ploys]].
* TallDarkAndHandsome
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Richard.


!!!Sharron Macready (Alexandra Bastedo), one of The Champions
* BadassAdorable
* BadassBookworm: Was a scientist before joining Nemesis, and since given powers is an extremely capable fighter.
* BadassDamsel: She gets captured a fair bit, but she often gets out of it herself or is in the process of getting out of it herself when Craig and Richard arrive.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Sharron might be a sweet and thoughtful woman, but if you get on her bad side, you are in for one heck of an asskicking.
* DeadpanSnarker: Constantly snarks at Craig's plans (when they are too outrageous) and Richard's plans (when they're too complicated), and rather snarks in general.
* FascinatingEyebrow: Part of how she snarks.
* GirlyBruiser: Sharron dresses very femininely, often in pink, and can beat any opponent five ways sideways.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Can rig a powerful weapon to backfire into a villain's face without a second thought, and feels no remorse about doing so since the villain was going to use it against innocent people.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold:
* HotScientist: Has several scientific degrees and is gorgeous.
* KickingAssInAllHerFinery: Very often.
* PerpetualSmiler: Almost always has a cheerful smile on her face.
* PsychicSurgery: Has this power. She [[spoiler: brought Richard BackFromTheDead from several hundred miles away after he got bit by a rattlesnake trying to save someone else from it]].
* ShowSomeLeg: Occasionally flirts with villains to either cause a distraction or get information.

!!!Richard Barrett (William Gaunt), one of The Champions
* BadassBookworm: His status before being given superpowers, then upgraded was upgraded to GeniusBruiser.
* BadassInANiceSuit: Prefers to dress in classy style.
** WaistcoatOfStyle: Occasionally.
* BewareTheSillyOnes: Richard might appear to be an easy-going jokester who's always compulsively quipping, but he is, in fact, an incredible strategist and fighter, and if you make him angry, do not expect any mercy.
* [[RedOniBlueOni Blue Oni]]: To Craig's red. He's intellectual, calm, a planner and uses [[BatmanGambit Batman Gambits]].
* ButtMonkey: Oddly enough a heroic example in Richard, who is the most capable of the three. Expect that if anything humiliating, very painful, or just unlucky is going to happen to one of the three, it's usually Richard. The universe is just jealous of Richard's capability for badassery.
* ChickMagnet: Quite, though he's certainly not of the unaware or clueless sort. However, unlike Craig, he's not one for flirting on the job and usually tends to put off romantic interest until a mission is finished.
* CoolCar: His Alpha Romeo.
* CoolShades: Has some.
* CulturedBadass: Loves classical music, highly appreciative of good food and alcoholic beverages (he even risked being discovered that he wasn't unconscious to push a glass of good alcohol out of the way so the people who had attacked him and were trying to kidnap him wouldn't spill it), and is known for [[SharpDressedMan dressing in tasteful high-end clothes]]... And he does more badassery than would be practical to list here.
* {{Determinator}}
* FriendToAllChildren: He quite likes and gets along very well with children.
* GallowsHumor: He seems to do this compulsively, occasionally garnering annoyance from Craig who thinks Richard should be taking the situation more seriously.
* GeniusBruiser: He might not look terribly imposing, but, as Craig found out rather graphically, he is easily Craig's match in strength and fighting ability, if not his superior [[spoiler: considering it took the combined efforts of Craig and Sharron to subdue him when he was BrainwashedAndCrazy]], and, already being extremely smart, he was upgraded to genius level.
* GentlemanAndAScholar: As noted, he is extremely smart and cultured, however, he has no social awkwardness (or nothing that is not {{Adorkable}}).
* GentlemanSnarker: Most of his snarking falls into this category.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Though he usually tries to avoid killing, he will do so without a second thought if he thinks it is necessary.
* HypnoticEyes: Richard develops the most advanced PsychicPowers over the series. He can control the weak-minded, make them follow simple commands, and even make them [[LaserGuidedAmnesia forget something that happened in the last couple of minutes]] if he can get them to look into his eyes.
* IGaveMyWord: Richard will not break his word once he has given it [[spoiler: [[HonorBeforeReason even at the expense of Craig's friendship]] ]].
* InnocentBlueEyes: Bright blue and usually sparkling with mischief and good humour.
** IcyBlueEyes: Until he gets angry, and then they're merciless orbs of ice.
* LeaningOnTheFurniture: Pretty much the first thing he does when he comes into a room.
* {{Omniglot}}: Implied that before he gained his powers, Richard studied different languages, but now that he has increased intelligence on top of his already not inconsiderable one and his ability to find patterns, he just learns new languages and alphabets for fun.
* RealMenCook: Averted and then quickly played straight. He can't cook until he has to be a chef as a cover, and then becomes obsessed with cooking.
* ReverseArmFold: Frequently, assuming he's not LeaningOnTheFurniture.
* TheSmartGuy: Richard was a genius code-breaker before joining NEMESIS, apart from Sharron (who actually is a scientist) can convincingly pull off a scientist cover, can dismantle a hydrogen bomb while he's got amnesia, constructs explosives, figured out how to break in and out of a booby-trapped safe with the information, and can reel off pages of English history.
* TranquilFury: What happens when you push Richard too far.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Craig.
* WeaponOfChoice: While he doesn't normally carry a weapon, he tends to prefer a knives when it comes down to a serious fight (even when he has a gun available) and can throw them with insanely good accuracy.
* WhatTheHellHero: Gets quite a big one of these from [[spoiler: Craig at the end of the events of "The Interrogation."]]

!!!Tremayne
* BadassBureaucrat
* BenevolentBoss
* CoolOldGuy
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure
* SupportingLeader
* UnwittingMuggleFriend: Subverted. He knows something is going on, and grows increasingly suspicious.

* BadassNormal

* UnwittingMuggleFriend: The Champions don't tell him about their newly acquired superpowers. He suspects there's something odd going on, but he doesn't push about it as he trusts them completely and they get results.

* ColdBloodedTorture: Happens to Richard and Craig.

* ImpliedLoveInterest: Sharron and Craig. They're never seen to act on it, but they're pretty clearly attracted to each other, never more so obvious then when they occasionally go UndercoverAsLovers.

* ImpliedLoveInterest: To Sharron. Though YMMV.

* TheCharmer

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold
* HotScientist: Is a doctor
* ImpliedLoveInterest: To Craig. Though YMMV.

* HotScientist

* GoodIsNotSoft

* BadassBookworm: He might not look terribly imposing, but, as Craig found out rather graphically, he is easily Craig's match in strength and fighting ability, if not his superior [[spoiler: considering it took the combined efforts of Craig and Sharron to subdue him when he was BrainwashedAndCrazy]].
* BadassInANiceSuit

* GentlemanAndAScholar

* AngstWhatAngst: After the pilot episode her murdered husband is never mentioned again, nor does she ever show any signs of grieving after that, though, of course, it's easy enough to make the leap she might be a StepfordSmiler.

* TearJerker: Craig crying ManlyTears as he's forced to [[spoiler: beat BrainwashedAndCrazy Richard unconscious]].
** The end of [[spoiler: "The Interrogation"]] when Craig is confronting Richard holding HonorBeforeReason and upholding his promise to the people of Shangri-La by not revealing his powers [[spoiler: to Nemesis by rescuing Craig or telling Tremayne about them]].

* FriendToAllChildren: Richard seems to love and get on very well with kids.

* JadeColouredGlasses: Starts wearing a pair after the events of [[spoiler: "The Interrogation"]], but we never get to see the aftermath since the show got canceled.

* GirlyBruiser: Sharron dresses very femininely, often in pink, and can beat you five ways sideways.

!!!Richard Barrett (William Gaunt), one of the Champions

* ElectricTorture

* FascinatingEyebrow: Part of her SilentSnarker status.

* EtTuBrute: Handled the torture in [[spoiler: "The Interrogation]] just fine, but that [[spoiler: it was Nemesis who tortured him with Tremayne's (forced) approval and that Richard]] put HonorBeforeReason and would not reveal their powers by rescuing him pretty much breaks him.

* EtTuBrute: Handled the torture in [[spoiler: "The Interrogation]] just fine, but that [[spoiler: it was Nemesis who tortured him with Tremayne's (forced) approval and that Richard]] put HonorBeforeReason and would not reveal their powers in order to rescue him pretty much breaks him.

* SilentSnarker: Usually the way she snarks, often employing a FascinatingEyebrow.

* DeadpanSnarker: While Richard is the best of the lot, Craig gets some good ones too (usually at Richard's expense).
** LiteralistSnarking: The usual way that he conveys snark, and which is usually the only method to both annoy Richard and beat Richard in snark.

* FascinatingEyebrow

* DeadpanSnarker: The best of the lot.

* GentlemanSnarker

* KilledOffForReal: [[Spoiler: Richard, though it's not permanent; he's brought BackFromTheDead a few minutes later by Sharon's PsychicSurgery.]]