| 1 | [[quoteright:319:[[Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ashritchie.png]]]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:319: Like looking into a mirror.]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | ->'''Hamilton:''' We're Hamilton's Hamster Helpers! We help those in trouble!\ |
| 5 | '''Monterey Jack:''' How original! |
| 6 | -->-- ''ComicBook/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' [[ComicBookAdaptation comic book]] issue #4 |
| 7 | |
| 8 | The cast runs into another group that is functionally identical to them. The same number of people, the same roles represented, maybe even the same tastes in clothes or food but expect a PaletteSwap or an AlternateSpeciesCounterpart. Usually creeps out the original group a ''lot'', although a common humor variant is that no one notices the similarities. Or only notices the similarities to everyone else's parallel but not their ''own''. If the characters [[OtherMeAnnoysMe find their counterparts' habits annoying]], without noticing any similarities, this can lead to HypocriticalHumor. Sometimes it is SelfParody. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | There are examples of a couple meeting another couple who are a timeshifted version of themselves. If younger, they reminisce about the start of their courtship, sometimes fighting about "what happened to us?" If older, they'll fight about how to avoid an unpleasant fate. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Compare ThePsychoRangers, where the other squad are the evil versions. Those baddies are often recruited or created specifically to oppose our heroes, the standard Similar Squad just happens to resemble the main cast. Often related or contributes to GeodesicCast if the new group sticks around. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | See also ExpyCoexistence. |
| 15 | ---- |
| 16 | !!Examples: |
| 17 | |
| 18 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 19 | |
| 20 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 21 | * ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' |
| 22 | ** Near the end of the first season of ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'', Ash befriends a rival Trainer named Ritchie, who is pretty much identical to Ash (his design similarly based on 'Red', the trainer from the original game). Ritchie's Pokemon team are a Similar Squad to Ash's - he even uses a Pikachu (nicknamed "Sparky") as his main Mon. Jessie even calls them the "twerp twins". While Ash represents Red Version, and Gary represents JP Green Version (western Blue Version), Ritchie might represent JP Blue, or even Yellow Version since he also has a Pikachu. Further his Japanese name Hiroshi is one of the default names for the rival in JP Blue. |
| 23 | *** The ''Adventures'' manga similarly introduced an original Yellow Version character who even used that canon's Red's Pokedex and Pikachu for a time before getting their own Pikachu. |
| 24 | ** In the first few episodes of ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearl'', Paul (Ash's main rival), had a similar team lineup. His main Pokemon is an electric-type (Elekid), a primate (Chimchar, to contrast Ash's Aipom) and a flying-type (he had three Starly to Ash's one, but he eventually released all of them). This is lampshaded in the series' first opening with the two groups facing off in a MirroredConfrontationShot. |
| 25 | * The foursome cast of ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}'' meet spoof groups of themselves. Usually these are impostors trying to cash in on their fame. In one instance the impostors get back together for a DayInTheLimelight to exact revenge by making Sanzo's party look bad. [[spoiler:In the end, they are discovered and are beaten up; by Sanzo's group, angry villagers, and [[FriendlyEnemy Kougaiji's group]], who just happened to be passing through.]] |
| 26 | * In the latter half of ''{{Manga/Jazz}}'', Narusawa starts working at a hospital with two doctors who mirror his and Naoki's relationship, but who seem to have dealt with their issues better. |
| 27 | * The third ''Manga/CaseClosed'' video, Conan is on a visit to Osaka and runs into a group of three children similar in appearance and name to the Detective Boys. |
| 28 | * When Mikado ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'' is walking alone and is lost in thought, he passes a trio of characters who resemble him and his friends Masaomi and Anri. |
| 29 | * CLAT is this to the Special Vehicles 2nd Division of ''Anime/PatlaborTheTVSeries''. Based in New York instead of Tokyo, they are essentially the same characters, [[PhenotypeStereotype but all blonde]] (barring some exceptions like the resident GentleGiant being a native american) and headquartered in a fancy hi-tech underwater secret base instead of the original's dinghy place in the middle of nowhere. [[spoiler:It was AllJustADream, however]]. |
| 30 | * ''Manga/SgtFrog'': When digging for a spa, Keroro finds a superweapon left by a team of invaders not unlike his own. The dub takes this further, making them lizardmen from the planet Lizardono come to invade the planet they know as Ponopek but saddled with an incompetant leader who spends all his time building models. They even have similar insignias. The first movie reveals that the ancient invaders who used those statues were actually Keronians, and they also left other weapons on Earth... |
| 31 | * ''Manga/GetterRoboArc'': After travelling to the Dinosaur Empire to assist them against the Andromeda Stellaration, the main trio has a run in with an as yet unmentioned counterpart to their group comprised entirely of [[LizardFolk Saurians]] and piloting a reptile themed mech called [[EvilKnockoff the Gettersaurus]]. [[spoiler: They later form something of a GeodesicCast with the main group and travel through time with them to stop the invasion of Earth.]] |
| 32 | [[/folder]] |
| 33 | |
| 34 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 35 | * Adam Warren's run on ''ComicBook/Gen13'' had the "Mongolian Barbeque Horde", with each member a counterpart to ''Gen 13'' itself. ([=DV8=]/The Deviants were a classic Psycho Ranger team.) |
| 36 | * In Creator/DCComics, the ComicBook/KnightAndSquire are the British counterparts to Franchise/{{Batman}} and Robin. Creator/PaulCornell takes this further, adding Hank, the Knight's American butler, and HarmlessVillain Jarvis Poker, the British Joker. |
| 37 | * Issue 5 of the ''ComicBook/AdventureTime'' comic features Finn and Jake meeting Adventure Tim, a guy who looks like a mashup between Finn and Jake who often fights against the Mice King. Counterparts of Princess Bubblegum, B-MO, Marceline, Tree Trunks, Lumpy Space Princess, Lady Rainicorn, Lemongrab and the Lich are also mentioned. |
| 38 | * The 2013 Annual for [[Creator/IDWPublishing IDW publishing's]] ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' comic had five unicorns who seemed to be expies of five of the Mane Six: Moondancer (Fluttershy), Lemon Hearts (Applejack), Minuette (Rainbow Dash), Twinkleshine (Rarity) and Lyra Heartstrings (Pinkie Pie). |
| 39 | ** This was likely done intentionally to further show the parallels between Twilight Sparkle and Celestia's previous student Sunset Shimmer. Seeing the five interact with Sunset if briefly, hints at what could've been had Sunset understood friendship like Twilight would. While the other ponies would make further appearances in-series intact, Moondancer (who was said to be Spike's crush before Rarity) would end up appearing in the show as an expy of Twilight, or rather how Twilight could be if she just focused on her studies. |
| 40 | * In ''ComicBook/TheMuppetShowComicBook: Seasons'' #2 "Summer", Fozzie is invited to play at the Whatnot Theater, to replace their previous comedian, Ozzie Bear. All the Whatnot troupe turn out to be {{Alternate Species Counterpart}}s to the Muppets, with the compiere being Dermot the Dog, and other Whatnots including Miss Tiggy (a tiger), Bonzo the Great (a monkey), Dr. Tongue (as opposed to Dr. Teeth), and Vegetable (a giant carrot who plays the spoons). |
| 41 | * In the final storyline of ''ComicBook/{{Shadowpact}}'', the Shadowpacts of 1908 and 2108 have roughly similar memberships to the present day version, although neither is a full set. The roles appear to be: magician (Adept, Enchantress, Magus Excelsis), swordsman (none, Nightmaster, Revenant), otherworlder (Faerie Queen, Zauriel, Sardonyxx), big guy (Mister Meteor, Blue Devil, Brazen Man), energy blaster (none, Nightshade, Miss Poltergeist), medium (Mrs Prescott, Ragman, none), talking animal (Civet, Detective Chimp, Apalala). The Shadowpacts of other time periods appear to have similar compositions. |
| 42 | * The titular ''ComicBook/RatQueens'' are matched by Violet's twin brother Barrie and his assembled team of fighter, wizard, druid, and a useless fungus person (to Betty's chagrin). |
| 43 | * In ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}} and the Griffin'', the Sarmatian villagers Asterix and Obelix are introduced to include Dodderiestov, a village elder who looks like Geriatrix, Wottastinkov, a cheesemaker who looks like Unhygenix (with equally smelly wares), Oldblocktchipov, a carpenter who looks like Fulliautomatix (and is wielding an axe the same way Fulliautomatix wields his blacksmith's hammer), and Kordov, a firewood deliveryman who looks like Obelix (and is carrying a tree-stump the same way Obelix carries his menhirs). After talking to the latter, Obelix is left with the strangest feeling that Kordov's shorter, blond-moustached friend looks vaguely familiar... |
| 44 | * ''ComicBook/WhatIf:'' When Iron Man uses a machine to look at a (possibly) hypothetical team of Avengers from the 50s, who would later become the ComicBook/AgentsOfAtlas, the Avengers present comment on the similarities between them. |
| 45 | [[/folder]] |
| 46 | |
| 47 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 48 | * Done once in ''ComicStrip/BonersArk'', when they meet a whole ship that's a duplicate of theirs, only there's two of every animal... |
| 49 | [[/folder]] |
| 50 | |
| 51 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 52 | * ''Fanfic/ShinobiOfTheHighSeas'': This exists (with some twists) between the Foxhound and Straw Hat Pirates. |
| 53 | ** Naruto and Luffy being Shonen protagonists, it would probably be easier to count their differences. Naruto also acts as something of a GadgeteerGenius in the vein of Usopp or Franky, at least as far as supplying weapons for his crew and design ideas for his ship are concerned. |
| 54 | ** Nojiko, besides being Nami's sister, shares her skills at navigation and her position as the de facto voice of reason in most circumstances. In her combat style, she's closer to Usopp with her marksmanship and variety of weapons. |
| 55 | ** Soren, like Zoro, started as a pirate hunter (although not for the bounties), remains the undisputed second strongest on the crew, gains an incredibly high bounty placing him among the Supernovas, desires to defeat a specific member of the Shichibukai who defeated him in the past, and even shares his alcoholic and layabout tendencies. |
| 56 | ** Positionally, Miss Valentine, like Sanji, is both the crew chef and the third strongest by a good margin. Story-wise, she has more in common with Robin, both having served as Baroque Works officers, and both possessing a good knowledge of the underworld politics of the Grand Line, as well as sharing a fairly pragmatic, even ruthless, view of the world. Despite the shared backgrounds... |
| 57 | ** Vivi is much closer to Robin. Both are fugitives from the world government, hunted by great powers due to circumstances beyond their control. Both tend towards calm reserve and level-headedness, with occasional displays of child-like humor and wonder contrasted with a strong sense of dignity, all overshadowed by an unshakable trust in the captain that rescued them. |
| 58 | ** Paulie, like Franky, is a shipwright from water 7, with an ambition to build a ship that can sail the length of the grand line, and a strong perverted streak (although Paulie tries to mask it be complaining about shameless women). |
| 59 | ** Byron, as with Brook, is a musician and former captain rescued from enslavement to one of the Shichibukai, and the last member to join the crew before the New World. Both also have UnfinishedBusiness relating to their former crew. |
| 60 | * In the parodic ''Series/DoctorWho'' / ''Anime/SailorMoon'' fusion "[[https://groups.google.com/g/alt.drwho.creative/c/0WFdFJDtX4g/m/Bo2A0oXNSJIJ No Restaurant for the Wicked]]", the Sailor Scouts (Susan, Leela, Zoe and Nyssa) find themselves tricked into battling the Elemental Scouts (Peri, Ace, Liz and Tegan). |
| 61 | * The ''VideoGame/{{Pico}}'' fangame ''Pico's Cousin 2'' has a new version of the Goth-Punks exact revenge on Pico and family. The opponents you get are pretty much a one-for-one copy of the main Goth-Punks from the original ''Pico's School''-- Ozmose stands in for Alucard, the nameless Skinhead for Cyclops, and Damien stands in for Cassandra. Hanzo is the same in both versions, but that's because they've been revived as a {{Cyborg}}. |
| 62 | * ''Fanfic/UnderTheNorthernLights'': King Ukko and his five companions are very similar to the Six Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, although Ukko and his companions are male, reindeer and old enough to be grandparents, of course. Several characters comment on these similarities in the story. The equivalents are King Ukko the Piercer => Applejack (honest, stubborn, family stag/mare), Mustikka the Tracker => Twilight Sparkle (sharp-minded, NoSocialSkills, master organizer), Skiold the Bold => Rainbow Dash (brave, loyal, impulsive), Kol the Singer => Rarity (artistic, LargeHam), Galderhorn the Sorcerer => Fluttershy (shy, soft-spoken, cares for spirits/animals) and Heikko the Humongous => Pinkie Pie (constantly happy, hedonistic, {{Cloudcuckoolander}}). |
| 63 | [[/folder]] |
| 64 | |
| 65 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 66 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TopCatTheMovie'', when T.C. is thrown in dog jail (because cat jail is full) and thinks the gang has abandoned him he forms a new gang of dogs, comprising Spectrum, Dandy, Chattanooga, Einstein and Vinny. |
| 67 | [[/folder]] |
| 68 | |
| 69 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 70 | * The gang in ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'' meets a mirror-image group of survivors, played by similarly-[[TypeCasting typecast]] comic actors, as they head for the Winchester. The production team imagined them as [[HeroOfAnotherStory another film]] with [[TakeThatMe smarter characters played by more expensive actors]], and when Jessica Stevenson returns at the end it's obvious they've been involved in a much more dramatic story. |
| 71 | * In the sci-fi thriller ''Film/{{Coherence}}'', an eerie moment arises when the group of four bump into their counterparts from another reality in the street. |
| 72 | * In ''Film/TheMuppets2011'', years of decline have led Fozzie Bear to headline for The Moopets, a sort of dark-and-dirty version of The Muppets. Thankfully Kermit, Rowlf and the others rescue him from the clutches of bad lounge music (and Miss Poogy). |
| 73 | * In ''Film/ZombielandDoubleTap'', the undead-fighting male duo of Columbus and Tallahassee in this post-apocalyptic action comedy run into a doppelgänger duo named Albuquerque and Flagstaff. |
| 74 | [[/folder]] |
| 75 | |
| 76 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 77 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': |
| 78 | ** In ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'', Colon is horrified to realize that he and Nobby, in disguise, are being threatened by a couple of Klatchian market guards who have nothing better to do with their time than look for street entertainment, and one of whom is "[[KnowNothingKnowItAll a know-all]]". |
| 79 | ** Similarly, the two Uberwaldian guards that Vimes refers to as Nobbski and Colonesque from ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'', and Knopf and Doppelpunkt [[note]]which are just the [[BilingualBonus Ggerman translations]] of "knob" and "colon"[[/note]] from ''Literature/TheAmazingMauriceAndHisEducatedRodents''. |
| 80 | ** There are also versions of [[HonestJohnsDealership CMOT Dibbler]] all over the place. This trope (like many others) is a fundamental law of the Discworld's universe. |
| 81 | ** Implied to be the case between the wizards of Unseen University and the various priests of Ankh-Morpork in ''Literature/ReaperMan''. Their respective heads are even brothers (and regard the endless feuding between the two groups as rather embarrassing). |
| 82 | * There's a young adult ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' novel by Dave Morris called ''Buried Treasure'', in which a minor plot point involves the Turtles encountering a team of four humanoid mutant ''squirrels'' who were trained as secret agents and named after famous musical composers ("Beethoven", "Mozart", "Wagner" and "Bach") by their mentor. Yes, really. |
| 83 | * ''Literature/AndAnotherThing'': Hillman Hunter, head of a ScamReligion for rich idiots whom Zaphod sold a pleasure planet to, is pretty much identical to Aseed Preflux, who has a similar scam-religion-resort-colony just next door. To rub salt in the wound, Aseed is in better shape and still has his natural hair color. It's eventually revealed that they're alternate universe counterparts of the same person (Zaphod figured if his scam worked once, why not try it again?) |
| 84 | [[/folder]] |
| 85 | |
| 86 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 87 | * Taken to the logical extreme in ''Series/{{Westworld}}'': in season 2, some of the robot hosts travel to Shogun World, one of the company's other parks, and find out that, as the head writer plagiarized his own narratives under a time crunch, they and their plotlines have ''exact'' counterparts there. The saloon heist is replayed shot-for-shot, with swords and arrows replacing guns and with a koto version of the music from the first season. Needless to say, the Westworld hosts are a bit weirded out. |
| 88 | * ''Series/StargateSG1'': |
| 89 | ** Played with when the team meets their ''Wormhole Extreme!'' counterparts. |
| 90 | ** Played more seriously in an episode where SG-1 went on a mission with a Russian SG team. Each team member had an obvious counterpart with a similar job and personalities. [[spoiler: The Teal'c counterpart died [[LoadBearingHero trying to hold open a door, and was crushed to death]], the Daniel counterpart was taken over by a Goa'uld, and was killed in a {{Heroic Sacrifice}} by the Jack counterpart. Which meant that only the Sam counterpart survived.]] |
| 91 | * ''Series/{{Friends}}'': |
| 92 | ** The TrueCompanions once walked in on another group using their couch at Central Perk. |
| 93 | ** [[RealitySubtext Even better, the actors had recently threatened to quit the show together unless they all received a big raise.]] The network briefly threatened to replace the whole cast of one of the most popular shows on TV. |
| 94 | ** When Chandler tries to sell the "entertainment unit" Joey built, he and Joey meet another pair of roommates trying to pawn off the canoe one of them had built. |
| 95 | * ''Series/{{Cheers}}:'' |
| 96 | ** When John Allen Hill takes over Melville's, and the yuppie crowd starts overflowing into Cheers, there's a brief gag of a yuppie version of Norm entering the bar. |
| 97 | ** [[Recap/CheersS7E4 When Sam takes a job in a Cancun bar]], there's an equivalent to Norm there as well, called Pepe, who has his own version of the "Norm enters bar, makes dry joke about his life" RunningGag. |
| 98 | ** At the beginning of season 11, Carla takes a job at a theme restaurant which, despite the horrible uniform and requirement she be cheerful on the job, pays ''much'' better than Sam ever did, and she chooses to stay... until her boss tells her she's going to have a trainee for two weeks: Enter Ellen, a pretentious pseudo-intellectual university student who is a dead ringer for Diane Chambers. Carla runs away in terror, and makes an oblivious Sam vow never to visit that bar again. |
| 99 | * ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': |
| 100 | ** When Frasier went to see Diane's play, he wasn't expecting a carbon copy of ''Series/{{Cheers}}''. He sure as hell wasn't expecting the Diane-lite to be loved by the Frasier-lite even after she dumped him at the altar. |
| 101 | ** Much to Niles's annoyance, after he declined to move in on Daphne while she was on the rebound, she was picked up by a Niles-lookalike instead. Martin and Frasier suspect they've entered ''Franchise/TheTwilightZone''. Daphne never notices. |
| 102 | * The Bizarro Jerry that Elaine dates and his clique on ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''. The main cast is known for their cynicism, bad luck, and often-outright antisocial behavior, Bizarro Jerry's crew is supportive, genial, and generally happy with their lives. (As an example, Bizarro Kramer knocks on the door before entering.) Of course, Elaine chooses to be with the latter, but her tendency to give playful but painful punches undoes the happy little tryst, and soon enough she's back with the poor schlubs she usually hangs out with. |
| 103 | * On ''Series/TheDrewCareyShow'' when Drew accidentally hosted the worlds biggest kegger, an opposite-sex version of the Drew Crew showed up. Oswald and Lewis found themeselves attracted to Lois and Olivia, until they all realized why they found each other "so familiar." All four were {{Squick}}ed and went their separate ways. |
| 104 | * ''Series/{{Bones}}'', in the episode where the cast went to England. |
| 105 | * The Norwegians on ''Series/PushingDaisies'' were supposed to be this, but it seems like a lot of viewers didn't catch on. |
| 106 | * ''{{Series/Pistvakt}}'': The protagonists, three brothers with the last name Marklund, get visited by a more dickish and successful trio of brothers in episode 2 of season 2 (with the last name Näslund). They are [[ActingForTwo played by the same actors]] in similar roles, they have similar nicknaming conventions, the same father worship and similar relationships to each other -- although the Näslund brothers are more likely to punch or pinch the nose of the youngest, in contrast to the Marklund brothers who generally just snark at Olle when he is being childish. |
| 107 | * In an episode of ''Series/CornerGas'', the town decides to employ professional firefighters. The two they hire are named Carol and David and are almost exact copies of the two cops Karen and Davis—except the firefighters are significantly more friendly and competent, leading the townsfolk to warm up to them quickly. Needless to say, Karen and Davis fail to notice this similarity and are overcome with jealousy regarding the firefighters. |
| 108 | * ''Series/{{NCIS}}''. In "Doppelganger", Team Gibbs is dumbfounded to find a Metro PD squad whose members are identical in personality to their own. A PerpSweating leader who {{Dope Slap}}s and [[MustHaveCaffeine drinks Starbucks coffee]], a probie geek who [[YouGetMeCoffee fetches said coffee]], a HandsomeLech Italian-American whose attempts to flirt with Kate are crushed with sarcasm and a DeadpanSnarker female cop who does the same thing to [=DiNozzo=]. |
| 109 | * ''Series/FatherTed'' had the counterpart priests from Rugged Island: Dick Byrne, Cyril [=MacDuff=] and Jim Johnson. Ted and Byrne are [[SitcomArchNemesis Sitcom Arch-Nemeses]], who never realise how alike they are, and {{Cloudcuckoolander}} Dougal thinks Cyril is "an awful eejit". |
| 110 | %% * Was used on ''Series/HawaiiFiveO'' and Showtime's late 1980s ''Series/RobinHood'' series. |
| 111 | * ''Franchise/SuperSentai'': |
| 112 | ** Subverted with the "Evoranger" of ''Series/BakuryuuSentaiAbaranger'', doubles who last about three minutes before being killed off by [=AbareKiller=]. |
| 113 | ** At about the same time, sister show ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' had three new characters in the ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'' finale. The first time they showed up they were random extras, but in the final scene Cam finds they've joined the ninja academy and are late for class, just like the Wind Rangers were at the beginning of the season. Cam's reaction? [[HereWeGoAgain "I don't think I have it in me to go through all this again."]] |
| 114 | * "The 2 Live Crew Job" episode of ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' features this. [[SmugSnake Marcus Starke]] plays [[TheLeader Mastermind]] and [[ConMan Grifter]] (essentially doing both [[GuileHero Nate]] and [[MasterOfDisguise Sophie]]'s jobs), [[DarkActionGirl Mikel Dayan]] is The Hitter and opposes [[TheBigGuy Eliot]], [[TheSmartGuy Hardison]]'s EvilCounterpart [[EvilGenius Chaos]] is their Hacker, and infiltrator [[GentlemanThief Apollo]] counters [[ClassyCatBurglar Parker]], the Leverage crew's Thief. This is likely justified by the skills that the job in question requires--you need a team with that sort of structure to pull it off. |
| 115 | * In the first episode of the final season of ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'', Laverne was shopping around for a new roommate after Shirley's abrupt departure from the show; she encountered a double of herself, then a double of Shirley. The doubles promptly paired up and abandoned her. |
| 116 | * ''Series/{{Farscape}}'': "Fractures" features a similar group of escaped prisoners. Interestingly, it's also the episode where the two {{Cast Herd}}s finally came back together; the choice to feature a symmetrical crew is also darkly appropriate given that [[spoiler:the "twinned" John had just died]]. |
| 117 | * An episode of ''Series/TheXFiles'' starts with what appears to be Mulder and Scully questioning a suspect; when the suspect says something to the effect of "everyone has a doppleganger," we see the faces of the Similar Squad for the first time. The [[MonsterOfTheWeek malevolent force of the episode]] then seriously injures the two, leading to the real Mulder and Scully investigating days later. They never notice the resemblance, but Mulder suspects the other two agents were [[WillTheyOrWontThey in a relationship]]. |
| 118 | ** During the revival, Mulder and Scully are approached by younger agents, a man who believes in the paranormal and his redheaded skeptic female partner. Tellingly, each ends up pairing with the other's "younger version" to keep the dynamics intact. |
| 119 | * ''Series/{{Community}}'' has several examples, recurring most often is the set of actors who portray the study group in Abed's student films. |
| 120 | * In the "Girl Group" episode of ''Series/BigTimeRush'', the boys seek help from an old, washed-up boy band called Boyz in the Attic. There are four members of this band, and each one clearly a deadbeat future parody of the BTR boys. |
| 121 | * ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide'': Moze befriends a girl named Jennifer [[{{Pun}} Tu]] who she has everything in common with. Jennifer Tu's best friends are Ted and Mookie, and yes, it seems like they act just like Ned and Cookie. |
| 122 | * ''Series/{{Being Human|UK}}'' gives us a similar group of roommates at the beginning of series four. It's a somewhat curious example in that by this point [[spoiler:George and Mitchell are already dead, and Hal takes a step up from squad to outright [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute substitute]]]]. Part of their purpose is to show the natural ramifications of the arrangement, namely that while vampires and ghosts are immortal, werewolves are not. |
| 123 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 124 | ** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E3TheIceWarriors The Ice Warriors]]", freedom-loving renegade scientist Penley and his younger, blunter Scottish sidekick Storr click instantly with the Doctor and Jamie. |
| 125 | ** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E1TheDominators The Dominators]]" the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe encounter two-hearted thrill-seeking ManChild explorer Cully, his protective but a little bit thick young male student and his young female student with perfect fact recall. |
| 126 | ** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E2CarnivalOfMonsters Carnival of Monsters]]" opens with the arrival of Vorg, an eccentrically-dressed bowtie-wearing older gentleman who possesses a small, seemingly innocuous machine that is bigger on the inside than out and can manipulate time, and his glamorous young blonde travelling companion Shirna, who complains about Vorg's choice of destination and isn't sure he knows how to use his machine. Unlike the Doctor and Jo, though, they [[EvilCounterpart are more interested in getting loads of money with their machine]] than in seeing the wonders of the universe with it. (The whole story contains elements of self-parody of ''Doctor Who'''s MonsterOfTheWeek nature in this manner.) |
| 127 | ** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E4TheGreatestShowInTheGalaxy The Greatest Show In The Galaxy]]", the Doctor and his MadBomber sidekick Ace encounter the "eminent intergalactic explorer" Captain Cook and his [[spoiler:werewolf]] sidekick Mags. |
| 128 | * ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' |
| 129 | ** The episode "Relevance" follows the government hit team that works the Relevant List. They share a similar dynamic to [[BrainsAndBrawn John Reese and Harold Finch]]; in fact one of them later ends up joining Team Machine. |
| 130 | ** In "Synecdoche", John Reese finds himself the [[VictimOfTheWeek Number]] being protected by a Washington D.C.-based Team Machine made up of previous "Numbers" that they've saved, and built on the same dynamic (the soldier, the billionaire hacker, the reformed criminal). Justified due to them being recruited by the Machine that witnessed how a team composed of similar individuals has worked for the past few years. |
| 131 | * Happens more similarly than usual in ''Series/{{Roswell}}'' when the four aliens meet a genetically identical team of hybrids that [[SatisfiedStreetRat grew up on the streets of the big city]]...except one of the four is mysteriously missing. The other team tells the Roswell kids that they're the real hybrids, and the Roswell kids are the disposable backups. Though the storyline plays up the benefits that Max and Izzy got from being adopted into comfortable suburbia, what's interesting is that Michael is the outsider and independent thinker on both teams. |
| 132 | * In the "Les Hiques" episode of ''Series/{{Letterkenny}}'', Wayne, Daryl, Squirrely Dan, and Katy meet up with their French counterparts whiles fishing in Quebec. |
| 133 | * ''Series/TheMightyBoosh'' episode "The Power of the Crimp" has the Mighty Boosh (consisting of Howard Moon, Vince Noir, Naboo the shaman and his gorilla {{familiar}} Bollo) forming a rivalry with the Flighty Zeus, consisting of Harold Boon, Lance Dior, Kanoo and Umbrollo. |
| 134 | * ''Series/ImInTheBand'' had an episode where Iron Weasel meets a girl band who are female versions of them. |
| 135 | * ''Series/{{Workaholics}}'': In one episode, the trio compete in a trivia contest against three guys who look just like them, except Asian instead of white. They have a tall guy (like Anders), short guy (like Adam) and guy with long hair (like Blake). |
| 136 | * The ''Series/StillGame'' episode "Dial-a-Bus" features a countryside pub called the Huntsman, which is almost exactly like the Clansman only much, much nicer, and with counterparts of Boaby the Barman, Jack and Victor. Boaby is so embarrassed by the contrast, he tells his Huntsman counterpart that he's a lawyer. |
| 137 | * ''Series/LivingSingle'' episode "Come Back, Little Diva" has the group of friends meeting people at Regine's housewarming party similar to themselves, including Orville, the building's handyman not too different from Overton, and Carl, an even more vain version of Kyle. |
| 138 | * ''Series/ChouseiKantaiSazerX'': The three members of Sazer-X each have equivalents in the Descal's [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Three Shoguns]]. Takuto and Blaird are both fiery and impulsive, Ad and Aqual are both bossy and aloof, and Kane and Cyclead both being soft-spoken technological geniuses. Later, when the Neo Descal arrive, each of them acts as a ShadowArchetype to one of the Shoguns. Garade is pompous like Aqual but also ruthless and cares little about his teammates, Grouza is an EvilGenius like Cyclead except much more cold-hearted and [[FauxAffablyEvil faux affable]] instead of affable, and Jackall is Blaird if he let his temper and thirst for revenge get the better of him. |
| 139 | * ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'': |
| 140 | ** Each of the Armored Riders is mirrored in one of the [[StandardEvilOrganizationSquad New Generation Riders]]. Zangetsu Shin, like Gaim, is a samurai-themed Rider with noble intentions. Duke, like Baron, is a ruthless SocialDarwinist hoping to use the Helheim Crisis to seize power. Marika, like Ryugen, is themed after a foreign Asian culture and has an excessive devotion to one of their teammates that wanes as time goes on. And Sigurd, like Gridon, is manipulative and treacherous, and has [[SmugSnake an inflated opinion of himself]]. |
| 141 | ** The Overlord Inves that appear later also mirror three of the four main Riders and serve as their [[ShadowArchetype dark equivalents]]. Rosyuo is a powerful and honorable authority figure with noble goals similar to Takatora but unlike him went down a much more cynical path, Demushu is Kaito if he was much more violent and lacked any of his principles, and Redyue is what Mitsuzane would be if he gave up any pretense of doing the right thing and embraced being a sociopath. |
| 142 | [[/folder]] |
| 143 | |
| 144 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 145 | * ''ComicBook/TransformersWingsOfHonor'' has this in the form of Thunderclash and Metalhawk's Elite Guard squads, who both seem to be slightly different takes on the same four archetypes. The two squads have a friendly rivalry going on as a result. |
| 146 | ** Thunderclash and Metalhawk are both TheCaptain, with Thunderclash being a strict OfficerAndAGentleman disciplinarian while Metalhawk is a bit more laid-back and BigBrotherMentor-ish. Both of them were also the first American roles for Autobot leader characters whose original toys [[NoExportForYou were never sold in the US]]. |
| 147 | ** Landshark and Over-Run are the quirky pilots. Landshark is a PluckyComicRelief CaptainCrash, and Over-Run is a better pilot but a SmallNameBigEgo type overall. |
| 148 | ** Kup and Dion are the NewMeat. Both are kind of young whippersnapper types, but Kup is a slightly more straitlaced WideEyedIdealist while Dion is HotBlooded. |
| 149 | ** Finally, Flak and Ironfist are TheBigGuy / MoreDakka types. Flak runs on the thought that you can never have enough weapons installed, while Ironfist loves bombs, the bigger the better. |
| 150 | [[/folder]] |
| 151 | |
| 152 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 153 | * The second-season crew of ''Podcast/MissionToZyxx'' includes Ambassador Pleck Decksetter, protocol droid C-53, security officer Dar, Missions Operations Manager Nermut, sidekick Beano, and sentient spaceship Bargie. One episode late in the season follows Ambassador Turk Manaked, protocol droid D-20, security officer Parka/Anorak, Missions Operations Manager Merle, sidekick Squeegee, and sentient spaceship Tiny Toots. |
| 154 | [[/folder]] |
| 155 | |
| 156 | [[folder:Puppet Shows]] |
| 157 | * A [[Franchise/TheMuppets MuppeTelevision]] segment of ''Series/TheJimHensonHour'' featured the characters receiving footage of an alien TV show starring the [[SdrawkcabName Teppums]], including Timrek the Gorf and Oznog. |
| 158 | * In the ''Series/FraggleRockBackToTheRock'' episode "Lost and Found Fraggles", the main Lost Fraggles are Leader (blue, female Gobo), Wrigley (pink Wembly), Soupy (green Boober) and Run-and-Jump (purple Red). Mokey is sad that she doesn't have a counterpart, but decides she and her carnivorous plant Lanford can be one-of-a-kind together. Then a mushroom version of Lanford appears. [[spoiler: After the Fraggle Five have gone, a green Slow-Pokey appears, and asks what she missed]]. |
| 159 | [[/folder]] |
| 160 | |
| 161 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 162 | * ''Theatre/RosencrantzAndGuildensternAreDead'': Rosencrantz and Guildenstern notice a similar duo in ''The Murder of Gonzago'' (as performed in ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''). It doesn't work out well for either duo. |
| 163 | [[/folder]] |
| 164 | |
| 165 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 166 | * In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', the party, on several occasions, encounters a group of con artists who are claiming to be the heroes. While they only do so in a general sense and don't actually use the heroes' names, the real party members can't help speculating about which of the con artists is the counterpart to which member. |
| 167 | * In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'', the King tells the hero that he's not needed as there's already a four-member party heading off to fight the BigBad. Later in the game your four-member party runs into that four-member party. |
| 168 | * ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' has this as a central gameplay element. |
| 169 | * Little Gigant in ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven 3'', though it's subtle enough that it's easy to miss. Their starting members are [[{{Expy}} Expies]] of the original Raimon Eleven from the first game, while their bench members are Expies of Megane (the perpetual benchwarmer from the first game) plus four of the story characters introduced in the second game (namely Tachimukai, Kogure, Fubuki, and Tsunami) |
| 170 | * ''Franchise/MassEffect'': |
| 171 | ** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', after being a member of Shepard's squad in the first game, Garrus was inspired to form his own team of vigilantes. Unfortunately they were betrayed from within by Sidonis, leading to everyone but Garrus getting killed when the three largest criminal gangs on Omega teamed up and lay siege to their hideout. |
| 172 | ** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', being essentially the Prothean version of Shepard, it's no surprise that Javik had a similar squad in his own time. Part of the reason behind his grim outlook comes from the fact that he was forced to mercy-kill his entire team, after they were captured and indoctrinated by the Reapers. |
| 173 | * In ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge'', the crew runs into and then ''joins'' the party from the first game, giving the player a party of eight members with two adepts representing each element. |
| 174 | * ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'': |
| 175 | ** There's another pair of NobleMaleRoguishMale [[BuddyCopShow Buddy cops]] in the game - the muscled but dim Mack "The Torso" Torson and the slight but smart Chester [=McClane=]. They were [[DevelopmentGag intended to be the protagonists of the game]] in very early days, when it was going to be a much more pastichey buddy-cop game called ''Torson & [=McClane=]''. |
| 176 | ** Fuck The World and Pissf***t, two ineffectual wannabe gangsters who attempt to vandalise Kim's car without getting in trouble with the police, appear to be parallels of Harry and Kim. Like with Harry and Kim, Fuck The World is a bit more id-driven and silly, and Pissf***t is more officerial and restrained. Both of their names seem to reflect the philosophical sentiment of the police officers, as well. Fuck The World claims his name is a response to 'meaningless' true love by embracing reckless sex with all things ("Because when one fucks everything, he fucks nothing... sticking your dick into the void"), which fits how Harry's response to his [[LostLenore heartbreak]] was to pursue a life of DeathSeeker [[SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll disco hedonism]] and [[ChronicHeroSyndrome nihilistic work overload]]. Pissf***t claims that, [[CasualKink while he does like piss]], his name is an artistic statement about reclaiming the contempt other people subject him to regardless of his actual nature ("things being defined as they seem, not as they are"); this parallels well with Kim's stoic endurance of the bigotry he experiences as a mixed race man who is a born, patriotic Vacholiere, [[TwoferTokenMinority and]] a gay man in a world where homosexuality is seen as a subversive underground movement. (Kim, if asked, will say he relates more to the "Pissf***t" sentiment, and that Harry is more of a "Fuck The World" kind of guy.) The player can have Harry ask them for their jackets so he and Kim can wear them, but Kim, a notorious spoilsport, will not play along unless you successfully convince him to do so in the Jamais Vu update by telling him how awesome the sight of two cops wearing those jackets would be, causing him to relent, but he only agrees to do so for as long as you wear one of the jackets yourself and after you take it off, he'll take his off and won't put it back on again. |
| 177 | ** In the Communist Vision Quest in ''The Final Cut'', Stefan and Ulixes might suggest that Harry and Kim are this to them, as they both are examples of the infra-materialist concept of "décomptage" (a principle of heirarchical organisation based on twos - invented by the revolutionary Communists who went on to found Revachol's police force). Of course, Harry and Kim don't really have a lot in common with Stefan and Ulixes. Harry and Kim are a décomptage because they are [[BuddyCopShow two police officers acting as partners]], and Stefan and Ulixes are a décomptage because they chased away any members from their infra-materialist reading group who diverged from their (rather kooky) views until it was only the two of them left. |
| 178 | [[/folder]] |
| 179 | |
| 180 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 181 | * A couple of sets occur in ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', most notably the Other Warriors, but also the Real Light Warriors who are an inverted PsychoRangers. |
| 182 | * The Linear Guild seems initially to be one for ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''. Turns out, they're ThePsychoRangers, deliberately assembled that way by their GenreSavvy leader. |
| 183 | * ''Webcomic/{{Qxlkbh}}'' uses this for humor in [[https://qxlkbh.github.io/27 27: lookalikes]]: two of the authors, Andrew and Musi, meet people who look identical to them, and it's unclear which duo are the "original". |
| 184 | * Across the street from ''Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}}'' is [=McAwesome's=], which is staffed entirely by people amazingly similar to the main cast who are opposite in some way (Galasso's counterpart is black and isn't a megalomaniac). [[spoiler: It's later revealed that Mike, who switches to his friendly alter-ego when he gets drunk, works there, making his intoxicated self his counterpart.]] |
| 185 | ** It's also implied that [[spoiler: Zaph and Rose are related, mirroring the relationship of their Shortpacked counterparts, Faz and Amber (and may actually be related TO their counterparts).]] |
| 186 | ** A guest-strip featured Leslie's rebound relationship, who was a British Robin complete with foiled invasion backstory and position in Parliament. |
| 187 | * In [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1845 this]] ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' strip, Marten, seeking a new coffee house, finds one with its own versions of himself, Faye, Dora and Steve. |
| 188 | ** Then Faye learns from Alt!Dora that Angus used to go to the Secret Bakery to get insulted by Alt!Faye, because he was not-so-secretly attracted to her. Awkward... |
| 189 | ** And then Marten, having broken up with Dora, was briefly in a relationship with Padma (Alt!Dora). Surprisingly, he hasn't been called on this, possibly because by this point DivergentCharacterEvolution had developed. |
| 190 | ** "[[https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3641 QC En Francais]]" is set at a coffee shop somewhere in France called Café de la Mort, where the staff include Francelore and Doralsace-Lorraine. |
| 191 | * ''Webcomic/{{Nodwick}}'': |
| 192 | ** In a strip from ''Magazine/DragonMagazine'', the party meets a group of Japanese-style adventurers who are pretty much the same as them except for [[CallingYourAttacks over-the-top attack names]]. Except for their henchman, who is exactly the same as Nodwick. |
| 193 | --->'''Nodwick:''' Is there anything you teach me?\ |
| 194 | '''Japanese Henchman:''' How about "The Way of the Sacrificial Pack-Mule"? |
| 195 | ** In a web-published strip, they meet another party who are less similar but still have all the same classes (fighter, wizard, cleric, and henchman). They develop a friendly rivalry. |
| 196 | * In ''Webcomic/LilGotham'' #8, ComicBook/TheJoker and Harley Quinn are captured by the pirate Captain Greenbeard and his "hench wench" Helena Queenie. On seeing them, Batman's reaction is: |
| 197 | -->'''Batman:''' "Green", "HQ"... Don't I know you? |
| 198 | * In the ''Webcomic/SkinHorse'' storyline "Swiftly I Glide", the team attempt to infiltrate an A-Sig facilty, and find it surprisingly easy since they're assumed to be an inspection team. Even when they're told the real inspection team has arrived at the gate, they're still able to maintain some uncertainty. Dr Lee speculates that either the facility had literally no idea what to expect from the inspection team, or... and [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/some-manner-of/ cut to]] the gate, where Moustached Tip, African-American Nick and Dr Lee With A Purple Streak are waiting. The [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/trinket-or/ next strip]] adds Trenchcoated Unity With [[MixAndMatchMan Even More Skin Tones]]. |
| 199 | [[/folder]] |
| 200 | |
| 201 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 202 | * In one episode of ''WebVideo/AgentsOfCracked'', Dan and Swaim are caught sneaking into the office of their rival website Broked.com. They end up being interrogated by near-identical dopplegangers who are also played by Dan and Swaim. Unfortunately for Dan, this is a prime opportunity for a MythologyGag about [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/human-clones-do-you-fk-or-fight/ an article he once wrote on the subject...]] |
| 203 | * ''WebAnimation/TheMostPopularGirlsInSchool'': In Season 5, we have the French team, who basically amounts to a bitchier version of the cheer squad with French accents. |
| 204 | [[/folder]] |
| 205 | |
| 206 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 207 | * ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'': The "proto-Planeteers" from Gaia's tale in the episode "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS3E10HogTide Hog Tide]]" are shown on screen as the present-time team - Wally is Kwame's counterpart, Niko is Wheeler's, and so on. Gaia justifies it by saying that the Planeteers remind her of those people from the 1940s. |
| 208 | * ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': The kids in Afghanistan in "[[Recap/SouthParkS5E9OsamaBinLadenHasFartyPants Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants]]," which, like the main four kids, has a fat boy with a caustic attitude and a mostly-cloaked boy who's always getting killed. |
| 209 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': |
| 210 | ** In an episode, Bart and Lisa figure out how to bring back [[ShowWithinAShow Itchy and Scratchy]] but are beaten to the punch by "Lester and Eliza".[[note]]Doubles as a MythologyGag as "Lester and Eliza" share the same character design Bart and Lisa had in ''Series/TheTraceyUllmanShow'' shorts.[[/note]] |
| 211 | ** An early episode family goes for counseling and encounters a happier family that looks a lot like them in the waiting room.[[note]]Which also shared the same character design the family had in ''Series/TheTraceyUllmanShow'' shorts.[[/note]] |
| 212 | ** If the "Lemon of Troy" episode is anything to go on, Shelbyville is a full-on copy of Springfield, with counterparts to many of its major citizens and points of interest. The only difference is that they are ''slightly'' more deranged -- and they're fine with KissingCousins. |
| 213 | ** Also subverted in "You Only Move Twice"; when Bart first goes to school in Cypress Creek, he briefly meets a Milhouse-like boy ("Hey, Bart, do you have a best friend yet? 'Cause I've been looking for someone to boss me around"). However, Bart is moved to remedial class before more interactions between the two could take place. |
| 214 | ** A gag of this sort made it into TheMovie, Bart scribbled a PaperThinDisguise onto a wanted poster depicting his family. Moments later, a family who looks exactly like the newly tampered photo are arrested on the spot. |
| 215 | ** "Homer? Who is Homer? My name is Guy Incognito!" |
| 216 | ** In "The Crepes of Wrath," Bart goes to France in a student exchange program while foreign student Aldi stays with the Simpsons. The scene of Bart's family saying goodbye to him at the airport is immediately followed up by Aldi's family—parents, a sister, and a baby—saying goodbye to him in Albania. Though all the dialogue is in Albanian, they go through the same motions the Simpsons went through in a way that makes it clear they're having the same conversation. |
| 217 | ** One of the ''Tracey Ullman'' shorts, "Zoo Story," has the family going to the zoo and watching [[AlternateSpeciesCounterpart a similar family of monkeys]]. Bart bonds with the Bart-like monkey and winds up [[spoiler:staying with the monkeys while the Bart-monkey rides home with the Simpsons in their car.]] |
| 218 | ** In "The Italian Bob," the Simpsons find a ''dead'' Similar Squad when they visit Pompeii and stumble on plaster casts of a family consisting of a heavyset father strangling a [[BratsWithSlingshots slingshot-wielding brat]] in one hand and [[TheAlcoholic drinking from a bottle]] with the other, while looking on are a horrified daughter and a big-haired, baby-holding matriarch wagging a finger. |
| 219 | --->'''Homer:''' [[ObliviousToHisOwnDescription Savages!]] |
| 220 | ** In "Smoke on the Daughter," Homer and Bart attempt to trap two raccoons who are stealing homemade jerky from their basement. The two raccoons, an adult and a juvenile, [[AlternateSpeciesCounterpart humorously resemble Homer and Bart themselves]]. Homer has a change of heart and decides to befriend the raccoons when he hunts them to their burrow and realizes they're just feeding their family, a second pair of raccoons resembling Marge and Lisa. |
| 221 | * Vega’s gang in ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'' is basically Jenny’s friends if they were robots, and with Vega being a counterpart to Jenny herself. |
| 222 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': An episode has Professor Farnsworth recruiting three new employees [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute who look suspiciously like Fry, Leela, and Bender]], believing that they're dead, only for the originals to walk into the room. It's implied that Fry, Leela, and Bender are this in turn to the previous crew of the Planet Express who died attempting to harvest [[RecycledInSpace space]] honey. |
| 223 | -->"You'll be the captain, you'll be the delivery boy, and you'll be the alcoholic, foul-mouthed—Oh god, you're alive!" |
| 224 | ** "Möbius Dick" shows that Farnsworth's first crew likewise followed the man/woman/robot configuration, although the man, obsessively dedicated captain Lando Tucker, is explicitly depicted as analogous to Leela while the woman, Candy, has a throwback style vaguely reminiscent of [[FishOutOfTemporalWater Fry]]. |
| 225 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'': The kids once competed against a school run by their principal's brother - basically every kid had their own double with variations in gender/race, and similar names (Regalli--Spinelli, Vance--Vince, Greta Grobler--Gretchen Grundler, Russ Rimple--Gus Griswald, Mickey--Mikey, C.J. Rottweiler--T.J. Detweiler). The other school even had a jungle gym called Big Crusty which looked identical to Old Rusty and Gus noticed many similarities between the two Prickly's schools |
| 226 | ** And then it happened again, albeit with less direct similarity, when Lawson rounded up his own band of recurring minor characters. The shortened version of the opening sequence that normally occurs midway through the show is even replaced with an alternate version starring those kids (it was a double-length episode). |
| 227 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' episode "Thaddeus and Thor", Phineas and Ferb run into two equally-inventive but [[InsufferableGenius much less likable]] kids named, well, Thaddeus and Thor. They also have an older sister named Mandy who's driven crazy by their inventions, and who returns in "Perry the Actorpus" as leader of a group dedicated to helping [[TheCassandra Candace types]] resist their urge to [[TropaholicsAnonymous bust their brothers]]. |
| 228 | * In an episode of the 2010 ''WesternAnimation/{{Pound Puppies|2010}}'' ("Catcalls"), the main team runs into a similar team of cats for the first time. The "Kennel Kittens" not only look like their dog counterparts and have similar roles and names, they [[ActingForTwo share voice actors]] as well. |
| 229 | ** And in "Quintuplets", Lucky and the gang meet a litter of five puppies, with each sibling has a personality corresponding to a dog in the main group (which is repeatedly {{lampshade}}d). |
| 230 | * One episode of ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' showed that the residents of a nearby parallel street had counterparts to all of the main (and secondary) characters. The desire to best them is the only known thing the familiar characters all have in common. |
| 231 | ** Another episode had Hal, an almost exact copy of Hank. |
| 232 | * In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/RatedAForAwesome'', the Awesome-izers are stuck in the country on a field trip and meet a group of country kids (and their pet dog) who are their exact counterparts. |
| 233 | * In ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'', the history of Crystal Cove is littered with teams of mystery solving teenagers. Most of them had a [[LanternJawOfJustice square-jawed]] [[TheLeader Leader]], a [[TheSmartGuy Smart Girl]], a GirlyGirl and a tall gangly guy. All of them had a NonHumanSidekick. Even with the single-gender teams (one of monks and one of cowgirls) you can still see who the counterparts are. |
| 234 | * Used for a brief sight gag in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003''. While hiding in the sewers of an alien world, Mikey sees a group of headband-wearing mutant rats led by a terrapin. "Whoa." |
| 235 | * The "Cool Kids" in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', Jenny, Sour Cream, and Buck, have notable similarities in design, personality traits and tastes in clothing to Amethyst, Pearl, and Garnet, respectively. This is made especially obvious at the end of "Joy Ride", where [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/steven-universe/images/c/c0/Joy_Ride_197.png/revision/latest?cb=20160917165643 both groups pose for a photo together]]. |
| 236 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' episode "The Genuine Article", there's a cat named Gabriel who idolizes Garfield and emulates him in every way, including an unnamed Jon-like owner and Ollie the dog. After a NightmareSequence where Gabriel ends up taking over Garfield's life (up to and including being MerchandiseDriven), Gabriel realises he has lost what made him an individual. |
| 237 | * An episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' when Arthur's third grade class from Lakewood Elementary, taught by Mr. Ratburn, goes to a Renaissance Faire and meets the third grade class from Glenbrook Academy, taught by Mr. Pryce-Jones, Mr. Ratburn's favorite teacher from his school days. Mr. Pryce-Jones is basically is a really snooty, much meaner version of Mr. Ratburn, who is just a [[BunnyEarsLawyer goofy, nerdy, but well-meaning guy who has an affinity for giving a lot of homework to challenge his students' minds]]; Mr. Pryce-Jones seems intent on producing a bunch of snobby learning-machines, and his students behave as such, with an evil BigEater opposed to Buster, an evil TheSmartGuy for the Brain (his counterpart is called "I. Q."), an evil RichBitch for Muffy, and an evil UnluckyEverydude for Arthur (named "Chester"). Arthur and Buster even [[LampshadeHanging Lampshade]] the trope's use: |
| 238 | -->'''Arthur:''' They look familiar. Did we play soccer against those guys?\ |
| 239 | '''Buster:''' No way! I'd remember a bunch of goofy-looking kids like that. |
| 240 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'' episode "The Waste of Time", Wander and Sylvia accidentally travel through time and space through "Time Orbbles" and end up in Wander's past, where in the next galaxy over he was in a situation much like the episode "The Picnic". Except instead of Lord Hater and Emperor Awesome fighting to get a wish during a planetary alignment, it's Major Threat (from "The Good Bad Guy") and his squid-like minions facing off against Admiral Admirable and his Foot Soldiers. |
| 241 | * ''WesternAnimation/PAWPatrol'' has the [[http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/paw-patrol/images/e/e0/Kitten_Catastrophe_Crew.png/revision/latest?cb=20150306202919 Kitastrophe Crew]], a group of kittens led by Mayor Humdinger from Foggy Bottom. The cats are almost identical to our canine heroes and even have the same gear. (Right down to Cat!Zuma having a bone-shaped scuba mouthpiece) |
| 242 | * ''WesternAnimation/MiloMurphysLaw'' has a Similar Squad show up in "The Note", with a scene that pays homage to the one from ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead''. |
| 243 | * ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' had an episode where Joe, regaining the use of his legs, [[TookALevelInJerkass becomes a jerk]] and dumps his old friends in favor of more active friends, which includes two white guys and a black guy; to Cleveland's dismay, the black guy is also named for a city (with 'land' in it's name). |
| 244 | ** There's also an episode where Peter finds his real father, who is exactly like him, even owning an anthropomorphic sheep named O'Brien. |
| 245 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Dinotrux}}'': One episode has Ty and his friends run into a group of Dinotrux that look exactly like them but behave very differently. Ty's counterpart (a female) is always scoffing and rebellious, Skya's counterpart is the leader of her group (not unlike Ty), Ton-Ton's counterpart is always cautious and doesn't speak in a TotallyRadical accent, and Dozer's counterpart really likes being a daredevil (like Ton-Ton). Ty's gang has to teach Rocksie's group how to behave like them to trick D-Structs and D-Stroy, and when their counterparts are thrown into the D-Brothers' prison, Ty and his friends act like Rocksie's gang to "accidentally" break them out. The episode is even called "Opposites". |
| 246 | * When the titular character of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' went to visit his lookalike country cousin Arnie, he's surprised to find the rural community has oddly similar copies of the people in his neighborhood, albeit with flipped personalities (ie. Anti-Rhonda's a slob, Anti-Harold is polite and well spoken). This is unsettling for Arnold until he lays eyes on Hilda, Helga's demure and wall-flowerish lookalike and falls in love with her, only to find she's pining for Arni. To make matters worse, Arnold has managed to attract the unwanted attention of Lyla's counterpart Lulu, much to the besmitten Arnie's ire. This is actually a funny callback to the situation that arose in the previous episode where Arnie visited Arnold in the city. |
| 247 | * In ''WesternAnimation/LegendQuest: Masters of Myth'', Marcella has acquired her own monster-hunting team which is a counterpart to Leo's: Tor is a warrior spirit (albeit a BoisterousBruiser viking rather than a CowardlyLion conquistador); Drummer Boy is a snarky but knowledgable spirit (in place of Teodora and her smartphone); Cinnamon Bling is a fantasy animal (a unicorn instead of an alabreje); and even the two imp-like creatures previously established as the rivals of the sugar skulls. |
| 248 | * ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'': |
| 249 | ** The episode "A Ward Show" has Principal Lewis and Steve riding through a desert to hop the Grand Canyon, where they come across another duo, consisting of an older Caucasian man and an African-American boy with glasses, who are scolded by the former duo. Hilariously, they also try to hop the Grand Canyon at the same time as Principal Lewis and Steve, and end up crashing into each other. |
| 250 | ** The episode "Every Which Way But Lose" has Steve recruit three "equally-important friends" to his pee wee football team: Cheese, Hubert, and Li-Fung, who are identical to Snot, Barry and Toshi. Cheese may or may not be Jewish, Hubert is a fat kid, and Li-Fung is Asian (but Chinese, instead of Japanese). |
| 251 | * In ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', ''[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS12E13SpongeBobsBigBirthdayBlowout SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout]]'' has him take a surface tour with Patrick. The tour bus eventually arrives at a burger diner called "The Trusty Slab", which is pretty much a "Plankton tries to steal the formula" episode played by humans, specifically, the voice actors. |
| 252 | * The Toys/CabbagePatchKids Christmas special had the kids escaping the evil Lavender [=McDade=], Cabbage Jack, and Beau Weasel on their way to the big city, where they run into a trio of gangsters that fill the same basic roles and share the other villains' voice actors. It's lampshaded when one of the kids comments how much they remind them of their usual villains. |
| 253 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' episode "Terror of the Terra-Firmians", the five Terra-Firmians the kids encounter are red, green, blue, pink and grey, reflecting the color-coding of the triplets, Webby, and Lena. Red and Pink even seem to have been having a similar agument to Huey and Webby about [[FaeriesDontBelieveInHumansEither the existence of surface-dwellers]]. |
| 254 | * ''WesternAnimation/GetAce'': The rival band in "Bandemonium" are {{identical stranger}}s to the five kids from Funpark High who happen to be attending, only being [[PaletteSwap differently-colored]], wearing different clothes and being polar opposites in personality. Their names are also just slight alterations of the Funpark High kids. |
| 255 | * ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'': Jet, Sean, Sydney, and Mindy are reflections of Dr. Bergs, Dr. Rafferty, Dr. Skelley, and Mr. Peterson. |
| 256 | ** Both Jet and Dr. Bergs are jovial and comedic. They both love pastries and tend to be the most overdramatic of their respective groups. We eventually learn that Dr. Bergs is the descendant of astronomer pioneer Lone Star, who Jet always portrays when Sydney tells tales about Lone Star. However, unlike Jet, Dr. Bergs is not the leader of the DSA scientists. |
| 257 | ** Sean and Dr. Rafferty have SharedFamilyQuirks, namely them being the most nervous of their respective teams. Like his mother, Sean is fairly intelligent and level-headed. |
| 258 | ** Sydney is the peacekeeper and pretty much the 'parent' of the team whenever they do foolish things. Dr. Skelley is easily the most level-headed of the DSA scientists, as she always offers a clear plan of what to do next, as does Sydney. What's more, they have a shared love of engineering and ''Commander Cressida'' comics. |
| 259 | ** Mindy is a direct reflection of Mr. Peterson. Both have brown hair and outfits with warm colors. They both are very self-centered and proud, but are also the oddballs in their respective groups: Mr. Peterson does not have a doctorate (hence why he's called Mr. and not Dr.), and Mindy is the youngest of the kids. Coincidentally, Mindy has a crush on Mr. Peterson's son Mitchell. |
| 260 | * ''WesternAnimation/LetsGoLuna'': "Blanket Decision" has a dream sequence showing Andy's old friends from America -- Kimmy and Billy, who look just like Andy's current friends Carmen and Leo. Carmen and Kimmy even have the same voice actress. This is significant because the dream shows Andy that he can have old and new friends. |
| 261 | * ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears'': The episode "Panda's Friend" centers around Panda making friends with a guy named Tom who is basically a human version of himself. At the end of the episode, he ends up meeting two human equivalents to Grizzly and Ice Bear, named Griff and Isaac. They would appear in further episodes. |
| 262 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'': |
| 263 | ** The four main characters have counterparts in the delta shifters, who seem more jerky than our heroes (the beta shifters) are; they consist of [[https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Asif Asif]] (Boimler), [[https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Moxy Moxy]] (Tendi), [[https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Karavitus Karavitus]] (Mariner), and a [[https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Unnamed_USS_Cerritos_operations_personnel#Human_ensign_14 currently unnamed man with an eyepatch]] (Rutherford). |
| 264 | ** "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS1E08Veritas Veritas]]" has a gag with Dr. T'Ana running onto what she thinks is the bridge of the ''Cerritos'', only it's another vessel, with strange counterparts to the usual main characters (ie. Boimler's counterpart is some sort of mosquito man). As Dr. T'Ana runs off, cursing why [[LampshadeHanging all Starfleet vessels look alike]], she passes by her own counterpart, a male human doctor with orange facial hair and a similar hairdo, asking "who the hell was that?". |
| 265 | ** Said counterparts show up in a huge BrickJoke in the season 3 finale, as part of [[GunshipRescue the entire fleet of California-class ships]] arriving to save the ''Cerritos'' from certain doom. |
| 266 | [[/folder]] |
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