It all started, with a penny in the door.
There was a hatred I had never felt before!
So, now I'll make him pay, each and every day...
Until that moussed-haired, little nuisance is...
no... more!
There was a hatred I had never felt before!
So, now I'll make him pay, each and every day...
Until that moussed-haired, little nuisance is...
no... more!
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Doctor (Calvin Zabo), who is Skye's father. Being in the same room as him when he is in a bad mood is a VERY bad idea.
- The Amanda Show: Misty Raines from the Show Within a Show "Moody's Point". "You're so hurtful!"
- The Amazing Race:
- Manipulative Editing and the stressful nature will make it seem like several racers a season have one of these, but Season 14's Jaime Faith Edmondson, above all others, was infamous for going from calm to a rampaging monster at the drop of a hat.
- Jonathan from season six also became infamous for it, to the point that pretty much all the viewers were genuinely concerned that he was physically abusive to his wife and teammate, and the two received a talking-to from Dr. Phil after the season ended.
- Angel: Illyria's inhuman stoicism makes it hard to see the explosive, homicidal rage in time to steer clear.
- Battlestar Galactica (2003): Saul Tigh. Kara Thrace is just as bad which results in quite a tempestuous relationship between the two. It doesn't help that they're both alkies.
- Betty: Kirt has one, as her friends rebuke her for when her blowing up at a guy gets them arrested (she runs off before the cops come).
- The Big Bang Theory: Parodied and discussed in an early episode. When Raj and Howard find out that Sheldon is moving out of his and Leonard's apartment, Raj and Howard think that Leonard did something to provoke him and list off possible reasons for this; the list is a string of minor pet peeves that are either easily correctable or wouldn't be problematic for a normal person. The last guess is making fun of trains.
- Big Train had a sketch about Den Davies, "the second most famous rostrum cameraman in the world" whose sanity slowly slipped over the years after being left in the shadow of the legendary Ken Morse. He is addicted to tranquilizers and constantly swears and snarls at his subordinates, bursting into uncontrolled rage when anyone even slightly upsets him or so much as tries to politely suggest he change how he does something. This culminates in him having a complete nervous breakdown and losing his career, eventually being reduced to taking photos of tourists in the street to pay the bills.
- Boardwalk Empire: Gyp Rosetti will kill anyone who insults him. Or who he imagines insulted him. Or anyone who happens to be close by when he's in a bad mood. Combined with his penchant for Disproportionate Retribution, it makes him very dangerous. His temper results in a mob war between himself and Nucky Thompson.
- Breaking Bad: Tuco is an extremely volatile and paranoid drug dealer who actually takes a liking to Walter because he has the balls to stand up to Tuco and demands that Tuco deals fairly with him. At their first drug deal, Tuco kills one of his own bodyguards for a petty reason and Walter and Jessie realize that it is only a matter of time before Tuco kills them over something equally petty.
- C'Mon Midffîld! has Mr Arthur Picton, who is like this to almost everyone, but especially with the foolish Wali Tomos. His reaction to almost everything Wali suggests is "BE!?"
- Community: Chang flies off the handle with little or no provocation.
- Control Z: Natalia, someone who basically "hates everyone" as stated by Sofía, is very capricious and prone to anger even by the minimal efforts her sister María does to help her.
- CSI: NY: Danny Messer had a few instances, particularly when Aiden Burn was killed in season 2 and then in season 5 when a Neo-Nazi spit on Sheldon Hawkes.
- Curb Your Enthusiasm: Susie Greene, in spades. Usually combined with Cluster F-Bomb.
- Dead to Me: Jen is a woman that is easily angered. This trait has strained her relationship with everyone in her life, especially her family and coworkers, the poor relationship with her husband is bad, but when he dies after they fight, this only becomes worse, enough for her business partner to finally not be able to take anymore and end their business relationship. Even when she finally gets another job, she is still called out for that.
- Doctor Who:
- "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy": Nord, Vandal of the Roads. Any offer of help is met with threats, as is any request for assistance.
- Sacha Dhawan's incarnation of the Master, introduced in "Spyfall", is arguably the most easily-angered version of the character to date. Even when in a relatively "good" mood, he constantly seems seconds away from exploding in anger, which he does a lot. He actually lampshades it at one point by remarking that a bomb he's planted has a short fuse, something he can relate to.
- Drake & Josh: Crazy Steve:
- YOU TOOK MY ENCHILADAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
- The Dropout: Sunny Balwani. The Theranos COO is often seem yelling obscenities or pounding his fist whenever problems come up with the revolutionary blood-testing machine they just cannot get to work.
- ER: Dr. Anna DelAmico, who tended to react to every single thing Doug said or did as either a sexist putdown or a come-on. To the point where he could not even call her by her first name without her going on a tear about how he was being chauvinist and patronizing.
- Family Ties: In the episode "I Never Killed For My Father" from the first season, Steven dreads that his father is coming to visit — so he tries to make a list of "safe" topics to discuss. As it turns out, though, there is no "safe" topic. When he lets his father have it at the end, then the two of them manage to reconcile.
- FBI: Most Wanted: The Fatal Flaw of perp of the week Denise Tyson in "Defender". Once she snaps, the least little thing is likely to send her flying off the handle. she pistol whips a hostage senseless for attempting to signal for help.
- Freaks and Geeks: Kim Kelly was so sensitive that saying anything to her could strike a nerve and turn her hostile. Her boyfriend Daniel once suggested that she be rational about something, to which she replied, in a hair-trigger fashion: "Are you calling me irrational? Because I'll tear your head off, Daniel. I'll tear it off and I'll throw it over that fence."
- Game of Thrones:
- King Joffrey Baratheon reacts with insane fury whenever some he sees as beneath him (and believes cannot fight back) acts in a way he considers out of line, such as other children not cowering before their prince, peasants pelting him with manure, advisors pointing out the obvious flaws in his plans, his mother furiously slapping him when he mocks her for Robert's infidelity, or most awesomely his uncle publicly promising to cut off his genitalia if he does not stop tormenting him and Sansa. However, since he is the epitome of Dirty Coward, he takes any insult from those with the power and spine to truly hurt him by weeping, whimpering, and either begging for mercy or shutting the hell up immediately.
- The Mountain's response to losing a tourney is to behead his mount and attack the winner before hundreds of witnesses. He also melted his little brother's face in a brazier for stealing one of his toys.
- The older and larger they get, the more aggressive the dragons become. When trying to break up a fight between the three over the carcass of a sheep, Drogon whirls round and warningly snarls at Daenerys not to interfere, before taking the castle. Jorah points out to her afterward that at the end of the day, they are still animals, and the wilder aspects of their nature can never truly be tamed.
- Gotham:
- Oswald Cobblepot is the show's outstanding example, as per usual for the character in the comics. While he mostly keeps it under control in season 1 as he snivels and sucks up to his superiors (though he lets it out in some scenes), the later seasons in which he is the undisputed crime lord of the city sees him let it out full force, combined with Suddenly Shouting and a lot of villainous breakdowns. Usually mixed with Shoot the Messenger or otherwise taking it out on his hapless mooks.
Penguin: (burying the corpse of the guy he just murdered in a screeching rage) Ok...I admit, I might have lost my temper there a little bit.- Ed Nygma devolves into this as the series progresses, also per the character in the comics. When we first meet him, he's meek and afraid to stand up to criticism and verbal putdowns, but after his Face–Heel Turn all that resentment manifests in a spectacularly short fuse and a manic personality. He reacts to people getting his riddles right (or wrong) rather poorly, but that's not the only thing that can set him off.
- The Great British Bake Off: Iain from series 5 had one of these, eventually culminating in a moment where he angrily threw his Baked Alaska in the bin after discovering that Diana had inadvertently caused it to melt, which resulted in him being eliminated because he had absolutely nothing to show the judges.
- Hell's Kitchen: Gordon Ramsey. He mostly plays it up because people expect it, but things like disrespect and laziness really do set him off. You get a better feel for his real personality in his British TV shows or the version of Master Chef with children. But if he's set off expect a chef to be on the Chopping block (as in at risk of being eliminated).
- The Honeymooners:
- Ralph Kramden is practically volcanic, especially when things don't go his way. He is especially like this towards Alice and Ed Norton, and also towards his mother-in-law. A couple of examples:
- When he overhears his mother-in-law tell Alice the "surprise ending" of a murder mystery, that it wasn't the uncle, but the husband, who committed the murder, Ralph shouts at her, "You are a BLABBERMOUTH!!!!!!!"
- When Ralph and Norton are spending the night together:Ed Norton: Ralph, are you sure you don't want a kumquat?
Ralph Kramden: WILL YOU GO TO SLEEP!
- I Am Not Okay With This: Syd has an anger problem as a result of her dad's death, and is getting counseling for it. Her starting a diary is recommended as part of her anger management therapy so she can express her feelings that way. It results in her accidentally killing her brother's pet, and then Brad, when she lost control of her telekinesis.
- The Indian Detective: Gopal can get really wildly angry when things don't go his way, although he mostly takes out his anger on inanimate objects—like throwing his phone when his brother is arrested, or smashing the scale model of Marlowe's tower in his house when he learns the latest heroin shipment was intercepted at the Canadian border.
- The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: DS Barbara Havers, particularly in the early days. In the pilot, "A Great Deliverance", pretty much every other sentence out of Lynley's mouth enrages her for some reason or other. Occasionally, those reasons are even valid. She mellows out over time:Lynley: The woman is a minefield!
- Justified: Dickie Bennett has a violent if unreliable temper. Sometimes he can keep his cool no matter what stress he is under, while other times even the least setback will drive him into a rage. Since Dickie's a sadistic marijuana dealer who believes that Murder Is the Best Solution, this can have drastic consequences for anybody he has in his power.
- The L Word: Max develops one after he starts taking testosterone, having outbursts over quite minor things and dismaying Jenny, his girlfriend, who says she doesn't recognize him. It turns out this is due to his dose being much too high. This changes back to how he was once it's adjusted.
- The Muppet Show: Miss Piggy not only has a rotten temper, she's more than likely to karate-chop anyone who sets it off.
- Never Have I Ever: Downplayed with Devi. It isn't entirely beyond control, but she does have quite the temper. She's described as a hot-head by McEnroe, who — as tennis fans probably know — has a very public history of getting heated with umpires himself. It's most likely connected to her trauma.
- The Order: Lilith is a fiery young woman who flies into rages over minor things easily.
- Pizza: Everyone, as is standard for Australians. Especially Ronnie McDoggle (credit as 'Ronny McDonny') from Freaky Pizza.
- Revolution: "Sex and Drugs" introduces Drexel, a drug lord with this sort of temper. The sight of Miles Matheson showing up on his property makes him angry. Remembering how Miles betraying Monroe sullied Drexel's reputation makes him angry. His poppy fields, which he uses to make heroin, being burned makes him angry. The fact that the people who burned his poppy fields are a family of Irish cops makes him angry. Aaron looking at him funny makes him angry. Miles running off to stop Charlie Matheson from making a big mistake makes him angry. In short, just about everything makes him angry.
- Saturday Night Live:
- The host of the "Joe Pesci Show" sketches (played by Jim Bruer) regularly beats his guests with a baseball bat and most sketches end with him attacking the camera.
- The real Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro show up in one episode and beat their impersonators senseless, and Frank Sinatra (not the real one) had his bodyguards give Joe a good working over.
- The one-shot character Johnny Canal (a Davy Crockett-style frontiersman, minus some IQ points) pulls out his Bowie knife and attacks anyone whenever they ask him questions he can't answer. Or even just fail to laugh at his stories.
- Saxondale: Each episode opens with the titular character attending his prescribed anger management classes. They don't work very well.
- Scrubs:
- The Janitor warps every word that comes out of J.D's mouth into justification for making the doctor's life a living hell. After spending an eternity trying to placate the Manipulative Bastard, J.D eventually gives up and tries to beat the Janitor at his own game. It's rare that he succeeds.
- Dr. Cox and Jordan also get the Hair-Trigger Temper when the plot demands it. Carla also seems to have played this role at least once per episode since she and Turk got engaged. In fact, most of the Scrubs characters adopt this trope temporarily at some point.
- Some Girls:
- Holli Vavasour has such a legendary temper, that all her friends run for the hills or watch in helpless resignation when she goes off on some poor sap. She even threw a toilet out the window during one fit of rage.
- Her friend Saz isn't much better, lashing out in rage at anything she even perceives as a slight. She once slammed Holli's head into a table, although that's justified as Holli had accidentally humiliated Saz in front of her crush.
- Stargirl (2020): Artemis easily lashes out in anger. Having two supervillain parents who constantly have her work hard and exercise, whilst enabling her aggressive tendencies, really didn't do well for her emotional health.
- Supernanny: Quite a few of the kids and parents are shown to have volcanic tempers, which can lead to great physical/emotional harm to one or more parties.
- The littlest things can set off Andrew Weston's tantrums. When Andrea turns off the water he uses to wash his wagon, he starts toppling over garden furniture.
- The littlest things set Gabby Cantoni off, such as not being allowed to use real water in the teacup she uses for her tea party, and having to wear diapers to bed due to drinking large quantities of liquid before bed.
- The Thick of It: Malcolm Tucker and Jamie McDonald
are both possessors of very, very short fuses for anger. Jamie might have the edge, however; generally, Malcolm's anger is usually focused and prompted by other people's incompetence and stupidity, whereas Jamie just seems perpetually on the edge of snapping into loud, violent anger even at merely hypothetical provocations. - The West Wing: Toby Ziegler. Case in point: Margaret runs away from him in fear of his sanity when one day, in an unnaturally good mood, he tells her to "let a smile be your umbrella."
- Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Once parodied this with a game called "What Are You Trying to Say?" where Colin Mochrie and Ryan Stiles played two people with hair-trigger tempers taking each other's comments the wrong way.
- The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful Crossover: Sheila Carter could easily take naming rights of this trope home. "What are you. nuts?" "Bitch, I will snap you like a twig. NOBODY MESSES WITH ME, NOBODY!"
