A standard of teen
Sit Coms and
dramas, the
Six Student Clique is an ensemble that has members
fall into standard teen archetypes.
Using the best known example,
Saved By The Bell, the characters are:
Guys:
- Zack — The "main" character. Has a bit of The Ace in him; a bit of the schemer in him. Uses his brain to get what he wants... which is why all of his zany schemes blow up in his face. Clever but Book Dumb.
- Slater — The muscle. He has a bod, and he's not afraid to flaunt it. Girls swoon at his passing. And yet, he still hangs out with Zack.
- Screech — The quirk. He's usually depicted as a nerd, though there are some exceptions. Very smart, but not very world-savvy. Usually talks in a high squeaky voice. Sometimes has aspects of the Wacky Guy.
Girls:
- Kelly — The pretty one (though it is difficult to make hard distinctions). She's the one Zack and Slater usually fight over. Sometimes surprises people by having a lot of brains. Sometimes, she's a ditzy chick.
- Jesse — The smart one. As smart as Screech, but without the quirks. Most likely to freak out at the prospect of getting The B Grade.
- Lisa — The wild one. Okay, Lisa usually isn't very wild, but there is that fashion obsession... Usually, this slot will be reserved for a girl who is either as quirky as The Screech (comedies) or a really wild child (dramas). In the musical chair world of cast pairings, she usually lines up with Screech, but rarely dates him. Or even likes him.
Occasionally, the male and female roles trade, but this is the most common version.
Sometimes a
seventh character can be added — usually an upperclassman — to bring either a
foil to the main clique (comedy) or a teenaged
Obi Wan (drama).
Examples:
- Saved By The Bell, of course.
- My So Called Life:
- Angela — the pretty one
- Sharon — the smart one
- Rayanne — the wild one
- Jordan — the muscle
- Ricki — the brain
- Brian — The Screech
- Higher Ground:
- Scott — the brain
- Auggie — the muscle
- Ezra — The Screech
- Shelby — the smart one
- Juliette — the pretty one
- Daisy — the wild one
- Kat — The Obi Wan
- Semi-comic book example: the Archie Comics gang
- She's Josie, before it became Josie And The Pussycats:
- Josie — the pretty one (the main character)
- Pepper — the smart one
- Melody — the wild one
- Alex — the main guy
- Albert — the quirk
- Sock — the muscle
- Although more grown up, the main characters of Friends certainly fit this trope.
- Joey — the muscle and Handsome Lech
- Ross and Chandler — shared normal/quirk
- Rachel — the pretty one
- Monica — the smart one
- Pheobe — the wild one
- Ditto for Coupling:
- Steve — the normal one
- Patrick — the muscle
- Jeff — the weirdo
- Sally — the pretty one
- Susan — the smart one
- Jane — the wild one
- Cluedo is another adult version:
- Rev. Green — the normal one
- Prof. Plum — the quirk
- Col. Mustard — the muscle
- Mrs. White — the pretty one
- Mrs. Peacock — the smart one
- Miss Scarlet — the wild one
- The OC:
- Ryan — the main character
- Seth — The Screech
- Marissa (Season 1-3) — the wild/dramatic one, with elements on the pretty one
- Summer — the pretty one, with elements of the smart one
- Taylor (Season 3-4) — the smart one, with elements of the wild/quirky one
- The show used a parade of recurring characters to fill the roles of the muscle and the smart one, allowing the show to immediately set up a new Love Triangle following each Cleaning Up Romantic Loose Ends
- The gang at the ministry in Harry Potter almost meets this: it's just Ron who doesn't fit:
- Harry — the leader
- Ron — while not terribly strong or skilled in magic, he is very loyal.
- Neville — the weirdo
- Ginny — the pretty one
- Hermione — the smart one
- Luna — the wild one
- The Recess gang almost fits this trope, with the odd exception.
- TJ Detweiler — The leader (and The Ace)
- Vince La Salle - Actually he's kinda the "sporty one". He's generally assumed to be "cool"
- Spinelli — The Wild One (though her personality better fits that of the Muscle).
- Gretchen Grundler — The Smart One
- Gus Griswald — The Nerd (and the New Kid).
- Mikey — is the oddball. He could be the muscle on account of his size but he's mostly a Gentle Giant who enjoys writing poetry.
- Gossip Girl, although it's not clear who the sixth member should be. Jenny often feels like she's off on her own show, so Vanessa might be a better fit.
- Dan — The main character
- Nate — The muscle
- Chuck — The wild one
- Serena — The pretty one
- Blair — The smart one
- Jenny — Sometimes the quirk, sometimes a wild child
- Vanessa — The oddball, although only because she doesn't fit with the rest of the group socially. She's not really that strange.
- Or alternatively... (This Troper thinks it works better with a gender swap)
- Blair - The main character
- Serena - the muscle
- Vanessa or Jenny - The screech
- Nate - The pretty one
- Dan - The smart one
- Chuck - the wild one
- Skins
- Tony - the leader, the schemer
- Sid - The quirk
- Chris - the muscle
- Michelle - the pretty one
- Jal - the smart one
- Cassie - the wild one
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer has this in some form or another its whole life.
- Buffy - the pretty one, the main character
- Willow - the smart one
- Cordelia - the wild one. Also a bit of a Libby, originally. Eventually replaced by Anya.
- Xander - the 'main character', at least among the males.
- Angel - the muscle. Replaced by Riley then Spike.
- Oz - The Screech.
- 6Teen
- Wyatt - could technically be considered the 'main character', although he's also usually the more passive member of the male half of the group.
- Caitlyn - the pretty one.
- Jonesy - the muscle, though he is more likely to start zany schemes than Wyatt.
- Nikki - definetly the wild one.
- Jude - The Screech.
- Jen - the smart one.
- Alvin And The Chipmunks:
- Alvin — the main character
- Simon — the quirk
- Theodore — the only one who doesn't quite fit.
- Eleanor — the pretty one
- Jeanette — the smart one
- Brittany — the wild one
- That70s Show: A bit of a subversion as there are 4 guys and 2 girls rather than 3 and 3.
- Eric - The main character, mainly due to his position in the series rather then personality
- Hyde - the muscle
- Fez - The quirk
- Jackie - The pretty one
- Donna - The smart one
- Kelso - The wild one
- Finds it very strange that, having no knowledge of this trope, this troper started a fan club while in middle school that even had "Clique" in the name, which allowed no more new members at the number of 6. Truth In Television?
- Cloverfield: They're not really a clique but they are friends.
- The main character - Rob
- The Muscle - Jason
- The Quirk - Hud
- The Pretty One - Beth
- The Smart One - Lily
- The Wild One - Marlena
- Glee
- The main character - Finn
- The Muscle - Puck
- The Quirk - Kurt and Artie
- The Pretty One - Quinn
- The Smart One - Rachel
- The Wild One - Mercedes and Tina
