Troperville
Editing
Tools
|
Character which can only be perceived by one or a small number of other characters. This character's purpose is most often to provide advice, act as a moral compass (see also Closer To Earth, Noble Savage) or subtitute for Mr Exposition. This character may also sometimes act as a Trickster, however; if so and he has super-powers then he's usually The Ozmodiar. In many cases he also acts as Mission Control. If there are two with opposing viewpoints, then you're probably dealing with Good Angel Bad Angel instead.
Ironically, the Spirit Advisor is almost never The Ghost (even if he is an actual ghost).
See also Waif Prophet, Warrior Poet, He Who Must Not Be Seen, Dead Person Conversation, Non Human Sidekick and The Harvey.
Examples:
Live Action TV
- Number Six in the new Battlestar Galactica series is usually invisible to anyone but Gaius Baltar. Her appearances are carefully crafted so that she can be seen as a figment of Gaius's imagination, although she seems to be able to physically manipulate Gaius's clothing and person, and gives Gaius information that could be interpreted as foreknowledge. In one episode, Gaius Baltar appears to a resurrected Number Six, and plays the part of her Spirit Advisor. Interestingly, neither the "real" Baltar or Number Six have any knowledge of their Spirit Advisor counterparts. At least until a recent episode, where Baltar's Spirit Advisor counterpart appears to Baltar.
- Mr. Ed in Mr Ed.
- Al in Quantum Leap.
- Appropriately enough, God in Joan Of Arcadia might be the ultimate Spirit Advisor.
- Marty Hopkirk in Randall And Hopkirk Deceased was a Spirit Advisor whom only his partner-in-detection Jeff could see.
- Ed Chigliak of Northern Exposure has a literal Spirit Advisor, an ancestral Indian spirit named One-Who-Waits.
- Lasciel in The Dresden Files. Although Harry's bound the magical trinket Lasciel resides in, a psychic echo of her still appears in his mind and offers him power and advice. While Harry doesn't necessarily want the help of a fallen angel who's playing a long game on him so that he ends up in Hell's coffers, the things he encounters require him to make use of her Hellfire and other talents.
- Bob and The Archangel Uriel both qualify also.
- Oliver in Slings And Arrows.
- Boone appeared to Locke in the sweat lodge on the tv show Lost.
- Cassie in The4400. She is Kyle Baldwin's promicin-derived ability.
- Snow White in The Tenth Kingdom. She calls herself a fairy godmother, but also freely admits she is actually dead (something which is never really stated about fairy godmothers). Only Virginia and Wendell (the latter either because he's gone doggy at the time or because he's her grandson) can see and speak with her--Tony cannot. She later appears in Virginia's dreams.
- Merlyn of American Gothic. While Caleb is not the only person who can see and speak to her, she does appear for the most part only as a ghost who advises her brother on how to stay on the straight and narrow. The others who catch sight of her or even interact with her (apart from her brief stint as a mortal in "Rebirth") are Buck (who even aside from being the Big Bad has a lot more powers at his disposal than the average resident of Trinity) and Ben Healy. In the latter's case, this is only because Merlyn herself chooses to appear to him and haunt his dreams, since he knows the truth about how she died and she's trying to appeal to his conscience so he can break free of Buck's influence. No one else, like Gail (who is her cousin as well as Caleb's) or Mrs. Holt, ever sees her.
Film
- Captain Daniel Gregg in The Ghost And Mrs Muir.
- In the original Star Wars trilogy, Obi-Wan became this after he died. (See also The Obi Wan.) It is hinted in the prequel that Obi-Wan also learned from Yoda how to communicate with his own deceased mentor Qui-Gon Jinn.
- In Ratatouille, a lonely Remy, desperate for someone to talk to, imagines that the spirit of his hero, Auguste Gusteau, is his spirit advisor. However, Remy is fully aware that he is a figment of his imagination and Gusteau eventually disappears for good when Remy finally accepts that he can rely on his own judgment.
- Played for laughs, too; if Remy ever needs reminding that Gusteau is just a figment of his imagination, Gusteau does.
- Parodied with Sam Elliot's character in The Big Lebowski. Pretty much, picture the most obnoxious cowboy you can imagine, and make him speak entirely in irritating cliches while missing the point of the movie.
- Napoleon Stone was Ghostly Advisor to Jack Moony in Heart Condition.
Anime
Western Animation
- Avatar Roku in Avatar The Last Airbender, the previous incarnation of the Avatar and Aang's immediate past life. He serves in much the same capacity as a guardian to Aang, guiding him through the difficult process of becoming a fully realized Avatar. Though a deep relationship has not yet been established, each knows the other instinctively, and both are pleased to communicate with one another when the opportunity arises.
- Thoughtfully spoofed in The Simpsons episode "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Homer", where Homer hallucinates after eating "the Merciless Peppers of Quetzlzacatenango". His Spirit Advisor is a coyote[1]
 ◊, the trickster spirit of a number of Amerindian tribes. The distinctive voice of Homer's spirit guide is provided by legendary singer Johnny Cash. This sequence eventually leads to the infamous line "In your face, space coyote!"
- In Thundercats, the soul of team mentor Jaga comes Back From The Dead so he can continue giving sage advice to Lion-O.
- In the cartoon, Bionic 6, the spirit of Karate 1's biological father would occasionally appear to him, to give him a quick pep talk or to Deus Ex Machina him free of the bad guy's trap. Usually both.
- In Transformers: Cybertron, Vector Prime has a brief stint in this role after his death in "Guardian".
Videogames
- Videogame example: In Prey, the main character's grandfather, Enisi, is a wise Indian who keeps scolding the protagonist for his rebellious nature. Soon after the aliens attack, Enisi kicks the bucket as an alien machine eviscerates him. From there on he is the protagonist's Spirit Advisor.
- The Shadow Hearts series both plays with the trope and uses it straight. In the first game, the Spirit "Advisors" are the Four Masks, fiendish entities who torment and mock those who can see them, plotting to steal their souls. Later, in Covenant, Jeanne plays the role straight for Yuri. A past Big Bad also appears in a dodgy Heel Face Turn.
- Pharos from Persona 3 is a very, very creepy example.
- In the video game Puzzle Quest: Challenge Of The Warlords, one of the last subquests involves Sunspear the Minotaur going off to die in battle against an elder frost dragon. When you follow his instructions and return to your departure point, he rejoins your party as a spirit (with his Red Mana bonus now extending to battles with the undead as well as other minotaurs) It's never mentioned whether any of the other party members can see him.
- Mia Fey, The Obi Wan, performs this function in the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney games. Made easier by the fact that Phoenix's Sidekick is a Spirit Medium and Mia's little sister, whose job description is speaking on behalf of dead people. (Actually, this often happens involuntarily, as Maya's abilities for the first game and a half are a bit hit-or-miss, and Mia's a definitely forceful personality). Later on, usually when Maya is unavailable, their Medium-prodigy cousin Pearl does similar helpful channeling.
Comicbooks
- The DCU hero Firestorm was created by atomically merging student Ronnie Raymond and scientist Martin Stein. In practice, this essentially resulted (at least initially) in a super-powered Ronnie with Stein acting as a Spirit Advisor.
Literature
- John in the webnovel John Dies at the End serves this role when his best friend David starts becoming aware of the supernatural and questioning his own sanity. John can't appear for David directly, and thus communicates by broadcasting his words through a cell phone, a bratwurst, and a dog, in that order.
- In The General series by S.M. Stirling and David Drake, General Raj Whitehall is advised by Center, a pre-collapse-of-civilization computer (originally a traffic-control computer, but its abilities go far beyond).
- The Mademoiselle loads a beta-level sim of herself into Ana Khouri's brain implants in Revelation Space.
Other
- In Wagner's Götterdämmerung, Big Bad Alberich appears as Spirit Advisor to his son Hagen.
- In the play (and miniseries) Angels In America, Ethel Rosenberg appears to Roy Cohn after he is diagnosed with AIDS, though it's mainly just to torture him while he's on his deathbed (It's stated that he illegally influenced the verdict in her trial to get her executed). She fits this trope more traditionally when she helps Louis recite the Kaddish (the Jewish prayer for the dead) after Roy dies. Prior's ancestors fit this trope too.
|
|
