Not So Above It All / Live-Action TV

Characters who turn out to be Not So Above It All in Live-Action TV series.

---

• In an episode of 30 Rock, Jack criticizes Lemon for always hanging out with her immature writers, who are in the process of having a "yo mama" joke contest. He asks her to go to a sophisticated royal birthday with him.
  Lemon: Okay, I'll do it. But I won't like it.
  Jack: That's what your mom said last night. Booyah.
  Lemon: That... was surprising.
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: In a first season episode, Fitz charges in on the rest of the team (who are relaxing on the Bus), demanding to know who put shaving cream in his hand while he was sleeping (which he then smeared on his own face). The others burst out laughing and deny responsibility, which Fitz doesn't believe, asserting it had to be one of them. The scene cuts to the cockpit where The Stoic May is listening in via intercom and has a very smug smile.
  • Another first-season episode: Nick Fury is rather upset with Coulson for destroying a mobile command centre in defeating the problem of the week...but not for the reason you'd expect.
    Fury: Do you know how much this plane costs? It's got a bar! ...a really nice one.
• All in the Family:
  • Edith is normally a Kindhearted Simpleton and All-Loving Hero-type who happily treats everyone with love and respect, even non-whites, gays, and trans-people in a time where they were generally treated with scorn. That said, in the flashback when she first meets the Meathead, and he shows up at their door with messy hair, a big beard, and a tie-dye shirt with a popped collar and his chest exposed, she's every bit as repulsed at the sight as Archie is.
  • And despite Archie being the outward racist of the family, both Edith and even the Meathead have their moments of racism as well. Just to name example of each, one episode has Edith muse that "the Sandman" should be Arab rather than Japanese because "The Arabs have much more sand", and another has Lionel call out the Meathead for treating him as "a spokesman of Black people" while Archie, despite his racism, treats Lionel as an individual and genuine friend.
• This happens to Michael Bluth on Arrested Development all the time. His family usually drives him to it. And his family will mock him for falling to their level.
  • In fact, a Running Gag on the show is that Michael's family members are always accusing him of being selfish when he sacrifices himself for them all the time and they (specifically George, Lucille, G.O.B., and Lindsay) are selfish and self-absorbed to the point of absurdity.
  • It's not just Michael. George Michael and Maeby are pretty normal at the beginning of the show. But the former becomes a Jerkass in Season 4 while the latter devolves into a Consummate Liar after becoming a movie executive.
• As a typical characteristic of the Blackadder dynasty, Mr.E.Blackadder harshly shows contempt for all popular trends and contemporary idols, such as highwaymen and the Scarlet Pumpernickel, that is until he grows desperate and/or greedy enough to have a part in them, showing that not even he is totally above being influenced by society and its rewards. His skin is also surprisingly easy to get under, seeing that anyone's insults (even Baldrick's) manage to touch a nerve.
• In The Big Bang Theory, Leonard, Howard and Bernadette are trying to get Raj, who's in a funk and refusing to leave his apartment after he gets dumped. Raj explains he can stay in his apartment thanks to online delivery, and shows the lobsters he ordered. Howard and Leonard get distracted on their task by noting that if they ordered some steaks as well, they could have surf n' turf, but Bernadette angrily makes them get back on track. Raj, however, has his mind made up and retreats to his room. Bernadette then suggests they all go to Red Lobster to rethink their plan, causing Howard and Leonard to stare at her.
  Bernadette: We’re all thinking it. I just had the decency to wait for him to leave.
• On Boy Meets World, Mr. Feeny puts up with Eric's wacky treatment of him (including the vaunted Feeny Call) for years. Finally, at the end of the show, Eric gets him to admits he enjoys the Feeny Call.
• Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Captain Holt is the series The Comically Serious Stoic, and is (ironically) the Straight Man for everyone else's wacky antics. However he still gets moments of joining in, and they just get more common as the series gets Denser and Wackier.
  • The Halloween Heist is probably the most obvious example. The first Heist Holt only participates to get extra overtime out of Peralta, but by the later seasons he's taking it just as, if not more, seriously than everyone else.
  • "The Chopper" stands out as one of the first big examples. After spending most of the episode trying to reign Jake in (and being dubbed "Wet Blanket" as a result) Holt snaps and joins in on solving the case, realizing that it's the opportunity to do the police work he used to do before being assigned to Public Affairs the first time around.
    Holt: Maybe we should take the chopper.
    Jake: [gasps] You said chopper!
    Holt: DEATH BLADE! SIDEWINDER! IT'S GO TIME!
    Jake: Roger that, Wet Blanket!
    Holt: No. From now on, call me... Velvet. Thunder.
    Jake: Oh-kay!
• The Scoobies visit Giles's place in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Xander notes that Giles is not that different from the rest of us — he owns a TV, even if Xander had to move some things in order to find it.
  • In "A New Man", a spell turns Giles into a demon and Spike encourages him to work off his frustrations with some gratuitous violence. Giles indignantly refuses...until he sees Professor Walsh, whom he promptly chases down the street with load roars.
• Cluedo: In "And Then There Were Nuns", Reverend Green engages in some Percussive Therapy by throwing all of the Holier Than Thou Sister Concepta (who questioned his godliness and his trying to evict his friends)'s suitcases out of the house and Ms. Scarlet, who has been the calmest of the suspect's throughout Sister Concepta's visit, sees this. Ms. Scarlet calms Green down, says not to let the nun get to him, and suggests he take a long walk. Then, once Reverend Green leaves, she glances at Sister Concepta's parasol, which she's carrying around, and drops it on top of the rest of the discarded luggage.
• Cobra Kai hints at this with Daniel on more than a few occasions, implying that deep down he really does enjoy the bombastic and bad-ass nature of the titular karate a lot more than he will ever admit to anyone or even himself. When learning Eagle Fang from Johnny he admits that he does respect the tough-guy nature of it, albeit the way he "would respect a mad man with a nuke" which greatly satisfies Johnny. Terry Silver even stares him down at one point and outright tells him "there's a little Cobra Kai in him" and that he secretly enjoyed his time as a bad guy, to which Daniel has no response but to storm out.
• Community: In the episode "Basic Lupine Urology," it briefly looks like Colonel Archwood (who came to the school to defend Todd against accusations of murdering a yam) will be the Only Sane Man when he refuses to accept a pinky swear as legally binding. Then it turns out his problem wasn't with the pinky swear, but that it was made with a criminal, and proceeds to spend the rest of the episode getting just as crazy as everyone else.
  Archwood: This is ridiculous. This whole school is ridiculous. Who honors the pinky swear of a degenerate over the word of a decorated soldier?
• In Criminal Minds, Hotch is The Comically Serious Stoic and believed to have No Sense of Humor (though less so in later seasons), but he gets a few moments like this. In "Profiler, Profiled" Reid is demonstrating "physics magic" (read:using vinegar and Alka-Seltzer to make rockets), when one lands at Hotch's feet. He picks it up and walks over to Reid's desk, looking like a stern father about to give lecture (with implied previous lectures) when:
  Hotch: [beat] Really starting to get some distance on those. [leaves]
• Fran Sinclair from Dinosaurs is usually portrayed as the most responsible and sensible of the family, with many episodes having her try to steer her husband Earl toward the right direction. On some occasions, though, Fran has her moments of being in the wrong or at least less responsible than she usually is.
  • In "Wilderness Weekend", after being inebriated from drinking beer, Fran becomes rather forward with Earl, who is visibly surprised by his wife being eager to do the nasty with him.
  • In "Out of the Frying Pan", after their youngest child Baby Sinclair proves to be a popular advertising mascot for frying pans, Fran becomes obsessed with making Baby a star. Earl's warnings of valuing Baby's success as a star over living a decent life aren't heeded until Fran eventually has an Imagine Spot of Baby resenting her in his adulthood because of how far she pushed him.
  • She is among the people who end up brainwashed by the new religion of "potato-ism" in "The Greatest Story Ever Sold". It isn't until her son Robbie is sentenced to burning at the stake for challenging potato-ism that she comes to her senses.
• Doctor Who:
  • "Bad Wolf": The Doctor grouses about humans being brainless sheep, fed on a diet of mindless reality shows... and then asks Lynda if they still have Bear With Me, a reality show about three people having to live with a bear.
  • "In the Forest of the Night": The Doctor's frustrated words about how sonic screwdrivers don't work on trees might just imply that even he isn't completely beyond the Primal Fear factor of the forest. Not that extraneous given that Gallifrey was said to have forests as well, whatever fancy colours they might come in.
  • In the classic series, Romana tended to be rather dismissive of the Doctor's general nonsense, but wasn't above playing along at times. For example, in "City of Death", when the Doctor is "explaining" stealing the Countess's bracelet because "I'm a thief, and this is Romana, she's my accomplice," she gives a little wave, and later endorses his proposal that after the interrogation they should go out and get lunch.
• Engine Sentai Go-onger has Sixth Ranger Hiroto and Miu Suto being much more serious than the rest of the team. That being said, Hiroto has a very comical fear of ghosts and whenever Miu learns about whatever the main team is up to, her response is generally along the lines to "This is the dumbest idea I've ever heard, let me join you guys."
• Extraordinary Attorney Woo: Senior lawyer Myung-seok carries himself with dignity but will launch into song-and-dance and engage in juvenile humor if a case calls for it.
• The Flash (2014) has Dr. Harrison Wells, who is normally the most serious member of the S.T.A.R. Labs team. However, he has a tendency to geek out over movies like Back to the Future and Ghostbusters, is very fond of Big Belly Burger and is known to appreciate Cisco's bad puns and nicknames.
• In an episode of Frasier, let's just say the Crane Boys aren't the only ones who make quick, rash decisions. In this particular episode, since Daphne has married Niles earlier and will thus be moving out of the condo, Frasier is looking for a replacement housekeeper but has trouble finding a suitable one. One of the candidates turns out to be a major sports fan and for this reason, Martin hires her on the spot in spite of Frasier's objections (it's usually the other way around). Unfortunately, the lady turns out to be very irresponsible and some days doesn't even show up for work. Martin takes it upon himself to clean up the place because he doesn't want to admit that Frasier was right.
• Friends: When Monica and Rachel challenge Chandler and Joey to a contest to see which group knows the other better they suggest Ross come up with the questions. Ross dismisses the idea, pointing out he has a life of his own and is far too busy to deal with that.
  Rachel: Okay, we'll just get Phoebe to do it.
  Ross: (sheepish) No, I wanna play!
• Game of Thrones:
  • The North is not above betrayals and realpolitik that Ned accuses the South. While they were praising Robb as he was winning battles on the field, the stronger houses started going against his orders when the going got tough and after losing they put all the blame on him. The Undying Loyalty from most houses was a case of Fair-Weather Friend. Indeed, in Season 6, Jon and Sansa's true supporters against the Boltons are mostly outsiders — southerners like Davos and Brienne, Essosi like Melisandre, the Wildlings and the Knights of the Vale, while Northern stalwarts like the Umbers betrayed Rickon and the Glovers sat on the fence.
  • While undoubtedly a good person, Jon Snow initially had some entitlement issues, which was actually a problem when he was still starting at the Night's Watch.
  • Even though Tywin has little patience for Joffrey's antics, he's shown suppressing a grin during Joffrey's "War of the Five Kings" reenactment-by-dwarf, which mocks his former rivals. Despite his aura of invincibility, he has never won a battle without overwhelming numerical superiority and once lost a battle to Edmure Tully, with greater numbers to boot.
  • Tywin is known to be one the most humorless and stoic men in Westeros and seems to be proud of his demeanor. Nevertheless, Arya gets a smile and a chuckle out of him while being a smartass prisoner.
  • Tyrion Lannister:
    • The usually cool and snarky Tyrion finally loses it when Joffrey's stupidity nearly gets them all ripped apart by a mob in "The Old Gods and the New".
      Tyrion: We've had vicious kings and we've had idiot kings, but I don't know if we've ever been cursed with a vicious idiot for a king!
    • In "The Laws of Gods and Men", he completely snaps after Shae's betrayal, where the abuse and humiliation he's been through his whole life reaches its tipping point and in a rage calls out the entire court for being ungrateful for all he did for them as acting Hand of the King, wishing that he had just let Stannis kill all of them.
    • In "The Children", he kills Shae, and then coldly shoots his father with a crossbow.
  • Even the stoic and no-nonsense Grey Worm can't help but be roped into silly little contests with Daario. On a more poignant level, despite being a eunuch he is implied in "Two Swords" to have a crush on Missandei, which Daario good-naturedly taunts him over. He also makes jokes. Hilariously serious ones.
• Margo Leadbetter on BBC sitcom The Good Life (from The '70s). Famously snobbish and humourless (something which she admits she was cruelly teased about as a schoolgirl), she nonetheless can be counted on when it matters and (to her astonishment) actually cracks some genuinely funny remarks at times.
• Grey's Anatomy: The patient of the week has an object stuck in his anus, as a result of a failed sex-play. Chief Webber, unlike the rest of the cast, maintains a completely serious demeanor throughout the operation, only to break down laughing afterwards.
• Replace "wackiness" with "fratricidal scheming" and you have Claudius' role in I, Claudius in a nutshell. He tries to stay out of his family's internal power struggles, but as soon as he becomes Emperor he realises it's "get your hands dirty or die".
• Kamen Rider:
  • Kamen Rider Ghost: Alain is often The Stoic, who keeps out of the hijinks going on in Dai Tenkuu Temple. When Onari drew on his face, he didn't seem to mind repaying him in the same way. The smug expression he had, while both of them were wiping the paint off, would definitely imply this. ^note  On the other hand, Alain had a serious case of Evil Is Petty prior to joining the gang of Dai Tenkuu Temple so that may have been in effect too.
  • Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: Taiga Hanaya is the serious Straight Man to Nico Saiba's trolling Genki Girl. Episode 28 presents us with a scene of the duo in Nico's room. She is playing a game, while Taiga calmly toys with a puzzle.
  • Kamen Rider Build: Under the influence of the Pandora Box, Gentoku is a power-mad tyrant, and even after he breaks free of the influence is a Shell-Shocked Veteran who deeply regrets the mess he helped set into motion. He also has a horrible sense of fashion that terrifies the heroes more than he ever did as a villain, with a particular fondness for text shirts, and easily gets himself wrapped up in the silly antics of the heroes after his Heel–Face Turn cements itself.
• In the episode of The King of Queens "American Idle", Carrie says that she needs time to find herself after losing her job. But (as the title suggests) it seems to Doug that she just sits around watching TV all day — the very things she often criticizes him for doing.
• In the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Care", Donald Cragen takes a jab at Finn and Munch for playing a video game, jokingly calling them the "Super Mario Bros.". Later, he's seen not only playing the same game but doing well in it. This proves very helpful in finding the identity of the killer of a foster child since the only witness to the crime was an autistic foster brother who played the same game.
• Season 3 of The Leftovers has Matt Jamison uncharacteristically tell a dirty joke in exchange for passage aboard a ship.
  Matt Jamison: What's the difference between a pimple and a priest? A pimple waits until you're 12 before it comes on your face.
• DI Sam Tyler from Life on Mars (2006) is a Fish out of Temporal Water and a By-the-Book Cop. When he goes to pick up a thief from prison with DS Ray Carling and DC Chris Skelton, they keep making "baah baah" noises and laughing, explaining that the thief was caught "in flagrante" with a sheep. Sam tells them to cut it out and escort the thief to the car; when they're gone he grins and chuckles.
• Lucifer: Amenadiel, the "Fury of God" and firstborn of the angels, starts the series as a no-nonsense Well-Intentioned Extremist and mellows out to The Comically Serious. He also secretly convinced humanity to associate Lucifer with goats, purely to annoy Lucifer.
  Amenadiel: You know, I waited a thousand years to tell someone that.
• The crew on Major Crimes at one point had to deal with evidence consisting of very good knock-off designer handbags. The normally no-nonsense and tough-as-nails cops Raydor and Sykes, as well as the equally tough ADA Rios, stare at them longingly as they're carted off to evidence storage.
• The Mary Tyler Moore Show: In "Chuckles Bites the Dust," beloved children's TV host Chuckles the Clown is killed in a bizarre accident during a circus parade (Chuckles was dressed as a peanut and a "rogue elephant tried to shell him"). The whole news team has nothing but jokes about the situation, so Mary spends the whole episode scolding them for being so heartless and telling them that the situation isn't funny. However, when the group goes to Chuckles's funeral, everyone is somber and respectful except Mary, who finally realizes just how ridiculous the situation is and can't help but giggle as the priest delivers a eulogy describing the clown's various characters and catchphrases. Surprisingly, said priest tells her that since Chuckles was an entertainer who loved to make people happy, laughing is a fitting tribute, and he encourages her to share her joy—which makes Mary start to sob instead.
• M*A*S*H:
  • Major Winchester would often berate Hawkeye and B.J. for their penchant for pranks, only to pull off a few of his own.
  • On several occasions Father Mulchaey could be seen trying - and totally failing - to keep from laughing instead of maintaining a priestly demeanor.
• Frankie Boyle of Mock the Week often tells his (darkly hilarious) jokes with an utterly, completely straight face. Unless it's an absolutely terrible one, in which case he often breaks into a giggle just as he finishes it. One 'Scenes We'd Like To See' sketch had "Things You'd Never Hear On A Cooking Show" — Frankie made a reference to the Food Porn nature of Nigella Lawson's show. Russell Howard later turned it into a Brick Joke by doing a seductive Nigella Lawson impression. And Frankie can be seen cracking up.
• Parks and Recreation's Ron Swanson has nothing but manly contempt for parties, games, and group fun of every kind. But when Leslie organizes a riddle based scavenger hunt that he's forced to take part in, he ultimately comes to her and asks her if she'd do the same for his birthday. The next time a scavenger hunt pops up in the series, he becomes embarrassingly excited and giddy about joining in, acting so Out of Character that Donna does an Aside Glance.
• Power Rangers Ninja Storm: Zurgane is typically The Comically Serious Only Sane Man of Lothor's army, but he drops this persona at times.
  • He displays some dancing moves for his fellow villains on two occasions. The first time Lothor orders him to to improve morale, but the second time he does so on his own accord and clearly enjoys it.
  • He laughs at a sarcastic quip Lothor makes while chewing out Choobo.
  • He introduces a new monster (General Trayf) in the style of a fight promoter.
• In The Revolution Will Be Televised, the character of Dale Mailey is a parody of the far-right press in Britain, notorious for having a need to try and tell others what is moral and what isn't. However, like the press, he's something of a Hypocrite. After decrying prostitution, recreational cannabis use, music festivals, Fifty Shades of Grey and so on, he's been shown to try most of them (he didn't sleep with any of the prostitutes, but admitted to being extremely turned on) and liked a lot of them.
• When Roseanne and family go to Disney World, Darlene maintains her sulky teenage-girl front of being determined not to enjoy it, but it instantly cracks when she meets Winnie the Pooh.
• Zelda Spellman in Sabrina the Teenage Witch:
  • In one particular episode she lectures Sabrina about using a short-cut to finish her book report (zapping herself into Wuthering Heights). But at the very end of the episode, Zelda notices a chapter is missing from the book and instead of going to the library, zaps herself in as well.
  • When Sabrina and Hilda cook up some literal 'just desserts' for a Sadist Teacher, Zelda scolds them and goes to meet with the teacher. Gilligan Cut to her helping them with the potion — and the cauldron is even larger.
  • One episode has Sabrina and Zelda learning a Double Aesop about Humble Pie. Sabrina yearns for more appreciation for her achievements, as does Zelda. Sabrina casts a spell that gets her recognition for everything she does, while Zelda inherits a country and gets the population to honour her like a queen. In the end, while Zelda is lecturing Sabrina about it and conjures up literal Humble Pie for her to eat, Sabrina suggests Zelda might need a bite too.
  • Once she finds out Cousin Marigold is getting divorced^note Marigold had made a habit out of mocking her and Hilda for still being single, Zelda joins in with Hilda in a little dressing down.
    Zelda: Oh Hilda we've made her cry.
    Hilda: Oh how awful we must feel.
  • In Dante's Inferno Zelda realizes she hasn't been on a date in a long time so she contacts a dating service and she's soon introduced to a man named Ron. Meanwhile Hilda is afflicted with a witches condition which causes her words to become reality. When Ron arrives Hilda makes the mistake of calling him a "real dear" which instantly transforms Ron into a literal deer. Zelda is very annoyed because it looks like her much-anticipated date is over before it even began, but she decides to just make do and goes out with the deer instead.
    Hilda: You're still going out with him?
    Zelda: Yes, we're going to see My Best Friend's Wedding.
• Saved by the Bell:
  • One episode has Jessie's attitude to Screech spying on a rival school's cheerleading routine.
    Jessie: No, why would we stoop so low?
    Lisa: To win.
    Jessie: Take notes.
  • Again when Zack takes pictures of the girls in their swimsuits and sells a calendar without their knowledge. They are outraged but then a photographer asks to do a spread with them and they all turn to Zack and say sweetly "sell those calendars, Zacky".
  • In an episode of The College Years the gang gets a chance to look at the answers to an upcoming Ethics Class test. Leslie takes the answers away and throws them in the garbage. Later at night when Zack, Slater, and Alex are rooting through the garbage, they find Leslie there too. She lampshades this in class when she explains herself.
• One episode of Scrubs features a patient who took Viagra and his penis won't go down. The rest of the staff find this hilarious but Elliott insists on remaining professional. However, when she hears the full story — he took them just before breakfast with his girlfriend's family and erection ended up damaging her grandmother's breathing apparatus — she bursts out laughing in front of him.
• Happens a couple of times on Sliders with the team landing on a world and at first critical of how different it is but then pulled into it. Other times, they'll realize that what they think is a better world really has as many issues as others.
  • In "Eggheads", the team finds a world where intellectuals are revered and treated like sports stars. Quinn's double is the star of Mindgame but soon finds his double is heavily into gambling debts to the point of being ready to throw a game for the mob. Meanwhile, Arturo finds his double is a scoundrel who abandoned his wife (who Arturo lost to cancer in his own reality). Quinn openly notes how they assumed a world revering intellectuals would be great but it's just as corrupt as any other.
    Arturo: Intellectual refinement is one thing. Moral refinement is another.
• In one episode of Stargate SG-1, Teal'c (usually The Stoic and The Comically Serious) reveals that the mask of a Setesh guard is the butt of many jokes amongst other Jaffa. When O'Neil expresses surprise that Jaffa have a sense of humor, Teal'c helpfully translates one such joke:
  Teal'c: A Serpent Guard, a Horus Guard, and a Setesh Guard meet on a neutral planet. It is a tense moment. The Serpent Guard's eyes glow! The Horus Guard's beak glistens! The Setesh Guard's nose... drips. [bursts out laughing]
  [the others stare blankly]
  [Teal'c slowly stops laughing]
• Star Trek: The Next Generation:
  • Jean-Luc Picard comes across as the most serious and dignified of the Star Trek captains — and in "Up the Long Ladder", the Enterprise plays host to a group of Oireland-ers and their livestock. Picard spends several scenes struggling to maintain his composure, before breaking down laughing, having decided that the whole thing is Actually Pretty Funny.
  • "The Ensigns of Command" has the Enterprise crew tangling with the Sheliak Corporate, the governing body of a race of aliens whose hat is being obsessed with laws and legality. A group of human colonists has been discovered on a Sheliak-controlled planet, and the Federation requires more time to transport them offworld than the original Sheliak treaty allows, so the Sheliak refuse to permit it. After spending the entire episode getting increasingly frustrated by the Sheliak's Bothering by the Book nonsense, Picard finally beats them at their own game by citing a clause in the same treaty that allows him to name a neutral third party to arbitrate the dispute, then choosing a race that's currently in hibernation and won't be awake for six months; when the Corporate refuses, Picard declares them in violation of their treaty and says the matter is closed. When the Sheliak desperately hail the Enterprise to reopen negotiations, Picard—ordinarily a calm, forgiving man—deliberately takes a very long time to accept the call just to make them nervous, showing that even he can enjoy a bit of revenge once in a while.
  • "I, Borg" features examples for both Picard and Guinan. An away team discovers an injured Borg drone and brings him back to the ship for medical treatment. Guinan, who is famous for being patient and kind to the point of being an All-Loving Hero, shows that even she has racist tendencies when she declares the Borg a monster and actively encourages using the drone as part of a genocidal plan against them (although in her case, she has the Freudian Excuse of the Borg assimilating nearly her entire homeworld and leaving the few who escaped scattered across the galaxy, lost and frightened). Similarly, Picard's typical neutrality and openness toward other species vanishes as the rest of the Enterprise comes to understand the drone: "It's not a person, damn it, IT'S A BORG!" His own Freudian Excuse is being forcibly assimilated into the Borg previously, which has clearly left him with post-traumatic stress.
• In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Odo is typically gruff, aloof, and easily annoyed by humanoid antics. When he holds a tribble in "Trials and Tribble-ations", however, he quickly succumbs to their Cuteness Proximity.
• In Star Trek: Enterprise, Mayweather and Reed build a snowman on a comet; the Enterprise and the Vulcans are watching, resulting in this gem of a conversation:
  Archer: Archer to Lieutenant Reed.
  Reed: Go ahead, sir.
  Archer: How are you doing, Malcolm?
  Reed: We're just about to set the charges.
  Archer: I'm sure I don't need to remind you we're being observed.
  Reed: No, sir.
  Archer: We want this to go as smoothly as possible. Make a good impression.
  Reed: Right.
  Archer: So tell me, who's the sculptor?
  Reed: It won't be there for long, sir.
  • Lt.Reed also adds Vulcan ears to the snowman before he and Mayweather blow the charges.
• James May, Deadpan Snarker and resident Straight Man on Top Gear (UK), gripes that co-presenters Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond are too loud, too careless, and too obsessed with power and winning. Doesn't stop him from jumping up and down and shouting on the occasions when he wins, though...
• The Twilight Zone (1959): In "The Fever" Franklin Gibbs, a man who abhors gambling, reluctantly takes a trip to Las Vegas with his wife, and even more reluctantly plays the slot machines. He quickly becomes obsessed with playing the slots, which leads to his untimely demise.
• Wellington Paranormal: Sergeant Maaka doesn't joke around on the clock, but does dress up a small dog as a cop at work in "The She Wolf of Kurimarama Street" episode.
• White Man's Burden: Megan shames Thaddeus throughout the movie for his casual racism. However, when their child brings home a white date, she looks visibly uncomfortable.
• Cedric Daniels from The Wire is almost always The Stoic, so many of his jokes tend to come off as this. More seriously, he's also one of the most rule-abiding characters, but he's still willing to indulge in some Police Brutality on Bird for throwing vulgarities at Kima. In Season 4, when Rhonda talks to Daniels about her disputes with Lester Freamon, he responds by doing a Lester Freamon imitation.
• In Workaholics, the guys are generally dumber and crazier than everyone around them, although many of their coworkers (Montez, Jillian, Jet Set, Bill) are still weird. Alice the ill-tempered boss is pretty intelligent and reasonable, but she sometimes acts more like the guys. In one episode she gets drunk (after two years of sobriety, which even Adam realizes is a bad thing) after seeing one of her employees with a great house in a cool neighborhood while she lives in a "widow's pad", and in the Season 3 opener, she drops acid with the guys, to win over a hard-partying potential client.
• Young Sheldon: George Sr. has a bit of a penchant for gossip. A few episodes have him listening to Missy's gossip and loving every bit of it.

---