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LegitimateIdiot
Since: Nov, 2015
9th May, 2017 04:51:57 AM
If you're just looking for tropes, you're better off asking in Trope Finder. Does Genius Ditz fit your description?
This account is dead. I’ve said a lot of dumb things in the past and I wish to forget them. I’m sorry if I’ve ever hurt anyone.
So I've been trying to put together a top ten list of the Dumbest/Useless Smart Characters in Dramatic Television. I'm specifying dramatic television because these are characters who are supposed to be highly intelligent, competent, and one of the most useful people on the team. Yet they are constantly making terrible choices, putting the team in danger, and more often than not, whining like little children when things don't go their way.
But on the flip side, these characters really are highly intelligent. They have knowledge and abilities in fields like science and medicine, and really are a benefit to their team in certain specific moments. But those moments are incredibly few, far between, and seem to only serve as a reminder to the audience that this character is actually capable of doing something right.
In dramatic television, these characters tend to be accidents, not intentional. In comedic television, these characters are made for laughs. Like Michael Kelso in "That 70's Show". He was a huge buffoon, but he had his moments of intelligence throughout the show. That was intentional.
No, the characters I'm looking for are more like Professor Arturo from "Sliders". This is a man who was one of the leaders in his field, taught at a well-respected school, advised caution every time the team entered a new world, then proceeded to stumble around like a toddler, whining that everything was different from their world, and constantly causing problems for the group. I recently watched the show, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that the majority of the problems the group faced were caused by Arturo breaking his own rules about Sliding.
So, is there already a Trope for this, or do we need to start assembling a new list?
@Legitmateidiot: I found the Genius Ditz, and no, it doesn't fit my description. This person doesn't act like a ditz. Like I said, they're legitimately one of the smartest people on the team, and they act like one of the smartest people on the team, but they constantly make terrible decisions that put the team in danger.
Edited by Fauna_Joy