History Main / CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough

* The [[WizardingSchool Circle Tower]] in ''DragonAgeOrigins'' is shared by the Circle of Magi and the [[ChurchMilitant Templars]], with a First Enchanter and a Knight-Commander usually sharing the duties. In the game, Knight-Commander Gregoir is "Rough" and First Enchanter Irving is "Smooth," and the two of them butt heads much more often than one would usually see in this situation. Of course, the fact that the Templars' duties include [[ShootTheDog killing rogue Mages]] might have something to do with it...
* Inverted in ''DragonAge2'', Meredith is a lot more hard-line and brutal than her more diplomatic and practical second-in-command Cullen.

* Lieutenant Philip Holtack, a Britsh Army officer stranded in the ''{{Discworld}}'' with part of his unit in ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6159511/1/Slipping-Between-Worlds Slipping Between Worlds]]'', has cause to reflect on this and his thankful his platoon sergeant has slipped with him. Holtack also muses on the various types of Universal Sergeants based on several familiar Discworld characters.

* In [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5382984/1/Big-Human-on-Campus Big Human on Campus]], The new captain and vice-captain of the Enforcers, [[spoiler: Tsukune and Ranma respectively]], tend to fall into this category

* In the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series, headmaster Albus Dumbledore and deputy headmistress Minerva [=McGonagall=] fit this pretty well. Dumbledore is the EccentricMentor and generally doesn't seem to care much about school rules being enforced. [=McGonagall=] is a serious SternTeacher, although she is occasionally NotSoStoic. In ''[[HarryPotter/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Philosopher's Stone]]'', Dumbledore catches Harry out of bed after curfew and his response is to have a nice mentorly talk with him. Later on in the same book, [=McGonagall=] catches Harry and friends out after curfew and her response is to dock a shitload of points and give them all detentions.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' gives us Captain Rex and Commander Cody.

* The main character of the ''CodexAlera'', Tavi, is the calm, refined, [[GuileHero highly intelligent]] and [[TheCallPutMeOnHold singularly unpowered]] [[TheCaptain captain]]; his primary lieutenants are the absurdly powerful BoisterousBruiser Maximus and the cynical, grizzled veteran centurion Valiar Marcus. This is one of the subversions, though-- Tavi is probably [[BadassNormal the most dangerous of the lot]], due to a combination of intellect, [[CrazyEnoughToWork creativity]], training, and sheer {{badass}} [[RefugeInAudacity audacity]].

* The Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Discworld/MonstrousRegiment'' has [[EnsignNewbie Lieutenant Blouse]] as the soft, inexperienced "Rupert" with [[SergeantRock Sergeant Jackrum]] as the experienced, conniving, shouty NCO who [[PussInBoots actually makes the decisions]].

* GeorgeMacDonaldFraser's McAuslan series about life in a Highland regiment circa 1947 has this in spades. Best-illustrated by Lieutenant [=MacKenzie=], the son of a baronet, and his Communist sergeant [=McCaw=], who run their platoon like a well-oiled machine despite their tendency to argue politics with each other in front of their men.

* GeorgeMacDonaldFraser's McAuslan series about life in a Highland regiment circa 1947 has this in spades. Best-illustrated by Lieutenant [=MacKenzie=], the son of a baronet, and his Communist sergeant McCaw, who run their platoon like a well-oiled machine despite their tendency to argue politics with each other in front of their men.

* From ''ValkyriaChronicles,'' we have Captain Varrot (who is Welkin's direct superior and overall commander of the militia) and Largo (whose rank is unspecified but presumably that of an NCO). Formerly squad mates in the previous war, they still maintain a rather tenuous relationship, due to Varrot's inability to get over the death of her lover and Largo's unrequited feelings for her. [[spoiler: In the end, she gets over it and settles down with Largo after the war.]]

* In TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly Blondie(the Good) and Tuco (the Ugly) are captured by Union soldiers and brought to a harsh prison camp (they were both wearing Confederate uniforms at the time and Tuco had foolishly shouted some pro-Confederate remarks just before being captured). There are three officers shown to be running the camp, and the two most prominently shown are the extremely brutal Corporal Wallace and Angel Eyes (the Bad). The commandant is actually a decent guy who tries to get the two brutal officers to treat the prisoners fairly. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, he's dying from an infected wound, and unable to stop the two officers from taking prisoners inside a building just so they can beat the crap out of them.]]

* In ''[[PokemonMysteryDungeon Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]'' Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky, Guild Leader Wigglytuff and his second-in-command Chatot work as this!
* The Cavalry in ''FinalFantasyXIII'' are led by the gentlemanly Brigadier General Cid Raines, and his more rough-and-tumble subordinate Rygdea.

* The {{Discworld}} novel ''Discworld/MonstrousRegiment'' has [[EnsignNewbie Lieutenant Blouse]] as the soft, inexperienced "Rupert" with [[SergeantRock Sergeant Jackrum]] as the experienced, conniving, shouty NCO who [[PussInBoots actually makes the decisions]].

* [[EnsignNewbie Shiro Amada]] and [[SergeantRock Karen Joshua]] of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam''.
* Minna and Mio of ''{{Strike Witches}}'' are a Wing Commander Smooth and a Lieutenant Commander Rough.

* Michael Ironsides gets his chance to be Captain Smooth in ''Film/StarshipTroopers'' to Clancy Brown's Sgt. Zim who is of course the "sergeant rough".

* In ''WeWereSoldiers'', Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore and [[OldSoldier Command Sergeant Major Plumley]] fit this trope.

** Not in ''FortApache'', there Henry Fonda is the commanding officer and Ward Bond as the Sergeant-Major comes close to being an OfficerAndAGentleman since he served as an officer in the AmericanCivilWar. [=McLaglan=] is just one of the minor sergeants under Bond, but the one with whom John Wayne goes on a special mission is the [[SouthernGentleman former Confederate officer]] played by Pedro Armendariz.

* At the end of the new ''Film/StarTrek'' movie, the roles are flipped.[[TheKirk Kirk]], a former JerkWithAHeartofGold and MilitaryMaverick,is in the command chair with cool, collected[[TheSpock Spock]] as his first officer. Note the original Kirk was not rough around the edges in any sense, but was an OfficerAndAGentleman despite sharing certain traits (such as womanizing and hubris) with his AU counterpart.

** Hornblower and his loyal first officer William Bush fit this trope quite well. Though Bush is in no way unusually rough for his time - it's rather that Hornblower has very modern views about discipline and punishment.

* Inverted in ''[[Series/DadsArmy Dad's Army]]'' where Captain Mainwaring is a oafish but brave amateur and Sergeant Wilson is a suave aristocrat with extensive military experience. Mainwaring's (and Wilson's) intense awareness of the class inversion was a comedy goldmine.

* In ''{{Andromeda}}'', Hunt is the captain smooth, while Valentine bears some traces of sergeant rough.
* In the tv series ''BostonPublic'', the principal is smooth (shaved head!) and tactful, while the VP is a strict disciplinarian with a knack for intimidating... and the funny thing is that the principal is just a scowl away from being a Scary Black Man, while the VP is a short, slim and normally unremarkable white guy.
* In ''{{Ultimate Force}}'', Col. Aidan Dempsey (Miles Anderson) is the Captain Smooth, while Ross Kemp's SSGT Henry 'Henno' Garvie fits the Sgt Rough trope to a T.
* To a lesser extent, Gustavo and Griffin of ''Series/{{Big Time Rush}}'' fit this trope. Griffin (who owns the record company) is smooth and collected, while Gustavo (who works under him) yells a lot.
* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}'': In the reimagined series, [[strike:Commander]] Admiral Adama and Colonel Tigh. [[{{A Father To His Men}} Adama]] knows the name and face of every single member of his crew by heart, has demonstrated that he will go to war over every last one of them, and has a {{Death Glare}} with [[http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Adama_Glare its own page on the Battlestar Wiki]]. [[{{Colonel Badass}} Tigh]], on the other hand, openly states in the pilot miniseries "If the crew doesn't hate the XO, he's not doing his job."

* Most American high schools have the vice-principal as the chief enforcer and disciplinarian.

* [[EnsignNewbie Shiro Amada]] and [[SergeantRock Karen Joshua]] of ''[[{{Ptitled636c0z1}} Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team]]''.

* In various parliamentary systems (as in the UK and the US), each party has a leader and a "whip" among its representatives, where the latter's job is to enforce party discipline by (almost) all means.

* ''{{Gettysburg}}''--and ''The Killer Angels'', the book it was based on--features Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and his sergeant Buster Kilroy. Chamberlain is [[BadassBookworm an academic and a professor]], Kilroy is a rough, sarcastic, out-and-out career soldier. Between them they keep the 20th Maine up and running for its CrowningMomentOfAwesome at Little Round Top.

* At the end of the new ''StarTrek'' movie, the roles are flipped.[[TheKirk Kirk]], a former JerkWithAHeartofGold and MilitaryMaverick,is in the command chair with cool, collected[[TheSpock Spock]] as his first officer. Note the original Kirk was not rough around the edges in any sense, but was an OfficerAndAGentleman despite sharing certain traits (such as womanizing and hubris) with his AU counterpart.

* Captain Sisko and Major Kira of ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. Sisko is rather more polite and refined about his orders. Kira is ''not'' refined, nor does she pretend to be. Her preferred manner of dealing with problems is to yell at them until they go away and/or resolve themselves. If this doesn't work, she resorts to fists.

* Inverted in the remake of ''{{Hawaii Five-0}}''. Despite being in charge, Steve is the biggest wildcard on the team and is known for his inventive interrogation techniques, while Danny is much more by-the-book and civilised.

* The Cavalry in ''FinalFantasyXIII'' are led by the gentlemanly Brigadier General Cid Raines (prettiest Cid yet!), and his more rough-and-tumble subordinate Rygdea.

-->-- '''Col. Saul Tigh''', ''BattlestarGalacticaReimagined''

* Lieutenant J.T. Marsh and his second-in-command Sergeant Rita Torres in ''{{Exosquad}}'' probably qualify, though they are less extreme than the usual description. Also, Nara Burns and Torres after Marsh [[spoiler:is promoted]].
* ''StarWarsTheCloneWars'' gives us Captain Rex and Commander Cody.
* ''TransformersAnimated'' has Ultra Magnus, a fair and ethical leader [[spoiler: for the most part.]] His second [[spoiler: and successor]] Sentinel Prime is a complete JerkAss who abuses his authority up, down and sideways.

* CriminalMinds invokes this trope from time to time, with [[AwesomenessByAnalysis Aaron Hotchner]] as Captain Smooth and [[CoolOldGuy David Rossi]] as Sergeant Rough.

* In ''StarWarsTheCloneWars'' Commander Rex and Captain Cody are this trope when they lead a squad of Clonetroopers.

* In ''WatershipDown'' Hazel is the Captain Smooth, and Bigwig is the Sergeant Rough.

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* In the ''HarryPotter'' series, headmaster Albus Dumbledore and deputy headmistress Minerva [=McGonagall=] fit this pretty well. Dumbledore is, well, [[EccentricMentor the trope he formerly named]] and generally doesn't seem to care much about school rules being enforced. [=McGonagall=] is a serious SternTeacher, although she is occasionally NotSoStoic. In the first book, Dumbledore catches Harry out of bed after curfew and his response is to have a nice mentorly talk with him. Later on in the same book, [=McGonagall=] catches Harry and friends out after curfew and her response is to dock a shitload of points and give them all detentions.