History Main / EccentricTownsfolk

* The residents of the [[TownWithADarkSecret village Sandford]] in ''Film/HotFuzz''. It's a dark form of this; however, many of the townsfolk do have their stereotypes, or at least roles, but it turns out that [[spoiler:they're actually murdering anyone who threatens the town's rural image, including other Eccentric Townsfolk]]. But... it's for the greater good!

-> '''Mrs. Krabappel''': Let us take our case directly to the townspeople.\\
'''Chalmers''': Oh yeah, that'll be ''real'' productive. Who do you want to talk to first: the guy in the bumblebee suit, or the one with the bone through his hair?\\
'''Sideshow Mel''': My opinions are as valid as the next man's!

* Uptight, neurotic calligrapher Handa must deal with an island village full of laid-back eccentrics in ''Manga/{{Barakamon}}''.

-->'''Child Monsters''': Tender lumplings everywhere, life's no fun without a good scare\\
'''Parent Monsters''': That's our job, but we're not mean, in our town of Halloween

* The residents of the [[TownWithADarkSecret village Sandford]] in ''Film/HotFuzz''. But it's a dark form of this however; many of the townsfolk do have their stereotypes, or at least roles, but it turns out that [[spoiler:they're actually murdering anyone who threatens the town's rural image, including other Eccentric Townsfolk]]. But...it's for the greater good!
* ''Film/BetterOffDead'': The inhabitants of the protagonist's hometown Greendale are another goofy, quirky but not-so-friendly version (though not nearly to a TownWithADarkSecret level.)
* In many of the Creator/LaurelAndHardy pictures, townsfolk tend to exhibit some unusual behaviour.
-->'''Laurel:''' Which way is the basement?
-->'''Receptionist:''' [[CaptainObvious Down the stairs.]]
* The inhabitants of the Scottish town of Furness in ''Film/LocalHero.''
* The inhabitants of the town in the movie ''Film/KingOfHearts'' are escaped patients from the local mental institution and qualify as this trope.
* Spoofed in ''Film/TheTallGuy'' when Creator/JeffGoldblum is hired to play one, and is told to give a simple one-line greeting in a mysterious manner.

* In Creator/NoraRoberts' ''Nothern Lights'' the town Lunacy, high up in Alaska is inhabited with independent eccentric characters.
* Creator/TerryPratchett's Literature/{{Discworld}}:

%% Needs context * ''Series/TheAndyGriffithShow's'' Mayberry inhabitants.

* On ''Series/{{Newhart}}'', pretty much everyone in the [[CityWithNoName unnamed Vermont town]] the show takes place in, apart from [[OnlySaneMan Dick Loudon]] qualifies.
* The residents of Hooterville, in ''Series/PetticoatJunction'' and (especially) ''Series/GreenAcres''.
* ''Series/NorthernExposure'', with Creator/RobMorrow playing the straight man to everybody else.
* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' has an Eccentric Hospital Staff version.
* Pretty much the entire cast of ''Series/TwinPeaks'' qualifies.
* Played with in ''Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen'', where the people of Royston Vasey are certainly eccentric, but very, very far from harmless.
* The inhabitants of [[Series/TheVicarOfDibley Dibley]], with the [[OnlySaneMan possible exception of]] the Vicar and David Horton. What's disturbing is that the producers report having ''multiple'' letters from people saying that this was exactly like their own village.
%%* Pretty much everyone in ''Series/FatherTed'', up to the main characters. Only visitors from the mainland and (maybe) Ted don't count.
* The inhabitants of Elmo, Alaska in ''Men In Trees''. Alaska is evidently a popular locale for this type of setting.
* This trope seems to gravitate toward Alaska, since we have the denizens of Cicely in ''Series/NorthernExposure''.
* The people of [[Series/TheGoldenGirls St. Olaf, Minnesota]]. We never actually see the town ourselves, but plenty of locals drop by Miami, and what they all manage to prove is that [[TheDitz Rose]] seems to be the most clear-headed and intelligent person who ever lived there.
%%* The entertainingly kooky residents of Rome, Wisconsin in ''Series/PicketFences''.
%%* Increasingly, and delightfully, kook-filled Pawnee, Indiana in ''Series/ParksAndRecreation''.
* The people of Port Niranda in ''Series/RoundTheTwist''. The Gribble family are a nasty piece of work, though.
%%* Many of the people who wander into the store on ''Series/{{Oddities}}'' are, um, oddities.
* ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' takes place in Camden County, where everyone is either a crook, stupid, crazy, or all of the above.

[[folder:Music]]
* [[Film/TwoHundredMotels Centerville...A real nice place to raise your kids up...]]
[[/folder]]

* The inhabitants of Bluff Springs, Nebraska in ''Podcast/AVeryFatalMurder''.
* The people John David Booter interviews in ''Podcast/DoneDisappeared''.

* The entire cast of the radio drama ''Radio/AdventuresInOdyssey'' fit this trope to a T, and were probably influenced at least somewhat by shows like ''Andy Griffith''.
* The population of Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, in ''Radio/APrairieHomeCompanion''.
* Karl Pilkington of ''Radio/TheRickyGervaisShow'' et al told a series of stories about the people who lived around where he grew up that consistently amazed or bewildered Ricky and Steve. They included:

* ''Radio/TheNavyLark'' has the UK armed forces as being populated solely by Eccentric Forces Personnel.

* The animal townspeople in ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing''.

* Most of the denizens of Tassing in VideoGame/{{Pentiment}} have their share of quirks, especially the eldery.
* All of the inhabitants of St. Mystere in ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheCuriousVillage''. Not only do they have "unusual" personality quirks, they have an unhealthy obession with riddles. [[spoiler:This is because they're all robots designed as part of a test to see who's worthy of getting the treasure and Flora.]]
%%* ''[[VideoGame/{{MOTHER}} EarthBound Series]]''

%%** Found all over the place in ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}''.
%%* The entire supporting cast of ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' qualifies. The campers were crazily developed considering how much screen time they got.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'', Bob's girlfriend Jean has commented in frustration (and more or less accurately) that she appears to be the only sane person in town--casually lumping Bob himself in with the EccentricTownsfolk.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Some of the quirky residents might be a bit quirkier than you'd like in Dunwich, New Hampshire, just a mile or two from the SuperHeroSchool [[Literature/WhateleyUniverse Whateley Academy]].
[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': The inhabitants of Springfield are, to a man, completely eccentric. In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E19GradeSchoolConfidential Grade School Confidential]]", Edna Krabappel suggests they let the townspeople decide if it's okay for her and Principal Skinner to date despite working together. Superintendent Chalmers immediately shoots the idea down.
-->'''Chalmers:''' [[SarcasmMode Oh, yeah, that'll be real productive.]] Who do you wanna talk to first, uh, the guy in the bumblebee suit or the one with the bone through his hair?\\
'''Sideshow Mel:''' My opinions are as valid as the next man's!
* And of course ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', a town where one of the most normal residents has a talking piece of crap as a best friend.

--> '''Twilight Sparkle''': "All the ponies in this town are ''crazy!''"
* The titular town from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', to be sure. There's ditzy waitress and CrazyCatLady Lazy Susan, [[TestosteronePoisoning comically-macho]] lumberjack Manly Dan Corduroy, and hillbilly MadScientist and self-declared "local kook" Old Man [=McGucket=]. [[spoiler: Justified due to the fact that the LaserGuidedAmnesia the townsfolk are subjected to whenever they encounter [[TownWithADarkSecret something they shouldn't]] leads to mental deterioration.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': The citizens of Wartwood are generally a rather odd and quirky bunch. We've got the sleazy mayor and his toady, a CloudCuckoolander woodsmith, a one-eyed vagrant, a chef with artificial limbs who makes crappy food, a baker who dotes on his CreepyChild daughter, a snobby journalist, an outdoors survivalist, a perpetually spaced-out hairdresser, and a gardener who only ever says "I grow tulips!", just to name a few.
* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' has many one-shot characters who qualify, ''including'' the VillainOfTheWeek in Dial M For Monkey.

* The inhabitants of the town in the movie ''Film/TheKingOfHearts'' are escaped patients from the local mental institution and qualify as this trope.

* The lemurs of ''WesternAnimation/Madagascar1'', lead by King Julien XIII, self-proclaimed king of the lemurs, blah, blah, blah, hooray everybody!

-->'''Child Monsters''': Tender lumplings everywhere, life's no fun without a good scare
-->'''Parent Monsters''': That's our job, but we're not mean, in our town of Halloween

* Everyone in Series/{{Ed}}'s hometown of Stuckyville.

* The ''Series/GilmoreGirls'' crew in Stars Hollow.

* Pretty much everyone in ''Series/FatherTed'', up to the main characters. Only visitors from the mainland and (maybe) Ted don't count.

* The entertainingly kooky residents of Rome, Wisconsin in ''Series/PicketFences''.
* Increasingly, and delightfully, kook-filled Pawnee, Indiana in ''Series/ParksAndRecreation''.

* Many of the people who wander into the store on ''Series/{{Oddities}}'' are, um, oddities.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{MOTHER}} EarthBound Series]]''
** You find a few towns with citizens partaking in different subjects throughout ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings''.
** Found all over the place in ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}''.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', you get to know all the townspeople by name.
* The entire supporting cast of ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' qualifies. The campers were crazily developed considering how much screen time they got.
* Several towns in the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' franchise, but the quirkiest are probably the denizens of Vientown in ''VideoGame/PokemonRanger: Shadows of Almia''.

* The lemurs of ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'', lead by King Julien XIII, self-proclaimed king of the lemurs, blah, blah, blah, hooray everybody!

** And then we have Mindy, possibly the token normal, since she is so incredibly generic that she has no quirks to speak of.

* Uptight, neurotic calligrapher Handa must deal with an island village full of laid-back eccentrics in ''{{Manga/Barakamon}}''.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/TheAndyGriffithShow's'' Mayberry inhabitants.
* ''Series/CornerGas'' has the Canadian version.

* ''Series/JamAndJerusalem'' turns this trope into one of its main themes.

[[folder: Theatre]]

[[folder: Video Games]]

* ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}''
** You find a few towns on different planets with these in the fan midquel ''[[VideoGame/CognitiveDissonance MOTHER: Cognitive Dissonance]]'', even on Earth.
** Found all over the place in ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994''.

[[folder: Webcomics]]
* In ''[[Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob!]],'' Bob's girlfriend Jean has commented in frustration (and more or less accurately) that she appears to be the only sane person in town--casually lumping Bob himself in with the EccentricTownsfolk.

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder:Film]]

* The monsters in Halloween Town in ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'', as introduced in the opening song.
-->'''Child Monsters''': Tender lumplings everywhere, life's no fun without a good scare
-->'''Parent Monsters''': That's our job, but we're not mean, in our town of Halloween

* Ponyville in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. The locals include a socially-awkward {{bookworm}} from the big city who's trying to learn how to make friends, a manic-depressive (mostly manic) baker who loves to throw parties and [[ToonPhysics occasionally defies known physics]], a [[DramaQueen melodramatic]] fashion designer who loves to make GemEncrusted {{Pimped Out Dress}}es, a painfully-shy animal lover who can [[DeathGlare stare down dragons and cockatrices]] when [[BewareTheNiceOnes provoked]], a hot-headed apple farmer with a NiceHat and [[TheClan a huge extended family]], and a boisterous stunt flier with rainbow-colored hair, and those are just the [[{{Pun}} Mane]] characters.

** Found all over the place in ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}''.

'''Chalmers''': Oh yeah, that's be ''real'' productive. Who do you want to talk to first: the guy in the bumblebee suit, or the one with the bone through his hair?\\

** Shorts Man, a guy who wore ridiculously tight [[WhoWearsShortShorts short-shorts]] and walked with big strides in the hopes that his [[WardrobeMalfunction genitals would pop out]] and he could flash people.

If they are related, they are a QuirkyHousehold.

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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/miitopia_greenhorne_cast_by_carol_aredesu_dbcr9bg_fullview.jpg]]
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If they are related, they are a QuirkyHousehold.

* On ''Series/{{Newhart}}'', pretty much everyone in Stratford, Vermont apart from [[OnlySaneMan Dick Loudon]] qualifies.

* The inhabitants of the town in the movie ''The King Of Hearts'' are escaped patients from the local mental institution and qualify as this trope.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' cast.

** A family that kept a horse in their living room, and had a child who became ugly by the age of three and used to chase cars.

** Shorts Man, a guy who wore ridiculously tight [[WhoWearsShortShorts short-shorts]] and walked with big strides in the hopes that his genitals would pop out and he could flash people.

** A friend of Karl's dad named Benny who had a pet monkey, and he had to hit it because it was coming onto his wife. He also apparently lived with a DragQueen.

** "Uncle Alf," a friend of Karl's dad who slept in an inflatable lifeboat and had two televisions, one of which had no sound and the other no picture, so he would tune them both to the same channel to watch something.

** A family that kept a horse in their living room.

** A woman who rode a three-wheeled bike with her husband in the basket. She was mean to him, so Karl's dad impersonated a policeman to scare her into leaving him alone.

* ''Series/NorthernExposure'', with Rob Morrow playing the straight man to everybody else.

* Any town you like in Creator/TerryPratchett's Lancre, a rural location remote from just about anywhere. This corner of the {{Discworld}} has towns called Bad Ass, Mad Stoat, Slice... many settlements in remote corners of the Sto Plains, like Scrote and Twoshirts, would also fit the general vibe.