Line #1 Series/Probe


1	[[quoteright:251:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/probe.jpg]]
2
3	->''"What the hell kind of place is this?"''
4	-->-- '''Mickey'''
5
6	First aired in 1988, created by Creator/IsaacAsimov and Creator/MichaelWagner for {{Creator/ABC}} Television. An AmateurSleuth series drawing upon the usual [[BunnyEarsLawyer quirky detective]] and [[TheWatson clueless assistant]] dynamic.
7
8	Austin James (Creator/ParkerStevenson) is [[IntelligenceEqualsIsolation a reclusive genius]] and President of Serendip, a high-tech consulting firm he founded. However, he's too irritated by average people to come up with solutions for them and instead [[MadScientist conducts random experiments]] in his [[MadScientistLaboratory warehouse full of devices]] (most of which he appears to have designed on his own) ForScience
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10	Michelle Castle (Creator/AshleyCrow), also known as Mickey, is his BeleagueredAssistant. Serendip hired her to be Austin's secretary and uses her to get Austin involved in things outside of his warehouse, like his job. Conventionally intelligent, she's the latest in a line of secretaries sent to Austin by the CEO of Serendip.
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12	Together, these two encounter out-of-control experiments, supernatural events, and mysterious deaths. As you might expect, ''Probe'' features heavy doses of scientific knowledge and logical reasoning, but was [[ShortRunners cut short]] due to [[UsefulNotes/TVStrikes the 1988 writer's strike]].
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14	Not to be confused with the direct-to-video Creator/BBVProductions film series ''[[Series/BBVProbe P.R.O.B.E.]]'', based on ''Series/DoctorWho'' in 1994.
15	----
16	!!''Probe'' provides examples of the following tropes:
17	* EightiesHair: Austin's designer mullet and Mickey's post-dryer frizz with bangs are classic examples of the contemporary styles for men and women of the 1980s.
18	* AffectionateNickname:
19	** Austin calls Michelle Castle "Mickey".
20	** Michelle (in private) calls Austin James "Jimmy".
21	* AmateurSleuth: Austin James is constantly trying to learn what he doesn't already know. This includes discovering how various people [[AlwaysMurder are murdered]]. The first episode establishes him to have a good working relationship with the police coroner, but his actual job is President of Serendip (which he hates and actively avoids so he can do scientific experiments instead). Michelle Castle [[WelcomeEpisode is hired to be his secretary]] and she [[GirlFriday helps him solve each episode's mystery]].
22	* AlwaysMurder: While Austin is fascinated with a diverse array of interesting topics, the plot of the episode always revolves around at least one murder. Because the pilot episode is a two-parter, it has two murder mysteries to solve.
23	* BluffTheImpostor:
24	** [[Recap/ProbeBlackCatsDontWalkUnderLaddersDoThey "Black Cats Don't Walk Under Ladders (Do They?)"]]: During TheSummation, Austin uses the killer's own knowledge against them, causing them to believe that they've been affected by the same [[TamperingWithFoodAndDrink poisoned tea]] that was used to kill Marty Corrigan. He has to do it because until the killer confessed, he wasn't sure which of the suspects had done it.
25	** [[Recap/ProbeNowYouSeeIt "Now You See It...."]]: At the climax of the episode, Austin James has recreated the murder method that was used to kill the previous two businessmen. He confronts his prime suspect with the situation (which includes an [[ElevatorFailure empty elevator shaft]] covered by a {{Hologram}}) and tricks him into confessing. The murderer does, but then tosses Austin down the empty shaft. Serendip's CEO and several police come out from around corners to arrest him. (Austin is fine, having [[InsufferableGenius anticipated this]], lying safely on a crash cushion.)
26	** [[Recap/ProbePlan10FromOuterSpace "Plan 10 from Outer Space"]]: Because he didn't have any evidence to determine if Trish or Helga committed the murder, Austin has to trick the murderer into confessing, by using the victim's sunglasses, which he says created a photonegative when the victim was electrified. When the murderer sees herself on the wall, she immediately starts trying to defend herself.
27	* BeleagueredAssistant: Mickey is hired at Serendip to be Austin's assistant. He really doesn't want one, and tries to chase her off like he's done to the previous secretaries sent to him by the CEO. Note that Austin is founder and President of the company; Mickey finds herself in the unenviable position where if she doesn't make Austin happy, he will fire her, and if she doesn't make Austin do at least some work for the company, the CEO will fire her. She slowly grows out of this role, becoming more confident in her ability to get productivity from Austin and keep him engaged in interesting experiments.
28	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Austin is a genius, holding enough patents and royalties from his inventions that he founded Serendip without any investment help. He's also socially awkward, callous, and, by self-admission, mildly schizophrenic. It becomes Mickey's job to [[GirlFriday manage Austin's quirks so that he remains a net benefit to his own company]].
29	* DaintyLittleBalletDancers: One of Michelle's childhood photos shown in the TitleMontage depicts her in ballet clothes, practicing. It's a [[MotherNatureFatherScience feminine contrast to Austin's mechanical masculinity]].
30	%%* DeadpanSnarker: Austin is often this, and it soon rubs off on Mickey, particularly when she's dealing with Austin. %%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample
31	* EurekaMoment:
32	** "[[Recap/ProbeComputerLogic Computer Logic]]": When Mickey tells Austin that the broken rose petal reminds her of a piece of glass, he finally makes the connection to what happened; this episode's death was caused by liquid nitrogen.
33	** "[[Recap/ProbeComputerLogicPart2 Computer Logic, Part 2]]": Michelle tells Austin to think about who can dial a phone, but doesn't like to talk, and knows all of Austin's unlisted telephone numbers. He immediately realizes that the mysterious figure who has been prank calling him and causing the mysterious electrical behaviour must be Crossover, the ArtificialIntelligence.
34	** "[[Recap/ProbeUntouchedByHumanHands Untouched by Human Hands]]": When Mickey points out that Austin can't be aware when every acorn falls, he thinks of tea. That chain of random thoughts helps him realize that there was something wrong with the tea in the radiation lab. The glass of tea in the video was full, but they sent the robot in when it was half-empty.
35	** "[[Recap/ProbeMetamorphicAnthropoidicPrototypeOverYou Metamorphic Anthropoidic Prototype Over You]]": While decoding Josephine's writings, Austin realizes that she thinks [[GenreSavvy all of reality is just like on television]]. Her morality is based on things like {{Soap Opera}}s, where [[spoiler:killing romantic rivals is acceptable behaviour]]. He immediately calls Mickey and tells her to lock down the warehouse for her protection.
36	** "[[Recap/ProbePlan10FromOuterSpace Plan 10 from Outer Space]]": Reading the letter from [[LightningCanDoAnything the lightning rod company]] helps Austin figure out what really happened to Truman. He tells Mickey to get the other two characters and he's going to show them who "[[ImaginaryEnemy Rexel 14]]" and the murderer really are.
37	%%** "[[Recap/ProbeQuitIt Quit-It]]":
38	* FirstNameBasis: Before the end of the first episode, Austin and Michelle are familiar enough with each other that they use first names and [[AffectionateNickname nicknames]].
39	* ForScience: Austin is often more interested in the pursuit of scientific research instead of whatever other demands on his time are being made, demands like running his company, socializing, or paying bills.
40	* TheGadfly: Austin's [[IntelligenceEqualsIsolation intelligence and self-diagnosed schizophrenia cause him problems when it comes to relating with other people]]. Because of this, he intentionally provokes responses from people with a disrespectful attitude to amuse himself and [[PerpSweating get answers]] to his questions. People in the scientific field tend to admire him, while his business contacts tend to hate him.
41	-->'''Michelle Castle:''' Why do you enjoy tormenting people so much?\
42	'''Austin James:''' Because when I torment them, I get what I need. Answers! It's nothing personal.
43	* GirlFriday: Michelle Castle was hired by Serendip to be Austin's secretary. She manages his appointments, provides [[RomanticismVersusEnlightenment a different point of view]] (often leading to a EurekaMoment), and things Austin can't begin to describe.
44	* InsufferableGenius: Austin is the smartest man on the planet. And he never lets you forget it. Ever.
45	* IntelligenceEqualsIsolation: Austin hates being around other people, finding them to be irritants and distractions from his pursuit of more knowledge. Except Mickey, whom he [[MotherNatureFatherScience respects]] despite not being as knowledgeable.
46	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Austin is typically a sarcastic misanthrope, but occasionally shows a softer side, and Mickey seems to accept that.
47	-->'''Mickey:''' I'm sure falling in love is not on your list of scientific priorities.\
48	'''Austin:''' I spent ten years designing a prosthetic device so that people without legs could walk. Maybe you and I just don't have the same definition of "love".
49	* MirroredConfrontationShot: At the end of the TitleMontage, Austin and Michelle are looking at each other across a table while a glass (half-full or half-empty?) with water sits between them.
50	* MotherNatureFatherScience: Michelle is a secretary whose scientific education is rather low, and would insist on some answers [[StrawmanEmotional only being felt]], rather than relying on the scientific method of recording and replication. Her {{Foil}} is Austin James, a genius who gets excited when he doesn't know the answer and believes that observation and replication will provide the answer to all of life's mysteries.
51	* MultiPartEpisode: The [[{{Premiere}} first episode]] is titled "[[Recap/ProbeComputerLogic Computer Logic]]", while the [[Recap/ProbeComputerLogicPart2 second episode]] (initially airing immediately after the first) is titled "Computer Logic [-Part 2-]". In order to have [[AlwaysMurder a murder solved in each episode]], the first part has a subplot about a woman who supposedly died of exposure solved by Austin before the end of the first hour.
52	* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Austin is familiar with a wide variety of scientific fields of study. He demonstrates computer programming skills several times, is interested in neurological [[UpliftedAnimal uplift]] programs, and tries to solve mysteries in his spare time.
53	* OneWordTitle
54	* OncePerEpisode: Every episode, Austin will solve a [[AlwaysMurder murder mystery]].
55	* PhotographicMemory: Austin claims to have the ability to recall everything perfectly, an aspect of his high intelligence. Mickey is pissed when she finds out because he's been having her write down everything that's been said (for no purpose, since he remembers it perfectly). When it's brought up again later, he claims to have been certified by the government for having a recall that is five times more effective than the best computerized directory.
56	* RobotMe: The TitleMontage includes a picture of a young Austin between two [[TinCanRobot blocky robots with flexitubes for arms]] that are made to resemble a man and woman. It's signed with love from his parents. Michelle finds this photo in the {{Premiere}} while Austin is taking a nap.
57	* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: Austin James gets aggressive when he hears people around him repeating pseudo-scientific claims and trans-dimensional mumbo-jumbo. Unfortunately for him, his secretary Michelle Castle has almost no understanding of current scientific models or the scientific process. They conflict over this issue several times during the {{Premiere}}, but have a much more settled relationship for subsequent episodes. Austin remains an Enlightenment supporter and Michelle is more into Romanticism.
58	* SassySecretary: Michelle has no problems talking back to her boss Austin (it helps that her initial contact was coloured by the fact that the Director who hired her said she wasn't to let Austin fire her, so she had to come up with a few creative excuses why he had to let her follow him). Midway through the series they're more respectful to one another, but the first episode has them yelling at each other fairly often.
59	* ScoobyDooHoax:
60	** "[[Recap/ProbeBlackCatsDontWalkUnderLaddersDoThey Black Cats Don't Walk Under Ladders (Do They?)]]": Austin, along with several other scientists, have been invited to be on the ShowWithinAShow, ''The Marty Corrigan Show'' while [[WitchClassic local witch]], Sabrina Stillwater, tries to hex the host. They're supposed to be debunking her "magic", but when [[FatalMethodActing the host actually dies after she casts the hex]], Austin and Mickey being to look for evidence to prove [[MurderMystery who really killed Corrigan]].
61	** "[[Recap/ProbePlan10FromOuterSpace Plan 10 from Outer Space]]": Austin has been called to [[ClosedCircle a mansion in the desert of New Mexico]]. The mansion's owner, Truman, claims that [[ImaginaryEnemy an alien is trying to kill him]]. Unfortunately, Truman dies before Austin can prove him wrong (because someone else killed him). Austin has to explain who killed Truman and what Rexel 14 [[LightningCanDoAnything really is]].
62	* SmartHouse: Austin has wired up his workshop/warehouse with the ability to respond to complex voice-activated commands, but not quite [[SapientHouse autonomous responsiveness]]. He uses it to answer the phone, play music, and do intensive research.
63	* SmartPeoplePlayChess: One of Austin's childhood photos shown in the title sequence depicts him taking part in a chess competition against several much older players. ''At the same time.''
64	* TheTeaser: Each episode starts with a {{Montage}} of clips from later in the episode. They're selected from the most action-packed scenes for the episode, but the first part of the {{Premiere}} used completely unique footage, with a DramaticChaseOpening to establish a mysterious person is able to HackTheTrafficLights and indirectly kill people.
65	* TitleMontage: Black-and-white photos from Austin's and Michelle's childhoods are presented in {{Montage}} form, interspersed with brief colour videos from the episodes. Halfway through the opening, the black-and-white photos change to be about the two of them as they are now. The opening ends with [[MirroredConfrontationShot Austin and Michelle looking at each other across a table]] while a glass (half-full or half-empty?) with water sits between them.
66	* TheWatson: Mickey's primary role in the narrative is to ask questions from Austin and others so that the audience is aware of the clues.
67	* WillTheyOrWontThey: Once the relationship between Austin and Mickey stabilizes, the writers often toy with this.
68	** Austin undermines Mickey's date, by doing a projection of how the man will look in the future. Afterward, he admits to himself that he included car crash results.
69	** In "Metamorphic Anthropoid Prototype Over You", Mickey is jealous of Austin's groupie.
70	--->'''Mickey:''' I think she may want to tap more than your brain.
71	** In "Quit-It", a young girl uses subliminals to make Austin and Mickey to fall for each other. At the end, Austin uses subliminals to make Mickey fall for him. She gets over it.

Context Series / Probe