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Subject: One of my favorite characters on TV shows...
Written By: Doc Brown on 06/02/13 at 12:16 am
Wikipedia rejected this submission from me, do you guys think they should have?
The Clumsy Foreigner
The Clumsy Foreigner is an archetypical TV character, usually written in for comic relief or an alternate perspective on the episodes’ plots. The character is rarely the central character of the series(there have been notable exceptions), but is rarely an antagonistic or disposable figure.
Most of the foreigner’s comic appeal is derived from his or her misunderstanding of American language and expressions, naivete in handling situations familiar to Americans, and tales from their country of origin. The latter is often a source of unconventional wisdom, and has a point crucial to the main story.
Often, the series has one particular American character written to be the straight man for the character(but not always), and is designated to explain the misunderstandings, or be annoyed by the foreigner’s mistakes, both usually perceived as ‘silly’ by the American.
Notable ‘Clumsy Foreigner’ Characters
*Latka Gravas(played by Andy Kaufman), an Eastern European mechanic on the sitcom TAXI.
*Yakov Korolenko(Yakov Smirnoff), a Russian immigrant often seeking Judge Stone’s legal assistance on Night Court.
*Izzy Moreno(Martin Ferrero), a small-time Cuban thief/con artist who supplies information to cops on the drama Miami Vice.
*Balki Bartokomous(Bronson Pinchot), Central Character, a former sheepherder from the fictitious, but possibly Greek island of Mypos, who becomes a mail clerk and later cartoonist for a Chicago newspaper on Perfect Strangers. (Straight Man: "Cousin" Larry Appleton)
*Remo(Tom La Grua), Italian owner and operator of Remo’s Ristorante, a popular hangout for the cast of Caroline In The City.
*Khan Souphanousinphone(Toby Huss, antagonistic exception), egomaniacal Laotian who moved to Arlen, Texas to seek material wealth and to mock his neighbors within earshot on King Of The Hill.
*Fez(Wilmer Valderrama), Exchange student of vague Latin American descent who becomes friends with the Point Place gang on That 70's Show(his home country was kept nonspecific as basis for a running gag).
*Ziva David(Cote De Pablo), former Israeli Mossad officer who becomes a part of Jethro Gibbs’s investigative team on NCIS. (Straight Man: "Very Special Agent" Tony DiNozzo)
*Raj Koothrappali(Kunal Nayyar) Indian-born Caltech astrophysicist on The Big Bang Theory.
*Gloria Delgado-Pritchett(Sofia Vergara), Colombian-born second wife of Jay Pritchett and mother to Manny and baby Jose on Modern Family. (every major character has been her Straight Man at least once)
*Ravi K. Ross(Karan Brar), 10-year-old Indian school boy adopted by an affluent New York City family on Jessie.
Your thoughts?
Your Pal,
Doc
8)
Subject: Re: One of my favorite characters on TV shows...
Written By: zcrito on 06/02/13 at 12:37 am
Yes, the "clumsy foreigner" character. ;D
Latka Gravas (played by Andy Kaufman) had to be the first or the first popular one.
What about these,
The Big Bang Theory's "Raj Koothrappali",
That '70s Show's "Fez",
Seinfeld's "Babu",
Wings' "Antonio Scarpacci".
Subject: Re: One of my favorite characters on TV shows...
Written By: Doc Brown on 06/02/13 at 11:20 am
Yes, the "clumsy foreigner" character. ;D
Latka Gravas (played by Andy Kaufman) had to be the first or the first popular one.
What about these,
The Big Bang Theory's "Raj Koothrappali",
That '70s Show's "Fez",
Seinfeld's "Babu",
Wings' "Antonio Scarpacci".
Can't believe I forgot Fez or Raj(I must add them), although Antonio never seemed all that 'clumsy' to me. Truth be told, I thought Antonio had a better grasp on America, English, and REALITY than, say... Lowell?
And Babu was not a regular Seinfeld character, only an occasional character thrown in now and then, like Crazy Joe or the Soup Nazi.
Your Pal,
Doc
8)
Subject: Re: One of my favorite characters on TV shows...
Written By: warped on 06/02/13 at 3:10 pm
or how about Cosmo Kramer or Sheldon Cooper?
Hey Howard, it's a thread about "favorite characters" but "Clumsy Foreigner" type character. Maybe you should read the whole post, might explain things better. :)
Subject: Re: One of my favorite characters on TV shows...
Written By: Doc Brown on 06/02/13 at 5:39 pm
Hey Howard, it's a thread about "favorite characters" but "Clumsy Foreigner" type character. Maybe you should read the whole post, might explain things better. :)
Warped has a point. I would still like to know what planet Kramer crashed down from, and Sheldon obviously comes from an another dimension ruled by The Big Giant @$$! (Oh sorry, wrong show! But '3rd Rock' characters wouldn't fit the bill, either.)
Then again, it's always an even bigger laugh to see the foreigner come up with a question that their 'Straight Man' can't answer. Here's a case in point from NCIS:
Ziva: The man is spic and spam.
Tony: The saying is "spic and span." 'Spam' is lunch meat.
Ziva: Oh. What exactly is 'span' then?
Tony: 'Span' is... uh... I'll get back to you on that.
Your Pal,
Doc
8)
Subject: Re: One of my favorite characters on TV shows...
Written By: warped on 06/02/13 at 5:48 pm
My favorite "Clumsy Foreigner" character type is Manuel from "Fawlty Towers" (British TV show from the 1970s)
Subject: Re: One of my favorite characters on TV shows...
Written By: ninny on 06/02/13 at 6:29 pm
Hey what about Inspector Gadget? I know its animated but he's clumsy and he's from Canada.
Subject: Re: One of my favorite characters on TV shows...
Written By: whistledog on 06/02/13 at 8:47 pm
I could understand Wikipedia rejecting it as some people from those cultures might take offense, but the clumsy foreigner can be a great character that provides a lot of memorable moments in movies and TV
Subject: Re: One of my favorite characters on TV shows...
Written By: Howard on 06/03/13 at 7:04 am
Balki Bartokomous
Subject: Re: One of my favorite characters on TV shows...
Written By: Foo Bar on 06/03/13 at 11:38 pm
The Clumsy Foreigner
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111208042122/starwars/images/4/42/JarJarHS-SWE.jpg
Cousin Jar Jar say eetsa more like TV Tropes thingee than Wikipedia thingee, okie day?