Last time, we looked at Type #4, the Exception. There’s a video for that below.
The Researcher is Type #5 in our list of 9 sitcom characters based loosely on the Enneagram. This character would need to be convinced that there are 9 types of people. What’s the evidence? They’d want to look into it and get all the facts before agreeing or disagreeing.
The Researcher needs to know things. The Researcher needs to know everything.
The Researcher doesn’t want to hear you say things like “Trust me”. No, they don’t trust you. Give them the map and let them find their own way.
Don’t say “This tells you all you need to know about it” or worse, “You don’t wanna know.” They do. They must. If they don’t understand, they can’t move forward. The last thing they want to do is act rashly and get it wrong. They hate being wrong.
Researchers are able to lock themselves away and get their heads around all kinds of things – or at least they think they can. They can pull all-nighters. They will produce copious notes, and ring-binders of information. Walk into their room where they are doing their work and it might well look like a murder investigation, with everything on pinboards, with red string connecting the pins.
“Shut up, everyone. Give me the facts and just let me figure it out” is the Type 5’s mentality. So, yes, Sherlock Holmes – and his medical alter-ego, Dr Gregory House – is a Type 5.
Researchers tend to isolate themselves, being prone to introspection. They can be grumpy and uncommunicative. In sitcom terms, this can make it harder to put them on the front foot with other people – but it also makes them uncomfortable and stressed (funny) when they have to interact with others – especially idiots.
How might other characters see them?
It’s always a good question to ask. Researchers might appear to be control freaks. Or ‘smarter than you’. Or secretive. Or indecisive since they don’t like to make a decision unless they have all the information. And when can you ever have enough information? They might be called ‘Spock-like sociopaths’. They could easily make other characters feel dumb or threatened. People tend not to like that.
The Type 5 that leaps to mind is supersmart Alex from Modern Family. She derives her identity from being ‘the smart one’, weaponising her intelligence and ability to focus. For her, it’s not necessarily about being top of the class (making her a Type #3: High Flyer). It’s about being right. And smart. And in control. Rather than dumb. And at the mercy of the world, like her ‘airhead’ (but hot) big sister, Haley, or her stupid little brother, Luke.
Another Type 5 could be Ben from Parks and Recreation. He is hard-working and introverted with a strong sense of service. But he really wants to figure things and will do whatever it takes to get the job done – including staying up for days on end creating an unplayably-complicated game, Cones of Dunshire (see below). He’d live a lot more in his head if Lesley weren’t pulling him out of it all the time. In turn, he helps her focus on what’s important. They make a really good couple!
Back to the Restaurant
In our restaurant sitcom, being developed for the purposes of illustration, let’s make the sous-chef a researcher. Kyle wants to open his own restaurant someday. He is endlessly figuring it out. When he’s not prepping vegetables – during which he’s normally running all kinds of experiments – he’s researching food, ingredients and culinary experiences. He’s passionate about the eating experience. Kyle’s way of making his name as a chef is to fully understand everything there is to know about taste, texture and flavour. He’s a Heston Blumenthal, convinced he can discover the secret of the ultimate meal, to be served in the ultimate restaurant.
Kyle’s quest is totally impractical and uneconomic. This dream seems unattainable. Deep down, Kyle knows that. He’s not an idiot. But he’s going to do his best to figure it out. And he’ll go anywhere and talk to anyone to learn something. He wants to go to other restaurants on his meagre wages and try to sample new tastes and flavours.
All of the above makes Kyle a slightly unreliable and distracted sous-chef, in danger of invoking the wrath of the head chef. But his passion for food is evident. And his late-night snacks are legendary. And when they eat before they open, Kyle usually has something amazing that he has created secretly in the dead of night. Or at least, it seemed amazing at 3am. Maybe it doesn’t actually taste good in the cold light of day.
So that’s Kyle. We’ll get back to him and start messing around with relationships and plots in due course. If you want the next instalment, be sure to subscribe. It’s every Friday and it’s free.
And check out the video of last week’s character: The Exception:
Okay and here’s Ben with his Cones of Dunshire: