The Archetypical Quartet: A Tale of Four Characters

[3113]

Often in stories we have a quartet or team of four. They might be a foursome heading off on a quest or the four members of a rock band or the four core member of some superhero group (real superhero with powers, or "realistic" superheroes meaning experts working on solving crimes or saving lives).

What do you see as the most typical make-up of this quartet? What are the four "types" or personalities most often found in them? If you see a variety of quartets, which combination do you like best and/or feel is the most successful? Why?

 

[sr71plt]

I think I most often write a foursome up as two women, best friends, gadding about buying shoes and such while their husbands are off "fishing" and banging each other.

 

[slyc_willie]

Movies, TV shows and comics alike are full of archetypal foursomes. The usual organization as I've seen it consists of the following.

1. The Brain. This is the guy or gal who makes all the plans and is usually the group leader. Everyone follows the Brain. Sometimes, the Brain can be logical to a fault, resulting in ruthlessness. Or, he can be full of passionate conviction. Examples: Mister Fantastic, Hannibal Smith, Jean-Luc Piccard, Athos.

2. The Brawn. Obviously, this is the muscle of the group, whether that is literally or figuratively. They do all the hard physical work and are the most impressive physically. Examples: the Thing, B.A. Baracus, Worf, Porthos.

3. The Hothead. Usually young and impetuous, is also often flashy and athletic and has a strange knack for getting things done in the most unlikely ways (usually through luck). Examples: Human Torch, "Mad" Murdock, Cmdr Riker (maybe?), D'Artagnan.

4. The Specialist. This is the wildcard of the group. He or she can be a tech geek, a master of disguise, a charismatic speaker, whatever. The Specialist varies by genre to help the group meet whatever challenges they are likely to face. Examples: Invisible Woman, Face, Data, Aramis.

My (still unfinished, and apologetically so) Beyond the Veil series has this four-character archetypal setup.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I can only name 2 sets of foursomes who really scored: Ralph, Alice, Ed Norton, and Trixie (The Honeymooners); and Lucy, Rickie, Fred, and Ethel (I LOVE LUCY).

 

[Handley_Page]

Often in stories we have a quartet or team of four. They might be a foursome heading off on a quest or the four members of a rock band or the four core member of some superhero group (real superhero with powers, or "realistic" superheroes meaning experts working on solving crimes or saving lives).

What do you see as the most typical make-up of this quartet? What are the four "types" or personalities most often found in them? If you see a variety of quartets, which combination do you like best and/or feel is the most successful? Why?

Reminded me of this:

 

[sethp]

The A Team, of course, us the best example of the archetypical quartet.

 

[Desiremakesmeweak]

Porthos Athos Aramis and D'artagnan - the THREE Musketeers.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

A soprano, an alto, a tenor and a bass. What better foursome could anyone want?

 

[3113]

Movies, TV shows and comics alike are full of archetypal foursomes. The usual organization as I've seen it consists of the following.

1. The Brain. This is the guy or gal who makes all the plans and is usually the group leader. Everyone follows the Brain. Sometimes, the Brain can be logical to a fault, resulting in ruthlessness. Or, he can be full of passionate conviction. Examples: Mister Fantastic, Hannibal Smith, Jean-Luc Piccard, Athos.

2. The Brawn. Obviously, this is the muscle of the group, whether that is literally or figuratively. They do all the hard physical work and are the most impressive physically. Examples: the Thing, B.A. Baracus, Worf, Porthos.

3. The Hothead. Usually young and impetuous, is also often flashy and athletic and has a strange knack for getting things done in the most unlikely ways (usually through luck). Examples: Human Torch, "Mad" Murdock, Cmdr Riker (maybe?), D'Artagnan.

4. The Specialist. This is the wildcard of the group. He or she can be a tech geek, a master of disguise, a charismatic speaker, whatever. The Specialist varies by genre to help the group meet whatever challenges they are likely to face. Examples: Invisible Woman, Face, Data, Aramis.

Nice analysis! Very concise and good examples. I like! I do wonder, however, how much of a difference there is between the Specialist and either the hothead or the brain (Data). Seems to me the Specialist, given many of your examples, is less "specialist" then peacekeeper because the Brawn/Brain/Hothead are destined to fight, so there has to be someone there to either calm them down or, via wit, deflect and redirect them from fighting.

Maybe?

 

[3113]

The A Team, of course, us the best example of the archetypical quartet.

Porthos Athos Aramis and D'artagnan - the THREE Musketeers.

Good examples both, but why do you two see these as the "best" quartets? Why did their mix of personalities work out so well?

How do you think they compare to, say, the quartet on "Sex in the City"?

 

[Bramblethorn]

Movies, TV shows and comics alike are full of archetypal foursomes. The usual organization as I've seen it consists of the following.

1. The Brain. This is the guy or gal who makes all the plans and is usually the group leader. Everyone follows the Brain. Sometimes, the Brain can be logical to a fault, resulting in ruthlessness. Or, he can be full of passionate conviction. Examples: Mister Fantastic, Hannibal Smith, Jean-Luc Piccard, Athos.

2. The Brawn. Obviously, this is the muscle of the group, whether that is literally or figuratively. They do all the hard physical work and are the most impressive physically. Examples: the Thing, B.A. Baracus, Worf, Porthos.

3. The Hothead. Usually young and impetuous, is also often flashy and athletic and has a strange knack for getting things done in the most unlikely ways (usually through luck). Examples: Human Torch, "Mad" Murdock, Cmdr Riker (maybe?), D'Artagnan.

4. The Specialist. This is the wildcard of the group. He or she can be a tech geek, a master of disguise, a charismatic speaker, whatever. The Specialist varies by genre to help the group meet whatever challenges they are likely to face. Examples: Invisible Woman, Face, Data, Aramis.

Leverage has five, but it fits this pretty well: Nate = Brain, Eliot = Brawn, Parker = Hothead/Specialist, Sophie & Hardison = Specialists.

Castle (taking Beckett/Castle/Ryan/Esposito as the quartet) doesn't fit so well. Beckett/Castle/Espo roughly correspond to Brain/Hothead/Brawn, but they blur the roles more - Beckett works out a lot, Castle has moments of Brain. And I don't think Ryan really fits any of those - he's important to the dynamic but I'm having trouble articulating why.

 

[slyc_willie]

Nice analysis! Very concise and good examples. I like! I do wonder, however, how much of a difference there is between the Specialist and either the hothead or the brain (Data). Seems to me the Specialist, given many of your examples, is less "specialist" then peacekeeper because the Brawn/Brain/Hothead are destined to fight, so there has to be someone there to either calm them down or, via wit, deflect and redirect them from fighting.

Maybe?

I used the term "specialist" loosely, of course. The fourth person is basically a backup/facilitator appropriate to the genre who makes things happen, or, as you pointed out, keeps the team balanced.

Leverage has five, but it fits this pretty well: Nate = Brain, Eliot = Brawn, Parker = Hothead/Specialist, Sophie & Hardison = Specialists.

Castle (taking Beckett/Castle/Ryan/Esposito as the quartet) doesn't fit so well. Beckett/Castle/Espo roughly correspond to Brain/Hothead/Brawn, but they blur the roles more - Beckett works out a lot, Castle has moments of Brain. And I don't think Ryan really fits any of those - he's important to the dynamic but I'm having trouble articulating why.

Yeah, not every group is going to fit the mold, especially if there are more than four members (consider the crew on Firefly, for instance). And naturally, there will be a lot of crossover. Take Captain Kirk. He's kind of a brain, but also a hothead. Data could also fill in as brawn, considering his strength. So the roles are pretty general.

 

[CWatson]

Because of my gaming background, I'm of the opinion that an odd number of entities is always preferable to an even number; as a result, I almost always stick with trios, five-man-bands or (occasionally) sextets. I mention this mostly as a way to explain that, out of all the numbers you could ask about, four is the one I know least about; to a certain extent I am learning as I go. Use the provided links for a better glimpse, but be warned: TVTropes will eat your life.

The most classic quartet balance is the Four Temperament Ensemble - Sanguine, Choleric, Phlegmatic, Melancholic. Air, fire, earth, water. Cheerful impulsiveness, fierce leadership, compulsive morality, passive mediation. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ended up using this one.

The Four Man Band is primarily used for comedy: there's the straight man / only sane man, the smart perfectionist, the pervert and the "butt monkey"--the designated target it's okay to pick on. Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj of The Big Bang Theory are the most famous modern quartet, but Seinfeld, Kramer, Elaine and George fit too.

The Four Philosophy Ensemble assigns each character a particular outlook: Cynic, Optimist, Realist, Apathetic. John, Paul, George and Ringo fit, but they're possibly the most "recent" version because this ensemble isn't used very much, being somewhat limiting. Additionally, sometimes this is expanded into a five-man band by adding The Conflicted, a peacemaker who has trouble expressing or forming opinions. When only four characters are available, sometimes The Conflicted will replace The Apathetic.

And finally there's the Four-Girl Ensemble: sweet, tough, sexy, smart. One is an optimist, optionally ditzy or naive; one's a tomboy, optionally sarcastic; one's attractive, optionally artistic or lonely; and the last knows her friends best, optionally the "Team Mom" who holds things together and/or the narrator telling the story. Sex and the City gives us Charlotte, Miranda, Samantha and (of course) Carrie; however, the original 4GE might have been Little Women - Beth, Jo, Amy and Meg. Because it requires exactly four female characters, this ensemble is semi-rare as well, but there's no reason some or all of its entries could not be adapted to the other gender.

Feel free to check out the Cast Calculus directory for a summarized breakdown of all the things you can do with various numbers of characters.

 

[3113]

Awesome Watson!

Wow! That's an entire essay on the topic. I"m copying and keeping this one. Thank you. And thank you most especially for the Teenage Mutant Turtles reminder. I completely forgot about them and their "elemental" aspect. Very classic.

Because of my gaming background, I'm of the opinion that an odd number of entities is always preferable to an even number; as a result, I almost always stick with trios, five-man-bands or (occasionally) sextets. I mention this mostly as a way to explain that, out of all the numbers you could ask about, four is the one I know least about; to a certain extent I am learning as I go. Use the provided links for a better glimpse, but be warned: TVTropes will eat your life.

The most classic quartet balance is the Four Temperament Ensemble - Sanguine, Choleric, Phlegmatic, Melancholic. Air, fire, earth, water. Cheerful impulsiveness, fierce leadership, compulsive morality, passive mediation. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ended up using this one.

The Four Man Band is primarily used for comedy: there's the straight man / only sane man, the smart perfectionist, the pervert and the "butt monkey"--the designated target it's okay to pick on. Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj of The Big Bang Theory are the most famous modern quartet, but Seinfeld, Kramer, Elaine and George fit too.

The Four Philosophy Ensemble assigns each character a particular outlook: Cynic, Optimist, Realist, Apathetic. John, Paul, George and Ringo fit, but they're possibly the most "recent" version because this ensemble isn't used very much, being somewhat limiting. Additionally, sometimes this is expanded into a five-man band by adding The Conflicted, a peacemaker who has trouble expressing or forming opinions. When only four characters are available, sometimes The Conflicted will replace The Apathetic.

And finally there's the Four-Girl Ensemble: sweet, tough, sexy, smart. One is an optimist, optionally ditzy or naive; one's a tomboy, optionally sarcastic; one's attractive, optionally artistic or lonely; and the last knows her friends best, optionally the "Team Mom" who holds things together and/or the narrator telling the story. Sex and the City gives us Charlotte, Miranda, Samantha and (of course) Carrie; however, the original 4GE might have been Little Women - Beth, Jo, Amy and Meg. Because it requires exactly four female characters, this ensemble is semi-rare as well, but there's no reason some or all of its entries could not be adapted to the other gender.

Feel free to check out the Cast Calculus directory for a summarized breakdown of all the things you can do with various numbers of characters.

 

[sethp]

Good examples both, but why do you two see these as the "best" quartets? Why did their mix of personalities work out so well?

How do you think they compare to, say, the quartet on "Sex in the City"?

I see the sex in the city quartet as more subtle in personality, maybe that's not bad, but when I think archetypes, I think of them as more defined, almost to the point of being caricatures. That's only bad if the writing is bad though.

 

[slyc_willie]

Another quarter that didn't occur to me until now was the organization of drill sergeants (of drill instructors, depending on the branch), at least as they were in the early 90s. Thanks to numerous conversations I've had over the years, I came to the conclusion that drill sergeants -- and there were almost always four to any given platoon -- were selected to fill certain roles.

There was the Teddy Roosevelt, as in "speak softly and carry a big stick." He never raised his voice, always spoke in that frighteningly calm tone, and whenever he came into the room, all the other drill sergeants immediately went quiet and deferred to him. The instant and unmistakable impression was always that "HE's in charge." You didn't want to know what would happen if he got angry.

Then there was Everybody's Friend. He was the drill sergeant who was a little more relaxed, let you get away with a few things here and there, told jokes, and even *gasp!* listened to you if you had a problem. Of course, all the drill sergeants would listen, but Everybody's Friend made you feel like you had someone to confide in.

After that was the Spy. He came off as a nice guy most of the time, but he was the one who would watch us intently at mess, go through our lockers when we were on march, and generally keep tabs on everyone in case someone caused trouble. We all liked the Spy at first, but once it became obvious what he was, everyone was on their toes around him.

Lastly, of course, there was the Badass. He was the soldier that epitomized the word. When I was going through basic, our Badass was a light assault/fast attack Army Ranger who would regale us with stories he couldn't talk about. He told us just enough that we were impressed. He was also the typical drill sergeant in that if you made eye contact with him, he'd tell you to "drop, ass head!" which meant doing pushups until he left the room.

After Basic, the rest of the training (well, aside from jump school and sniper school and close-combat training) was a little less strict, with the drill sergeants being a little closer to Everyone's Friend in temperament.

Ah, the days . . .

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Of all the jobs the Army offered, drill sergeant was probably the most important and the one I'd have split to Canada if they tried to make me take. If I wanted to silence a room, being the First Shirt was the best. That diamond in my chevrons meant, "I'm right, you're wrong! Now shut up an do what I told you." It took me a little while to figure it out but having the First Sergeant walk into a room was terrifying because 1SG's don't come to you, they call for you to come to them so if he did have to come into your area you were is such deep kimchee you'd never see the surface. Once I figured that out and started calling for people, the company was a lot more relaxed.

 

[slyc_willie]

Of all the jobs the Army offered, drill sergeant was probably the most important and the one I'd have split to Canada if they tried to make me take. If I wanted to silence a room, being the First Shirt was the best. That diamond in my chevrons meant, "I'm right, you're wrong! Now shut up an do what I told you." It took me a little while to figure it out but having the First Sergeant walk into a room was terrifying because 1SG's don't come to you, they call for you to come to them so if he did have to come into your area you were is such deep kimchee you'd never see the surface. Once I figured that out and started calling for people, the company was a lot more relaxed.

Yeah, I think I saw the 1SG maybe twice throughout basic, and then, suddenly, he was grinning and shaking hands on graduation day. Most of us had to think to remember who he was.

After that, though, I ran into quite a few first sergeants. But I was an officer by then.

 

[3113]

I like these! Very useful even if one isn't writing about drill sergeants. Thank you.

Edited to add: what did happen if Teddy got mad?

There was the Teddy Roosevelt, as in "speak softly and carry a big stick." He never raised his voice, always spoke in that frighteningly calm tone, and whenever he came into the room, all the other drill sergeants immediately went quiet and deferred to him. The instant and unmistakable impression was always that "HE's in charge." You didn't want to know what would happen if he got angry.

Then there was Everybody's Friend. He was the drill sergeant who was a little more relaxed, let you get away with a few things here and there, told jokes, and even *gasp!* listened to you if you had a problem. Of course, all the drill sergeants would listen, but Everybody's Friend made you feel like you had someone to confide in.

After that was the Spy. He came off as a nice guy most of the time, but he was the one who would watch us intently at mess, go through our lockers when we were on march, and generally keep tabs on everyone in case someone caused trouble. We all liked the Spy at first, but once it became obvious what he was, everyone was on their toes around him.

Lastly, of course, there was the Badass. He was the soldier that epitomized the word. When I was going through basic, our Badass was a light assault/fast attack Army Ranger who would regale us with stories he couldn't talk about. He told us just enough that we were impressed. He was also the typical drill sergeant in that if you made eye contact with him, he'd tell you to "drop, ass head!" which meant doing pushups until he left the room.

 

[slyc_willie]

I like these! Very useful even if one isn't writing about drill sergeants. Thank you.

Edited to add: what did happen if Teddy got mad?

He got even quieter . . . .

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Imagine a thoroughly unhappy bull moose . . .