Tropedia

  • Before making a single edit, Tropedia EXPECTS our site policy and manual of style to be followed. Failure to do so may result in deletion of contributions and blocks of users who refuse to learn to do so. Our policies can be reviewed here.
  • All images MUST now have proper attribution, those who neglect to assign at least the "fair use" licensing to an image may have it deleted. All new pages should use the preloadable templates feature on the edit page to add the appropriate basic page markup. Pages that don't do this will be subject to deletion, with or without explanation.
  • All new trope pages will be made with the "Trope Workshop" found on the "Troper Tools" menu and worked on until they have at least three examples. The Trope workshop specific templates can then be removed and it will be regarded as a regular trope page after being moved to the Main namespace. THIS SHOULD BE WORKING NOW, REPORT ANY ISSUES TO Janna2000, SelfCloak or RRabbit42. DON'T MAKE PAGES MANUALLY UNLESS A TEMPLATE IS BROKEN, AND REPORT IT THAT IS THE CASE. PAGES WILL BE DELETED OTHERWISE IF THEY ARE MISSING BASIC MARKUP.

READ MORE

Tropedia
Im>Dai-Guard
m (Mass update links)
 
(thumbnailed new page image, added trope)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
{{work}}
 
{{work}}
[[File:automan-logo_7415.jpg|frame]]
+
[[File:automan-logo_7415.jpg|thumb|400px]]
A police scientist/HollywoodNerd (Desi Arnaz Jr) creates an artificially intelligent, [[Projected Man|holographic partner]], dubbed the "Automan" (short for "Automatic Man"), to help [[They Fight Crime|fight crime]]. Think "[[X Meets Y|Starsky And Hutch Meets Tron]]".Twelve episodes of the series aired in 1983-84.
+
A police scientist/[[Hollywood Nerd]] (Desi Arnaz Jr) creates an artificially intelligent, [[Projected Man|holographic partner]], dubbed the "Automan" (short for "Automatic Man"), to help [[They Fight Crime|fight crime]]. Think "[[X Meets Y|Starsky And Hutch Meets Tron]]".Twelve episodes of the series aired in 1983-84.
   
 
The Automan had a [[Robot Buddy]] (actually, a Pixel Buddy) by the name of Cursor, who could become virtually any object Automan needed. This ability manifested itself most often when Cursor would "draw" Automan's car/coptor/plane or provide Automan with normal clothing.
 
The Automan had a [[Robot Buddy]] (actually, a Pixel Buddy) by the name of Cursor, who could become virtually any object Automan needed. This ability manifested itself most often when Cursor would "draw" Automan's car/coptor/plane or provide Automan with normal clothing.
   
  +
{{tropelist}}
----
 
=== The series had examples of the following tropes: ===
 
 
 
* [[Character as Himself]]: Cursor even gets the "[[And Starring]]" billing.
 
* [[Character as Himself]]: Cursor even gets the "[[And Starring]]" billing.
 
* [[Cool Car]], which also happens to be a [[Flying Car]].
 
* [[Cool Car]], which also happens to be a [[Flying Car]].
Line 15: Line 13:
 
* [[Hard Light]]: Automan, Cursor and all Automan's vehicles are made out of it.
 
* [[Hard Light]]: Automan, Cursor and all Automan's vehicles are made out of it.
 
* [[Magical Computer]]: This show didn't even pretend to be realistic about how computers work.
 
* [[Magical Computer]]: This show didn't even pretend to be realistic about how computers work.
  +
* [[Meaningful Name]]: Main character "Walter Nebicher" ("nebbisher").
 
* [[Mega Manning]]: Automan could copy any skill he sees performed at least once.
 
* [[Mega Manning]]: Automan could copy any skill he sees performed at least once.
 
* [[Not Wearing Tights]]: unless you count that Tron-like glowy suit.
 
* [[Not Wearing Tights]]: unless you count that Tron-like glowy suit.
Line 20: Line 19:
 
* [[Sue Donym]]: Automan's usual alias outside the computer is Otto J. Mann.
 
* [[Sue Donym]]: Automan's usual alias outside the computer is Otto J. Mann.
 
* [[Short Runners]]: Only lasted 12 eps,with a 13th episode unaired (though all 13 aired in the UK).
 
* [[Short Runners]]: Only lasted 12 eps,with a 13th episode unaired (though all 13 aired in the UK).
* [[Shout-Out]]: Many, as one of Automan's abilities was to duplicate skills he saw performed in movies or television. One notable incident involved duplicating the skills in The Hustler - right down to the missed final shot.
+
* [[Shout-Out]]: Many, as one of Automan's abilities was to duplicate skills he saw performed in movies or television. One notable incident involved duplicating the skills in ''[[The Hustler]]'' - right down to the missed final shot.
  +
* [[Summon Magic|Summon Tech]]: There were a few hints dropped that Automan was not so much created as summoned from... somewhere else.
 
* [[They Fight Crime]]
 
* [[They Fight Crime]]
 
* [[Tron Lines]]: on every vehicle Cursor creates. Also Automan's holographic body; even when in plainclothes disguise, his glowing collar is always visible.
 
* [[Tron Lines]]: on every vehicle Cursor creates. Also Automan's holographic body; even when in plainclothes disguise, his glowing collar is always visible.

Revision as of 02:14, 2 November 2019

Farm-Fresh balanceYMMVTransmit blueRadarWikEd fancyquotesQuotes • (Emoticon happyFunnyHeartHeartwarmingSilk award star gold 3Awesome) • RefridgeratorFridgeGroupCharactersScript editFanfic RecsSkull0Nightmare FuelRsz 1rsz 2rsz 1shout-out iconShout OutMagnifierPlotGota iconoTear JerkerBug-silkHeadscratchersHelpTriviaWMGFilmRoll-smallRecapRainbowHo YayPhoto linkImage LinksNyan-Cat-OriginalMemesHaiku-wide-iconHaikuLaconicLibrary science symbol SourceSetting
File:Automan-logo 7415.jpg

A police scientist/Hollywood Nerd (Desi Arnaz Jr) creates an artificially intelligent, holographic partner, dubbed the "Automan" (short for "Automatic Man"), to help fight crime. Think "Starsky And Hutch Meets Tron".Twelve episodes of the series aired in 1983-84.

The Automan had a Robot Buddy (actually, a Pixel Buddy) by the name of Cursor, who could become virtually any object Automan needed. This ability manifested itself most often when Cursor would "draw" Automan's car/coptor/plane or provide Automan with normal clothing.

Tropes used in Automan include:
  • Character as Himself: Cursor even gets the "And Starring" billing.
  • Cool Car, which also happens to be a Flying Car.
  • Energy Shield: Automan can be one, by "merging" yourself with him. Since he's made of light, you can just walk through him and stand where he stands (but since it's Hard Light, it will subsequently stop bullets, etc.).
  • Follow the Leader: Inspired by Tron, but also borrows heavily from Knight Rider (also from Glen A. Larson).
  • Future Spandex: It's easy to see that Automan is something different because he's dressed up in sparkly Future Spandex.
  • Hard Light: Automan, Cursor and all Automan's vehicles are made out of it.
  • Magical Computer: This show didn't even pretend to be realistic about how computers work.
  • Meaningful Name: Main character "Walter Nebicher" ("nebbisher").
  • Mega Manning: Automan could copy any skill he sees performed at least once.
  • Not Wearing Tights: unless you count that Tron-like glowy suit.
  • Projected Man, as a result of adding more power.
  • Sue Donym: Automan's usual alias outside the computer is Otto J. Mann.
  • Short Runners: Only lasted 12 eps,with a 13th episode unaired (though all 13 aired in the UK).
  • Shout-Out: Many, as one of Automan's abilities was to duplicate skills he saw performed in movies or television. One notable incident involved duplicating the skills in The Hustler - right down to the missed final shot.
  • Summon Tech: There were a few hints dropped that Automan was not so much created as summoned from... somewhere else.
  • They Fight Crime
  • Tron Lines: on every vehicle Cursor creates. Also Automan's holographic body; even when in plainclothes disguise, his glowing collar is always visible.
  • Weakened by the Light: Automan and Cursor's power needs meant that they could only be projected into the physical world during off-peak hours, i.e. nighttime.