Team Peaks

Last December sci-fi and pop-culture blog i09 did an interesting article on "The Smartest Man in the Room." Essentially, the author argues she's tired of the super-genius who gets away with being a jerk because he's a super-genius. Remember what happened on TV right after House became a huge hit? We got a TV show about an abrasive lawyer (Shark), an abrasive magician (The Mentalist), and an abrasive pathologist (Bones). And it's a trend that continues today, with Rainn Wilson's new show, Backstrom (premiering tonight to terrible reviews), hopefully being the apex.

Your new lovable anti-hero, America!

Obviously, this type of character goes back well before Dr. House, perhaps starting with Sherlock Holmes (House... Holmes, sounds like homes. Coincidence?). All three modern interpretations of Holmes himself (Cumberbatch, Downey Jr., and Miller) have only accentuated this facet of his character. Every last one of them bucks societal norms, talks circles around everyone, and gets away with it because he's always right.

Once this character type was pointed out to me, I started looking for him. Sleepy Hollow's Ichabod Crane? Check. Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper? Check. Even beloved Shawn Spencer of Psych can be "that guy," although he's a little nicer about it. Sometimes he's someone with whom I'd like to hang out (Shawn), sometimes he's someone I'd rather throw rocks at (Sheldon), but he will always make everyone else feel inferior to himself. So does the smartest guy in the room always have to be so pretentious about it? No, he does not. Because: FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper.

"Diane, my doctor says I need to stop talking inanimate objects. But I feel like you're the only one who listens to me."

If you're my age or younger, you've probably heard the legends of the cult television show Twin Peaks and seen its influence, but not known exactly what it's about. However, thanks to Netflix and a growing love for all things 90's (including $1.75 per gallon gas), Twin Peaks is making something of a comeback. In other words, that gum you like is going to come back in style.

Ahem, wrong twin peaks

The show, which ran for two seasons, is a murder mystery/sci-fi/horror/comedy/soap opera with more melodrama in a single episode than entire season of Downton Abbey. When the small Washing town of Twin Peaks suffers the bizarre murder of high school sweetheart Laura Palmer, the FBI sends Agent Cooper to investigate.

Agent Cooper (named after legendary plane robber and probably smartest guy in his room, since he got away with it, D.B. Cooper) arrives on the scene talking into a micro cassette recorder. He's sharply-dressed, clean-cut, well-spoken, with too many other admirable traits to hyphenate. Cooper's a boy-scout (yep, one more). The plot of the mystery takes some strange turns, but Cooper doesn't miss much because he's open to the idea of the paranormal (not that the locals aren't; it just doesn't occur to them), and because he's the smartest guy in the room.

What I find interesting about Agent Cooper, in this era of pretentious detectives, is that part of his moral code is to treat everyone decently. True, he can out think and out shoot anyone in town, but it's always with a kind word and encouraging pat on the back or hearty thumbs up. Far from being an individualist, he recognizes the value of a team.

Good job!

Frankly, I don't mind the idea of one member of the team being the best, brightest, prescient, what have you, as long we have some variety. I love Tony Stark's snark as much as anyone, but we need to see more teams and fewer anti-social anti-heroes. Even Tony is at his best when he can set aside his attitude and work in concert with the other Avengers.

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