I highly concur, four is a nice, even number to have in an ensemble cast. Every member has the opportunity to interact with each other in pairs, and with fewer protagonists, there's more time to flesh them out.
Agree. While I personally always preferred Trios more due to stronger characterization and more in-depth character interaction, Four Band Ensembles do come with overall more interesting stories and commentary.
Something else to consider when it comes to groups of 4 like these is personalities that mesh near flawlessly. Primary example of this is the teenage mutant ninja turtles. If you look at any group of 4 you'll find some way to connect them to the turtles.
I've noticed that in groups of four girls, one is typically the Sweet, Naive one, another is Sexy and Boy Crazy, one is Smart and Sensible, and the final one is Sarcastic, sometimes tomboyish. The Golden Girls, Heathers, Mean Girls and Sex and the City girls all apply here.
This 4-part ensemble goes back several centuries in theater. I’d guess the formula is more obvious with “girl groups” because: 1. female-led stories tend to be ensembles, with supporting characters getting nearly as much time as the lead or no clear lead 2. we have more rigid stereotypes for women and girls; so they don’t play around with the tropes as much as they might with an all-male or coed ensemble But I think more shows than don’t use a similar outline for their top 4 central characters, just easier to hide when the characters have more room to do explore different interests and situations
Also works with the movie Now and Then: Chrissy the naive one, Roberta the sarcastic, sporty one, Sam the smart one who people look to as the leader, and Teeny - who's obsessed with being a sexy actress.
That is cool. A very popular personality type system in modern psychology is the Myers Briggs. David Kiersy has a book about it, called Please Understand Me. He gives four major types. Then each type is further subdivided to four. This forms a total of sixteen types. The book actually gives Wizard of Oz as one of the examples of the four major types. Dorthy is a guardian type. The scarcrow is a rational type. The tin man is an idealist type. The cowardly lion is an artisan type.
Agreed, it's not too big of a number, and just small enough for many characters to interact, and to keep track of all of their personalities and dynamics.
It comes all from classic mythology and medicine. Back then it was considered that everyone was made of four elements: water, fire, air and earth. Depending on your mixture, you ended having a certain complexity and mentality, and could end developing certain diseases. Air was often associated with intellectual people; water, with sentimental and artistic; fire, with adventurous and physically driven; and earth with practical and stable people. That mixture is still present in many contemporary culture objects as it provides balance amomg all four and conflict between each two of the resulting possible pairs.
Another version very close to this is the 4 temperaments, mentioned in the video too. The ancient Greeks believed that the 4 fluids of the body (blood, phlegm, black bile yellow bile) determine a person's mood. Some literature connected them with 4 elements too. Choleric are the bossy type A, ambitious, passionate, connected with fire. Sanguine are free spirited, perky, just wants to have fun, represented by air too. Phlegmatic are serious, calm, stoic, observant, represented by earth. Melancholic are emotional, creative, empathic, connected with water.
This made me realize that even though the main characters of Harry Potter are a trio, many of their group conversations include a fourth person joining in (like Ginny, Luna, or Neville).
The only problem is - THE GOOD PLACE has a total of not four but _six_ central characters. As the series progresses, Michael and Janet are increasingly part of the conversation.
Yes but unlike the 4 humans, Michael and Janet still felt like an outside force that the 4 have to deal with. Michael and Janet moves the plot either because they mastermind it or they become the one that the 4 have to help or guide. Eleanor, Chidi, Jason, and Tahani are mirrors/dark mirrors of of each other (Chidi's overthinking vs Jason's impulse, Eleanor's disregard of others vs Tahani's people pleasing, etc) while Michael is a mirror/dark mirror of all amd each of them. Janet has her own journey that doesnt reflect much the 4's journeys.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants I'm not sure exactly who falls into which but is such a good core 4 of different characters nonetheless. Some of the parallels I see, but some idk.
Four personalities work because it can represent the human psyche: Id, ego, superego, and person. In SATC, Samantha is the ID, Miranda is the ego, charlotte is the superego, and Carrie is the human. In girlfriends, Lynn is the ID, joan is the superego, Toni is the ego, and maya is the human In insecure, Kelli is the ID, Molly is the superego, Tiffany is the ego, and issa is the human
As a _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ fan, I would put that show in that category. In seven seasons it had twelve main characters: (Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Cordelia, Angel, Oz, Riley, Anya, Spike, Dawn, and Tara), thirteen core/season long villains: (The Master, Darla, Drusilla, Spike, Angelus, The Mayor, Faith, Adam, Glory, Warren, Jonathon, Andrew, and Evil Willow), and twelve secondary characters not considered one or the other, but important to the story: (Joyce, Jenny, Wesley, Snyder, Robin, Kennedy, Amanda, Vi, Rona, Harmony, Larry, and Amy) Out of all these core characters, and the many non-core characters I didn't mention, at the end of the series it comes down to a four-person show of Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Giles. It just disguises itself a little more than what was mentioned in the video.
It always works in a narrative because you have one central character who is the "every man" (or woman) and then the three others representing different elements of the central character : the Id, ego and superego. Or the "wizard of Oz" formula : the brain, the heart and the guts (or labido). In SATC: carry is "every woman", Charlotte is the heart, Miranda the brain and Samantha is the guts/labido.
1. Ghostbusters! 2. Team Avatar had this dynamic in Book 2 after Toph joined the gang. I think this is usually a comedy thing, at least that's where it works best- and usually for characters who are single. Even for HBO's *Entourage* which was basically the male version of Sex and the City, I think Vincent Chase would be the Narrator, Eric was the Intellectual one, Turtle was obsessed with Status, and Johnny Drama was the Conversation Starter. But there are instances of foursomes where the characters don't fit as neatly into the archetypes. Like *Atlanta* who's Fab 4 (Earn, Al, Darius and Van) are characters that seem un-quantifiable to me. When thinking about non-comedies, one show with a unique spin on this is *Orphan Black* where the 4 main characters of the "Clone Club" (Sarah, Allison, Cosima, and Helena) are all played by one person
The Take, I’ve mentioned this a couple times already, but Friendship is Magic is a show worth mentioning from time to time. Here for example, that show started with six primary protagonists, plus four secondary protagonists, whom could each offer dynamics for an episode or two. Maybe you could do a spin-off video about something like that?
This video only stands to reinforce how crazy it is that HBO still went ahead with And Just Like That - where one of the core four is missing. Couldn’t even go begin to imagine if Seinfeld returned without Kramer.
I haven’t read the book yet but ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ sounds like a great quartet. For the uninitiated, it’s a group of Senior Citizens who solve cold cases.
My current favorite shows staring 4 women all star black women • Harlem (2021) - Amazon • First Wives Club (2019) - BET Plus • Run The World (2019) - STARZ
This archetype structure has been around since the renaissance (Commedia dell’arte). It wouldn’t have evolved and lasted centuries if it wasn’t effective for telling interesting stories
As has the five man band and the legendary trios (literally since biblical times). You can analyze these a bunch of different was but it kind of basically all comes down to being the embodiment of specific personality, problem solving, etc types
The ensemble cast of MY LITTLE PONY had an interesting dynamic. There were six mains, and could be paired off in interesting ways. There were two “girly girls,” two “tomboys,” and two for whom their gender wasn’t a big component of their personality. But even the two most similar personalities were different enough that they could spark stories together. It was a very systematized approach, but it worked.
Great video! I feel like this reminds me of one of your older videos that made me follow you guys years ago. Fresh topic that was hiding in plain sight!
Reminds me of the 4 temperaments, mentioned in the video too. The ancient Greeks believed that the 4 fluids of the body (blood, phlegm, black bile yellow bile) determine a person's mood. Some literature connected them with 4 elements too. Choleric are the bossy type A, ambitious, passionate, connected with fire. Sanguine are free spirited, perky, just wants to have fun, represented by air too. Phlegmatic are serious, calm, stoic, observant, represented by earth. Melancholic are emotional, creative, empathic, connected with water.
The four temperament ensemble. A trope as old time yet it works. For me my go-to four group will always be the Strike Team from FX’s The Shield great show that was before its time. Vic Mackey the choleric aggressive capable leader but bossy to the point of over controlling. Shane Vendrell the sanguine as quoted perfectly ‘his heart tends to be ten steps ahead of his brain’. Curtis ‘Lem’ Lemansky the chilled grounded easy going member that acts as the heart of the team the white sheep in a group of corrupt cops his loss really broke the team. Ronnie Gardocki the melancholic played for laughs in the initial seasons but by the end of the show he developed into a cold calculated planner.
I wonder, where does this leave groups of 5 &6? Otherwise I think Adult Swim did an ironic joke with a bump about a quote about how good things are in threes, basically they listed 3 shows about duos(Tim &Eric, Rick &Morty, Tuca &Bertie)as their counter argument,
The book Surrounded By Idiots by Thomas Erikson is a great book based on this format. I fekt very called out being dominant red and its taught me to be more conscious on my straight to the point style.
Hmm...The Beatles weren't a TV show, unless you count the mid-1960s Saturday morning cartoon show...but then, there were those movies... John was the Smart One, Paul the Cute One, George the Quiet One (or the Deep One), and Ringo seemed to be the Happy-Go-Lucky One. How those four types would fit into the types mentioned in this video, I don't know. In the TV-movie Birth of the Beatles, a biopic about their early years, someone (Brian Epstein?) said John was the brains of the group, Paul was the heart, George was the soul, and Ringo the sinews. In the 1960s TV show The Monkees, Mike was the sensible one, Micky the outlandish one, Peter the sweet one (often portrayed as the dumb one), and Davy the cute/sexy one. Someone once wrote that Davy corresponded to Paul, Peter to Ringo, and Mike and Micky shared the George and John roles. Observing their appearances, Micky resembles John, Mike resembles George, and Davy resembles Paul a little, but not much.
@@ShindlersFiist The Beatles were primarily a real-life rock group, not a TV show. The Monkees were a TV show that morphed into a real-life rock group.
@@dEMonAngeLclone Except they talked about Harry Potter and GOT & how it didn't strictly need to be about 4 characters but they needed to be the core personalities. Living Single had the 4 core personalities. Plus Girlfriends had WIlliam and Insecure had Lawerence. So yeah, I'm still calling BS
@@mikejohn29mj Lmao 🤣🤣🤣 I autocorrected it to Overton in my head, so I didn’t catch that she wrote singleton. Maybe that was an actual autocorrect for her though
It's Always Sunny didn't hit it big until the 5th member showed up: The Mantis, The Muscle, The Warthog, CEO of Wolf Cola, Gun and Rum Ham enthusiast, Frank Reynolds.
Entourage is an example to this. Vince is the succesfull/handsome/heartless dude. Eric is the brain and the moral compass of the group. Drama is the sarcastic one with lots of heartbreaks he's covering. Turtle is the one who is naive/helpfull and supportive. And then there is Ari Gold to represent middle aged men.
Hey the take. I'm subscribed and watch a lot of your videos. I'm big fan of TV and movies. Y'all seem touch on great ones. But there is one show I never see you talk about. The show is girlfriends. I only bring it up because it would fit so well with this current video. If you ever want to add that or break down that show it would be great.
Girlfriends also did a stellar job of discussing class issues among friends and specifically in the Black community (Joan, as Maya will tell you, can be "classist and egregious").
I've watched this video twice now, and other TV show quartets are coming to mind. I won't typify all of them. Bonanza: Ben was the sensible one, Adam the artistic/intellectual one, Hoss the kind, sweet one, and Joe the hot-tempered one (and closest to being the sexy one). You could even put them into Hogwarts houses: Ben the Slytherin, Adam the Ravenclaw, Hoss the Hufflepuff, and Joe the Gryffindor. All in the Family: Archie was the Traditionalist, Edith the sweet one, Mike the Rule-Challenger, and Gloria, maybe, the Emotional One. Star Trek: Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and, to round it up into a quartet, Scotty. The Beverly Hillbillies: Jed, Granny, Jethro, Ellie. Someone else mentioned The Honeymooners (Ralph, Ed, Alice, Trixie), which, of course, begat The Flintstones (Fred, Barney, Wilma, Betty). There was also I Love Lucy (Lucy, Ricky, Ethel, Fred). I wonder what one can make of Jonny Quest (Jonny, Hadji, Benton, Race)? Then, of course, there's Scooby Doo (Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy). The play A Raisin in the Sun had Walter Lee, Lena (Mama), Ruth, and Beneatha. Death of a Salesman had Willy, Linda, Biff, and Happy. A Streetcar Named Desire had Blanche, Stanley, Stella, and Mitch. The Glass Menagerie had Amanda, Tom, Laura, and Jim, the Gentleman Caller. Of course, a one-time play has a different dynamic from a TV series. Long Day's Journey into Night had... I'd better stop myself now.
Other than the previous video essays, that talked about The Ugly Duckling/Movie Make-Over trope &the Fixer-Upper Prince, think they could cover, what is it with narratives about turning somebody over? I.E. bringing the "non-feminine" girl to the "womanhood" side, bringing the misanthrope over to the sociability side, it can't just be a wish fulfillment, as doesn't it draw parallels to, that if a person can change another person's attitude, then that person can accomplish anything, let alone the concept that real friends challenge you (considering that if someone takes advice from a toxic friend, it's usually a recipe for disaster)
You mean Roz. Also, since Roz wasn't part of the household, you could try to typify Frazier, Niles, Martin, and Daphne. Okay, Niles wasn't part of the household either, but he was part of the family and visited nearly all the time.
On Yellowjackets, the archetypes are subverted: - Shauna is the Storyteller, but what story? - Natalie is the Image-Conscious Rule Follower, but what image, and what rules? - Misty is the Conversation Starter, but who's listening? - Taissa is the Progressive Intellectual, but is she in control or being controlled?
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I highly concur, four is a nice, even number to have in an ensemble cast. Every member has the opportunity to interact with each other in pairs, and with fewer protagonists, there's more time to flesh them out.
Agree. While I personally always preferred Trios more due to stronger characterization and more in-depth character interaction, Four Band Ensembles do come with overall more interesting stories and commentary.
Something else to consider when it comes to groups of 4 like these is personalities that mesh near flawlessly. Primary example of this is the teenage mutant ninja turtles. If you look at any group of 4 you'll find some way to connect them to the turtles.
Haha, I do this. I view all foursomes through the lens of TMNT. Which one is The Leonardo? Which one is The Raphael? Etc
@@robchuk4136 most importantly, who is the Michaelangelo? 🤣
I've noticed that in groups of four girls, one is typically the Sweet, Naive one, another is Sexy and Boy Crazy, one is Smart and Sensible, and the final one is Sarcastic, sometimes tomboyish. The Golden Girls, Heathers, Mean Girls and Sex and the City girls all apply here.
synclaire, regine, khadijah, and maxine from living single fit that description!
The first is always impulsive, second is rational, and the third is neutral
This 4-part ensemble goes back several centuries in theater. I’d guess the formula is more obvious with “girl groups” because:
1. female-led stories tend to be ensembles, with supporting characters getting nearly as much time as the lead or no clear lead
2. we have more rigid stereotypes for women and girls; so they don’t play around with the tropes as much as they might with an all-male or coed ensemble
But I think more shows than don’t use a similar outline for their top 4 central characters, just easier to hide when the characters have more room to do explore different interests and situations
Also works with the movie Now and Then: Chrissy the naive one, Roberta the sarcastic, sporty one, Sam the smart one who people look to as the leader, and Teeny - who's obsessed with being a sexy actress.
Emily, Hanna, Spencer and Aria in that order too lol
‘The Wizard of Oz’ is truly the OG Quartet of Hollywood. Judy Garland being the Best Storyteller-Narrator there ever was.
That is cool. A very popular personality type system in modern psychology is the Myers Briggs. David Kiersy has a book about it, called Please Understand Me. He gives four major types. Then each type is further subdivided to four. This forms a total of sixteen types. The book actually gives Wizard of Oz as one of the examples of the four major types. Dorthy is a guardian type. The scarcrow is a rational type. The tin man is an idealist type. The cowardly lion is an artisan type.
Yeah, I do like it. You got these four personalities interacting, or clashing, and it's entertaining to see.
Agreed, it's not too big of a number, and just small enough for many characters to interact, and to keep track of all of their personalities and dynamics.
No shout out to the OG of four-person sitcoms? The Golden Girls?
I actually expected a Golden Girls mention
That’s what I was thinking!
I thought that was i love lucy.
RIGHT!! The disrespect!! Lol
Don't forget about Girlfriends and Living Single y'all! Living Single was arguably a template for SATC. And what about Golden Girls, the OG?
Living single had 6 central characters
@@LeahWalentosky 4 = Khadijah, Regine, Maxine and Sinclair.
@@blurelic4 Overton and Kyle
It comes all from classic mythology and medicine. Back then it was considered that everyone was made of four elements: water, fire, air and earth. Depending on your mixture, you ended having a certain complexity and mentality, and could end developing certain diseases. Air was often associated with intellectual people; water, with sentimental and artistic; fire, with adventurous and physically driven; and earth with practical and stable people. That mixture is still present in many contemporary culture objects as it provides balance amomg all four and conflict between each two of the resulting possible pairs.
Another version very close to this is the 4 temperaments, mentioned in the video too. The ancient Greeks believed that the 4 fluids of the body (blood, phlegm, black bile yellow bile) determine a person's mood. Some literature connected them with 4 elements too. Choleric are the bossy type A, ambitious, passionate, connected with fire. Sanguine are free spirited, perky, just wants to have fun, represented by air too. Phlegmatic are serious, calm, stoic, observant, represented by earth. Melancholic are emotional, creative, empathic, connected with water.
This made me realize that even though the main characters of Harry Potter are a trio, many of their group conversations include a fourth person joining in (like Ginny, Luna, or Neville).
I think the 4th person is Voldemort as he is always being talked about
Or hagrid!
Or Malfoy
Now it would be nice to have a video about the magic of 5 character shows
3:41 Bree in that fabulous outfit armed with the shotgun will never stop being iconic.
The only problem is - THE GOOD PLACE has a total of not four but _six_ central characters. As the series progresses, Michael and Janet are increasingly part of the conversation.
Yep!
Yes but unlike the 4 humans, Michael and Janet still felt like an outside force that the 4 have to deal with. Michael and Janet moves the plot either because they mastermind it or they become the one that the 4 have to help or guide. Eleanor, Chidi, Jason, and Tahani are mirrors/dark mirrors of of each other (Chidi's overthinking vs Jason's impulse, Eleanor's disregard of others vs Tahani's people pleasing, etc) while Michael is a mirror/dark mirror of all amd each of them. Janet has her own journey that doesnt reflect much the 4's journeys.
This is probably my favorite episode of the year on The Take! The comparison to chamber music was so well executed and helpful. 10/10.
I’m going to sound silly but ‘I Love Lucy’ had the OG Chaotic Quartet of Television.
Why would this ever sound silly?
@@GenerationNextNextNext You never know.
Not silly in the slightest. They totally should have mentioned them.
It's not silly. That show was was the blueprint for 4 oerson shows
i love that show
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants I'm not sure exactly who falls into which but is such a good core 4 of different characters nonetheless. Some of the parallels I see, but some idk.
Carmen is the storyteller, Lena is the rule follower, Tibby is the intellectual one, Bridget is the rule breaker/conversation starter.
@@gensai93 yeah that sounds right :)
Four personalities work because it can represent the human psyche: Id, ego, superego, and person.
In SATC, Samantha is the ID, Miranda is the ego, charlotte is the superego, and Carrie is the human.
In girlfriends, Lynn is the ID, joan is the superego, Toni is the ego, and maya is the human
In insecure, Kelli is the ID, Molly is the superego, Tiffany is the ego, and issa is the human
Yes!!
I was bummed they didn't mention Girlfriends.
I love that you featured "The Sex lives of College Girls" in this. Such a good show
As Tao from Heartstopper said, "Three is a Trio, we need at least 4 to make it a Group".
As a _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ fan, I would put that show in that category. In seven seasons it had twelve main characters: (Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Cordelia, Angel, Oz, Riley, Anya, Spike, Dawn, and Tara), thirteen core/season long villains: (The Master, Darla, Drusilla, Spike, Angelus, The Mayor, Faith, Adam, Glory, Warren, Jonathon, Andrew, and Evil Willow), and twelve secondary characters not considered one or the other, but important to the story: (Joyce, Jenny, Wesley, Snyder, Robin, Kennedy, Amanda, Vi, Rona, Harmony, Larry, and Amy)
Out of all these core characters, and the many non-core characters I didn't mention, at the end of the series it comes down to a four-person show of Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Giles. It just disguises itself a little more than what was mentioned in the video.
I agree completely!
Could a similar case be made for Michael Scott, Dwight, Jim & Pam?
I feel like this could be done for 3 and 5 as well. Kind of depends on the decade and genre.
It always works in a narrative because you have one central character who is the "every man" (or woman) and then the three others representing different elements of the central character : the Id, ego and superego. Or the "wizard of Oz" formula : the brain, the heart and the guts (or labido).
In SATC: carry is "every woman", Charlotte is the heart, Miranda the brain and Samantha is the guts/labido.
How are y’all not about to add Living Single or Golden Girls? Lol
Scooby Gang: Person 1, Fred. Person 2, Daphne. Person 3, Velma. Person 4, Shaggy. Scooby can be lumped in with Shaggy.
Yu Yu Hakusho got the classic Four squad
Was about to comment that LOL
1. Ghostbusters!
2. Team Avatar had this dynamic in Book 2 after Toph joined the gang.
I think this is usually a comedy thing, at least that's where it works best- and usually for characters who are single. Even for HBO's *Entourage* which was basically the male version of Sex and the City, I think Vincent Chase would be the Narrator, Eric was the Intellectual one, Turtle was obsessed with Status, and Johnny Drama was the Conversation Starter. But there are instances of foursomes where the characters don't fit as neatly into the archetypes. Like *Atlanta* who's Fab 4 (Earn, Al, Darius and Van) are characters that seem un-quantifiable to me.
When thinking about non-comedies, one show with a unique spin on this is *Orphan Black* where the 4 main characters of the "Clone Club" (Sarah, Allison, Cosima, and Helena) are all played by one person
The Take, I’ve mentioned this a couple times already, but Friendship is Magic is a show worth mentioning from time to time. Here for example, that show started with six primary protagonists, plus four secondary protagonists, whom could each offer dynamics for an episode or two. Maybe you could do a spin-off video about something like that?
girlfriends
joan - 1
toni - 2
maya - 3
lynn - 4
This video only stands to reinforce how crazy it is that HBO still went ahead with And Just Like That - where one of the core four is missing. Couldn’t even go begin to imagine if Seinfeld returned without Kramer.
I haven’t read the book yet but ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ sounds like a great quartet. For the uninitiated, it’s a group of Senior Citizens who solve cold cases.
Gotta tap into this one. Sounds very interesting.
@@GenerationNextNextNext It’s a trilogy at this point.
My current favorite shows staring 4 women all star black women
• Harlem (2021) - Amazon
• First Wives Club (2019) - BET Plus
• Run The World (2019) - STARZ
This archetype structure has been around since the renaissance (Commedia dell’arte). It wouldn’t have evolved and lasted centuries if it wasn’t effective for telling interesting stories
As has the five man band and the legendary trios (literally since biblical times). You can analyze these a bunch of different was but it kind of basically all comes down to being the embodiment of specific personality, problem solving, etc types
The ensemble cast of MY LITTLE PONY had an interesting dynamic. There were six mains, and could be paired off in interesting ways. There were two “girly girls,” two “tomboys,” and two for whom their gender wasn’t a big component of their personality. But even the two most similar personalities were different enough that they could spark stories together. It was a very systematized approach, but it worked.
Great video! I feel like this reminds me of one of your older videos that made me follow you guys years ago. Fresh topic that was hiding in plain sight!
This is amazing! This is why I watch all your vids! It's so in depth and highly intectual but entertaining AF. Thank you!!!
Congratulations on your Patreon! Have a great 2023!
Hope Kevin Feige is taking notes when dealing with the next Fantastic Four movie.
The Golden Girls!
Reminds me of the 4 temperaments, mentioned in the video too. The ancient Greeks believed that the 4 fluids of the body (blood, phlegm, black bile yellow bile) determine a person's mood. Some literature connected them with 4 elements too. Choleric are the bossy type A, ambitious, passionate, connected with fire. Sanguine are free spirited, perky, just wants to have fun, represented by air too. Phlegmatic are serious, calm, stoic, observant, represented by earth. Melancholic are emotional, creative, empathic, connected with water.
i noticed this dynamic many yrs ago too. love the foursome groups used as examples in this video!
The four temperament ensemble. A trope as old time yet it works. For me my go-to four group will always be the Strike Team from FX’s The Shield great show that was before its time. Vic Mackey the choleric aggressive capable leader but bossy to the point of over controlling. Shane Vendrell the sanguine as quoted perfectly ‘his heart tends to be ten steps ahead of his brain’. Curtis ‘Lem’ Lemansky the chilled grounded easy going member that acts as the heart of the team the white sheep in a group of corrupt cops his loss really broke the team. Ronnie Gardocki the melancholic played for laughs in the initial seasons but by the end of the show he developed into a cold calculated planner.
Omg this is one of my favorite analysis ever. The comparison with the strings quartet is *chefs kiss*
Onw of my favorite videos by you!!!
Friends and himym seem balsier than originally thought then 🤣
I love this video but the fact that you didn't mention the Golden Girls ist honestly a crime. :D
This kind of analysis is the reason I watch The Take
4 is just a good number for categorising
For sone reason I expected to see "The O.C."'s core 4 in this video 😁
My favs
synclaire, regine, maxine, and khadijah from living single
They already discussed their one black show. Barely.
No Joan, Toni, Maya and Lynn upsets me 😔
Yeah, that would've been a great example
Bernadette, Savannah, Robin, and Gloria?
Preach
Reminds me of th Elite Four trope in Pokemon.
Even golden girls!
The golden girls
Shout out to Girlfriends!
Don't forget Waiting To Exhale
I wonder, where does this leave groups of 5 &6? Otherwise I think Adult Swim did an ironic joke with a bump about a quote about how good things are in threes, basically they listed 3 shows about duos(Tim &Eric, Rick &Morty, Tuca &Bertie)as their counter argument,
The book Surrounded By Idiots by Thomas Erikson is a great book based on this format. I fekt very called out being dominant red and its taught me to be more conscious on my straight to the point style.
4:26 Gaby had the most interesting character arc on the show. Eva Longoria is an icon, a legend and she is the moment.
extra special shout-out to girlfriends. such an incredible fab 4 show
I love the implication that Kramer is a Samantha.
Can't believe you didn't even mention Bratz
This is why the Bratz works.
Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles!!! Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn!!!
No Beatles ?
Hmm...The Beatles weren't a TV show, unless you count the mid-1960s Saturday morning cartoon show...but then, there were those movies... John was the Smart One, Paul the Cute One, George the Quiet One (or the Deep One), and Ringo seemed to be the Happy-Go-Lucky One. How those four types would fit into the types mentioned in this video, I don't know. In the TV-movie Birth of the Beatles, a biopic about their early years, someone (Brian Epstein?) said John was the brains of the group, Paul was the heart, George was the soul, and Ringo the sinews.
In the 1960s TV show The Monkees, Mike was the sensible one, Micky the outlandish one, Peter the sweet one (often portrayed as the dumb one), and Davy the cute/sexy one. Someone once wrote that Davy corresponded to Paul, Peter to Ringo, and Mike and Micky shared the George and John roles. Observing their appearances, Micky resembles John, Mike resembles George, and Davy resembles Paul a little, but not much.
@@MelanieNLee so they weren't a tv show?
@@ShindlersFiist The Beatles were primarily a real-life rock group, not a TV show. The Monkees were a TV show that morphed into a real-life rock group.
@@ShindlersFiist Was this question supposed to be a joke...?
@@MelanieNLee well, there's that horrendous cartoon of the Beatles ha
Don’t forget the HoneyMooners! Without them there would be no Flintstones!
Or maybe It's just about balance and it's fit the table. Cinematography-wise.
Super insightful video! I loved it I think it was one of your best ever
Sex and the City and Will & Grace - the top of my list on this theme).
Edit: Not one clip of Living Single or Girlfriends. I guess we should just be happy with the token inclusion of Insecure, right. Ya'll are hypocrites.
Due to Living Single have Kyle and Singleton on cast, I may not mention that one, but Girlfriends, definitely.
@@dEMonAngeLclone Except they talked about Harry Potter and GOT & how it didn't strictly need to be about 4 characters but they needed to be the core personalities. Living Single had the 4 core personalities. Plus Girlfriends had WIlliam and Insecure had Lawerence. So yeah, I'm still calling BS
@@dEMonAngeLclone Overton?
@@mikejohn29mj Lmao 🤣🤣🤣 I autocorrected it to Overton in my head, so I didn’t catch that she wrote singleton. Maybe that was an actual autocorrect for her though
@@Bree5three I guess she mixed Overton with Single.
Ok. But where is Golden Girls?
It's Always Sunny didn't hit it big until the 5th member showed up: The Mantis, The Muscle, The Warthog, CEO of Wolf Cola, Gun and Rum Ham enthusiast, Frank Reynolds.
Entourage is an example to this.
Vince is the succesfull/handsome/heartless dude.
Eric is the brain and the moral compass of the group.
Drama is the sarcastic one with lots of heartbreaks he's covering.
Turtle is the one who is naive/helpfull and supportive.
And then there is Ari Gold to represent middle aged men.
Harlem Fab 4 you also fit here
I know in terms of The Good Place, I’m more like Chidi, but i don’t know who his counter parts in the the other shows. 😅
Hey the take. I'm subscribed and watch a lot of your videos. I'm big fan of TV and movies. Y'all seem touch on great ones. But there is one show I never see you talk about. The show is girlfriends. I only bring it up because it would fit so well with this current video. If you ever want to add that or break down that show it would be great.
Girlfriends also did a stellar job of discussing class issues among friends and specifically in the Black community (Joan, as Maya will tell you, can be "classist and egregious").
Interesting, I have always thought there were 5 characters instead (but maybe they were Fab 4 and later another character joined in)
The comparison to the quartet was beautiful.
I've watched this video twice now, and other TV show quartets are coming to mind. I won't typify all of them.
Bonanza: Ben was the sensible one, Adam the artistic/intellectual one, Hoss the kind, sweet one, and Joe the hot-tempered one (and closest to being the sexy one). You could even put them into Hogwarts houses: Ben the Slytherin, Adam the Ravenclaw, Hoss the Hufflepuff, and Joe the Gryffindor.
All in the Family: Archie was the Traditionalist, Edith the sweet one, Mike the Rule-Challenger, and Gloria, maybe, the Emotional One.
Star Trek: Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and, to round it up into a quartet, Scotty.
The Beverly Hillbillies: Jed, Granny, Jethro, Ellie.
Someone else mentioned The Honeymooners (Ralph, Ed, Alice, Trixie), which, of course, begat The Flintstones (Fred, Barney, Wilma, Betty). There was also I Love Lucy (Lucy, Ricky, Ethel, Fred).
I wonder what one can make of Jonny Quest (Jonny, Hadji, Benton, Race)?
Then, of course, there's Scooby Doo (Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy).
The play A Raisin in the Sun had Walter Lee, Lena (Mama), Ruth, and Beneatha.
Death of a Salesman had Willy, Linda, Biff, and Happy.
A Streetcar Named Desire had Blanche, Stanley, Stella, and Mitch.
The Glass Menagerie had Amanda, Tom, Laura, and Jim, the Gentleman Caller.
Of course, a one-time play has a different dynamic from a TV series.
Long Day's Journey into Night had...
I'd better stop myself now.
And then you have the non- four member friend groups like New Girl, The Big Bang Theory, and Friends.
I'm the Kramer
Nah it’s always sunny is a 5 person show and that’s the best, also friends 🤔
Designing women and the Golden Girls should be mentioned
PLEASE DO A DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES ANALYSIS🎉🎉🎉🎉
My favorite four: Joan, Lynn, Toni, and Maya
Amazing video!
Well done, ladies
That's why I love Broad City...
How about friends
Other than the previous video essays, that talked about The Ugly Duckling/Movie Make-Over trope &the Fixer-Upper Prince, think they could cover, what is it with narratives about turning somebody over? I.E. bringing the "non-feminine" girl to the "womanhood" side, bringing the misanthrope over to the sociability side, it can't just be a wish fulfillment, as doesn't it draw parallels to, that if a person can change another person's attitude, then that person can accomplish anything, let alone the concept that real friends challenge you (considering that if someone takes advice from a toxic friend, it's usually a recipe for disaster)
Except Frasier: the magic 5 (Frasier, Niles, Martin, Daphne & Ross) + Eddie (the dog)
You mean Roz. Also, since Roz wasn't part of the household, you could try to typify Frazier, Niles, Martin, and Daphne. Okay, Niles wasn't part of the household either, but he was part of the family and visited nearly all the time.
@@MelanieNLee Right, Roz, but they were 5. According to the showrunners.
why you don talk about the military trope, is like a whole genre of cinema and is very important how people, specially men get influenced
On Yellowjackets, the archetypes are subverted:
- Shauna is the Storyteller, but what story?
- Natalie is the Image-Conscious Rule Follower, but what image, and what rules?
- Misty is the Conversation Starter, but who's listening?
- Taissa is the Progressive Intellectual, but is she in control or being controlled?
Requiem for a Dream then.
And New Girl
Friends has 6 people.
No one is suggesting that every show has four main characters, just that it's a common and successful approach.
the bratz!
this just made me wanna watch seinfeld lmao
agreed but what’s up with the Girlfriends erasure? Joan, Toni, Maya and Lynn deserved that shout out
Watch the Cracked After Hours episode about this
Wait they're in the bad place? I'm on episode 4 how can Chidi and Tahani be in the bad place?
Just you wait!
uh oh
Buffy four, Little Woman and in reality, the Squad in Politics;